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 has he had with his (a) regional and (b) other international counterparts on the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working with international partners, in support of continued African efforts - in particular African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development - through the UN and through the Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States, UK) to bring an end to the hostilities in Sudan, ensure the protection of civilians, and secure safe and unfettered humanitarian access to and for the most at-need communities. In May, I announced that the UK would provide £21.7 million in humanitarian aid for people in need in Sudan, as well as £5 million to help meet the urgent needs of refugees and returnees fleeing the violence into South Sudan and Chad.
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 steps his Department has taken to provide humanitarian support to Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working with international partners, in support of continued African efforts - in particular African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development - through the UN and through the Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States, UK) to bring an end to the hostilities in Sudan, ensure the protection of civilians, and secure safe and unfettered humanitarian access to and for the most at-need communities. In May, I announced that the UK would provide £21.7 million in humanitarian aid for people in need in Sudan, as well as £5 million to help meet the urgent needs of refugees and returnees fleeing the violence into South Sudan and Chad.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to avert a regional escalation of the hostilities in Israel and Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since Hamas' abhorrent terrorist attacks on 7 October, the Prime Minister, the former Foreign Secretary and myself as Minister of State; Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, have all visited the region and spoken to counterparts from more than 20 countries as part of extensive diplomatic efforts to prevent regional escalation and to sustain the prospect of peace and stability in the Middle East. This includes the former Foreign Secretary's travel to the region in October where he met leaders in Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, his calls with counterparts from Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Brazil, and Australia and his meetings with regional counterparts in Riyadh on 9 November.
The UK is seized with the increasing the scale and delivery of life saving humanitarian aid to Gaza and continues to work with our regional partners on preventing the conflict spreading in the region, and oppose any attempts by malign actors to cause further escalation. As part of our close engagement with Israel, the UK has urged the government to take tangible steps to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, which we strongly condemn. We are also clear that to prevent further conflict and terrorism, there must be a political solution to the conflict: the delivery of a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support people whose livelihoods have been affected by climate change in Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to tackling climate change. In the Maghreb region, climate action and collaboration to mitigate or adapt to impacts, including on agriculture, tourism and fisheries, is a priority for UK engagement and support. Such engagement forms part of our dialogue with regional governments, UN agencies, and multilateral development banks. These partners are involved in practical collaboration through initiatives such as the Breakthroughs Agenda, while bilateral programming includes work to support more accurate climate and weather data to inform action. We are also working closely with the United Arab Emirates COP28 presidency to press for additional funding for vulnerable communities.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Middle East on steps that can be taken to help end violence in Israel and Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October, the Prime Minister, former Foreign Secretary and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon have spoken to counterparts from more than 20 countries as part of extensive diplomatic efforts to sustain the prospect of peace and stability in the Middle East. This includes the former Foreign Secretary's travel to the region in October where he met leaders in Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, and his calls last week with counterparts from Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Brazil, and Australia. To prevent further conflict and terrorism, there must be a political solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. The UK will continue to work urgently with our partners to ensure this vision finally becomes a reality.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with which (a) foreign countries and (b) administrative regions of foreign countries that issue their own driving licences his Department has an agreement for mutual recognition of documents; and whether his Department is taking steps to reach such agreement with other countries and regions.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The UK continues to exchange and recognise licences originating from all European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Arrangements are in place with all EEA countries for the recognition and exchange of the vast majority of GB licences.
Outside of the EEA, mutual driving licence exchange agreements are in place with the following designated countries:
Andorra | Gibraltar | South Africa |
Australia | Hong Kong | Switzerland |
Barbados | Japan | Taiwan |
British Virgin Islands | Monaco | Ukraine |
Canada | New Zealand | United Arab Emirates |
Cayman Islands | Republic of Korea | Zimbabwe |
Falkland Islands | Republic of North Macedonia |
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Faroe Islands | Singapore |
|
Work is currently progressing on arrangements with a further seven countries:
Albania | Moldova | Sri Lanka |
Kosovo | San Marino |
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Malaysia | Serbia |
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I also recently met with an official delegation from Kenya to discuss existing arrangements with them as well.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the quantities of waste exported in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022, broken down by receiving country.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The top ten waste types exported from the UK in 2020, 2021 and 2022, alongside the top ten destinations for those waste types, are represented in the three tables below. The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it in full would incur disproportionate costs.
This dataset has been obtained from information provided by exporters to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. This data is publicly available at https://www.uktradeinfo.com/ .
