Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria to encourage the (1) investigation, and (2) prosecution, of (a) war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity, and (c) other human rights abuses, committed by (i) Boko Haram, (ii) Islamic State West Africa Province, and (iii) Fulani militia.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are appalled by and condemn violence caused by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa, that has caused immense suffering to communities in North East Nigeria. The UK is supporting the fight against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa in the region, through a substantial package of security, humanitarian and stabilisation assistance. We regularly make clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting civilians and human rights for all, as well as ensuring those responsible for criminal acts and human rights abuses are held to account. It is important that all civilians affected by crime or conflict see that justice has been done. We call for suspects to have access to justice and that cases are carried out in accordance with Nigerian law and international human rights standards.
Intercommunal violence across multiple states in Nigeria has a devastating impact on local communities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Wilton Park hosted a conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February, to consider solutions to intercommunal violence in Nigeria. Amongst other things, participants at that conference highlighted the importance of language and cautioned against the use of inflammatory terminology, including 'militia', to describe diverse ethnic groups. We are working closely with the federal government, state governments, international partners and the National Economic Council in Nigeria, to help address the root causes of intercommunal violence, and continue to push for solutions that meet the needs of all communities affected.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Nigerian counterpart on the continued persecution of Christians in the Kaduna region of that country.
Answered by James Duddridge
We condemn all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria, including recently reported attacks in Kaduna State. Officials from the British High Commission in Abuja are in contact with and have visited communities in Kaduna that have experienced violence and conflict. We continue to encourage the Government of Nigeria to take urgent action to protect those at risk of intercommunal violence, to bring perpetrators to justice and to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes and meet the needs of all communities.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Wilton Park hosted a conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February, which brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from Kaduna State. The conference was an opportunity to discuss how government, faith-based and community organisations can build solutions to intercommunal violence in Nigeria. Participants highlighted the importance of countering inaccurate narratives which misrepresent disparate incidents as a homogenous religious conflict. Whilst religion plays a part in many clashes in Nigeria, other underlying causes are also present, including competition over land and resources and livelihoods at risk.
The Prime Minister discussed insecurity in Nigeria with President Buhari at the UK Africa Investment Summit in January. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels, the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all Nigerians.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of continuing violence in Kajuru in southern Kaduna, Nigeria between the beginning of a covid-19 lockdown on 25 March 2020 and the morning of 12 May 2020.
Answered by James Duddridge
We condemn all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria, including recently reported attacks in Kaduna State. Officials from the British High Commission in Abuja are in contact with and have visited communities in Kaduna that have experienced violence and conflict. We continue to encourage the Government of Nigeria to take urgent action to protect those at risk of intercommunal violence, to bring perpetrators to justice and to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes and meet the needs of all communities.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Wilton Park hosted a conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February, which brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from Kaduna State. The conference was an opportunity to discuss how government, faith-based and community organisations can build solutions to intercommunal violence in Nigeria.
The UK Government is supporting local efforts to build solutions to intercommunal violence in Nigeria. As competition over land and resources is leading to violence, our response has included the provision of technical support to the Nigerian Government for the development of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, for which Kaduna State is a pilot state, to promote ranching, an economically viable livestock sector, new jobs and address conflict.
The Prime Minister discussed insecurity in Nigeria with President Buhari at the UK Africa Investment Summit in January. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels, the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all Nigerians.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) reported killing of 60 Christians in villages in Plateau State in Nigeria by Fulani militia, and (2) the humanitarian situation in Nigeria; and what discussions they have had with the government of Nigeria about protecting those at risk and bringing perpetrators of human rights and freedom of religion or belief abuses to justice.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We condemn all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria. We have been unable to verify reports of over 60 recent deaths in multiple incidents in Plateau State. Given religion forms a fundamental part of the identity of most Nigerians, our assessment is that religion inevitably plays a part in many clashes, including some which involve Fulani herdsmen. The British High Commissioner visited Plateau State in December 2019 and met the Governor, Christian and Muslim faith leaders, as well as Fulani communities. All highlighted the complex root cause of violence, including politicisation, ethnic tensions, and disputes over land resources. The FCO and Wilton Park conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February highlighted the importance of countering inaccurate media narratives misrepresenting disparate incidents as a homogenous religious conflict, and also of inflammatory terminology such as 'militia' to describe diverse ethnic groups. Urgent action is needed by the Nigerian Government to protect those at risk, bring perpetrators to justice and implement long-term solutions that address the root causes.
