Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the implementation of the UK Government’s Protection of Civilians policy; and whether that postholder has a counterpart in the Ministry of Defence.

Ministerial responsibility for the Protection of Civilians (PoC) agenda is shared across Government departments. HMG's approach paper, published in August 2020, was drafted in collaboration between the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the former Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence. In line with the breadth and complexity of PoC issues, ranging from humanitarian access to urban warfare, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence continue to work closely on this agenda.