2020 | |||
Rank | Waste type | Waste exported (KT) | Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %) |
1 | Iron & steel waste and scrap | 6,826 | Turkey (2,394KT; 35.1%); Pakistan (997KT; 14.6%); Egypt (742KT; 10.9%); Bangladesh (205KT; 3.0%); Saudi Arabia (173KT; 2.5%) |
2 | Paper and paperboard waste | 3,780 | India (979KT; 22.8%); Thailand (561KT; 13.0%); Turkey (491KT; 11.4%); Netherlands (474KT; 11.0%); Malaysia (401KT; 9.3%) |
3 | Plastic waste and scrap | 537 | Turkey (210KT; 39.0%); Malaysia (65KT; 12.2%); Poland (38KT; 7.0%); Netherlands (38KT; 7.0%); Spain (31KT; 5.8%) |
4 | Aluminium waste and scrap | 436 | India (122KT;27.8%); China (76KT; 17.4%); Thailand (18KT; 4.1%); Republic of Korea (34KT; 7.8KT); Italy (30KT; 6.9%) |
5 | Glass cullet waste | 298 | Portugal (83KT; 27.2%); Belgium (83KT; 27.2%); Netherlands (16KT; 5.3%); Spain (15KT; 5.2%); confidential country (13KT; 4.2%) |
6 | Worn clothing and textiles | 281 | Ghana (57KT; 20.4%); Pakistan (42KT; 15.1%); United Arab Emirates (34KT; 12.1%); Ukraine (26KT; 9.2%); Poland (24KT; 8.5%) |
7 | Residual products of the chemical or allied industries | 181 | Norway (151KT; 83.5%); Netherlands (22KT; 12.0%); Germany (8KT; 4.4%); New Caledonia (0.04KT; 0.02%); Canada (0.02KT; 0.01%) |
8 | Rubber waste | 138 | India (113KT; 81.6%); Pakistan (11KT; 7.6%); Japan (8KT; 6.0%); Netherlands (2KT;1.6%); France (1KT; 0.6%) |
9 | Animal waste | 108 | Ireland (36KT; 33.5%); France (23KT; 21.0%); Netherlands (17KT; 15.4%); Germany (13KT; 11.7%); Bulgaria (9KT; 8.1%) |
10 | Residues of starch manufacture and similar | 76 | Ireland (62KT; 81.9%); Denmark (8KT; 10.8%); Spain (4KT; 4.7%); Netherlands (2KT; 2.1%); Philippines (0.3KT; 0.4%) |
11 | Residues from food industry (vegetable waste) | 26 | Ireland (26KT; 98.5%); Qatar (0.1KT; 0.3%); Netherlands (0.1KT; 0.3%); Norway (0.1KT; 0.2%); France (0.02KT; 0.1%) |
2021 | |||
Rank | Waste type | Waste exported (KT) | Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %) |
1 | Iron & steel waste and scrap | 8,595 | Turkey (2,345KT; 27.3%); Egypt (1,491KT; 17.3%); Bangladesh (675KT; 7.9%); Italy (496KT; 5.8%); United States of America (285KT; 3.3%) |
2 | Paper and paperboard waste | 4,298 | India (979KT; 22.8%); Thailand (561KT; 13.0%); Turkey (491KT; 11.4%); Netherlands (474KT; 11.0%); Malaysia (401KT; 9.3%) |
3 | Residual products of the chemical or allied industries | 1,497 | Sweden (617KT; 41.2%); Netherlands (346KT; 23.1%); Germany (106KT; 7.1%); Cyprus (104KT; 7.0%); Norway (99KT; 6.6%) |
4 | Aluminium waste and scrap | 560 | India (174KT; 31.2%); Hong Kong (43KT; 7.6%); Thailand (32KT; 5.8%); Republic of Korea (30KT; 5.4%); Switzerland (28KT; 5.0%) |
5 | Plastic scrap and waste | 468 | Turkey (123KT; 26.2%); Netherlands (101KT; 21.6%); Poland (52KT; 11.1%); Spain (37KT; 7.9%); Italy (18KT; 3.9%) |
6 | Glass cullet waste | 367 | Portugal (185KT; 50.4%); Belgium (72KT; 19.6%); Netherlands (48KT; 13.2%); Spain (33KT; 8.9%); Germany (11KT; 2.9%) |
7 | Worn clothing and textiles | 358 | Ghana (63KT; 17.7%); Pakistan (49KT; 13.7%); Ukraine (46KT; 12.9%); United Arab Emirates (42KT; 11.7%); Poland (41KT; 11.6%) |
8 | Rubber waste | 296 | India (194KT; 65.4%); Turkey (61KT; 20.4%); Portugal (13KT; 4.3%); Pakistan (10KT; 3.2%); Morocco (5KT; 1.7%) |
9 | Slag, ash and residues containing metals (excl. those from the manufacture of iron or steel) | 99 | Belgium (32KT; 32.1%); Norway (22KT; 22.1%); Netherlands (21KT; 21.4%); Germany (12KT; 12.2%); Canada (8KT; 8.0%) |
10 | Mineral fuels | 86 | Denmark (58KT; 67.6%); Greece (8KT; 9.2%); France (7KT; 8.3%); Belgium (6KT; 6.8%); Ireland (3KT; 3.4%) |
2022 | |||
Rank | Waste type | Waste exported (KT) | Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %) |
1 | Iron & steel waste and scrap | 8,241 | Turkey (1,840KT; 22.3%); Egypt (1,396KT; 16.9%); India (1,241KT; 15.1%); Bangladesh (730KT; 8.9%); Italy (290KT; 3.5%) |
2 | Paper and paperboard waste | 4,087 | India (1,124KT; 27.5%); Vietnam (525KT; 12.8%); Netherlands (454KT; 11.1%); Turkey (376KT; 9.2%); Malaysia (363KT; 8.9%) |
3 | Residual products of the chemical or allied industries | 1,569 | Sweden (709KT; 45.2%); Netherlands (365KT; 23.3%); Norway (101KT; 6.4%); Denmark (89KT; 5.7%); Cyprus (36KT; 2.3%) |
