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 make an assessment of the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As a witness to the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) and member of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC)'s Steering Board, the UK condemns the unconstitutional and secessionist actions of the Republika Srpska leadership, which threatens Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) peace and stability. The UK has publicly reaffirmed its support for the DPA and the existing constitutional framework of BiH, and will continue to engage with our international partners, and leaders across the region, to facilitate a positive outcome. I spoke to my counterpart on 10 March, and reaffirmed our commitment to BiH's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the DPA.
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, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last two weeks.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to maintaining peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and condemns the recent and ongoing unconstitutional actions of the Republika Srpska leadership. Ireaffirmed these messages when he spoke to BiH's Foreign Minister on 10 March. Senior Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have engaged intensively in BiH and with regional and international partners to stress our commitment to BiH's constitutional framework and the Dayton Peace Agreement. The Foreign Secretary plans to engage other Western Balkans leaders.
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 his Department’s policy priorities will be when the UK chairs the Berlin Process 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will use the Berlin Process to advance security and growth through strengthened partnerships with our Western Balkan and other European partners, including on tackling irregular migration. This will support the Prime Minister's domestic missions of national security, secure borders, safer streets and kickstarting growth. It will strengthen Euro-Atlantic integration and regional co-operation between the six Western Balkan countries. The Berlin Process consists of a Leaders' Summit, ministerial meetings and other forums and we are keen for voices to be heard in a constructive and inclusive atmosphere. Dame Karen Pierce, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, will drive forward preparations for the Summit.
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 plans his Department has to support post-conflict stabilisation work in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The situation is Syria remains fluid and fragile. We want to see a more stable Syria and are working closely with international partners, including European partners, to this end. Following the Foreign Secretary's public statement on 9 March, I made clear in my Statement to the House on 10 March that the interim authorities have a responsibility to ensure the protection of all Syrian civilians and to make progress towards an inclusive political transition.
Our priorities are to support an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition that leads to a representative and non-sectarian government, tackle security threats, including from Daesh, and support economic recovery. On 6 March, we announced the relaxation of sanctions on some Syrian entities in the transport, energy and finance sectors, as part of our efforts to help the people of Syria to rebuild their country and economy.
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 plans his Department has to work with European partners to support post-conflict stabilisation work in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The situation is Syria remains fluid and fragile. We want to see a more stable Syria and are working closely with international partners, including European partners, to this end. Following the Foreign Secretary's public statement on 9 March, I made clear in my Statement to the House on 10 March that the interim authorities have a responsibility to ensure the protection of all Syrian civilians and to make progress towards an inclusive political transition.
Our priorities are to support an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition that leads to a representative and non-sectarian government, tackle security threats, including from Daesh, and support economic recovery. On 6 March, we announced the relaxation of sanctions on some Syrian entities in the transport, energy and finance sectors, as part of our efforts to help the people of Syria to rebuild their country and economy.
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 plans his Department has to support civil society in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has long supported Syrian civil society, and we will continue to do so. We engage regularly with a wide range of Syrian civil society actors on issues such as political participation, accountability and human rights, and provide funding through our programme work. In January, I hosted a roundtable discussion with civil society representatives on the situation in Syria, and we have previously invited Syrian civil society representatives to brief the UN Security Council during the UK's Presidency. As I made clear in my Statement to the House on 10 March, the UK remains committed to the people of Syria and will continue to stand with them in building a more stable, free and prosperous future.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December to Question 18869 on Palestinians: Fire and Rescue Services, what progress he has made on discussions with Israeli counterparts to ensure the successful delivery of this donation.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development (FCDO) Officials have raised the matter of this donation directly with the Israeli authorities and are working with colleagues in the Scottish Government to resolve the matter.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to protect (a) undersea cables and (b) critical maritime infrastructure.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure including subsea cables. We continue to co-ordinate with HMG partners, particularly DSIT and DESNZ who own critical undersea infrastructure policy, as well as security partners, industry, and international bodies to assess and understand risks to this infrastructure.
On 22 January 2025, the Secretary of State made a statement in the House about the malign activities of the Russian Spy Ship Yantar and efforts by the RAF, Royal Navy and the RFA to deter Russians loitering over UK critical underwater infrastructure.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to enhance its maritime surveillance capabilities, in the context of recent submarine activity in British waters.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Protecting the UK and responding to threats in our territorial waters is a critical component of the Defence mission to protect the nation, and we constantly monitor activity within UK waters to counter and deter threats.
The Royal Navy (RN) seeks to exploit and deploy new technologies alongside existing systems to enhance our ability to detect subsurface threats, with programmes seeking to rapidly adopt remote and autonomous anti-submarine sensors. The details of future capabilities are subject to consideration through the Strategic Defence Review.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps Government is taking to enhance cyber resilience across critical (a) national infrastructure and (b) public institutions.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We are committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), and all aspects of the Government digital estate.
The Government works closely with CNI operators in both the private and public sector to ensure resilience and preparedness to cyber threats, working to better understand and manage cyber risk, and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur. As well as work to develop a more sophisticated understanding of cyber risk across UK CNI, the Government is focussed on ensuring that CNI operators are prepared to respond to and recover from incidents through better planning and regular exercising.
The King's Speech in July 2024 set out the Government’s intention to bring forward a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences, and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that companies rely on are secure.
To enhance the cyber resilience of public institutions, the Government Cyber Security Strategy has set a clear target for all government organisations to be resilient to known vulnerabilities and common attack methods by 2030.