Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to provide support for (a) victims of the violence and (b) protesters in Suwayda in Syria.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is following the protests in Suweida closely. The UK's permanent representative to the UN drew global attention to the protestors' cause in the UK's statement to the UN Security Council on 27 September. We condemned the regime's use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and demanded Damascus' adherence to international human rights standards. We will continue to monitor the situation and urge the regime to treat protestors with dignity respect. It is vital that Assad heed their calls for regime participation in the political process established by UNSCR 2254.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of UK Official Development Assistance in Syria.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO aid budget is allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate.
There is a robust framework in place for allocating Official Development Assistance (ODA). In 2023, the UK committed up to £150 million at the Brussels Pledging Conference and up to £43 million to support the response to the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, raising our total commitment to over £3.8 billion.
However, the situation's scale is immense, with Syria's overall aid requirements for 2023 only 29.44% funded. HMG encourages all international actors to do everything possible to ensure that sufficient aid reaches those in need.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues about human rights in Saudi Arabia; and whether he has raised these issues with his Saudi Arabian counterpart.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly. Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the Government's climate finance spending on climate vulnerable countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The recently published ICF Results (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651fb0a97309a1000db0a99e/UK_International-Climate-Finance_Results_2023_rev.pdf) report shows that more than a 100 million people in developing countries have been directly supported to adapt to the effects of climate change through UK International Climate Finance. In addition, almost 70 million people and over 250 institutions have been provided with improved access to clean energy. At COP27 the UK committed to triple its adaptation climate finance from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025. The UK also committed to helping climate vulnerable countries to better access finance through a new approach being pioneered by the UK co-led Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the annual aid budget on the UK's ability to fulfill its commitment to support developing countries to tackle climate change, as announced on 21 September 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are delivering on our commitment to spend £11.6 billion International Climate Finance (ICF). The Written Ministerial Statement on International Climate Finance published on 17 October showed that we spent over £3.2 billion ICF in 2021/22 and 2022/23. It also sets out the trajectory of spend for the remaining three years of the pledge, providing all-important certainty and predictability for our developing country partners.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Saudi Arabian human rights record in preparation for the visit by the Crown Prince of that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. Our latest published assessment of human rights in Saudi Arabia can be found in the 2022 FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report. Our relationship with Saudi Arabia enables us to engage candidly on human rights. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, regularly discusses human rights with the Saudi authorities, including the Saudi Vice Foreign Minister and Saudi Ambassador in London. Lord Ahmad, senior HMG officials, and non-governmental figures and organisations engaged in constructive dialogue with the Saudi Human Rights Commission during their first official visit to the UK on 26-29 September. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make representations on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia with the Crown Prince of that country during his visit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. Our latest published assessment of human rights in Saudi Arabia can be found in the 2022 FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report. Our relationship with Saudi Arabia enables us to engage candidly on human rights. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, regularly discusses human rights with the Saudi authorities, including the Saudi Vice Foreign Minister and Saudi Ambassador in London. Lord Ahmad, senior HMG officials, and non-governmental figures and organisations engaged in constructive dialogue with the Saudi Human Rights Commission during their first official visit to the UK on 26-29 September. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government's pledge to spend £11.6 billion on international climate finance between 2021 and 2026, what steps his Department plans to take to support the delivery of that pledge.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are delivering on our commitment to spend £11.6 billion International Climate Finance (ICF). The Written Ministerial Statement on International Climate Finance published on 17 October showed that we spent over £3.2 billion ICF in 2021/22 and 2022/23. It also sets out the trajectory of spend for the remaining three years of the pledge, providing all-important certainty and predictability for our developing country partners.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with energy providers on the provision of (a) financial and (b) welfare support to households which include a disabled person.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I have had regular meetings with energy suppliers, charities – including disability charities - and other external organisations in recent months on a range of consumer and affordability issues, including the energy needs of households that include a disabled person.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 June 2023, Official Report, column 694, what the evidential basis is for not accepting the findings of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Recent food inflation in the UK has been driven by a range of factors. Domestic agricultural commodity prices increased due to increases in international commodity prices and changes in exchange rates and in particular the strength of the dollar. Alongside this there was an increase in food manufacturing costs and particularly energy costs, which also contributed to food inflation. These factors are the main reasons for recent high food inflation, as shown by the fact that other countries in Europe have experienced similar levels of food inflation.