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Written Question
Russia: Sanctions
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with international partners on strengthening multilateral approaches to prevent the circumvention of sanctions against Russia through third countries.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK coordinates closely with the EU, US, G7 and other international partners to tackle circumvention via multilateral fora and strategic consultations. Senior officials attend the Sanctions Coordinators Forum in Brussels, most recently in February 2024 focusing on strengthening enforcement of Russia sanctions. With the EU, US and Japan we have agreed a list of 50 Common High Priority items; battlefield-critical components we are targeting through joint diplomatic engagement with third countries. With the US and EU we have jointly engaged with the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia, to highlight circumvention risks and offer technical support.


Written Question
South Georgia: Avian Influenza
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the spread of avian influenza in South Georgia; and whether his Department is taking steps to implement biosecurity measures to help prevent the further spread of avian influenza.

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

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in gentoo and king penguins, brown skua, kelp gul, wandering albatross, elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals on South Georgia. The effects appear to be localised. The FCDO is working to support the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), alongside the British Antarctic Survey, to put in place strict biosecurity procedures and mitigation measures, including enhanced cleaning of clothing and equipment, and to monitor for further spread.


Written Question
Military Attachés
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.

Answered by James Heappey

The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.

Country (NRA)

Location of DA

Angola

Mozambique - Maputo

Anguilla (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Antigua & Barbuda

Jamaica - Kingston

Armenia

Georgia – Tbilisi

Azerbaijan

Georgia – Tbilisi

Bahamas

Jamaica - Kingston

Barbados

Jamaica - Kingston

Belarus

Ukraine – Kyiv

Belize

Jamaica - Kingston

Benin

Accra - Ghana

Bermuda (British overseas territory)

USA – Washington DC

Botswana

Harare - Zimbabwe

British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Burkina Faso

Ghana - Accra

Burundi

Uganda – Kampala

Cambodia

(In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica – Kingston

Chad

Cameroon - Yaoundé

Cuba

Mexico – Mexico City

Djibouti

Ethiopia – Addis Ababa

Dominica

Jamaica - Kingston

Dominican Republic

Jamaica - Kingston

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kampala - Uganda

Eritrea

Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh)

Ecuador

Bogota - Colombia

Grenada

Jamaica - Kingston

Guinea

Sierra Leone – Freetown

Guyana

Jamaica - Kingston

Guatemala

Mexico – Mexico City

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal - Dakar

Haiti

Jamaica - Kingston

Hungary

Croatia - Zagreb

Iceland

Norway - Oslo

Ivory Coast

Ghana – Accra

Khartoum

Egypt - Cairo

Kosovo

Macedonia - Skopje

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Laos

(in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Lesotho

South Africa - Pretoria

Liberia

Sierra Leone - Freetown

Luxembourg

Belgium - Brussels

Malawi

Zimbabwe – Harare

Mali

Senegal - Dakar

Malta

Rome - Italy

Mauritania

Morocco – Rabat

Monaco

France – Paris

Mongolia

Japan – Tokyo

Myanmar

Thailand - Bangkok

Montserrat (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Namibia

South Africa – Pretoria

Niger

Cameroon – Yaoundé

Papua New Guinea

Australia – Canberra

Paraguay

Argentina – Buenos Aires

Peru

Colombia - Bogota

Rwanda

Uganda – Kampala

Seychelles

Kenya - Nairobi

St Kitts & Nevis

Jamaica - Kingston

St Lucia

Jamaica - Kingston

St Vincent

Jamaica - Kingston

Slovakia

Czech Rep - Prague

Slovenia

Austria – Vienna

South Sudan

Addis Ababa – Ethiopia

Switzerland

Vienna - Austria

Syria

Lebanon - Beirut

Tajikistan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Tanzania

Kenya – Nairobi

The Gambia

Senegal - Dakar

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Indonesia - Jakarta

Togo

Ghana – Accra

Tonga

Fiji – Suva

Trinidad & Tobago

Jamaica - Kingston

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Turks & Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Uruguay

