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Written Question
Haiti: Politics and Government
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the political and security situation in Haiti; and what action they are taking with international partners to help stabilise the country and end the violence there.

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

The UK remains committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to the escalating violence in Haiti and supporting the efforts of Caribbean partners to achieve a return to security and stability. The UK government assists Haiti through our financial contributions to UN agencies and the World Bank.

Ensuring the safety and security of people in the neighbouring UK overseas territory of Turks and Caicos Islands is vital and the UK government has increased its support for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to secure their borders. Minister Rutley, as Minister for the Caribbean, attended the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting (CARICOM) in Guyana on 26 February and heard their concerns on the security situation in Haiti.


Written Question
Falkland Islands
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

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 his European Union counterparts on the July 2023 summit declaration between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that referred to the Falklands Islands as Islas Malvinas.

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

We engage in multilateral and bilateral fora, including with the European Union and its Member States, in support of the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. Following publication of the EU - Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit communiqué, the EU publicly clarified their position has not changed. We will, in all fora at which the UK is present, continue to insist on the use of the name that the Islanders recognise and wish to use: the Falkland Islands. This reflects the UK's unequivocal commitment to upholding the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination, including in our discussions with the EU and its Member States.


Written Question
Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the ethnicity pay gap for (1) people of Bangladeshi heritage, (2) people of Pakistani heritage, and (3) people of African Caribbean heritage, for each of the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The most recent data available on UK ethnicity pay gaps is for 2022. The adjusted pay gaps for the most recent 5 years (2018 to 2022) for the Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean ethnic groups are provided below. A positive percentage value for the ethnicity pay gap means that the relevant ethnic group earns less than the white reference group.

Adjusted Ethnicity Pay Gaps

Bangladeshi

Pakistani

Caribbean

2022

UK born 8.3% Non UK born 17.4%

UK born estimate considered unreliable (-2.0%) Non UK born 14.1%

UK born 3.3% Non UK born 4.7%

2021

UK born 18.3% Non UK born 20.4%

UK born 9.5% Non UK born 11.9%

UK born 8.0% Non UK born 10.5%

2020

UK born 3.5% Non UK born 22.6%

UK born 12.1% Non UK born 20.8%

UK born 4.2% Non UK born estimate considered unreliable (3.7%)

2019

UK born 7.0% Non UK born 20.6%

UK born 3.2% Non UK born 16.0%

UK born 6.3% Non UK born 11.9%

2018

UK born 9.7% Non UK born 28.7%

UK born 6.1% Non UK born 14.7%

UK born 7.5% Non UK born 9.4%

Adjusted pay gaps account for a variety of pay determining characteristics such as occupation, age, sex and geographical region. These figures are split into UK and non-UK born as we do not have the overall adjusted pay gap available for these specific ethnic groups. Further data on ethnicity pay gaps is available from the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/ethnicitypaygapsingreatbritain/2012to2022/relateddata.

Closing ethnicity pay gaps requires much wider shifts in society. Our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022, set out 74 bold actions to tackle entrenched ethnic disparities in employment, education, health and criminal justice. This includes our comprehensive guidance for employers on ethnicity pay reporting, published last April, which set out best practice on measuring, analysing and reporting ethnicity pay gaps. We also launched an Inclusion at Work Panel last year aimed at helping employers achieve fairness and inclusion in the workplace.


Written Question
Haiti: Development Aid
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is taking steps to provide additional funding for security in Haiti in the context of recent violence in that country.

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

The UK is committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to the escalating violence in the country, and commends the efforts of Caribbean partners to work towards a return to security and stability. I [Minister Rutley] attended the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting (CARICOM) in Guyana on 26 February and heard their concerns on the security situation in Haiti. The UK Government assists Haiti through our financial contributions to UN agencies and the World Bank. We are increasing support for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to secure their borders in response to worsening violence in neighbouring Haiti.


Written Question
Haiti: Politics and Government
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)

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 Haitian counterparts on the security situation in that country.