Humanitarian need in Nigeria is greatest in the North East where the decade long conflict with Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa has left 7.9 million people in need of assistance. The UK is the second largest donor to the North East and will be providing lifesaving assistance for up to 1.6 million vulnerable people this year as part of a five year UKAid commitment of up to £400 million. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels, the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all Nigerians.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of The Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 16 July 2019, which found that "religion plays a key part" in targeted violence by Fulani militia against Christian communities in Nigeria; whether they intend to publish a response to that report; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK Government has accepted the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro's report and is working on implementing them. On Nigeria, the report considered intercommunal violence in the Middle Belt and terrorism in the North East. Given religion forms a fundamental part of the identity of most Nigerians, our assessment is that religion inevitably plays a part in incidences of violence affecting all faith communities, including some which involve Fulani herdsmen. As the report highlights, other factors also play a role. As part of HMG's response to issues flagged by the report, the FCO and Wilton Park co-hosted a conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February, exploring the complex causes of conflict and solutions to help ease tensions and reduce violence. Discussion also highlighted the importance of countering inaccurate narratives misrepresenting disparate incidents across multiple states as a homogenous religious conflict, and of inflammatory terminology as 'militia' to describe diverse ethnic groups. A full report from the event will issue this month.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support manufacturing in the North East of England.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The Government recognises the importance of manufacturing to the North East and to the economy. Through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal, we are supporting job growth and economic development with £379.6 million of funding from the Local Growth Fund. This includes £42 million of funding for the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) in Sunderland. Sunderland Council estimates that the IAMP will attract £300 million of private sector investment to help grow local manufacturing sectors.
We are also giving over £600 million to support the High Value Manufacturing Catapult network; their Centre for Process Innovation at Wilton focuses on the commercialisation of innovation, research and development, helping North East manufacturers to develop and adopt cutting edge technology.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department reported their religion as Islam in the latest period for which figures are available; what the reported ethnicity of those staff was; and how many of those staff were employed at each grade.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs around 13,000 staff, around 5,000 of whom are UK-based and 8,000 local staff. The FCO only holds diversity data centrally for UK-based staff. According to March 2019 data from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES), available publicly online, 4.5 per cent of UK-based FCO staff identified as Muslim, excluding Wilton Park and FCO Services staff. This 4.5 per cent figure does not include 'do not wish to declare' responses. According the ACSES survey, the FCO's reporting rate for religion or belief was 65.3 per cent in March 2019, excluding both blank and 'do not wish to declare' responses.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which provider supplies energy to his Department; how much CO2 was emitted through his Department’s energy consumption in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria his Department uses to selecting an energy supplier includes how environmentally friendly the supplier is; and what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce CO2 emissions from its energy use.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) uses theEnergy Suppliers listed below:
| Electricity | Gas | Other |
King Charles Street | EDF | EON | Whitehall District Heating |
Hanslope Park | EDF | N/A | Fuel-Oil – Certas Energy |
Lancaster House | EDF | British Gas &Corona |
|
Carlton Gardens | EDF | Corona |
|
Wilton Park | EDF & British Gas | EDF & Corona | Biomass - woodchip from The Wiston Estate Gas Oil - Pace Fuelcare |
The energy used by the FCO across its UK estate is procured using the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), apart from Fuel Oil at Wilton Park.
We endeavour to use renewable and low carbon heat where feasible, however due to operational reasons other fuel-oils are needed to supplement these.
In 2018/19 the FCO's UK energy consumption accounted for 7357 tCO2e. A focus for the FCO is to reduce the electricity consumption across its estate through a roll-out of energy efficient user IT equipment, moving towards a virtualised data centre environment, as data centre electricity accounts for around 30% of total FCO UK electricity consumption, and more widely looking into the feasibility of renewable and low carbon energy and heat across its estate.
The carbon emissions figure quoted above represents CO2 emitted from energy consumption for the FCO's UK operations, in line with our reporting for the Greening Government Commitments targets and in our annual sustainability report.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals were refused visas to travel to the UK for Wilton Park events in 2018.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
This information requested is not published. Attending meetings, conferences and seminars are all allowed under the Visitor Rules. UKVI has in place engagement teams who can work with event organisers ahead of events to support them through visa processes. Event organisers can approach UKVI directly, we also identify organisers through engagement with other government department and external Stakeholders.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Wilton Park statement on assisting religious minorities in humanitarian crises.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
DFID has reviewed and assessed the Wilton Park Statement on assisting religious minorities in humanitarian crises. Policy Teams will investigate how to incorporate the recommendations into their policy plans. We will continue to regularly challenge our partners to demonstrate that they are doing all they can to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people, including those from religious minorities.