Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which countries (a) requested covid-19 vaccines from the UK and (b) had this request granted and dispatched to them in 2020.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The following countries requested and received United Kingdom donated doses either bilaterally or via COVAX: Afghanistan, Angola, Antiqua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belize, Cambodia, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Mauritius, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Senegal, Somalia, St Lucia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia.
No COVID-19 vaccinations were dispatched prior to 2021.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK defence attaches are stationed in which Indo-Pacific countries.
Answered by James Heappey
The Department has a resident Defence Attaché in the following 18 Indo-Pacific countries:
Australia | Bangladesh | Brunei | China | Fiji |
India | Indonesia | Japan | Malaysia | Nepal |
New Zealand | Pakistan | Philippines | Republic of Korea | Singapore |
Sri Lanka | Thailand | Vietnam |
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Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for November 2021, who attended the events at (a) Plataran and (b) Kaum, on 11 November 2021; and whether either of those events included any expenditure on alcoholic beverages.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
These refer to lunch and dinner events during the official Ministerial visit to Jakarta by the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon. Liz Truss MP, 10 - 12 November 2021. Participants at both included the former Foreign Secretary and delegation, our Ambassador to Indonesia and other British Embassy officials. Expenditure was subject to normal FCDO controls.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his regional counterparts on taking steps to help tackle internal repression in Myanmar.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK regularly raises the situation in Myanmar with regional counterparts, including at Ministerial and Secretary of State level. We continue to support the regional leadership of ASEAN on the crisis in Myanmar, and welcome the announcement of a new ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar. We will work closely with the Envoy, and Indonesia as ASEAN Chair, to support the delivery of the ASEAN Five Point Consensus.
The UK also uses our role as UN Security Council pen-holder to raise awareness on the international stage, and on December 2022, the UN Security Council passed the first ever resolution on the situation in Myanmar, led by the UK, which demands an end to violence and urges immediate action by the military regime to fully implement the ASEAN Five Point Consensus.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Department's publication of ministerial overseas travel data for July to September 2022, what the cost was of the plane tickets for the former Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth’s journeys to and from (a) New Mexico, USA from 20-26 August 2022 and (b) Bali, Indonesia from 27 August to 3 September 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The cost of plane tickets for the former Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth’s journeys to and from (a) New Mexico, USA from 20-26 August 2022 and (b) Bali, Indonesia from 27 August to 3 September are shown in the table below.
| (a) | (b) |
Cost of Plane tickets | £5,618.56 (Fare paid + Tax) | £6,351.46 (Fare paid + Tax) |
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK-based staff from his Department have been deployed to the (a) Embassy and (b) relevant Consulates in Indonesia in each year since 2010.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Number of staff in Embassy and relevant Consulates in Indonesia
| Time Period | Banded Number |
| Mar-14 | 20-29 |
| Mar-15 | 20-29 |
| Mar-16 | 20-29 |
| Mar-17 | 20-29 |
| Mar-18 | 20-29 |
| Mar-19 | 20-29 |
| Mar-20 | 20-29 |
| Mar-21 | 20-29 |
| Mar-22 | 20-29 |
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will set out his Department's forecast of (a) the total FTE and (b) the change in FTE staff deployed in the Indo-Pacific region, broken down by nation for each year in the next five-year period.
Answered by James Heappey
Following the commitments made in the Defence Command Paper in support of the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt, the period since 16 March 2021 has seen an increase in both MOD personnel and MOD assets permanently deployed to the Indo-Pacific region.
This increase in personnel supports the expansion of the UK’s Defence Network, including the establishment of a British Defence Staff for Oceania, in Canberra and Defence Advisor and Attaché posts in Fiji and the Philippines respectively.
Over the same period, the number of assets in the region has also increased. Following the conclusion of the Carrier Strike Group deployment, HMS Spey and Tamar were permanently stationed in the region at the end of 2021.
As of 8 December 22, there are a total of 1,297 Defence Personnel deployed in the Indo Pacific, not including the Global Network.
Country | Number of Personnel |
Pakistan | 10 |
Indonesia | ~5 |
Nepal | 140 |
Brunei | 840 |
BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territory) | 35 |
Australia | 20 |
Japan | 85 |
Singapore | 5 |
New Zealand | 10 |
South Korea | 50 |
Maritime – 2x OPVs on Defence Engagement tasks | 105 |
Total | 1,297[1] |
There is no specific figure forecast to increase the total FTE in the next five-year period. Defence will ensure that increases in personnel are commensurate with our commitments to the region as set out in the Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper.
[1] These figures have been rounded to the nearest 5, in order to reflect the adaptive nature of Defence activity, however, the total figure represents the number of UK Defence Personnel deployed on the 8 December excluding those personnel working in Defence sections or as part of the global network.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 further increase defence, security, and trade partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have recently reaffirmed our long-term commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and ambition to strengthen defence, security and trade. The UK continues to deepen our strong bilateral partnerships across the region such as through the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the UK-Indonesia Partnership Roadmap to 2024 and a Bilateral Framework with Republic of Korea.
As an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, we will deepen our cooperation with ASEAN and have negotiated a joint Plan of Action with ASEAN for the next 5 years.
The UK has secured free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, and has signed free trade deals with Singapore, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and Japan, which sets the standards in removing friction and increasing confidence in digital trade. We also intend to be the first European country to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The UK continues to build long-term defence, industrial and technological partnerships through agreements including AUKUS, with Australia and the USA, and we continue to work on closer collaboration on combat air programmes with Japan.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of Russia's foreign policy commitments in the Asia Pacific region and their impact on (a) British influence and (b) stability in the region.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As part of Russia's engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov recently attended the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and the G20 in Indonesia. Russia's actions in Ukraine challenge the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and break international rules. Together with our partners we remain steadfast in condemning Russia's behaviour. We welcome the number of countries across the Indo-Pacific that voted in the UN to condemn and isolate Russia and will continue to make the argument that Russia is an unreliable and untrustworthy partner.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to support (a) aid agencies, (b) charities and (c) NGOs following the earthquake in West Java.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary contacted Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi following the earthquake on 21 November. The Indonesian Government has not formally requested bilateral assistance. UK officials are in close touch with the Indonesian authorities and aid partners who continue to monitor the situation on the ground in Cianjur, West Java. This includes the Indonesia National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).