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Written Question
Sri Lanka: Hinduism
Tuesday 23rd April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment his Department has made of the situation of Hindus in Sri Lanka after the recent arrest and assault of Tamil Hindu worshippers.

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

Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a UK priority in Sri Lanka.  The UK Government regularly raises human rights, including the importance of religious tolerance and protecting the rights of all Sri Lankans to practise their faith. Through UK funded programmes, we support Sri Lankan youth to advocate for FoRB and improve religious harmony.

We continue to be concerned by increasing tensions around land in Sri Lanka, including at the Vedukkunaari Aadhi Sivan temple in Vavuniya. We welcome the release of the eight arrested Hindu worshippers but note that this incident has troubling implications for FoRB.


Written Question
Diplomatic Service
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many requests for consular support were made to each British Embassy or Consulate in 2023; and how many of those were responded to by officials within a period of 24 hours.

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

Our consular staff endeavour to give appropriate and tailored assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, to British nationals overseas and their families in the UK who need support. In 2023, in addition to long running cases, we provided support to around 22,000 British nationals, see breakdown by Post in the table below. The FCDO reports publicly on consular delivery through the FCDO Outcome Delivery Plan [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-commonwealth-development-office-outcome-delivery-plan]. Publishing our transparency data is currently on hold while we embed a new Case Management system.

COUNTRY

2023

Afghanistan

22

Albania

63

Algeria

23

Angola

Argentina

34

Armenia

8

Australia

414

Austria

92

Azerbaijan

12

Bahrain

48

Barbados

113

Belarus

6

Belgium

152

Bolivia

12

Bosnia and Herzegovina

12

Botswana

15

Brazil

88

Bulgaria

166

Cambodia

112

Cameroon

30

Canada

181

Chile

21

China

143

Colombia

73

Congo (Democratic Republic)

22

Costa Rica

39

Croatia

114

Cuba

29

Cyprus

441

Czechia

141

Denmark

88

Dominican Republic

67

Ecuador

13

Egypt

383

Estonia

19

Ethiopia

104

Fiji

21

Finland

49

France

1027

Georgia

27

Germany

662

Ghana

85

Greece

936

Guatemala

43

Guinea

Guyana

17

Hong Kong SAR

110

Hungary

131

Iceland

17

India

360

Indonesia

196

Iraq

46

Ireland

104

Israel

39

Italy

411

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

179

Japan

167

Jerusalem

61

Jordan

71

Kazakhstan

14

Kenya

146

Kuwait

30

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

29

Latvia

20

Lebanon

34

Liberia

Lithuania

23

Luxembourg

10

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

138

Malta

106

Mauritius

14

Mexico

207

Moldova

13

Mongolia

6

Montenegro

33

Morocco

222

Myanmar (Burma)

8

Namibia

9

Nepal

21

Netherlands

287

New Zealand

127

Nigeria

74

Norway

149

Oman

50

Pakistan

376

Panama

17

Paraguay

Peru

58

Philippines

283

Poland

242

Portugal

524

Qatar

96

Romania

89

Russia

28

Rwanda

7

Saudi Arabia

166

Senegal

21

Serbia

29

Seychelles

11

Sierra Leone

15

Singapore

105

Slovakia

38

Slovenia

17

South Africa

195

South Korea

40

Spain

4143

Sri Lanka

86

St Lucia

21

Sudan

34

Sweden

110

Switzerland

157

Taiwan

22

Tajikistan

6

Tanzania

36

Thailand

1383

The Gambia

48

Trinidad and Tobago

40

Tunisia

75

Turkey

947

Uganda

52

Ukraine

56

United Arab Emirates

658

United States

1649

Uruguay

10

Uzbekistan

8

Venezuela

Vietnam

188

Zambia

22

Zimbabwe

26

NB We do not publish data where figures are 5 or below to comply with GDPR


Written Question
Diabetes: Medical Treatments
Tuesday 2nd April 2024

Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what incentives they are offering to medical partnerships to assist type two diabetes sufferers through research into both stem-cell and non-stem-cell treatments for diabetes type one sufferers.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is delivering improvements as part of the Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery to make the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical research, attracting investment from commercial companies to deliver cutting edge research in a range of disease areas, including diabetes. For example, we introduced the National Contract Value Review to standardise costing and contracting for commercial research in the National Health Service.

