Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received representations from charities about difficulties in sending medicines, including paracetamol, by lorry to Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working closely with the UN and other humanitarian partners to ensure a well-coordinated and well-funded response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the region. We have not been approached by our partners about any difficulties in sending medicines to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the statement by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office quoted in the Financial Times on 4 November that clean energy equities in emerging and developing markets "consistently outperform the MSCI Emerging Markets Index" were cleared with (1) the Financial Conduct Authority, and (2) ministers.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
At a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) event in the margins of COP26, officials presented on mobilisation as a policy agenda and quoted a reputable research document authored by the International Energy Agency in collaboration with the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. Their report highlighted that investments in clean energy transition in emerging markets have outperformed comparable benchmarks for emerging market assets. Referencing these research findings does not constitute investment advice by FCDO.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they used in developing their proposal to invest up to £25 million in the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Asian renewable energy investment trust; and whether those criteria included an assessment of the number of such trusts that are already established.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust proposal was assessed against the following 'Mobilising Institutional Capital in Public Markets' (MOBILIST) Competition criteria: i) scalability; ii) replicability; iii) commercial viability; iv) additionality; v) feasibility; vi) credibility. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's assessment of the investment trust universe currently listed on the London market is that there are presently no products with exclusive exposure to renewables in lower-middle and low-income countries, such as those comprising the ThomasLloyd portfolio.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their proposed investment of up to £25 million in the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Asian renewable energy investment trust has been approved by the accounting officer of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
All investments made by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the Mobilist programme to support Competition participants, including the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust, are subject to prior review and approval by both FCDO's Finance and International Finance Division.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office launched a tender process before proposing an investment of up to £25 million in the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Asian renewable energy investment trust.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The decision in principle to invest in the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust is the outcome of an open competition. The 'Mobilising Institutional Capital in Public Markets' (MOBILIST) Competition was launched at a public event on 8th February 2021 and was publicised via HMG's website and through social media. All Expressions of Interest were subject to initial assessment and increasing levels of analysis and due diligence as the competition progressed. At each stage of the competition participants' proposals were evaluated against the same pre-defined selection criteria.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with EU member state governments about the possibility of imposing sanctions on Saudi officials once the outcome of investigations into the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi is known.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary remains in close contact with international partners, including his counterparts in the US, France and Germany on the case of Jamal Khashoggi. The Foreign Secretary has issued two joint statements alongside his G7 counterparts, including the US, on 17 and 23 October. He has also issued two joint statements with his French and German counterparts, on 14 and 21 October.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether in their consideration of the implications of the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi for British-Saudi Arabian relations they intend to take into account the allegations of illegal abductions of Saudi citizens to Saudi Arabia that were reported by the BBC in August 2017.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We await the outcome of the investigations into the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi. We are treating this incident very seriously. The UK response will be based on the outcome of a credible, transparent investigation.
Asked by: Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any government officials will attend the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on 23–25 October; and whether they intend to reduce any delegation or cancel attendance following the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We decided and can confirm that no British Government representatives attended the Future Investment Initiative conference last week. As with the decision about attendance by the Secretary of State for International Trade, we decided that it is not the right time for officials to attend the conference.