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Found: He was convicted in a foreign jurisdiction. Q49 Chair: Was it dealt with by our Parliament?

Found: The purpose of this paper is to make a meaningful contribution to British foreign policy.Contents

Found: MUL0014 - International relations within the multilateral system Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office

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Found: MUL0018 - International relations within the multilateral system The Foreign Policy Centre Written Evidence

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Found: Browder, and I am the head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign. 2.Until 2005, I was the largest foreign

Found: reference to the case of China’s multilateralism in Latin America and how it affects the UK’s foreign

Found: Tsvetelina van Bentham (MUL0020) I am grateful for the opportunity to submit evidence to the UK Parliament Foreign

Found: Institute (MUL0004) Summary of Recommendations ●The UK Mission at the United Nations remains one of the Foreign

Found: CSRI is a foreign policy think tank working to assess the risks and opportunities presented by the

Found: Total number of foreign music tourists in 2022 was 1.1 million.

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Found: Scotland’s enormous potential in this area with Icelandic Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Foreign

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Found: You will be aware that, four days ago, the BBC reported that £4.3 billion of the foreign aid budget

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Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of offences committed by foreign nationals held in the prison estate.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information can be found in the attached spreadsheet.

The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is a Government priority and my department continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.

Published figures show that FNO returns have increased following the pandemic, in the latest 12-month period (ending December 2023) by 27% when compared to the previous 12-month period. Between January 2019 and December 2023 17,795 FNOs have been removed.

The proportion of FNOs held in custody is 12% of the total prison population and has remained stable in recent years while the overall prison population has grown.

On 11 March, the Government set out a plan to increase the number of FNOs removed through:

• The recruitment of 400 additional caseworkers and streamlining the end-to-end removal process;
• Extending foreign national conditional cautions to FNOs with limited leave to remain; and
• Amending deportation policy to enable FNOs given suspended sentences of 6 months or more to be considered for deportation.

These actions build on our expansion of the Early Removal Scheme to allow for removal of FNOs up to 18 months before the end of the custodial element of their sentence, and expediting prisoner transfers with priority countries such as Albania and seeking to conclude new transfer agreements with partner countries.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to continue the suspension of aid funding to UNWRA until evidence is provided that dismisses links between UNWRA and proscribed terror groups.

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

We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. We have paused any future funding of UNRWA.

We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General.

We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 18175 on Nature Conservation: Finance, what estimate he has made of the total budget that is (a) unspent and (b) unallocated as of 12 April 2024.

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

Between financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 the UK spent £763 million on climate change interventions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity leaving £2.2 billion to spend between 2023/24 and 2025/26. This figure will be updated when total spend for the financial year for 2023/24 is finalised later this year. There is currently over £3 billion allocated to nature programming between 2021/22 and 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on encouraging Qatari investment in UK research and development.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Through all our global partnerships, including those in the Gulf, government is delivering on the UK’s Science and Technology Framework and strengthening UK R&D.

Qatar is an important friend to the UK and our bilateral relationship includes cooperation across many areas. The UK-Qatar Strategic Investment Partnership, signed in May 2022, signalled Qatar’s intention to deploy a further £10bn investment in key UK sectors, such as life science, zero-emissions vehicles and fintech over the next 5 years.

The UK’s new research MoU with Saudi Arabia, which I signed last month, is another example of where we are driving forward partnerships in the region to support UK R&D.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals are held in the prison estate by nationality.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Data on how many Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) are held in custody are published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: Offender management statistics quarterly: July to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). For data on the prison population by nationality, see prison population table 1_7.

The latest published data from 31 December 2023 shows that there were 10,423 (3,333 remand, 6,697 sentenced and 393 non-criminal) FNOs held in custody; representing 12% of the total prison population. The most common nationalities after British Nationals in prisons are Albanian (13% of the FNO prison population), Polish (9%), Romanian (7%), Irish (6%) and Jamaican (4%).

The removal of FNOs is a Government priority and my department continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.

