Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he had discussions with his Lebanese counterpart on the efforts of Christian schools in that country to counter Islamic extremism.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending, promoting and strengthening Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and partnering with Lebanon in the shared fight against terrorism. Since 2016, the UK has provided over £6 million in funding to the Tripoli and Beirut-based MARCH, which promotes social cohesion and combats violent extremism, supporting vulnerable youth to become positive actors in their communities. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, continue to maintain close relationships with religious leaders across Lebanon.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Lebanese counterpart on the situation of Christians in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending, promoting and strengthening Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. Lebanon is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. Maintaining and strengthening close relationships with religious leaders across Lebanon is a priority for the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, supported by the British Embassy in Beirut. The UK also maintains close relations with civil society organisations in Lebanon that champion FoRB.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department have made an assessment on the current levels of foreign aid funding for schools in Lebanon.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and likeminded donors continue to work closely with the Government of Lebanon to help address pressures facing its education sector - including as a result of Lebanon's economic crisis. In February, the Foreign Secretary announced a £2.6 million contribution to support the education of vulnerable out-of-school children in Lebanon. The UK is also providing £7.35 million to the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund, which supports UN agencies and NGOs to provide education, as well as other critical services such as food, water and shelter to vulnerable communities across Lebanon.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much aid his Department has provided to China in the last five years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We stopped direct government-to-government aid to the Chinese Government in 2011. Total FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) China spend between 2018-2022 was £103.5 million, including ODA spend such as British Council activity. In a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) in April 2021, the FCDO committed to cut ODA funded programmes in China by 95 per cent from the 2021-22 financial year, which it has delivered. All new ODA programme funding has been limited to supporting our open societies and human rights objectives in China. The projects we fund using ODA typically aim to support those in China who work to improve human rights. Final data for UK ODA spend in 2023 will be available when the next Statistics on International Development (SID) is published in September 2024. A significant proportion of this funding was spent by the British council.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s aid relationship with China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We stopped direct government-to-government aid to the Chinese Government in 2011. In a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) in April 2021, the FCDO committed to cut Official Development Assistance (ODA) funded programmes in China by 95 per cent from the 2021-22 financial year, which it has delivered. All new ODA programme funding has been limited to supporting our open societies and human rights objectives in China.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK–St Helena development partnership summary, published in July 2023, whether he has taken recent steps to support tourism in St Helena.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government works closely with St Helena's leadership to support tourism development and funded the construction of St Helena Airport to improve access to the Island. The UK Government provides significant financial aid to St Helena (up to £34.06 million in 2024/25). This includes support for the delivery of public services, the airport and £500,000 of ringfenced funding for tourism development, with the same level of tourism support also provided in 2023/24. In addition, up to £30 million is being provided between 2019-28 for long-term capital infrastructure development.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many UK nationals have requested consular assistance in Zimbabwe in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Following initial triage of inquiries, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance to the following number of British nationals in Zimbabwe:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to expand the consular mission in Harare.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
There are no plans to increase the number of consular staff in Harare. Staffing levels are regularly reviewed and a regional resilience model is in place to support surges in demand.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what plans he has to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordiale.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
On 8 April, the UK and France celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale with joint changing of the guard ceremonies at Buckingham Palace and the Élysée Palace. Throughout this anniversary year, our respective embassies are organising events reflecting the breadth of the UK-France relationship, showcasing our longstanding cooperation on issues including climate change, science, sport, culture, defence, education, and trade. In meetings last week, I reflected on this anniversary and positive state of the relationship with my French counterpart and with the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish a summary of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' recent meeting with Benny Gantz.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 6 March, following his meeting with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz. The Foreign Secretary made clear the steps Israel must take to increase aid into Gaza, and the UK's deep concern about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.