Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the security situation in northern Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan about the security situation in northern Syria on a number of occasions; most recently at the International Contact Group for Syria in Riyadh on 12 January. I spoke most recently to Deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Yilmaz on 24 December 2024. This is part of regular Ministerial and senior official engagement with Turkish counterparts on this issue. We continue to urge all sides to refrain from activity that will lead to loss of civilian life, damage to civilian infrastructure, and to avoid further destabilisation and civilian suffering in the region.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to homeowners impacted by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All building owners are responsible for managing building safety and performance risks of all kinds in their buildings, including reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), in a proportionate, risk-based, and evidence-based manner. To do so, they should continue to follow guidance published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) to identify, assess, and manage RAAC.
The issues with RAAC are longstanding and well known. Our current understanding, shared with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), is that the prevalence of RAAC is low in housing and there have been no known incidents of RAAC panel failure in residential dwellings across the UK.
The BSR have a duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to keep under review the safety and standards of all buildings in England. This includes monitoring risk and advising government on any action required.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of attacks by Israel on medical facilities in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the impact of military activity on healthcare facilities in Gaza. Medical staff and facilities must be protected, and civilians should be able to safely access medical treatment. It is unacceptable that northern Gaza now has no functioning major health facilities, following strikes on the Kamal Adwan hospital. In our statement to the UN Security Council on 3 January, we dismayed at the deterioration of the healthcare situation in Gaza, and called on Israel to clarify the whereabouts of medical staff detained from hospitals in the north. I have repeatedly underlined our grave concern about these issues with Israeli counterparts, most recently on 3 January and again today 8 January.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of Cyclone Chido on people in southern Africa.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Heavy wind and rain from Tropical Cyclone Chido have caused widespread damage in Mozambique and Malawi, and have resulted in extensive crop and infrastructure damage in parts of the region. Flooding has increased the risk of disease outbreak in a region where cholera is endemic, and cases are on the rise. Northern Mozambique was most affected by Tropical Cyclone Chido; resulting in 120 deaths, and impacting 687,000 people, many of whom are already internally displaced and affected by conflict.
To support, the UK has provided £5 million to Mozambique, focusing on providing emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation needs and preparedness building. Barring heavy rain and greater flood risk, Tropical Cyclone Chido has not had a substantial impact on Northern Zambia.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Cyclone Chido on communities in northern Zambia.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Heavy wind and rain from Tropical Cyclone Chido have caused widespread damage in Mozambique and Malawi, and have resulted in extensive crop and infrastructure damage in parts of the region. Flooding has increased the risk of disease outbreak in a region where cholera is endemic, and cases are on the rise. Northern Mozambique was most affected by Tropical Cyclone Chido; resulting in 120 deaths, and impacting 687,000 people, many of whom are already internally displaced and affected by conflict.
To support, the UK has provided £5 million to Mozambique, focusing on providing emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation needs and preparedness building. Barring heavy rain and greater flood risk, Tropical Cyclone Chido has not had a substantial impact on Northern Zambia.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 15757 on Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential financial impact of the UK leaving the EU on the agri-food sector.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 4 December 2024, UIN 15757. Although the Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows zero tariffs and zero quota trade, leaving the EU single market and customs union had an impact on the export of agri-food products, as have other changes in trade policy such as new Free Trade Agreements with other countries, and global shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Agri-food trade with the EU has fallen since 2018 in real terms (after adjusting for trade inflation) by 20% (exports) and 11% (imports). However, there is difficulty separating out the impact of the UK leaving the EU from those other factors. The majority of UK agri-food exports were still to EU countries in 2023, 57% (£14 billion).
We are working to reset our relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to UK-EU trade. We will seek to negotiate a veterinary/sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. We have been clear that our trading relationship can be improved but we are not rejoining the single market or customs union, and we will not return to freedom of movement.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 13191 on Exports: Ukraine, which Departments he is waiting to receive advice on before concluding this export licence application; and what steps his Department is taking to hasten advice.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is comprised of experts in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The FCDO advises DBT on the situation in country and the risks this poses with respect to the UK's export control responsibilities. The MOD advises DBT on the risks of diversion of exported goods and national security risks arising from hostile state activity. As the decision-making authority for all export licensing decisions DBT takes advice from both Departments and is in daily contact with them where necessary to ensure that process happens as quickly as possible.
Exporters are advised in the first instance to contact the ECJU Licensing Unit, as they will be able to provide further updates on the progress of their applications and comment on any specific cases they would like to raise.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the meetings Ministers in his Department have had with Israeli officials since 7 December 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO Ministers meet with a wide range of officials, but there have been no official meetings with Israeli officials since 7 December 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the last Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability strategic assessment was carried out on the situation in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) strategic assessment is an OFFICIAL SENSITIVE paper that is used to underpin UK national security strategies, as well as UK government policy and programming. We do not publicly comment on the timings of specific JACS assessments.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on global price fluctuations in heating oil resulting from conflict in the Middle East.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I have had no discussions with our international counterparts on global oil price fluctuations caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.