Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes his Department has in place for Ministerial oversight of (a) licenses and (b) other exemptions to the sanctions regime.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is a delegated framework which sets out how decisions are taken. Copies of this framework have been deposited in the Libraries of the Houses.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 his international counterparts in the Black Sea region on facilitating (a) security and (b) commerce during the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are working with Ukraine and international partners to ensure Ukraine can continue to export its goods in the absence of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Recent discussions with partners, including Black Sea littoral states, have focused on the security arrangements needed to prevent and deter Russian attacks and ensure Freedom of Navigation for commercial shipping in the Black Sea. The Prime Minister has also announced a comprehensive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capability operation to support these arrangements.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian and security situation in Nagorno-Karabakh; and when he last spoke to his counterparts in (a) Armenia and (b) Azerbaijan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The security situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has improved since the 20 September ceasefire, which has held since 23 September. However, the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the significant refugee flows from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia, has placed local communities under immense pressure. It is vital that international humanitarian organisations have independent access into Nagorno-Karabakh, so they can assess humanitarian need and respond appropriately. We therefore welcome Azerbaijan's decision on 1 October to allow UN agencies into Nagorno-Karabakh, to complement ongoing efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Armenian counterpart on 10 and will speak to his Azerbaijani counterpart on 18 October. I [Minister Docherty] spoke to both Foreign Ministers on 28 September".
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the Cardiff Crossrail project; and what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, (b) the Welsh Government and (c) Cardiff Council on that project.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The UK Government announced in January 2023 its commitment to providing £50m of Levelling Up Funding to Cardiff Council for the Cardiff Crossrail project, subject to approval of business case. DfT officials have met with Cardiff Council and Transport for Wales on a number of occasions to discuss the progression of the scheme and will continue to do so. The UK Government remains firmly committed to supporting the development of this project and levelling up all parts of the country.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees who were not made offers of alternative housing were made homeless following the closure of hotel accommodation in each local authority in Wales.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
All 55 hotels being used to house around 8,000 Afghans at the end of March were no longer being used as bridging accommodation by 31 August.
The UK Government has granted all Afghans relocated through safe and legal routes with Indefinite Leave to Remain, including the immediate right to work, alongside access to the benefits system and vital health, education, and employment support.
On top of this the Government made available £35m of new funding to enable Local Authorities to provide increased support for Afghan households to move from hotels into settled accommodation.
The monitoring of Homelessness duties owed to this cohort is the responsibility of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
DLUHC has been gathering survey data from local authorities in England on homelessness duties owed to Afghans leaving bridging accommodation. This data has been published in the Homelessness management information – Afghan nationals: England.
In summary the total number of Afghan households in this cohort in temporary accommodation under a homelessness duty in England as of 31 August was 188.
This is based on a voluntary survey to local authorities in England with a 74% response rate, of which 35% of local authorities had reported owing homelessness duties to Afghan households leaving bridging accommodation.
DLUHC will continue to monitor homelessness duties to this cohort going forwards and the Home Office will continue to publish statistics on resettlement schemes in the usual way.
The information requested for each local authority in Wales is not currently available. The following operational data published by the Home Office may be of interest: Afghan bridging hotel exit operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) National Rail, (b) the Welsh Government and (c) Transport for Wales on the provision of relief lines between Newport and Cardiff Central to facilitate the addition of services and stations in (i) St.Mellows and (ii) other areas.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Upgrading the south Wales relief lines has been identified as a high priority by the Wales Rail Board comprising my department, Welsh Government and Transport for Wales and I recently authorised Network Rail to undertake further development work. Progression of the proposed Cardiff Parkway station at St Mellons is subject to the outcome of a Welsh Government planning decision.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking with international partners to help facilitate the lifting of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government has been vocal about the importance of re-opening the Lachin Corridor, including at the United Nations Security Council in New York on 20 December 2022 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on 17 January and 27 April 2023. This message was conveyed by the Minister for Europe during his visit to Azerbaijan in February, and was discussed during his visit to Armenia in May. The UK Government will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Governments in the coming months.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 Baltic states on regional security.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is committed to the security of the Baltic states, including through our enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to his Baltic counterparts on regional security. He spoke to the Latvian Foreign Minister last month at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels and welcomed the Lithuanian Foreign Minister to London in February. The Foreign Secretary will also be speaking to Baltic counterparts around the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Oslo next month. We are also committed to Baltic security through the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) as shown by the Prime Minister's attendance at the Leader level JEF Summit in Riga in December.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 members of the United Nations Security Council on Russia's presidency of that body.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We and partners worked to ensure Russia's presidency of the Security Council did not provide a platform for the further spread of disinformation around their unjust and illegal war on Ukraine. Throughout their presidency in April we continued to shine a spotlight on Russia's failure to meet the most basic obligations of a UN Member State and its contempt for the UN Charter. We challenged attempts to use their presidency to spread disinformation. This included blocking a UN webcast of a presidency meeting on the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia due to be addressed by Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights who is subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to forge lasting commercial links with Ukraine post-conflict.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Supporting Ukraine remains a high Government priority including long-term strengthening of commercial links.
Last year the UK led the world in becoming the first country to fully liberalise tariffs with Ukraine which we have extended until early 2024.
This year we signed a landmark UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement and launched a Guide to Doing Business with Ukraine, to support UK business in Ukraine and encourage greater trade flows.
We are working closely with the FCDO to mobilise private sector support for the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London next month, a global event and opportunity to strengthen commercial support for Ukraine.