Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what (a) diplomatic and (b) cultural steps his Department plans to take with the Secretary of State for Defence to support the planned Carrier Strike Group deployment to the Asia Pacific in 2025.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Carrier Strike Group deployment in 2025 will reinforce the UK's commitment to upholding international security, including in the Indo-Pacific, and will strengthen our broad-based partnerships across the region. The FCDO will be closely involved in planning for the deployment, as it develops, as part of an established Cross Government process.
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, what assessment he has made of political instability in Vietnam.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We closely monitor political developments in Vietnam, including the recent resignation of President Vo Van Thuong. The UK continues to work with Vietnam and other partners across the Indo-Pacific on long-term strategic priorities such as energy transition and adaptation to climate change, maritime security in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, illegal immigration, deepening trade, technology and investment co-operation, and on education and research partnerships.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterparts on access to pensions held by the Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong for people with British National (Overseas) status.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the British Nationals (Overseas) Visa (BN(O)) route are having difficulties in accessing their pensions held in the Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF).
We continue to urge the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently. The Minister for Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, raised this issue with the Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury on 18 April 2023 and pressed for a pragmatic solution. The Investment Minister, Lord Johnson, raised the matter with Hong Kong's Commercial Secretary, during his visit to Hong Kong in May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 February (HL2065), whether it remains their position that no British nationals have been named co-conspirators by the prosecution in Jimmy Lai’s National Security Law trial in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The prosecution in Mr Lai's politically motivated trial has sought to highlight Mr Lai's relationships with foreign nationals; including British nationals. As we have made clear the naming of any British national in this trial is unacceptable. None are named as co-conspirators on Mr Lai's charge sheet. In the prosecution's opening statement British nationals Mr Luke de Pulford and Mr Bill Browder have been referenced as individuals Mr Lai "conspired with" amongst others. In the same statement, Mr Benedict Rogers and Mr de Pulford have been referenced as individuals Mr Lai "collaborated with, gave instructions to and/or relayed or received information among a network of persons acting as agents and/or intermediaries in particular for the purposes of requesting sanctions, etc". The judges in the trial have not yet ruled on the prosecution's claims. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific has met with several of the individuals and we have made clear our concerns to the Chinese authorities.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy ships have been deployed to the Gulf region in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Heappey
The Royal Navy has a long-standing maritime presence in the Gulf region, focussed on promoting peace and stability, as well as ensuring the safe flow of global trade. The Gulf region includes the Red Sea, The Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf.
The table below provides a breakdown of each time an RN ship entered the Gulf region. This demonstrates a changed Royal Navy operating model. Episodic deployments have been incrementally replaced by permanently deployed vessels and long deployments. For example, a Type 23 frigate has been permanently deployed to the region since 2019. The vessel has two crews, providing a more efficient and higher level of operational availability.
Fluctuations in the data reflect periodic surges when multiple RN units deployed to the region. For example, the Carrier Strike Group deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2021 increased the numbers of vessels in the region.
Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Number of Ships | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 6 |
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the attempt by prosecutors in Hong Kong to label foreign nationals as “co-conspirators” in the trial of Jimmy Lai; what significance they attach to the designation “co-conspirator”; and what representations they have made to the authorities in Hong Kong and China regarding the “co-conspirator” designation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister for the Indo-Pacific said on 23 January, it is unacceptable that British nationals have been named by the prosecution in Jimmy Lai's national security trial in Hong Kong. None are named as co-conspirators on Mr Lai's charge sheet. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific has met with several of the individuals and we have made clear our concerns to the Chinese authorities. We will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK. The National Security Law has no authority in the UK and we have no active extradition agreement with Hong Kong or China.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with Pacific island states on climate change adaptation.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the frontline of climate change and Pacific Island leaders have made it clear that building climate resilience is their priority. UK support for climate adaptation sits at the heart of HMG ministerial engagement with Pacific Island counterparts. At COP28 we co-hosted the Third Climate Development Ministerial with Vanuatu. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific discussed climate change with a range of ministers at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in November 2023 and the former Foreign Secretary discussed it with the leaders and ministers he met during his visit to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in April 2023.
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:
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:
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.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken to increase the presence of strategic naval assets in the Indo-Pacific region.
Answered by James Heappey
Following the 2021 Integrated Review, the Ministry of Defence deployed two offshore patrol vessels, HMS TAMAR and HMS SPEY to the Indo-Pacific - the first permanent deployment for over 25 years. These ships conduct an extensive range of operational and engagement activity, strengthening our relationships with allies and partners. The HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH Carrier Strike Group deployed to the Indo-Pacific in 2021 and we are preparing for the next Carrier Strike Group deployment to the region. Defence intends to deploy Littoral Response Group (South), an agile and scalable amphibious capability, to the Indo-Pacific region later this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in their capacity as penholder for Myanmar at the UN Security Council, to help find solutions to the Rohingya refugee crisis, and particularly to create the conditions necessary for safe, dignified, and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to use our UN Security Council (UNSC) penholder role to maintain a spotlight on Myanmar, including the Rohingya. In December 2022, the UNSC passed a landmark resolution on Myanmar, led by the UK, which stressed the need to address the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine State and create the conditions for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingya refugees. In December, at the Global Refugee Forum, the Minister for the Indo-Pacific reiterated this commitment. We will continue to use our platform in multilateral fora to reiterate UK support for sustainable solutions to improve the conditions in Myanmar's Rakhine State.