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Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Friday 1st December 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will have discussions with international partners on the potential creation of (a) an international monitoring arrangement and (b) a peacekeeping presence through (i) the United Nations and (ii) an ad hoc arrangement to help support a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We maintain regular contact with the United Nations on a full range of issues relating to conflict in Gaza. The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support British nationals who wish to leave. The UK is supportive of limited and temporary cessations of hostilities as part of measures to facilitate the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid into Gaza. It is crucial that we capitalise on the hostage deal to allow as much food, water, medical supplies and fuel as possible to reach vulnerable civilians in Gaza. This pause should act as a confidence-building mechanism for future pauses, including those solely on humanitarian grounds. We will continue to use all the tools of British diplomacy and development to enhance the prospects of peace and stability in the region, working closely with our partners.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Tuesday 13th June 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on the implementation of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in full. We are in frequent communication with key stakeholders and businesses in Northern Ireland, providing the guidance and support they need to ensure they are ready to implement the Framework in full.


Written Question
Development Aid
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what processes his Department has in place to help ensure that country allocations for financial year 2022-23 reach local actors and communities in a timey manner.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

2022-23 allocations were confirmed in year and all funds spent or committed by 31 March 2023. During the year, programme teams have been in continual contact with their partners to ensure all available funds in 2022-23 were spent in a timely way to deliver maximum value for money. As set out in the UK Government's strategy for International Development Strategy, we are committed to stripping back excessive bureaucracy associated with delivering aid, making it quicker to get programmes delivering on the ground.


Written Question
East Africa: International Assistance
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department intends to publish country funding allocations for financial years 2022-23 for (a) Kenya, (b) Ethiopia, (c) South Sudan and (d) Somalia.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The FCDO Annual Report and Accounts for financial year 2022-2023, due to be published later this year, will provide Official Development Assistance budget breakdowns of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 allocations by country.


Written Question
East Africa: International Assistance
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's funding allocations were for (a) Kenya, (b) Ethiopia, (c) South Sudan and (d) Somalia in financial year 2022-23.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The FCDO Annual Report and Accounts for financial year 2022-2023, due to be published later this year, will provide Official Development Assistance budget breakdowns of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 allocations by country.


Written Question
EU Law: Northern Ireland
Thursday 23rd March 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will provide funding for Northern Ireland institutions to hold discussions with the EU on developments in EU law relating to the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK reaffirms its guarantee that the First and deputy First Minister will have a seat at the table in the UK delegation for any UK-EU Joint Committee meetings which consider matters concerning Northern Ireland - a key request from across the Northern Ireland political spectrum.

Representatives from The Executive Office attend all meetings of the Joint Consultative Working Group, and they receive the same information as UK Government Departments about new EU legislation applicable in Northern Ireland (and at the same time).

We have established new structured expert groups to allow detailed UK-EU discussion of new rules applied under the Protocol across the full range of issues, including on goods regulation, the Single Electricity Market, customs, agrifood and subsidy control - with new commitments to engage earlier and more intensively to look at the implications of new rules.

We have also agreed to establish new mechanisms for stakeholder engagement within those structures, including business and civic society groups, to ensure their expertise and insight can inform discussions about how the agreement operates in practice.

We will set out more detail on these in due course.


Written Question
Disaster Relief
Thursday 2nd March 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what advice his Department provides to (a) UK search and rescue NGOs and (b) other specialist UK NGOs seeking to provide emergency deployment to assist with overseas disasters, such as the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February 2023; and whether there have been any changes in how his Department coordinates NGOs seeking to provide emergency deployment to assist with overseas disasters since the abolition of the Department for International Development.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

FCDO engages regularly with NGO partners through a range of forums. On Thursday 9 February I [Minister Mitchell] met with a group of NGOs who are providing humanitarian aid to those impacted by the earthquake to understand their assessment of urgent needs on the ground.

The UK International Search and Rescue team deployed to Turkey on 7 February and worked around the clock to rescue people trapped under the rubble. The team have now completed rescue operations and returned to the UK. The UK committed an additional £4.3 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, to aid the White Helmets major search-and-rescue operations in Syria. We have published guidance on GOV.UK to advise people on how they can best provide support to the earthquake response.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/turkey-and-syria-earthquakes-what-you-can-do-to-help


Written Question
Syria and Turkey: Earthquakes
Monday 27th February 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish guidance on how search and rescue groups in the UK can support efforts to rescue people trapped following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We have published guidance on GOV.UK to advise people on how they can best provide support. We advise people who would like to help to donate cash through trusted charities and aid organisations, such as the DEC joint Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal, which supports British aid organisations in the region. The government is providing £5 million in match funding to the DEC appeal. The UK International Search and Rescue team deployed to Turkey on 7 February and worked around the clock to rescue people trapped under the rubble. The team have now completed rescue operations and returned to the UK.

(Turkey and Syria earthquakes: what you can do to help - GOV.UK)

(https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal)


Written Question
Northern Ireland Protocol: Electricity
Tuesday 17th January 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the European Court of Justice has jurisdiction under the Northern Ireland Protocol over the functioning of the integrated Single Electricity Market.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

As set out in Article 12(4) of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Court of Justice of the European Union has the jurisdiction provided for in the Treaties in respect of Article 9, which applies the provisions of EU law governing wholesale electricity markets listed in Annex 4 (under the conditions set out in Annex 4) to and in the UK in respect of Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Veterinary Services: Drugs
Tuesday 20th December 2022

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the EU on an extension of the grace period for the flow of veterinary medicines into Northern Ireland.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Government is engaging in talks with the EU to address the issues of the Northern Ireland Protocol including on the movement of goods of plant and animal origin. The Foreign Secretary met Vice President Sefcovic last week and technical talks continue.