Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs will meet with hon. Members to discuss the situation in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Foreign Secretary remains fully committed to ongoing engagement with Parliament, including on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. We will consider future briefing sessions for parliamentarians on topical events as needed.
Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to counter the work of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK condemns Iran’s hostile activity in the UK and elsewhere. We continue to work in close cooperation with our international partners to ensure that our collective response is robust and deters the IRGC. In July, the Foreign Secretary announced a new sanctions regime that will give the UK new and enhanced powers to counter Iran’s destabilising activities.
Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG has made to the Department, including predecessor Departments, since 2010; for which (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from the Department have been made to those firms; and for which (A) periods and (B) tasks.
Answered by David Rutley
The total number of people seconded between FCDO and the four listed organisations since 2010 is fewer than 10. Detail of individual tasks undertaken is not held centrally.
Action 5 of the Declaration of Government Reform 2021 stated the Government's commitment to: "Develop a pipeline of secondments from the Civil Service into major organisations within the UK and internationally, including other governments, led by professions and departments, with support from Non-Executive Directors, as a core part of talent development".
Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all contracts, consultancies or other services placed with the accountancy firms (i) Deloitte & Touche, (ii) Ernst & Young, (iii) KPMG and (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year since 2010-11 by her Department.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
Information on the definitions of consultancy spend can be found on GOV.UK at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987885/Procurement_CAS_Definition_Release_9_v1__2_.pdf
The FCDO's E-sourcing system only goes back to 2016 so we are unable to provide data between 2010/11 and 2015.
Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Indian counterpart on the recent protests in Uttar Pradesh; whether she plans to meet her Indian counterpart to discuss those protests; and whether she has plans to visit that country in the near future.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are aware of recent reports that properties were demolished in Uttar Pradesh and we condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow these reports closely, while recognising that this is a matter for India. The Foreign Secretary speaks regularly with her Indian counterpart and visited India most recently in March 2022.