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: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the US contribution to the military balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK's priority is the long term continued effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia and Mauritius has made clear publicly that it supports this goal. We continue to work in lockstep with the US to this end and have their full support. The Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary Austin discussed the British Indian Ocean Territory in Washington DC on 1 December 2023.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value of trade was between the UK and (a) Vanuatu, (b) Solomon Islands and (c) Tuvalu in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 22 November is attached.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to make official visits to (a) Papua New Guinea, (b) Solomon Islands and (c) Tuvalu.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no immediate plans for an FCDO Minister to visit the countries listed. The former Foreign Secretary visited Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands in April, where he met with heads of government and made clear the UK's intention to develop partnerships with Pacific Island Countries that deliver on their priorities. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific attended the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in November, and our accredited High Commissioner visited Tuvalu in August. The UK is committed to sustained and long-term engagement with Pacific Island Countries through senior ministerial engagement and our High Commissions in the region.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the position adopted in the Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea-Level Rise, published in August 2021 by the Pacific Islands Forum, including that no state should lose territory of any kind as a result of human-caused climate change.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We acknowledge that sea level rise poses challenges with respect to the stability of maritime boundaries and we recognise that this is a significant concern for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other coastal countries including the UK. We have taken careful note of the Pacific Islands Forum declaration on this topic and are considering it in detail. The UK acknowledges that this is a matter of considerable importance to (SIDS) who are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We continue to work with SIDS to drive global ambition of emissions reductions, and support adaptation and resilience in SIDS including through accessing finance. The UK Government has a number of programmes which will support SIDS and which aim to strengthen resilience against climate change, such as the global £500 million Blue Planet Fund.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to ensure that states currently at risk from sea-level rise will not lose their current territory and other entitlements under international law.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We acknowledge that sea level rise poses challenges with respect to the stability of maritime boundaries and we recognise that this is a significant concern for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other coastal countries including the UK. We have taken careful note of the Pacific Islands Forum declaration on this topic and are considering it in detail. The UK acknowledges that this is a matter of considerable importance to (SIDS) who are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We continue to work with SIDS to drive global ambition of emissions reductions, and support adaptation and resilience in SIDS including through accessing finance. The UK Government has a number of programmes which will support SIDS and which aim to strengthen resilience against climate change, such as the global £500 million Blue Planet Fund.
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: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening scholarships have been awarded to each country for awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Attached is a table indicating numbers from each eligible country. For countries where we offered fewer than five places we withhold the exact number as this would contravene one of the data protection principles. In this case, Sections 40(2) and 40 (3A)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act apply.
| ODA | Country | Awards made (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
| ODA | AFGHANISTAN | 22 |
| ODA | ALBANIA | 11 |
| ODA | ALGERIA | 7 |