Published figures show that FNO returns have increased following the pandemic, in the latest 12-month period (ending December 2023) by 27% when compared to the previous 12-month period. Between January 2019 and December 2023 17,795 FNOs have been removed.

The proportion of FNOs held in custody is 12% of the total prison population and has remained stable in recent years while the overall prison population has grown.

On 11 March, the Government set out a plan to increase the number of FNOs removed through:

• The recruitment of 400 additional caseworkers and streamlining the end-to-end removal process;
• Extending foreign national conditional cautions to FNOs with limited leave to remain; and
• Amending deportation policy to enable FNOs given suspended sentences of 6 months or more to be considered for deportation.

These actions build on our expansion of the Early Removal Scheme to allow for removal of FNOs up to 18 months before the end of the custodial element of their sentence, and expediting prisoner transfers with priority countries such as Albania and seeking to conclude new transfer agreements with partner countries.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with the Director of Operations at UNRWA on (a) the precision of air strikes in Gaza and (b) whether Hamas tunnels ran near or under UNRWA schools.

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

The UK takes allegations of neutrality violations extremely seriously, including in relation to UN installations such as schools. The FCDO also monitors this closely through our annual assessment of UNRWA. When violations have been identified, UNRWA has taken action, including raising the issue with relevant parties.

We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General. Their independent investigations include assessment of the policies and systems UNRWA has in place to ensure neutrality.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had on opening crossing points into Gaza for medical and humanitarian aid.

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

The British Government has pressed with Israeli counterparts the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza to alleviate the desperate situation.

On 5th April Israel committed to significant steps to increase the amount of aid getting to Gaza, including allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Port of Ashdod and the Erez checkpoint.

The UK has urged Israel to take these steps for a long time and they are welcome. We are resolved that the international community will work with Israel to see these vital changes fully implemented.

The Foreign Secretary has also called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers, and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.

Palestinians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. The UK is playing a leadership role in alleviating that suffering. We are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.

150 tonnes of more UK aid arrived in Gaza on 13 March, including 840 family tents, 13,440 blankets, almost 3,000 shelter kits, and shelter-fixing kits, 6,000 sleeping mats and more than 3,000 dignity kits.

A field hospital, provided by UK Aid funding to UK-Med, has arrived in Gaza. This facility, staffed by UK and local medics, will be able to treat over 100 patients a day.

On 20 March, the Foreign Secretary announced the UK has funded WFP to provide 2000 tons of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of activity by Iran-backed terrorist groups in the West Bank.

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

Iran poses an unacceptable threat to Israel, including through its long-term support for proscribed groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas operating in Gaza and the West Bank. This . Iran must bear responsibility for the actions of its proxies and partners.

We introduced a new sanctions regime designed to target Iran and its proxies and partners' hostile and destabilising activity last December. We immediately used these new powers to designate individuals and an entity responsible for Iran's support to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Foreign Secretary condemned in the strongest terms Iran's attack on Israel in a call with the Iranian Foreign Minister on 14 April, and made clear that Iran must stop these attacks and de-escalate.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the number of (a) civilians, (b) women and (c) children (i) killed and (ii) injured in Gaza using UK-made (A) arms and (B) technologies since October 2023.

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

All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We keep all export licences under careful review.

The Foreign Secretary has underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to establish an independent review to guarantee that UK arms export policy does not breach obligations under international law.

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

All export licence applications are already assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an estimate of the amount of aid that will enter Gaza before the end of Ramadan, in the context of UN Security Council resolution 2728.

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

On 5th April Israel committed to significant steps to increase the amount of aid getting to Gaza, including allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Port of Ashdod and the Erez checkpoint.

The UK has urged Israel to take these steps for a long time and they are welcome. We are resolved that the international community will work with Israel to see these vital changes fully implemented.

We are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of Israeli hostages taken on 7 October 2023; and how many and what proportion (a) have died, (b) have been released and (c) remain in captivity.

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

The FCDO holds information on the hostages being held in Gaza, which is taken and updated regularly from official Israeli government sources. As of 10 April 2024;

• On 7 October, 253 hostages were kidnapped and taken into Gaza.

