Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 implications for his Department's policies of reports that HSBC has terminated opposition party bank accounts in Hong Kong.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of these reports. Financial institutions operating in Hong Kong do so within a strict legal and regulatory framework. We will continue to use our channels with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to make clear our strong opposition to the ongoing erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong and China's ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary made plain our views with Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on 5 May.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) British-based officials or (b) officials from the High Commission in Delhi have attended the G20 Third Tourism Working Group Meeting in Kashmir.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The G20 Third Tourism Working Group Meeting in Srinagar was attended by a delegation of UK officials based in India.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 Cabinet colleagues on the potential national security implications of Chinese genomics company BGI Genomics opening a genome sequencing hub in the Queen Mary Bio Enterprises Innovation Centre.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continually monitor threats to our data, and will not hesitate to take action if necessary to protect our national security. We expect all firms to fully comply with UK privacy laws. Those which do not may be investigated and subject to enforcement action. We have also strengthened measures to prevent the transfer of assets or technology that could pose national security risks. This includes upgrading our export control regime and Military End Use Control and introducing the National Security and Investment Act. As part of the new UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is undertaking a full programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy, without stifling innovation, and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the use of Chinese-made solar panels in the UK sourced from companies using unethical supply chains.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and his officials are in regular contact with relevant Ministers and departments on matters of national security and foreign policy. The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses to engage with China in a way that reflects the UK's values. For example, last year we introduced new guidance on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang, enhanced export controls and announced the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act. This year, the Procurement Bill will enable public sector contracting authorities to reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers which are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain. Additionally, the UK's main solar industry trade association is leading the industry's response by developing and piloting the Solar Stewardship Initiative to further develop a responsible, transparent and sustainable solar value chain.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 implications for his policies of the decision by the Cambodian Electoral Commission to bar the opposition party from that country's General Elections; and whether he has raised this with the Cambodian government.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are disappointed by the decision of the Cambodian Electoral Commission to reject the Candlelight Party's election registration. We understand that the Candlelight Party will appeal this decision and the British Embassy in Phnom Penh will follow developments closely. The Embassy has been engaging a wide range of opposition parties, including the Candlelight Party, in the run up to the national election in July. Our Ambassador regularly raises our support for open democratic space at the highest levels with the Cambodian authorities. Our Embassy in Phnom Penh will continue to monitor the situation as Cambodia heads towards the elections.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 Central Asian counterparts on (a) climate change cooperation and (b) reduction in emissions.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We regularly engage on climate change and reducing emissions in Central Asia, both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. For example, during his visit to Astana in March the Foreign Secretary signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstan to encourage collaboration in developing and applying hydrogen technology. The Minister for Europe has also raised climate issues in meetings with interlocutors from Central Asia, and we have dedicated officials based in the region who lead on climate and environmental matters for the UK. We provide funding to a number of projects in the region which aim to improve climate cooperation and reduce the emissions produced by the Central Asian states.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions has he had with his counterparts in Central Asian states on (a) climate cooperation, (b) reducing methane emissions and (c) reducing CO2 emissions.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We regularly engage on climate change and reducing emissions in Central Asia, both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. For example, during his visit to Astana in March the Foreign Secretary signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstan to encourage collaboration in developing and applying hydrogen technology. The Minister for Europe has also raised climate issues in meetings with interlocutors from Central Asia, and we have dedicated officials based in the region who lead on climate and environmental matters for the UK. We provide funding to a number of projects in the region which aim to improve climate cooperation, and reduce the emissions produced by the Central Asian states.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has hade of the decision by the authorities in Hong Kong to suspend direct elections for District Councillors in the context of China's obligations under the Sino-British agreement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are monitoring the proposals announced on 2 May by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong regarding District Council elections as they are put to Legislative Council. Changes to electoral rules in Hong Kong since 2021 have eroded the ability of Hong Kongers to be represented legitimately at all levels of government. We have made clear with our G7 partners our serious issues over the erosion of democratic elements in Hong Kong's electoral system. We will continue to bring together our international partners, to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out violations of their rights and freedoms, and to hold China to the international obligations it freely agreed to.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average cost to his Department has been of answering written Parliamentary questions in the 2022-23 Parliamentary session.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not hold this level of detail on resources used to answer Written Parliamentary Questions in its central records. There is, however, a Disproportionate Cost Threshold which is set at £850. This is set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work (2022) published on 14 November 2022.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average cost of answering a written parliamentary question submitted to his Department was in 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not hold this level of detail on resources used to answer Written Parliamentary Questions in its central records. There is, however, a Disproportionate Cost Threshold which is set at £850. This is set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work (2022) published on 14 November 2022.