Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 16 July (HL9053), whether they will answer the question put.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Please refer to my answer to HL9053 published on 16 July. We encourage all Allies to meet their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commitments.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of GDP which the government of Belgium has spent on defence over the last five years in accordance with their obligations as a NATO member; and what representations they have made to that government regarding meeting pledged defence spending targets under NATO, including the new target of 5 per cent.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) collects defence expenditure data from Allies and publishes it on a semi-regular basis. NATO spending reports are published online here: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49198.htm. At the NATO Summit, Allies committed to investing 5 per cent of gross domestic product annually on defence and security, composed of 3.5 per cent core defence spending and 1.5 per cent security and resilience spending, by 2035. We encourage all Allies to meet their NATO commitments.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Goldie on 2 July (HL Deb, col 1344), what representations they have made to the government of China with regard to the statement by the Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal that “it replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London in the highest appellate court in Hong Kong after 30 June 1997”.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Prior to the handover in 1997, the British Government had detailed discussions with the Chinese Government related to the establishment of a Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. I am not aware of any specific representations made by the British Government to the Chinese Government about a statement made by the Court of Final Appeal.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 December (HL12075), whether they will now answer the question put namely, in relation to the annual report for the Government's hospitality wine cellar, what saving they estimate might be made by substituting English and Welsh wines with comparable wines from elsewhere.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We do not hold details of the exact savings which might be made by substituting English and Welsh wines with comparable wines from elsewhere. This would be very much dependent on the alternative comparable wines available at the time, the types of functions we were looking to use them for and the volume in which we were looking to procure them – potential economies of scale etc. However, as detailed in the Wine Cellar Annual Report, we estimate that in 2017/18 English and Welsh wine made up 57% of all Wine Cellar wine consumed in 2017/2018. The average cost of each bottle of English/Welsh wine used was around £12.96. Whereas, the overall average price of each bottle used from other countries in the same period was £12.82. However, as already mentioned the cellar has been, and continues to be, a firm supporter of the UK wine industry in line with wider Government objectives to support British business and produce. Consequently, whilst English and Welsh wines might be more expensive than some alternatives from elsewhere, the differential is sufficiently small that we believe that this still represents good value for money in the proper expenditure of taxpayers' money.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 21 November (HCWS1098) in relation to the annual financial report for the Government’s hospitality wine cellar, what saving they estimate might be made by substituting English and Welsh wines with comparable wines from elsewhere.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government Hospitality wine cellar supplies wines and spirits for official business hospitality offered by Government Ministers to a range of domestic and international guests. The cellar has a clear objective of being able to supply the highest quality wines from around the world at the best prices, by purchasing wines young and relatively inexpensive and keeping them until they are ready to drink. The cellar has been a supporter of the UK wine industry for over 25 years and stocks a range of English and Welsh still and sparkling wines. However, some UK wines can cost more than some imported wines, and Government Hospitality must always strike a careful balance between the proper expenditure of taxpayers' money and the desire to promote UK produce. The stocking of the cellar is carefully managed to achieve the best value for money.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NATO headquarters concerning the (1) challenges, and (2) scope for further improvements to NATO's financial audits in response to a presentation from the International Board of Auditors for NATO to NATO on 24 March.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We believe NATO needs to move faster on implementing the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) recommendations. Some progress is being made. As a result of the recent Functional Review of the NATO HQ nations have agreed additional resources to address areas of weakness identified in risk management, internal audit and internal control. But there is currently no consensus among allies on how to proceed with IBAN’s Financial Performance audit recommendations. We have requested a NATO scoping paper setting out how the organisation intends to address some of the points raised and will continue to press for faster progress on implementing IBAN recommendations.