• 124 hostages have been returned to Israel (112 alive and 12 deceased). 129 hostages remain in Gaza. Of these 129 hostages, the Israeli government has stated that it has evidence that 34 are deceased. The remaining 95 hostages are either presumed alive or their status is unknown.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the use of UNRWA push-to-talk networks by Hamas.

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

The UK takes allegations of neutrality violations extremely seriously, including any incidents related to UN installations. The FCDO also monitors this closely through our annual assessment of UNRWA. When violations have been identified, UNRWA has taken action, including raising the issue with relevant parties.

We are aware that Catherine Colonna has now provided her interim report on UNRWA neutrality to the UN Secretary-General. This independent investigation includes an assessment of the policies and systems UNRWA has in place to ensure neutrality.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to withdraw funding from UNWRA on the (a) provision and (b) distribution of aid in Gaza.

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

The UK provided £35 million to UNRWA in the financial year 2023/24, including an uplift of £16 million for the Gaza humanitarian response, all of which was disbursed before the recent allegations came to light.

Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response.

We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the speech by the President of Argentina of 2 April 2024.

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

The UK is committed to upholding the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. As the Foreign Secretary made clear on his recent visit to the Falkland Islands, as long as the Islanders want to remain part of the UK family, there can be no discussions on sovereignty. The UK looks forward to developing a constructive relationship with Argentina where we can agree to disagree politely on the issue of the Falkland Islands, whilst restarting mutually beneficial co-operation on areas of shared interest.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals held in the prison estate have previously been deported.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The information requested is not available from published statistics.

Our Nationality and Borders Act became law in April 2022. A factsheet can be viewed here: Nationality and Borders Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The same act also amended legislation which means a foreign offender who returns to the United Kingdom in breach of a deportation order can be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Anyone who enters the UK without leave, or without a visa, also faces a maximum penalty of four years.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders of which nationality were deported in each of the last five years.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The Home Office does publish statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders by nationality and year. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, Year Ending December 2023; which are available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The term ‘deportations’ refers to a legally defined subset of returns, which are enforced either following a criminal conviction, or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is beneficial to the public good. The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily. Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to promote relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq.

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

The UK supports a secure, stable, and thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. We continue to encourage greater cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their outstanding issues, such as those related to the federal budget, the oil and gas sector, payment of public salaries, and security cooperation. As intra-Kurdish tensions are impeding progress from being made, Ministers and senior UK officials have advocated repeatedly for unity and increased cooperation within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including respect for democratic processes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to support survivors of the Halabja chemical weapons attack living in (a) Halabja and (b) the UK.

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

On 16 March 2024, the 36th anniversary of the Halabja Chemical Attack, the British Consulate General Erbil visited Halabja and paid their respects at the 1988 Chemical Attack Commemoration.

The British Consulate General Erbil participates each year in these important commemorations and the UK remains committed in its support for the peace, stability and prosperity of the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had on the provision of security protection for aid convoys in Gaza.

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

It is imperative that those doing life-saving work are properly protected. The Foreign Secretary has called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers, and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on tackling sexual violence in conflict; and if he will make it his policy to call for incidents of sexual violence by (a) Hamas and (b) the Israel Defense Forces to be independently investigated.

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

The UK condemns sexual violence unequivocally and without exception. Reports of sexual violence on and since 7th October are deeply disturbing. The UK has consistently called for these reports to be fully investigated to ensure justice for survivors and victims.

Through our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict programmes and dedicated funding totalling £60 million, we are leading work internationally to prevent conflict-related sexual violence and strengthen justice and support for all survivors.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with UNRWA on alleged threats made to their senior operations staff by Hamas.

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

We are not currently aware of any threats made to senior UNRWA operations staff by Hamas.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his department is taking to promote relations between the UK and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

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

The UK supports a secure, stable, and thriving Kurdistan Region in Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. The UK regularly engages with leaders of the KRI and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including through their representations in London. We maintain our diplomatic presence in the KRI through the British Consulate General in Erbil. Through this platform, we cooperate closely on our shared bilateral priorities, such as security and migration issues.