4 | Aluminium waste and scrap | 632 | India (213KT; 33.6%); Hong Kong (98KT; 15.5%); Germany (54KT; 8.5%); Thailand (41KT; 6.4%); Pakistan (20KT; 3.1%) |
5 | Plastic waste and scrap | 483 | Netherlands (120KT; 24.8KT); Turkey (88KT; 18.3%); Belgum (38KT; 7.9%); Poland (31KT; 6.4%); Spain (23KT; 4.7%) |
6 | Glass cullet waste | 418 | Portugal (222KT; 53%); Netherlands (67KT; 15.9%); Belgium (59KT; 14.0%); Spain (25KT; 5.9%); Italy (19KT; 4.5%) |
7 | Worn clothing and textiles | 418 | United Arab Emirates (75KT; 18.1%); Ghana (53KT; 12.6%); Pakistan (52KT; 12.4%); Poland (51KT; 12.3%); Ukraine (37KT; 8.8%) |
8 | Rubber waste | 395 | India (297KT; 75.2%); Turkey (43KT; 10.9%); Pakistan (10KT; 2.6%); Portugal (8KT; 1.9%); Denmark (6KT; 1.4%) |
9 | Copper waste and scrap | 253 | China (62KT; 24.5%); India (38KT; 14.9%); Germany (35KT; 13.9%); Japan (11KT; 4.2%); France (11KT; 4.2%) |
10 | Mineral fuels | 118 | Denmark (94KT; 79.6%); Finland (7KT; 5.6%); France (7KT; 5.6%); Ireland (4KT; 3.4%); Ireland (4KT; 3.4%); Belgium (4KT; 3.0%) |
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) African Union, (b) United Nations and (c) other countries on reaching a sustained ceasefire in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working with a range of partners, including Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US, UK), African and European countries, as well as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the United Nations, to bring warring parties together and secure a permanent ceasefire. As a member of the African Union-convened Core Group on Sudan, the UK is working with regional and international partners to end hostilities and secure a peace process. UK Ministers attended the UN General Assembly in September, hosting a Ministerial-level Quad meeting reaffirming our shared interests in resolving the Sudan conflict. Ministers also raised Sudan in bilateral meetings with Egypt and South Sudan, paying tribute to their generosity in accepting refugees and calling for urgent action and the coordination of regional initiatives. UK leadership with 'Sudan Core Group' partners at the UN Human Rights Council led to a robust resolution on Sudan being passed. This resolution establishes an independent, international, Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan so that those responsible can be held to account and to deter perpetrators from further crime.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his international counterparts at COP28 on (a) the environmental impact of flooding in Derna in September 2023 and (b) mitigation measures to help prevent future disasters.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the people of Libya following the devastating floods. The Foreign Secretary allocated £10 million in response to environmental disasters in both Libya and Morocco, providing life-saving assistance to those affected. Additionally, the UK is providing £5 million to the UK Met Office to improve early warning systems for extreme weather events and £5 million to the International Water Management Institute to improve flood management in the region. The UK is working closely with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) COP28 presidency to press for additional funding for vulnerable communities and is co-hosting the Climate and Development Ministerial, which will focus on how to improve access to climate finance for those countries most affected by climate change.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) his Department and (b) the Commonwealth of Nations mediating in the conflict in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is playing a significant role in diplomatic efforts for peace in Sudan. We are working with a range of partners, including counterparts from Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, US), African and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the UN, to get the warring parties back to the negotiating table and end hostilities in Sudan. The UK continues to advocate for a return to a civilian-led government and the need for a coordinated and urgent response to resolve the crisis in Sudan, which the international community can get behind. It is essential that Sudan's civilians - civil society, women, youth, Resistance Committees - are represented in negotiations about their country's future, and their voices listened to.