Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many British nationals requested consular assistance in East Timor in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Embassy in Indonesia provides remote consular support to British Nationals in Timor-Leste. Our current case management system does not enable us to isolate all consular assistance cases from within East Timor. British Nationals planning to visit or already in Timor-Leste can visit the FCDO travel advice pages for Timor-Leste and sign up to email alerts.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much and what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance spending has been on green skills in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Recently we have supported green skills development in Mexico, Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia through the Skills for Prosperity programme and released a position paper laying out our position on girls' education and skills development and the role they play in addressing the climate crisis. Green skills is not currently tracked as a specific marker in UK ODA spending.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of global trade shows which her Department has encouraged businesses to attend in each of the last two years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Over the last two financial years (including 2023-24), the Department for Business and Trade has organised international activations for UK export-ready small and medium sized enterprises at over 90 international trade shows listed below.
2022-23 | |
Trade show | Country |
Cannes Lion | France |
Aero India | India |
Arab Health | UAE |
BETT Asia | Malaysia |
Bio Convention - San Diego | USA |
Chemspec Europe | Germany |
DSEI Japan | Japan |
ExpoNaval | Chile |
Fruit Attraction | Spain |
Gulfood (February 2023) | UAE |
IACP | USA |
IDEX | UAE |
Indo Defence | Indonesia |
Indo Pacific | Australia |
Innotrans | Germany |
International Atomic Energy Agency General Conf | Austria |
Intersec | UAE |
Investing in Africa Mining, Indaba | South Africa |
JP Morgan Healthcare conf | USA |
Kidscreen | USA |
Medica | Germany |
Middle East Beauty | France |
Mobile World Congress (MWC) | Spain |
Money 2020 | USA |
International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO | Poland |
Pitti Uomo | Italy |
Posidonia 2022 | Greece |
Sial | France |
Singapore Fintech Week | Singapore |
SMM Hamburg | Germany |
SOFIC | USA |
South By South West (SXSW) | USA |
Web Summit 2022 | Portugal |
2023-24 | |
Trade show | Country |
AAHAR | India |
Agritechnica | Germany |
Anuga | Germany |
Arab Health | UAE |
Asia Pacific Maritime | Singapore |
Australia Space Policy Forum | Australia |
Bengalaru Tech Summit | India |
BETT Asia | Malaysia |
Big 5 Construction | UAE |
BIO International | USA |
Cannes Lions | France |
Chemspec | Germany |
CPHI | Spain |
Defense & Security | Thailand |
DIMDEX | Qatar |
Dubai Airshow | UAE |
DUPHAT | UAE |
FoodEx | Japan |
GCC Beauty World ME | Dubai |
Global Health Expo | Saudi Arabia |
Global Space & Technology Convention | Singapore |
GULFOOD 2024 | UAE |
IACP | USA |
Indo Pacific | Australia |
InFlavour | Saudi Arabia |
Intersec | UAE |
Investing in Africa Mining Indaba | South Africa |
International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) | Poland |
International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) | Turkey |
Intersec | UAE |
Intersec KSA | Saudi Arabia |
JP Morgan Health Tech | USA |
Kidscreen 2024 | USA |
Kormarine | ROK |
Medica | Germany |
METSTRADE | Netherlands |
Middle East Rail | UAE |
Mobile World Congress | Spain |
Money 2020 | USA |
NorShipping | Norway |
Paris Air Show | France |
PCHI (Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients) | China |
Photonics West | USA |
Pitti Uomo | Italy |
Prowein | Germany |
ReBuild Ukraine | Poland |
Seafood Expo | USA |
Singapore Fintech Week | Singapore |
Singapore Maritime Week | Singapore |
SOF Week | USA |
Space Tech Expo | Germany |
SXSW | USA |
Web Summit | Portugal |
Wind Europe | Denmark |
Wind Europe 2024 | Spain |
World Defense Show | Saudi Arabia |
World New Energy Vehicle Congress | China |
World Nuclear Exhibition | Paris |
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps with Cabinet colleagues to provide support to smallholder farmers in developing countries to meet the legal requirement to not contribute to deforestation under the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK plays a leading role in supporting global efforts to protect and restore forest landscapes, driving international action to tackle deforestation and ensure forests are sustainably managed. This effort is underpinned by a commitment of £1.5 billion to international forests between 2021 and 2026.
The Government works with both businesses and smallholder farmers to improve sustainable practices and encourage forest-friendly business. The Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use programme (2015-2024) supports the development of new business models which provide jobs and livelihoods while protecting and restoring forests. The programme is implemented through a set of complementary interventions including Partnerships for Forests (P4F) (£120 million), which provides grant funding and technical assistance to catalyse investment into sustainable agriculture and forest management. To date, P4F has mobilised £1.25 billion in private investment into forests, brought 4.5 million hectares of land under sustainable management and directly benefitted over 250,000 people.
The UK’s Mobilising Finance for Forests programme is working to increase private investment in activities that create value from standing forests and/or incorporate forest protection and restoration into sustainable agricultural commodity production. This programme is complementary to P4F, targeting larger and more mature opportunities that will mobilise investment into sustainable land-use at scale.
The UK also supports companies in their transition to sustainable supply chains. The UK is a co-funder of the Tropical Forest Alliance, a public-private initiative hosted by the World Economic Forum which mobilises over 170 companies, governments and NGOs to tackle commodity-driven deforestation.
