Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has (a) made an assessment of the adequacy of resources available to the BBC World Service in advance of the next Spending Review and (b) had recent discussions with the BBC on the potential impact of its resourcing decisions on the UK's soft power.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The World Service is two-thirds funded by the Licence Fee, with the remainder provided by government. The FCDO is providing £283 million to the World Service over the current Spending Review (SR) period, plus an exceptional uplift of £20 million as part of the Integrated Review Refresh (2023). Government funding for the World Service after 2024-25 will be determined as part of the next SR. The BBC is operationally independent and therefore responsible for setting its own budgets.
The FCDO engages regularly with the BBC at all levels. The Foreign Secretary meets the BBC Chair annually to discuss World Service performance and progress towards targets. [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-02-01/HLWS232]
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of gold purchased by the Chinese government on the risk of a conflict in Taiwan.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not comment on speculation. More generally, our position on the Taiwan Strait has not changed - the UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion. We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking with international partners to maintain global focus on the Sudan (a) conflict and (b) humanitarian crisis.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I visited Chad in March. I met with the President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister to discuss the impact the conflict in Sudan is having on the country and to press Chad to support regional and international efforts to bring about a permanent ceasefire through political dialogue. I also met some of the over 700,000 refugees who have fled Sudan, reaffirmed the UK's commitment to the people of Sudan and announced a near-doubling of UK ODA to Sudan (£89 million). On 15 April, Lord Benyon represented the UK at the Paris Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Sudan. The Conference called upon the warring parties to stop fighting and meaningfully engage in a peace process. On the same day, the Foreign Secretary tweeted calling for a ceasefire. On 8 March, the UN Security Council adopted a UK-drafted Resolution calling for immediate ceasefire.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the humanitarian situation in Gaza on the delivery of maternity care.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is closely monitoring the situation in Gaza and collects information from multiple sources, including on the status of healthcare provision. We are also in regular contact with humanitarian partners who operate in Gaza.
The UK is doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. We trebled our aid commitment during the last financial year, including £4.25 million to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, to provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls in Gaza. This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits and 45,000 clean delivery kits.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will have discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the (a) effectiveness of command and control within the Israeli Defence Forces and (b) reports that a senior commander who was dismissed in connection with the strike that killed international aid workers in Gaza had expressed personal views on aid to Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary visited Israel on 17 April and held high-level talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Herzog and Foreign Minister Katz. He reiterated the need for an immediate pause in the fighting in Gaza to get aid in and hostages out.
The UK is pushing as hard as we can to get aid to Palestinian civilians. Israel must fulfil its commitments to enable a flood of aid, including by guaranteeing deconfliction for aid workers.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Amnesty International’s annual report, published 23 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We note Amnesty International's annual report, published last month.
The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights both internationally and domestically. We will continue to show global leadership in encouraging all states to uphold international human rights obligations and hold those who violate human rights to account. We report on the UK's work around the world to promote and protect human rights in the Annual Human Rights & Democracy Report, due to be published this summer.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the importance of upholding international law.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have consistently called on all parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and ensure the protection of civilians. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this during his visit to Israel on 17 April.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to support people who have lasting power of attorney for an individual who has been assessed as lacking mental capacity with accessing funds held outside the UK; and if he will take steps to ratify the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There are existing ways in which a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) made in England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 can be accepted abroad for the purpose of accessing funds. A certified copy of the LPA, signed off by a notary public with an apostille (a special sealed certificate) attached by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides one method. Alternatively, a translation of the LPA can be formally recognised by the appropriate court of the country in which funds are held.
Although the UK has ratified the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults in respect of Scotland, we have not yet done so in relation to England and Wales or Northern Ireland. However, in respect of England and Wales, the majority of its provisions are contained in Schedule 3 of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Schedule 3 provides a framework for recognition and enforcement of ‘protective measures’ such as LPAs in the place of an individual’s habitual residence.
We recognise the importance of ratifying the 2000 Hague Convention, as this will bring about international co‐operation to deal with the affairs of individuals across member states. We will progress this work when legislative time allows.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on reports of the alleged use of using phosphorous munitions in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. We continue to call on all parties to ensure the protection of civilians.
The situation in Gaza is desperate and we are continuing to support a deal which would secure a pause in the fighting.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the welfare of Thailand embassy staff in the context of the conflict on the Thailand/Myanmar border.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety and welfare of embassy staff and British nationals in Thailand is our top priority, and the Ambassador has confirmed that all embassy staff are safe and well.