This has reduced set up times for clinical research by a third which makes running research in the UK more efficient for commercial companies.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) supports conduct of clinical research in the NHS, providing tailored support for both non-commercial organisations and the life sciences industry. The CRN has a Diabetes Speciality Group to support research across key priorities in diabetes.

The NIHR works in partnership with Diabetes UK to deliver the joint UK Strategy for Clinical and Applied Diabetes Research. The NIHR also funds a Global Health Research Unit on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in South Asia, creating partnerships between research organisations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK.


Written Question
Diabetes: Medical Treatments
Tuesday 2nd April 2024

Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what incentives they are offering to commercial operators to form medical partnerships to advance stem-cell and non-stem-cell treatments for diabetes type one sufferers.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is delivering improvements as part of the Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery to make the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical research, attracting investment from commercial companies to deliver cutting edge research in a range of disease areas, including diabetes. For example, we introduced the National Contract Value Review to standardise costing and contracting for commercial research in the National Health Service.

This has reduced set up times for clinical research by a third which makes running research in the UK more efficient for commercial companies.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) supports conduct of clinical research in the NHS, providing tailored support for both non-commercial organisations and the life sciences industry. The CRN has a Diabetes Speciality Group to support research across key priorities in diabetes.

The NIHR works in partnership with Diabetes UK to deliver the joint UK Strategy for Clinical and Applied Diabetes Research. The NIHR also funds a Global Health Research Unit on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in South Asia, creating partnerships between research organisations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK.


Written Question
Diabetes: Medical Treatments
Tuesday 2nd April 2024

Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote international cooperation and joint research to find solutions for both type one and type two diabetes sufferers.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is delivering improvements as part of the Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery to make the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical research, attracting investment from commercial companies to deliver cutting edge research in a range of disease areas, including diabetes. For example, we introduced the National Contract Value Review to standardise costing and contracting for commercial research in the National Health Service.

This has reduced set up times for clinical research by a third which makes running research in the UK more efficient for commercial companies.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) supports conduct of clinical research in the NHS, providing tailored support for both non-commercial organisations and the life sciences industry. The CRN has a Diabetes Speciality Group to support research across key priorities in diabetes.

The NIHR works in partnership with Diabetes UK to deliver the joint UK Strategy for Clinical and Applied Diabetes Research. The NIHR also funds a Global Health Research Unit on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in South Asia, creating partnerships between research organisations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK.


Written Question
Diabetes: Research
Tuesday 2nd April 2024

Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what partnerships and expedients they are encouraging to progress diabetes type one stem cell and non-stem-cell research.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is delivering improvements as part of the Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery to make the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical research, attracting investment from commercial companies to deliver cutting edge research in a range of disease areas, including diabetes. For example, we introduced the National Contract Value Review to standardise costing and contracting for commercial research in the National Health Service.

This has reduced set up times for clinical research by a third which makes running research in the UK more efficient for commercial companies.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) supports conduct of clinical research in the NHS, providing tailored support for both non-commercial organisations and the life sciences industry. The CRN has a Diabetes Speciality Group to support research across key priorities in diabetes.

The NIHR works in partnership with Diabetes UK to deliver the joint UK Strategy for Clinical and Applied Diabetes Research. The NIHR also funds a Global Health Research Unit on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in South Asia, creating partnerships between research organisations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK.


Written Question
Sri Lanka: Travel Information
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in that country.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The safety of British people is the main factor when determining our travel advice for all countries, including Sri Lanka. Our advice is designed to help British people make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks when travelling abroad. Our travel advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government including local knowledge from our embassies and information provided by the local authorities in each country. We will continue to keep Sri Lanka travel advice under close review.