Argentina - Buenos Aires

Vanuatu

Fiji – Suva

Venezuela

Bogota - Colombia

Zambia

Zimbabwe - Harare

Supported by MOD from in the UK

Cape Verdi Islands

Congo

Gabon

Panama

Puerto Rica


Written Question
Russia: Exports
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to prevent businesses from evading sanctions by exporting goods to Russia via third countries.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Working closely with G7 partners, we have stepped up our engagement with third countries to support them to tackle circumvention of UK sanctions. We have sent joint delegations to UAE, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Armenia, to highlight risks and offer technical support to government and business.

The UK Government supports businesses domestically to tackle sanctions evasion, including by publishing guidance for exporters and by publishing the "Common High Priority Items List" of goods critical to Russia's military. HMG is also standing up the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, which will boost the enforcement and implementation of UK trade sanctions.


Written Question
Darwin Initiative: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands since 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 21 environmental projects of benefit to South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. These are listed in the table below.

Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.

Project reference

Project title

UK Overseas Territories involved

DPLUS146

Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity

British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS166

Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery

British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS092

Seabird sentinels: mapping potential bycatch risk using bird-borne radar

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS175

Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs

Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands

DPLUS174

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation

Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS089

Integrating genetic approaches into sub-Antarctic deep sea research and management

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS093

HOT: Hadal zones of our Overseas Territories

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS109

Initiating monitoring support for the SGSSI-MPA Research and Monitoring Plan

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS120

Spatial segregation and bycatch risk of seabirds at South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS122

Biodiversity discovery and the future of South Georgia’s seaweed habitats

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS143

What goes thump at night: managing bird-strike in South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS144

Protecting South Georgia’s terrestrial communities from climate change-invasion synergies

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS149

Resolving ecosystem effects of the South Georgia winter krill fishery

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS179

Characterising pelagic biodiversity at South Georgia through novel sampling methods

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS186

Evidence-based conservation of biodiversity in the South Sandwich Islands

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS187

Using satellite technology to monitor seabird populations at South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS188

Hungry humpbacks: measuring seasonal foraging intensity at South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS189

Evaluating climate change risks to Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPL00019

Mapping South Georgia's Plant Biodiversity

South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI)

DPL00039

Assessing Terrestrial Climate Change Impacts on a sub-Antarctic Archipelago

South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI)

DPLUS132

Monitoring albatrosses using very high resolution satellites and citizen science

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands


Written Question
Darwin Initiative: Antarctic
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in Antartica since 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 22 environmental projects of benefit to the Falkland Islands. These are listed in the table below.

Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.

Project reference

Project title

UK Overseas Territories involved

DPLUS146

Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity

British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS110

Recognise, protect, restore: driving sound stewardship of Falklands peat wetlands

Falkland Islands

DPLUS115

Unlocking Falkland Islands Marine Management: Key Biodiversity Areas for seabirds

Falkland Islands

DPLUS116

Falklands wetlands and aquatic habitats: baselines for monitoring future change

Falkland Islands

DPLUS126

Advancing Falklands and region-scale management of globally important whale populations

Falkland Islands

DPLUS139

Improving Falklands marine management effectiveness for marine higher predators

Falkland Islands

DPLUS148

Climate change resilience in Falkland Islands fisheries and marine ecosystems

Falkland Islands

DPLUS167

Pathogens as a threat to seabirds in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

DPLUS168

Understanding increased FI seal bycatch to inform bycatch Action Plan

Falkland Islands

DPLUS169

New Island: completing preparatory steps for restoration against invasive mammals

Falkland Islands

DPLUS182

Habitat restoration and species re-introductions on four Falklands island reserves

Falkland Islands

DPL00047

Increasing environmental monitoring capacity on FI: a Thermal Imaging UAV

Falkland Islands

DPL00058

Fire Contingency Planning for Offshore Islands

Falkland Islands

CV19RR02

Establishing wildlife health and disease monitoring in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

