Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Researchers at Risk programme, organised by the British Academy in collaboration with the Council for At-Risk Academics and other UK National Academies, in rescuing and supporting researchers from Ukraine; and if he will make it his policy to help expand the programme to cover academics from other countries where they face serious risk.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
More than 170 Ukrainian academics have been supported in the UK under the 'Researchers at Risk' programme, launched in March 2022. £3 million was initially allocated to the programme. A further £9.8 million, announced by the Government in June 2022, helped it to expand significantly to meet demand. The first priority of the programme was to enable Ukraine-based researchers to continue their research at UK institutions, whether they were fleeing the conflict or already in the UK and unable to return home. The Academy hopes to open the scheme more widely, when possible, subject to funding.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential utility of an augmentation task force of experienced UK former (a) officials and (b) military personnel to work on preliminary plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in London demonstrated the UK's commitment to Ukraine's reconstruction. It is for Ukraine to lead reconstruction planning in accordance with the National Recovery Plan it unveiled in 2022. Through the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine, we, alongside partners, are working with Ukraine to determine its immediate recovery priorities. We are considering initiatives to support Ukraine's early recovery and reform programme. At the URC, we announced £240 million of bilateral assistance this year for Ukraine's humanitarian, early recovery and reform needs. FCDO's Civilian Stabilisation Group already provides rapidly deployable specialist conflict expertise to target priority conflicts.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the United Nations Human Rights Council against the appointment of Iran’s ambassador to the UN as chairman of its Social Forum 2023; and for what reason no alternative candidate was nominated by the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Iranian Government is responsible for persistent, widespread and serious human rights violations and can have no international credibility in this sphere. This is why we worked with partners in December to ensure Iran was expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The Social Forum is a subsidiary body of the UN Human Rights Council which the UK does not traditionally attend. The chair rotates between members' ambassadors according to region and this year is the turn of the Asia-Pacific region. The UK will continue to work closely with our partners to hold Iran to account in international fora; to that end we regularly meet with UN representatives, both in the UK and overseas through UK Missions in Geneva, New York and around the world.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to help support Malawi with the impacts of Cyclone Freddy.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working closely with the Government of Malawi and international agencies to respond to Cyclone Freddy. We are supporting the Emergency Operations Centre established in Blantyre and working closely with partners to rapidly identify the needs of those affected. We are looking at options for further UK support including how we can help those still stranded, help manage trauma cases and extend our support to tackle the ongoing cholera outbreak.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of the places available in the first year under ACRS Pathway 3 have been filled, pending security checks, by eligible (a) British Council (i) contractors and (ii) contractors' family members, (b) GardaWorld (i) contractors and (ii) contractors' family members and (c) Chevening (i) Alumni and (ii) Alumni family members.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government received over 11,400 expressions of interest (EOI) under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which we have been assessing against the eligibility criteria. We have informed just under 200 individuals that they are eligible in principle for resettlement, subject to passing security checks. Including their dependents, this accounts for over 750 of the 1500 available places on Pathway 3 in year one. We will not be commenting on individual cohort numbers while EOIs are still being processed and security checks are outstanding. As initial security checks are completed, we are providing further information on next steps to eligible individuals. We will update Parliament further once we have completed the allocation process, have notified all those who submitted EOIs of the outcome and have assured data to share.