Written Question
Sri Lanka: Power Stations
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make representations to his Sri Lankan counterpart on water pollution around the Channakan power plant in the north of Sri Lanka.

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

We are aware of the challenges Sri Lanka faces around water management and quality, particularly by communities in the Northern Province. The British High Commission Colombo regularly meets a range of stakeholders in the Northern Province to hear their experiences and issues. A number of public bodies in Sri Lanka, including the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, have conducted tests into the water quality, after concerns were raised by local communities. The UK Government supports the International Water Management Institute, an international water management research organisation, to provide solutions to increasing water scarcity in Puttalam and Kilinochchi.


Written Question
South Asia: Development Aid
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) actual, and (2) projected, aid contributions to individual countries in South Asia, broken down by category of project.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We do not have a breakdown by project category of future spend. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.

We do have information on project category spend for previous calendar years which is published in the statistics on international development. This data is based on calendar year not financial year and covers the whole of HMG. Please see below data based on 2022, the last available calendar year.

2022

2022 Total

Row Labels

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Maldives

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Administrative costs (non-sector allocable)

£273,832

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£150,105

£0

£423,938

Advanced technical and managerial training

£0

£0

£0

-£54,390

£0

-£2,535

£0

£0

-£56,924

Agricultural development

£1,292,411

£0

£0

£47,020

£0

£0

-£1,361,746

£0

-£22,316

Agricultural policy and administrative management

£0

£2,809

£0

-£152

£0

£0

£0

-£253,566

-£250,909

Agricultural research

£0

£0

£0

£240,948

£0

£0

£7,715

£0

£248,663

Agricultural services

£0

£0

£0

-£2,274,286

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£2,274,286

Anti-corruption organisations and institutions

£2,518,313

£576,402

£0

£0

£0

£175,805

£144,143

£0

£3,414,663

Basic drinking water supply

£0

£350,000

£0

£0

£0

£219,574

£0

£0

£569,574

Basic drinking water supply and basic sanitation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£639,497

-£1,361,746

£0

-£722,250

Basic health care

£707,157

£250,000

£0

£0

£0

£2,994,645

£387,457

£0

£4,339,258

Basic life skills for adults

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£258,611

£0

£0

£258,611

Basic nutrition

£0

£712,997

£0

£0

£0

£14,770

£0

£0

£727,767

Basic sanitation

£0

£350,000

£0

£0

£0

£37,522

-£2,723,493

£0

-£2,335,971

Biodiversity

£0

£22,328

£0

£165,389

£74,068

£961,707

£37,573

£67,842

£1,328,907

Business development services

£0

£0

£0

£96,736

£0

£0

£0

£0

£96,736

Business policy and administration

£0

£0

£0

£565,783

£0

£0

£437,513

£0

£1,003,296

Civilian peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution

£4,130,547

£1,981,030

£0

£0

£0

£4,399

£2,225,242

£1,355,856

£9,697,073

Communications policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£0

£127,531

£0

£44,422

£0

£171,953

COVID-19 control

£0

£23,407

£0

£802,602

£0

£0

£5,949

£0

£831,958

Culture

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£61,341

£0

£61,341

Culture and recreation

£0

£0

£0

-£22,408

£0

£0

£85,158

£0

£62,750

Decentralisation and support to subnational government

£0

£0

£0

£0

£138,288

£2,475,959

£0

£0

£2,614,248

Democratic participation and civil society

£250,000

£1,394,795

£0

£0

£57,419

£973,571

£443,327

£0

£3,119,111

Domestic revenue mobilisation

£0

-£728,536

£0

£193,016

£0

£117,203

£1,059,571

£0

£641,254

Education and training in water supply and sanitation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£12,737

£0

£0

£12,737

Education facilities and training

£0

£115,830

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,464,741

£0

£1,580,571

Education policy and administrative management

£0

£577,278

£0

£97,983

£0

£0

£3,077,249

£0

£3,752,510

Educational research

£0

£361,000

£0

-£266,036

£0

£188,423

£594,639

£0

£878,026

Elections

£0

£12,027

£0

£0

£0

£0

£900

£0

£12,927

Electric mobility infrastructures

£0

£0

£0

£70,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£70,000

Electric power transmission and distribution (centralised grids)