| ODA | ANGOLA / SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 15 |
| ODA | ARGENTINA | 15 |
| ODA | ARMENIA | 5 |
| ODA | AZERBAIJAN | 7 |
| ODA | BANGLADESH | 21 |
| ODA | BELARUS | 7 |
| ODA | BELIZE | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | BHUTAN | 5 |
| ODA | BOLIVIA | 6 |
| ODA | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 6 |
| ODA | BOTSWANA | 5 |
| ODA | BRAZIL | 46 |
| ODA | BURUNDI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | CAMBODIA | 14 |
| ODA | CAMEROON / CHAD / EQUATORIAL GUINEA / GABON | 8 |
| ODA | CHINA | 33 |
| ODA | COLOMBIA | 14 |
| ODA | CONGO, The Democratic Republic Of The/Central African Republic/Republic of Congo | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA | 6 |
| ODA | COTE D'IVOIRE | 7 |
| ODA | CUBA | 8 |
| ODA | DJIBOUTI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI | 13 |
| ODA | EAST CARIBBEAN ODA (GRENADA, ST LUCIA, DOMINICA, ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA) | 11 |
| ODA | EAST TIMOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ECUADOR | 6 |
| ODA | EGYPT | 30 |
| ODA | EL SALVADOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ERITREA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | Eswatini | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ETHIOPIA | 13 |
| ODA | GAMBIA | 5 |
| ODA | GEORGIA/South Caucasus | 14 |
| ODA | GHANA / BENIN / TOGO /BURKINA FASO | 16 |
| ODA | GUATEMALA / HONDURAS | 5 |
| ODA | GUINEA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | GUYANA / SURINAME | 5 |
| ODA | INDIA | 38 |
| ODA | INDONESIA | 43 |
| ODA | IRAQ | 18 |
| ODA | JAMAICA | 13 |
| ODA | JORDAN | 8 |
| ODA | KAZAKHSTAN | 9 |
| ODA | KENYA | 33 |
| ODA | KOSOVO | 8 |
| ODA | KYRGYZ REPUBLIC | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LAOS | 13 |
| ODA | LEBANON | 10 |
| ODA | LESOTHO | 6 |
| ODA | LIBERIA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LIBYA | 10 |
| ODA | MADAGASCAR/COMOROS | 8 |
| ODA | MALAWI | 6 |
| ODA | MALAYSIA | 41 |
| ODA | MALDIVES | 7 |
| ODA | MALI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | MAURITANIA | 5 |
| ODA | MAURITIUS | 7 |
| ODA | MEXICO | 34 |
| ODA | MOLDOVA | 6 |
| ODA | MONGOLIA | 17 |
| ODA | MONTENEGRO | 7 |
| ODA | MOROCCO | 11 |
| ODA | MOZAMBIQUE | 15 |
| ODA | MYANMAR | 11 |
| ODA | NAMIBIA | 14 |
| ODA | NEPAL | 11 |
| ODA | NIGER | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | NIGERIA | 39 |
| ODA | NORTH MACEDONIA | 6 |
| ODA | OVERSEAS TERRITORIES | 12 |
| ODA | PACIFIC POOL | 32 |
| ODA | PAKISTAN (DOES NOT INCLUDE FELLOWS) | 46 |
| ODA | PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 11 |
| ODA | PANAMA | 5 |
| ODA | PARAGUAY | 17 |
| ODA | PERU | 11 |
| ODA | PHILIPPINES | 23 |
| ODA | RWANDA | 8 |
| ODA | SAMOA + COOK ISLANDS | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | SENEGAL / CAPE VERDE /GUINEA-BISSAU | 8 |
| ODA | SERBIA | 7 |
| ODA | SIERRA LEONE | 6 |
| ODA | SOMALIA | 17 |
| ODA | SOUTH AFRICA | 47 |
| ODA | SOUTH SUDAN | 6 |
| ODA | SRI LANKA | 10 |
| ODA | SUDAN | 14 |
| ODA | SYRIA | 15 |
| ODA | TAJIKISTAN | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | TANZANIA | 17 |
| ODA | THAILAND | 24 |
| ODA | TUNISIA | 6 |
| ODA | TURKEY | 20 |
| ODA | TURKMENISTAN | 6 |
| ODA | UGANDA | 21 |
| ODA | UKRAINE | 37 |
| ODA | UZBEKISTAN | 7 |
| ODA | VENEZUELA | 7 |
| ODA | VIETNAM | 23 |
| ODA | YEMEN | 9 |
| ODA | ZAMBIA | 11 |
| ODA | ZIMBABWE | 7 |
| Non-ODA | AUSTRALIA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BAHAMAS | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BARBADOS (+ ST KITTS AND NEVIS) | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BRUNEI | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CANADA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CHILE | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | HONG KONG | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ICELAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ISRAEL | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | JAPAN | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | NEW ZEALAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SEYCHELLES | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SINGAPORE | 5 |
| Non-ODA | SOUTH KOREA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | TAIWAN | 5 |
| Non-ODA | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | URUGUAY | 10 |
| 1350 |
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what meetings he has had with the Honorary Consuls of nations situated within the Pacific Island region over the past 12 months.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not met any Honorary Consuls from the Pacific Island Countries (PIC).