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

The UK is committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to the escalating violence in the country, and commends the efforts of Caribbean partners to work towards a return to security and stability. I [Minister Rutley] attended the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting (CARICOM) in Guyana on 26 February and heard their concerns on the security situation in Haiti.

We are also increasing support for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to secure their borders in response to worsening violence in neighbouring Haiti.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories and Caribbean: Digital Technology
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assistance has been provided for the development of digital infrastructure in (a) the British Overseas Territories and (b) Caribbean Commonwealth countries since 2014.

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

Whilst digital infrastructure is a mostly devolved matter, the UK provides significant support to the four Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible Territories. The FCDO-funded capital investment programme in Montserrat recently delivered a sub-sea fibre cable and in St Helena we are supporting improvements in the local telecommunications infrastructure.

The UK has not provided support for digital infrastructure in the Caribbean through our bilateral ODA. However, we continue to support the development of digital infrastructure through our shareholding in multilateral agencies including the World Bank, Inter-American and Caribbean Development Banks.


Written Question
Dominica: Hurricanes and Tornadoes
Tuesday 13th February 2024

Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much of the UK aid pledged to Dominica following Hurricane Maria has been distributed to which projects.

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

The UK provided over £196 million to all the countries impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. For Dominica, this included £7 million in humanitarian relief and a £25 million reconstruction grant through the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. In addition, the UK has committed over £46 million to further strengthen resilience in Dominica, through: the Climate Resilience Execution Agency of Dominica (£3.8 million); retrofitting seven health facilities (£5.5 million); geothermal well drilling (£8.7 million); skills training for disadvantaged youth (£2 million); small business development; technical assistance in disaster preparedness; and £26 million to renovate the Loubiere to Grand Bay Road.


Written Question
Montserrat: Development Aid
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what the cost to the public purse was of Official Development Assistance funding to Montserrat in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

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

Montserrat remains stricken by volcanic eruptions which occurred 29 years ago. Through the FCDO's Budget Support Programme, we provided £23.6 million in Financial Year 2021/2022, £28.8 million in Financial Year 22/23 and are providing £30.32 million in Financial Year 2023/2024 to support critical public services. Through the FCDO funded Capital Investment Programme for Resilient Economic Growth, we are providing £40 million over six years (2019-2025) to rebuild critical infrastructure, including a new hospital. The FCDO are providing £4.5 million through the Improving Essential Equipment for Aided Overseas Territories Programme from 2022-2024. Through FCDO administered CSSF Justice, Governance, and Border Security Programmes, we provide approximately £2 million annually, and we provided £1.86 million during the pandemic through the CSSF Covid-19 programme. We provide approximately £60,000 annually through the International Programme and the FCDO's UK's Caribbean Infrastructure Fund is providing £28.3 million to the Montserrat Port Development Project.


Written Question
Patrol Craft: Costs and Deployment
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where each offshore patrol vessel (a) is deployed and (b) was manufactured; what the purchase cost was of each vessel; and what the annual (i) running and (ii) maintenance costs are of the Overseas Patrol Squadron.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In answer to the hon. Member's questions I can provide the following information:

a) The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are currently deployed as follows:

  • HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne are all in the UK
  • HMS Forth is in the South Atlantic with British Forces South Atlantic Islands
  • HMS Medway is in Gibraltar
  • HMS Trent is in the Caribbean
  • HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are in the Indo-Pacific

b) HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne are Batch 1 vessels, built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Southampton.

HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are Batch 2 vessels, built at BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde.

c) It is not possible to give a purchase cost for individual vessels, however the Contract value for the two Batches were:

  • The contract for the three Batch 1 vessels had a value of £378 million.
  • The contract for the five Batch 2 vessels had a value of £635 million.

i) The annual running costs for all OPVs for Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 was £54.122 million.

ii) The maintenance costs for all OPVs for FY 2022-23 was £51.250 million.


Written Question
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Caribbean and Latin America
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the then Secretary of State's tour of the Caribbean and Latin America in May 2023, whether an assessment was made of the feasibility of travelling by commercial airline.

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

Travelling commercially would not have achieved this trip within the time allocated. Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests. Value for money is taken into account in all travel decisions.