£0

£0

£0

£68,700

£0

£173,312

£0

£0

£242,012

Emergency food assistance

£128,041,086

£8,635,594

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£136,676,679

Employment creation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£255,005

£0

£0

-£255,005

Ending violence against women and girls

£21,461,697

£1,009,135

£0

£0

£0

£728,846

£3,068,578

£0

£26,268,255

Energy generation, renewable sources - multiple technologies

£0

£0

£0

-£889,376

£0

£1,200,806

£0

£0

£311,430

Energy policy and administrative management

£0

£50,553

£0

£158,146

£0

£368,287

£0

£0

£576,985

Energy research

£0

£0

£0

£23,688

£0

£147,098

£0

£0

£170,786

Energy sector policy, planning and administration

£0

£0

£0

£1,479,122

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,479,122

Environmental education/training

£0

£0

£48,668

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£48,668

Environmental policy and administrative management

£635,676

£6,904,699

£0

£24,064,426

£0

£4,380,855

£5,812,804

£0

£41,798,459

Environmental research

£0

£120,723

£0

£3,082,518

£0

£863,732

£0

£0

£4,066,974

Facilitation of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility

£0

£102,902

£0

£0

£0

£234,377

£0

£0

£337,279

Family planning

£265,080

£565,862

£0

£0

£0

£102,500

£3,660,244

£0

£4,593,686

Financial policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£507,690

£0

£0

£301,387

£0

£809,077

Formal sector financial intermediaries

£0

£0

£0

£49,665

£0

£0

£0

£0

£49,665

Health education

£338,898

£0

£0

£0

£0

£219,770

£0

£0

£558,668

Health personnel development

£0

£273,503

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£273,503

Health policy and administrative management

£0

£1,760,392

£0

£3,122,660

£0

£2,298,530

£343,452

£0

£7,525,034

Higher education

£911,301

£649,203

£172,288

£2,693,479

£214,955

£434,329

£1,992,063

£395,690

£7,463,308

Human rights

£0

£1,775,384

£0

£0

£183,646

£0

£0

£0

£1,959,030

Immediate post-emergency reconstruction and rehabilitation

£4,081,072

£2,602,056

£0

£0

£0

£1,382,031

£12

£0

£8,065,171

Industrial development

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£317,516

£0

£0

£317,516

Industrial policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,102,394

£0

£0

£1,102,394

Infectious disease control

£0

£344,911

£0

£106,589

£0

£721,591

£3,657

£0

£1,176,748

Informal/semi-formal financial intermediaries

£1,133,493

£0

£0

£65,012

£0

£129,305

£0

£0

£1,327,810

Information and communication technology (ICT)