The importance of our strategic partnership with the KRI was further reinforced by visits of the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon in March 2023, and Security Minister, Tom Tughendhat in August.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the number of people who have been displaced in Gaza since 8 October 2023.

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

We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.

According to a UN estimate, as of 1 April, up to 1.7 million people (over 75% of the population) had been displaced across the Gaza Strip.

As the Prime Minister has told Prime Minister Netanyahu and regional leaders, we are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah. Over half of Gaza's population are sheltering in the area, and the Rafah crossing is vital to ensure aid can reach the people who so desperately need it.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of Israeli (a) civilians, (b) women and (c) children killed since 7 October 2023.

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

Any civilian death is a tragedy. Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on 7 October 2023 according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). 253 hostages were also kidnapped and taken into Gaza on 7 October, of whom 124 have been returned to Israel (112 alive and 12 deceased). We continue to call for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many export licence applications were escalated to the dispute resolution mechanism or complex cases mechanism in each year since 2010; and what the destination country was in each such case.

Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)

Export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against announced policies and the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). Decisions are routinely taken by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. These decisions are taken in consultation with officials from other government departments, principally the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence but occasionally other Departments are also consulted depending on the nature of the case.

There is no single ‘dispute resolution mechanism’ which is regularly or consistently enacted. There have been various occasions since 2010 where different procedures have been set up to enable wider consultation and scrutiny of export licensing cases with Ministers across Government. These were in reaction to specific concerns or strategic priorities at the time. They can involve different attendees and terms of reference depending on the situation. We do not maintain data on how often this sort of procedure has been used over multiple years.

There is no specific ‘complex case mechanism’. ECJU receives a high volume of ‘complex cases’ and the vast majority are decided upon by consensus. However, if ECJU officials are unable to come to a consensus about a case they could refer it to MOD and FCDO Ministers, and ultimately to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade who has the responsibility for making the final decision. This happens extremely rarely in practice and therefore we do not maintain data on its occurrence over multiple years.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to promote democracy in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

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

The UK supports a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including around Kurdish representation in Iraqi politics.

Elections are essential for the people of the KRI to express their voice and for the future of the region. We are monitoring the situation with long-overdue KRI elections closely and we are seeking a solution that allows free and fair elections to take place as soon as possible.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to promote free and fair elections in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

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

The UK supports a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including around Kurdish representation in Iraqi politics.

Elections are essential for the people of the KRI to express their voice and for the future of the region. We are monitoring the situation with long-overdue KRI elections closely and we are seeking a solution that allows free and fair elections to take place as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many extant strategic export licences were referred to Ministers in (a) her Department, (b) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and (c) the Ministry of Defence in each year since 2010; and what the destination countries were in each such case.

Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)

Export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against announced policies and the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). Given the high volume of decisions taken every week, the vast majority of licensing applications are decided upon by officials within the Export Control Joint Unit acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, using the framework provided by the SELC. These decisions are taken in consultation with officials from other government departments including the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.

In practice a very small proportion of export licensing decisions are escalated to Ministers. For example, this happens when a decision is finely balanced or when Ministers have asked for certain types of cases to be referred to them for decision. As with any part of Government, ECJU officials would consult Ministers from the three Departments in the normal course of their work, including on some export control applications, as and when necessary. We do not maintain a central record of how many times this has happened in the last 14 years.

Ministers are always consulted on any decisions related to revoking or suspending licences. We report on the volume of revoked and suspended licences in our Quarterly Statistics and Annual Report. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the Federal Government of Iraq to promote inclusion of Kurdish (a) political leaders and (b) Members of Parliament in the (i) Iraqi Council of Representatives in Baghdad and (ii) national political affairs of Iraq.

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

The UK supports a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including around Kurdish representation in Iraqi politics.

Elections are essential for the people of the KRI to express their voice and for the future of the region. We are monitoring the situation with long-overdue KRI elections closely and we are seeking a solution that allows free and fair elections to take place as soon as possible.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure the Federal Government of Iraq uphold the constitutional rights of the Kurdish population.

