Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential contribution of the Arctic and Antarctic to British foreign policy objectives.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As the nearest neighbour to the Arctic, we remain committed to working in partnership with our allied Arctic States to maintain the region as one of low tension, while continuing to make a significant contribution to Arctic science, security and environmental protection.
The UK is committed to upholding and strengthening the Antarctic Treaty System and maintaining our leadership on Antarctic policy and science, especially on the implications of climate change.
Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the volume of UK citizens’ data held by companies (a) supplying cloud services to his Department and (b) contracted to deliver cloud services on behalf of his Department which is subject to information requests from US Government bodies.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not currently process any UK citizen data via cloud services. Any cloud services used in the future will meet the requirements of the new Data Protection Legislation expected in May 2018 and will follow Cabinet Office and Information Commissioner's Office guidance on the procurement of Cloud Services.
Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of his Department’s cloud-hosting contracts have been awarded to (a) hyperscale cloud providers and (b) UK SMEs; and what the value of those contracts was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has placed one contract with UK Cloud Ltd, who are considered an SME. The FCO have zero Hyperscale contracts.
The FCO Overall expenditure the last three Financial years is as follows:
FY 14/15: £36,863
FY 15-16: £152,093
FY 16-17: £231,012
Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received from Arctic Indigenous peoples on his proposed revised Arctic Policy Framework.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government works in conjunction with Arctic Indigenous peoples towards a safe and secure Arctic, including through the Arctic Council. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials recently heard the concerns of some of the Arctic’s Indigenous peoples at the “Arctic Voices” event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Polar Regions. The UK remains of the view that only responsible development should take place in the Arctic region.
Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what security measures his Department has in place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and parcels; and what discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services.
Answered by Mark Field
All Royal Mail post and parcels addressed to the FCO buildings in King Charles Street and Lancaster House in London are diverted to the British Forces Postal Office (BFPO) Northolt, where they are security scanned by trained staff, before being forwarded to their destination. Mail destined for the FCO's overseas posts is either processed at BFPO Northolt or Hanslope Park. The latter also handles mail for staff working at Hanslope Park and Northgate House.
FCO Services has already moved the majority of post and parcel receipt and security scanning requirements to the BFPO. FCO Services is in discussions with BFPO about transferring further elements of this work to them during 2018.
Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to designate a marine protected area around Ascension Island.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Government committed in its 2015 manifesto to “designate a further protected area at Ascension Island, subject to the views of the local community”. Consideration is currently being given to all options for marine management around Ascension Island. Any decision will be based on scientific justification, financial viability, effective enforcement and monitoring.