We also continue to work with consumer and producer country partners in forums such as the Forest, Agriculture, and Commodity and Trade (FACT) Dialogue, which the UK and Indonesia launched together as co-chairs in 2021. The FACT Dialogue convenes 28 major producers and consumers of internationally traded agricultural commodities to agree principles for collaboration and developed a Roadmap of actions which was launched at COP26, to protect forests and other ecosystems while promoting sustainable trade and development, in a way that respects all countries’ interests.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication of ministerial travel data for April to June 2023, how much of the published £38,555.99 cost of his trip to Japan, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Indonesia from 15 to 22 April was made up of his (a) share of the £561,531.04 cost of the flights for that trip, (b) accommodation and (c) meals and other expenses.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Overall figures of government spend are regularly published as part of transparency releases. These figures could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
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.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which countries do not have a resident UK Defence Attache.
Answered by James Heappey
The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK Defence Attaché (DA) is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility. This ensures that we have coverage across the world’s regions.
Country (NRA) | Location of DA |
Angola | Pretoria – South Africa |
Anguilla | Jamaica - Kingston |
Antigua & Barbua | Jamaica - Kingston |
Armenia | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Azerbaijan | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Bahamas | Jamaica - Kingston |
Barbados | Jamaica - Kingston |
Belarus | Ukraine – Kyiv |
Belize | Jamaica - Kingston |
Benin | Accra - Ghana |
Bermuda | USA – Washington DC |
Bolivia | UK – London |
Botswana | Harare - Zimbabwe |
British Virgin Islands | Jamaica - Kingston |
Burkina Faso | Ghana - Accra |
Burundi | Uganda – Kampala |
Cambodia | Singapore |
Cape Verde Islands | UK-London |
Cayman Islands | Jamaica – Kingston |
Congo | UK - London |
Cuba | Mexico – Mexico City |
Djibouti | Ethiopia – Addis Ababa |
Dominica Dominican Republic | Jamaica - Kingston |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kampala - Uganda |
Eritrea | Sana’a - Yemen |
Ecuador | Bogota - Colombia |
Gabon | London |
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 |
Lesotho | South Africa - Pretoria |
Liberia | Sierra Leone - Freetown |
Libya | Libya - Tripoli |
Malawi | Zimbabwe – Harare |
Malta | Rome |
Mauritania | Morocco – Rabat |
Monaco | France – Paris |
Mongolia | Japan – Tokyo |
Montenegro | Tirana – Albania |
Myanmar | Singapore (BDS SEA) |
Montserrat | Jamaica - Kingston |
Mozambique | South Africa – Pretoria |
Panama City | Puerto Rico |
Namibia | South Africa – Pretoria |
Niger | Mali - Bamako |
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 |
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 | Jamaica - Kingston |
Uruguay | Argentina - Buenos Aires |
Vanuatu | Fiji – Suva |
Venezuela | Bogota - Colombia |
Zambia | Zimbabwe - Harare |
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of police violence against indigenous land rights activists in the Central Kalimantan region, Indonesia; and what representations they have made to the government of Indonesia about these reports.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the alleged torture and killing of young people in West Papua by the Indonesian military; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly monitor the ongoing tensions in the Papua region and are aware of recent reports of violent incidents in Papua. FCDO officials maintain dialogue on a broad range of issues with the Indonesian Embassy in London, including on Papua. British Embassy Jakarta staff visited Papua in March 2022 and met officials, police, local businesses, human rights defenders, environmentalists, and religious leaders.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Indonesian counterpart on the alleged killing of West Papuan civilians by the Indonesian military in August and September 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly monitor the ongoing tensions in the Papua region and are aware of recent reports of violent incidents in Papua. FCDO officials maintain dialogue on a broad range of issues with the Indonesian Embassy in London, including on Papua.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether statutory provisions are in place to prohibit legal deforestation where commodities have been produced legally in the country of origin but have caused significant damage to the environment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The UK plays a leading role in supporting global efforts to protect and restore forest landscapes, driving international action to tackle deforestation and ensure forests are sustainably managed. This effort is underpinned by a commitment of £1.5 billion to international forests between 2021 and 2026.
This package of work includes new due diligence legislation through the Environment Act 2021 to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. Our law will make it illegal for larger businesses operating in the UK to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used. Businesses in scope will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains, and to report on this exercise annually.
We cannot shift to sustainable supply chains alone – it must be a collective effort between consumers and producers globally. This issue is central to the UK’s commitment to tackling the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Our approach to due diligence is based on compliance with the relevant local laws of producer countries. Our aim is to work with producer countries and support their efforts to uphold their laws and strengthen environmental protection. We believe this approach – which supports the efforts of government in the countries where these products are grown - provides the best path to long-term sustainability.
We also continue to work with consumer and producer country partners in forums such as the Forest, Agriculture, and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, which the UK and Indonesia launched together as co-chairs in 2021. The FACT Dialogue convenes 28 major producers and consumers of internationally traded agricultural commodities to agree principles for collaboration and developed a Roadmap of actions which was launched at COP26, to protect forests and other ecosystems while promoting sustainable trade and development, in a way that respects all countries’ interests.