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

The UK supports a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including around Kurdish representation in Iraqi politics.

Elections are essential for the people of the KRI to express their voice and for the future of the region. We are monitoring the situation with long-overdue KRI elections closely and we are seeking a solution that allows free and fair elections to take place as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many strategic export licence applications were escalated to Ministers in (a) her Department, (b) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and (c) the Ministry of Defence in each year since 2010; and what the destination countries were in each such case.

Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)

Export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against announced policies and the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). Given the high volume of decisions taken every week, the vast majority of licensing applications are decided upon by officials within the Export Control Joint Unit acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, using the framework provided by the SELC. These decisions are taken in consultation with officials from other government departments including the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.

In practice a very small proportion of export licensing decisions are escalated to Ministers. For example, this happens when a decision is finely balanced or when Ministers have asked for certain types of cases to be referred to them for decision. As with any part of Government, ECJU officials would consult Ministers from the three Departments in the normal course of their work, including on some export control applications, as and when necessary. We do not maintain a central record of how many times this has happened in the last 14 years.

Ministers are always consulted on any decisions related to revoking or suspending licences. We report on the volume of revoked and suspended licences in our Quarterly Statistics and Annual Report. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Ugandan counterpart on the (a) arrests and (b) treatment of people campaigning against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

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

Through our High Commission in Kampala, we have previously raised concerns around detentions of climate protesters in Uganda; both I and the High Commission regularly engage with the Ugandan Government on human rights, both bilaterally and with likeminded countries.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to take steps to encourage companies that extract fossil fuels to contribute to the loss and damage fund at COP 29.

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

The UK is committed to establishing an efficient and effective Fund for Loss and Damage which delivers demonstrable outcomes for those particularly vulnerable to climate change. The UK's pledge of up to £40 million for the new Fund will help achieve this. Given the scale of finance required to respond to climate impacts, it is essential that the Fund encourages and deploys a wide variety of sources of funding, including from public, private and innovative sources. As a Board member, the UK will work with others to broaden the scale, scope and sources of financing for loss and damage.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what outcomes were agreed at the third Summit for Democracy held in Seoul on 18 to 20 March.

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

Participants at the Third Summit for Democracy agreed the importance of harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging digital technologies to uphold democratic values and institutions, noting their potential to open new channels for participation and enhance transparency, openness and accountability. Participants also agreed the importance of strengthening laws and institutions to mitigate risks associated with emerging technologies that could undermine democratic values, including threats such as infringements on privacy and the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Hosts the Republic of Korea, along with key partner governments, confirmed their intention to continue supporting the Platform for Engagement of Civil Society and their work on the Summit process.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many foreign officials have been granted special mission status to visit the UK in each year since 2011; and if he will list the (a) names and (b) country of origin of those officials.

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

As set out in 2013 by the former Foreign Secretary William Hague, a special mission is a 'temporary mission, representing a state, which is sent by one state to another with the consent of the latter, in order to carry out official engagements on behalf of the sending state'. Since starting to issue special mission status (SMS) certificates in 2013, the FCDO has given consent for 57 special mission status visits to the UK for the following officials and their delegations:

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of the number of companies importing oil from the Rosneft owned Vadinar refinery in India.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK regularly raises Russia's actions with India including at Foreign Secretary level, most recently on 16th February, and is working with the Government of India to accelerate India's transition to green renewable energy to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels. Tackling sanctions circumvention remains a key priority for the UK and G7, and we are committed to working with international partners to address circumvention risks. We must incentivise all countries to shift away from dependency on Russian goods and services by demonstrating that Russia is not a reliable partner. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes National level data on the origin of oil cargoes to the UK, but does not break this down by originating refinery. In 2023 imports of petroleum products from India to the UK totalled 2.0 million tonnes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Food Programme's ability to scale up its humanitarian operation in Gaza.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to support the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

On 20 March, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK has funded WFP to provide 2,000 tons of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza. This is our largest delivery of aid to Gaza during the current crisis.

We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through UN agencies and British charities.

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