Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support international partners with ceasefire discussions on Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I have stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in our conversations with Israeli, Arab and regional leaders. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this message during visits to the region on 14-15 July and 31 July - 1 August and during his recent joint visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories with his French counterpart on 16 August. The Prime Minister has also joined international leaders in this call.
There has been a renewed push for a diplomatic solution and the Foreign Secretary has joined statements by the G7, and with the United States, France, Germany, and Italy, reinforcing the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the discussions to bring it about. Such a deal is absolutely critical. The UK welcomes the tireless mediation efforts of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States, towards an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2024 to Question 7549 on Hamas: Audio Equipment, what steps his Department is taking to help support Israel to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is doing all it can to reach a long-term solution to this crisis by calling for the immediate release of all hostages, the removal of Hamas' capacity to launch attacks against Israel, Hamas no-longer being in charge of Gaza, the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza accompanied by an international support package, and a political horizon to a two-state solution.
The Prime Minister has spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu several times, most recently on 30 April. The Foreign Secretary spoke with Foreign Minister Katz on 13 May. He also visited Israel with German Foreign Minister Baerbock on 17 April, met G7 partners in Italy immediately afterwards, and has spoken with leaders and counterparts in the OPTs, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran in recent weeks.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of cocaine that arrived in the UK in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024 to date, as a result of Balkan drug gangs and their criminal networks; and what steps they are taking, together with European partners, to (a) end the illegal activities associated with Balkan drug dealers, and (b) disrupt the supply of cocaine across Europe.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Illegal drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government is committed to tackling these harms, including drug-related gang activity.
a) Reducing the threat posed by transnational Western Balkans organised crime groups (WBOCGs) is a government priority. We intensified the cooperation with our international partners to maximise the impact of our interventions WBOCGs wherever they are. Our engagements have already resulted in strategic partnerships with countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Albania. In addition, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has well established relationships with law enforcement partners across Europe, as well as with Europol and Interpol, which include regular exchanges on organised crime with links to the Western Balkans. We are also seeking to improve criminal records sharing arrangements and law enforcement cooperation between the UK and the Western Balkan countries.
b) Our ten-year Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, sets out a whole system approach to combat illicit drugs. As part of this the Home Office has committed £300m of dedicated investment over three years (April 2022 – March 2025) to tackle every phase of the drug supply chain and make it considerably harder for criminal gangs to operate. With this funding we are supporting intelligence-led approaches to interdict and seize drugs as they cross the UK border and prevent criminal groups from bringing drugs to our streets. Across the whole of the UK, the NCA, Border Force, and local police are working in partnership, using intelligence and technology to secure our borders against drug trafficking. We are also funding upstream activity to tackle overseas drug supply, which is aimed at disrupting the criminal networks seeking to traffic illegal drugs to the UK. This includes building close enforcement partnerships with law enforcement agencies in mainland Europe.
The NCA has estimated that the UK consumes 117 tonnes of cocaine each year. We do not hold data on the amount of cocaine arriving in the UK as a result of Balkan OCGs. In the financial year ending 2023, police and Border Force seized 18.58 tonnes of powder cocaine, the second largest quantity of the substance since records began.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider adopting a similar approach to visa and passport arrangements with Italy and Germany as they have with France.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023, as part of an overall agreement on migration reached with France, the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France. This agreement is specific to France.
We would consider negotiating similar arrangements with other countries if they approached us in the same context.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on the development of the Global Combat Air Program with Japan and Italy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2024 to Question 23110 to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Ms Eagle).
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that trade relations with EU member states are not disrupted as a result of new import controls.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government has undertaken extensive engagement with EU Member States to reduce any risk of disruption to trade as a result of the new requirements. This included Ministerial engagement in the joint UK / EU Domestic Advisory Group session at the start of January 2024, enabling EU trade associations to engage directly on their outstanding queries ahead of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) implementation.
We continue with official level engagement with trading partners across the EU, including official visits to Belgium (by myself), the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany in 2023 and 2024. The Chief Veterinary Officer has also engaged with counterparts across the EU in order to resolve issues such as ensuring availability of translated Export Health Certificates.
Prior to the second BTOM milestone of 30 April 2024, officials worked with EU-based businesses to conduct robust operational testing. We have and will continue to work with the European Commission, individual EU Member States and trade bodies through established fora, webinars, business-to-government and commodity-specific sessions. We are always keen to seek feedback to address any concerns.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the Anglo-French Future Cruise-Anti-Ship Weapon programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Future Cruise / Anti-Ship weapon programme is in the third year of the assessment phase and joint Anglo-France work is designing novel technological advances in missile capability. Significant progress has been made on suitable candidate weapon systems to fulfil the Naval and Air requirements. At this stage of the programme, work is focused on reducing technical and schedule risk, prior to the potential Demonstration and Manufacturing phases, and preparations are underway to prepare towards Full Business Case. Additionally, progress is also being made to explore bringing Italy on board as a partner nation, with a Letter of Intent signed in June 2023.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the G7 Summit which will be held in Borgo Egnazia from 13 to 15 June.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The G7 is a critical forum for the UK to engage like-minded partners on complex global challenges and for delivering on the interests of the British people on the global stage.
At the 2024 G7 Leaders Summit, The Prime Minister will be focused on strengthening our collective security, including by maintaining unwavering G7 resolve to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion, and aligning responses to ongoing geopolitical challenges, including in the Middle East. We will also look to work closely with the G7 to strengthen our economic security.
The UK will also ensure that the G7 can play its part in ensuring an effective response to the defining global challenges, including migration, climate change, development and the risks posed by emerging critical technologies such as frontier Artificial Intelligence.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Johnson of Lainston on 16 April (HL3357), how they reconcile the data mentioned in the Answer with the independent analysis from Goldman Sachs which concluded that the UK's economy is 5 per cent smaller than it would have been if the UK had remained in the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
Since the referendum, the UK has grown faster than Germany, Italy, and Japan (Q2 2016 – Q4 2023). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that between 2024-2029 the UK will see the third fastest growth in the G7. The UK’s relative productivity performance versus the G7 has remained around the average for the rest of the G7, from 2010 to 2022; ahead of Canada, Italy and Japan.
The Department for Business and Trade is focussed on delivering the opportunities through: new trade deals, removing market access barriers, and maximising regulatory freedoms to strengthen the UK economy.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the Future Combat Air System programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
When I last provided an update to the House in December 2023, the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) Treaty had been signed in Tokyo with our international partners Japan and Italy. This laid the ground for the legal entity of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO). The Treaty has since been laid before UK Parliament, as part of its formal ratification process.