DPL00002

Restoring native tussac grassland habitat

Falkland Islands

DPL00006

Restoring peat soils and tussac grass habitat in the Falklands

Falkland Islands

DPL00020

Data driven solutions to land management and climate change adaptation

Falkland Islands

DPL00025

Building farm biodiversity planning and monitoring capacity for sustainable management

Falkland Islands

DPLUS092

Seabird sentinels: mapping potential bycatch risk using bird-borne radar

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS094

Developing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) tools for Turks and Caicos

Falkland Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

DPLUS175

Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs

Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands

DPLUS174

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation

Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands


Written Question
Darwin Initiative: Falkland Islands
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in the Falkland Islands since 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 6 environmental projects of benefit to the British Antarctic Territory. These are listed in the table below.

Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.

Project reference

Project title

UK Overseas Territories involved

DPLUS185

Safeguarding Antarctic krill stocks for baleen whales

British Antarctic Territory

DPL00008

Biodiversity Survey and Environmental Management Plan in Antarctica

British Antarctic Territory (BAT)

DPLUS146

Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity

British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS166

Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery

British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS175

Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs

Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands

DPLUS174

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation

Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands


Written Question
Darwin Initiative
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been provided by Darwin Plus by country in each of the last five years.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Darwin Plus is a competitive UK Government grants scheme that provides funding for environmental projects in the UK Overseas Territories. Since 2019, UK government spending on Darwin Plus has increased year on year to a record high of £6.85m in 22/23, reflecting the rising breadth and quality of applications to our schemes. Projects are selected on their merit at application supported by the advice of independent experts currently sat on the Darwin Plus Advisory Group. Darwin Plus funding per territory over the last five years can be found below:

Overseas Territory

Grant Funding from 2019 - 2024

Anguilla

£2,702,538.47

Bermuda

£562,703.60

British Antarctic Territory

£935,916.75

British Indian Ocean Territory

£1,233,527.92

British Virgin Islands

£3,660,593.29

Cayman Islands

£2,871,387.06

Falkland Islands

£3,137,812.11

Gibraltar

£169,956.10

Montserrat

£2,071,315.89

Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands

£423,105.00

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha

£5,918,668.62

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

£4,412,383.75

Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia

£1,176,523.50

Turks and Caicos Islands

£3,462,690.14


Written Question
Cybersecurity
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to reports that spending on overseas cyber security programmes doubled last year, what assessment they have made of the impact of that increased spending on the cyber safety of (1) citizens, and (2) businesses.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Programming on cyber security plays an important role in protecting commercial opportunities and sustaining UK competitiveness in a key growth sector as well as helping organisations and citizens better manage cyber risks. The Financial Year 2022/23 Annual Report on the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund highlighted increased spending and the transfer of a wide range of skills overseas to support UK cyber security objectives. This included public awareness campaigns and training with national Computer Security Incident Response Teams, ensuring critical assets overseas are better protected from cyber-attacks. As a result, UK Government-funded projects have led to the arrest of cyber criminals across Africa, improved threat intelligence sharing in the Indo Pacific, and supported the implementation of a new national Cyber strategy in Georgia.


Written Question
Asylum: LGBT+ People
Thursday 25th January 2024

Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the conformity of adding Georgia to the list of Safe States with the duties laid out in section 80AA(4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 on LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

In order to inform ministerial decision making on whether to add India and Georgia to the list of Safe States in section 80AA of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (NIAA 2002), we made an assessment of the general situation in both countries, using evidence from a wide range of reliable sources in order to do so. This was in line with the requirements at section 80AA(3) and 80AA(4) of the NIAA 2002 (as inserted by section 59(3)(3) and 59(3)(4) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023).

Through considering country information and each country’s respect for the rule of law and human rights, we assessed that both countries met the criteria. Further information on the situation for LGBT people in Georgia and India is contained within our published Country Policy and Information Notes, available on Gov.Uk.