£0

£277,978

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£277,978

Legal and judicial development

£0

£562,328

£0

£0

£207,433

£219,762

£1,059,545

£23,435

£2,072,502

Legislatures and political parties

£0

£0

£0

£0

£86,128

£28,936

£0

£0

£115,064

Livestock

£1,133,493

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,133,493

Low-cost housing

£0

£0

£0

£7,590

£0

£0

£0

£0

£7,590

Material relief assistance and services

£133,863,525

£7,210,063

£0

£0

£0

£367,000

£13,753,266

£1,840,000

£157,033,854

Media and free flow of information

£0

£27,380

£0

£0

£85,021

£201,771

£0

£0

£314,172

Medical research

£0

£349,577

£0

£3,227,794

£0

£153,028

£1,625,422

£0

£5,355,821

Medical services

£0

£0

£0

£19,694

£0

£0

£0

£0

£19,694

Monetary institutions

£0

£0

£0

-£4,122,509

£0

£367,746

£0

£0

-£3,754,763

Multi-hazard response preparedness

£0

£3,119,353

£0

£0

£0

£2,296,059

-£346,074

£0

£5,069,339

Multisector aid

£10,000,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£10,000,000

Multisector education/training

£179,070

£2,964,257

£0

£10,757,244

£0

£1,082,590

£5,089,541

£1,148,813

£21,221,516

Participation in international peacekeeping operations

-£26,486,939

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£26,486,939

Personnel development for population and reproductive health

£0

£628,071

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£628,071

Population policy and administrative management

£0

£63,206

£0

£0

£0

£49,325

£159,552

£0

£272,083

Primary education

£677,795

£1,749,487

£0

£96,754

£0

£0

£1,368,615

£0

£3,892,652

Privatisation

£4,424

£0

£0

£62,081

£0

£0

£0

£0

£66,505

Public finance management (PFM)

£0

-£4,128,373

£0

£0

£0

£820,701

£1,854,023

£0

-£1,453,650

Public sector policy and administrative management

£34,999

£576,042

£0

£859,780

£0

£789,046

£91,270

£0

£2,351,137

Relief co-ordination and support services

£59,853,084

£2,072,828

£0

£0

£0

£0

£6,022,939

£0

£67,948,851

Removal of land mines and explosive remnants of war

£5,000,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£5,000,000

Reproductive health care

£1,369,857

£1,435,386

£0

£52,362

£0

£490,359

£1,851,776

£0

£5,199,740

Research/scientific institutions

£378,625

£1,287,873

-£72,577

£740,328

£0

£1,049,080

£908,916

£2,760

£4,295,005

Road transport

£0

£0

£0

-£1,137,143

£0

£2,256,726

£1,800

£0

£1,121,383

Rural development

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£202,165

£0

£0

£202,165

Security system management and reform

£0

£43,536

£0

£0

£458,799

£69,946

£0

£0

£572,281

Site preservation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development

£5,530

£0

£0

£1,245,753

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,251,283

Social Protection

£0

£1,351,346

£0

£39,879

£0

-£345,949

£226,615

£0

£1,271,891

Solar energy for centralised grids

£0

£0

£0

£117,792

£0

£648,694

£0

£0

£766,486

Statistical capacity building

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£353,100

£0

£0

£353,100

Teacher training

£0

£508,061

£0

£0

£0

£0

£663,698

£0

£1,171,759

Trade facilitation

£5,530

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£133,722

£0

£139,252

Trade policy and administrative management

£6,637

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£203,275

£0

£209,912

Transport policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£69,054

£0

£128,892

£1,200

£0

£199,146

Tuberculosis control

£0

£29,991

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£29,991

Upper Secondary Education (modified and includes data from 11322)

£338,898

£897,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£985,293

£0

£2,221,190

Urban development

£0

£0

£0

£542,146

£0

£0

£0

£0

£542,146

Urban development and management

£0

£1,050,000

£0

£78,000

£0

£695,269

£781,523

£0

£2,604,792

Vocational training

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£646,527

£0

£0

£646,527

Waste management/disposal

£0

£0

£0

£14,424

£0

£0

£0

£0

£14,424

Water resources conservation (including data collection)

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£219,574

£0

£0

£219,574

Water sector policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£31,842

£0

£0

£31,842

Water supply - large systems

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£737,655

£0

£0

£737,655

Water supply and sanitation - large systems

£0

£0

£0

-£1,137,143

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£1,137,143

Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions

£0

£1,800,998

£0

£0

£0

£59,406

£1,444,631

£0

£3,305,036

Grand Total

£352,405,092

£54,672,670

£148,379

£45,728,404

£1,633,288

£37,241,408

£57,842,803

£4,580,830

£554,252,874


Written Question
Sri Lanka: Civil Liberties
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Sri Lankan Online Safety Act on freedom of expression and religion in that country.

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

Despite concerns expressed by civil society, opposition parties and international internet providers regarding the potential negative impacts of the Online Safety Act, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed it into law on 24 January. The UK also raised concerns about the impact of this Act on freedom of expression and economic growth, including when I met Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe in October, and when Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia, met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on 25 January. The UK will continue to closely follow developments on this Act.