Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her counterparts in the Gulf states to help shape International norms.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is delivering this objective through both multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, and through bilateral engagement with a range of global partners, including Canada. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to counterparts across the world about trade cooperation and security, to ensure we can deliver for the UK's future.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her Canadian counterpart to help shape International norms.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is delivering this objective through both multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, and through bilateral engagement with a range of global partners, including Canada. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to counterparts across the world about trade cooperation and security, to ensure we can deliver for the UK's future.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent conflict gold from entering UK supply chains.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The illicit gold trade fuels corruption and conflict, undermining the rule of law and entrenching human rights abuses such as child labour. Russia uses the illicit gold trade to launder money and evade sanctions, in doing so bolstering Putin's war efforts. The UK has sanctioned Russian gold and targeted illicit gold networks abroad, including through further sanctions in December 2024. The UK works with the London Bullion Market Association and World Gold Council to support responsible sourcing of gold and to build resilience to illicit gold flows. The London Bullion Market Association implements the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) industry-leading Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas to ensure proper risk identification and mitigation for conflict gold.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to hold discussions with the (a) Fairtrade Foundation and (b) other stakeholders on the fair treatment of workers around the world.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to working closely with international labour organisations, including the Fairtrade Foundation, to advance free and fair trade around the world that is inclusive, sustainable and reduces poverty.
Lord Collins' priority of championing equal rights for all extends to workers globally and is reflected in our work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to promote more and better jobs for workers globally, including raising workers' rights issues, and promoting equal pay for equal work for women. The Government acts globally to prevent forced labour in supply chains, including, for example, by supporting reform of labour migration policies in South East Asia to ensure fair treatment of migrant workers.
Many female dominated sectors include precarious, informal and isolated work. The UK is pressing for better representation and leadership within union movements, including for paid care workers. The UK's new Trade Centre of Expertise will build the capacity of producers, businesses and governments in developing countries to participate in and prosper from global trade.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of surveillance measures in (a) detecting and (b) controlling outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) leads Government action on animal disease control and carries out routine surveillance of disease risks in the UK and globally, to help the Government anticipate future threats to animal health. Defra continue to closely monitor the global avian influenza situation as part of this work and any changes to our approach to prevention and control of avian influenza will be based on the latest available veterinary advice and scientific evidence. All bird keepers should continue to observe the high standards of biosecurity that can help prevent the incursion and spread of disease.
Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control. Our approach to surveillance and control is assessed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as part of our application for HPAI disease freedom, which remains Defra’s objective to achieve at the earliest opportunity. Defra’s approach to avian influenza disease control are proportionate and in line with EU (in relation to trade requirements) and national law. Our aim is to limit the spread and the economic impact of this disease on the industry.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) consult and (b) inform businesses importing fruit from non-EU countries of changes to (i) inspection regimes and (ii) risk categorisation; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on ensuring that policy changes do not result in (A) unanticipated costs and (B) supply disruptions for importers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Changes to plant health import controls are communicated in-line with relevant international obligations, including those under the WTO-SPS agreement and International Plant Protection Convention. This includes submitting a notification to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the UK Chief Plant Health Officer writing to their counterparts in other countries. Details are also published on the UK Plant Health Portal.
Consultation with stakeholders on proposed, and up-coming changes to import controls is primarily through the UK plant health advisory forum.
In line with the WTO-SPS agreement DEFRA ensures that any changes to import controls have a proportionate lead in time to allow trade and trading partners sufficient time to prepare.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the coordination of (a) trade and (b) investment policies relating to the People’s Republic of China.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK regularly engages with international partners regarding trade and investment policies, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organisation.
With regards to China specifically, the UK's overall approach is to cooperate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must. During my visit to China in April, I held frank and honest discussions with my counterparts on the opportunities and challenges in the bilateral trade relationship, including improving overall reciprocity in market access, raising UK concerns on level playing field issues and market distorting practices and discussing economic security issues.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 34130 on Fossil Fuels, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the World Trade Organisation definition of fossil fuel subsidies; and if she will make it her policy to use this definition.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK follows the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) definition of a fossil fuel subsidy. The IEA defines a fossil fuel subsidy as government action that lowers the effective cost for fossil fuels paid by consumers to below world market prices.
There are other internationally used definitions for fossil fuel subsidies, including the World Trade Organization definition, which include measures that do not reduce consumer prices below world market levels. However, such definitions classify measures as support without reference to the purpose for which they were first put in place or their economic or environmental effects.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to increase funding to the World Trade Organisation.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK’s funding to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is, as for all members, determined by the WTO itself, as agreed to by the UK under the conditions of membership in Article VII of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO, which entered into force on 1 January 1995. The membership fees are calculated by use of an established formula based on each Member’s share of international trade (based on trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights for the last five years for which data is available).
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate the response to the threat of H5N1 and H5N5 transmission to companion animals, cattle, domestic poultry, wild birds and humans.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery as set out in the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England, Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain and the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. This includes working closely to share information and manage incidents with the Department for Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency and the Food Standards Agency.
In addition, international collaboration and knowledge exchange on the threat of avian influenza from across Government is coordinated by Defra and facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and representatives from Defra policy teams and APHA’s avian influenza national and international reference laboratories, and their global counterparts through the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Quadripartite Organisations and allied projects. Including through the the joint World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Scientific Network on animal influenza OFFLU.