Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 his South African counterpart on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with counterparts in Southern Africa on these issues and engaged with Zambia and Botswana specifically regarding controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK. More recently, in July 2022 Lord Goldsmith met the Botswanan Minister of Environment and Tourism and discussed the UK's proposal.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Namibian counterpart on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on the (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with counterparts in Southern Africa on these issues and engaged with Zambia and Botswana specifically regarding controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK. More recently, in July 2022 Lord Goldsmith met the Botswanan Minister of Environment and Tourism and discussed the UK's proposal.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 his counterpart in Mozambique on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with counterparts in Southern Africa on these issues and engaged with Zambia and Botswana specifically regarding controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK. More recently, in July 2022 Lord Goldsmith met the Botswanan Minister of Environment and Tourism and discussed the UK's proposal.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 his counterpart in Botswana on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with counterparts in Southern Africa on these issues and engaged with Zambia and Botswana specifically regarding controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK. More recently, in July 2022 Lord Goldsmith met the Botswanan Minister of Environment and Tourism and discussed the UK's proposal.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Zambian counterpart on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on the (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with counterparts in Southern Africa on these issues and engaged with Zambia and Botswana specifically regarding controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK. More recently, in July 2022 Lord Goldsmith met the Botswanan Minister of Environment and Tourism and discussed the UK's proposal.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 his counterpart in Angola on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with international counterparts on these issues, however, different to many other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Angola does not use hunting licences as a source of income or as a method of conservation.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 his counterpart in Tanzania on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The British High Commission in Tanzania engages regularly with government and non-government stakeholders to discuss initiatives to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods. It did so most recently in February 2023. Government-resourced wildlife conservation in Tanzania is overwhelmingly financed through the national park fees of non-hunting tourists. We assess that the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill will not have a major impact on the economy and conservation model.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on their ability to deliver successful policy outcomes.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Leaving the EU has provided the UK with the freedom to conceive and implement laws and policies that put the UK first. In 2020 the UK and EU concluded the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) - the world's largest zero tariffs and zero quotas deal, taking back control of our laws, borders, money and fisheries. The TCA and the Withdrawal Agreement are functioning broadly as expected and are monitored through their respective institutions, giving the UK the opportunity to maximise the benefits of Brexit.
The Government is now focussed on implementing the TCA and building respectful, mature relationships with our European neighbours to address shared challenges, such as our collective response to the Ukraine crisis, energy and illegal migration.
The UK continues to work multilaterally with the G7 and NATO, and has also established a new strategic partnership with AUKUS.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, UN and the Commonwealth plans to respond to correspondence of the Hon. Member for North Herefordshire of 21 June and 5 September.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are grateful to the Honourable member for bringing this matter to our attention. We apologise for the delay and will work to expedite a response.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the timeliness of responses to correspondence from hon. Members.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The FCDO receives the ninth highest volume of correspondence across Whitehall Departments. We have responded to 68% of ministerial correspondence within Cabinet Office deadlines in the last quarter compared to 48% for all government departments. We have reduced outstanding correspondence by 57% over the last 6 months. Following the significant and ongoing increase in correspondence received since 2020, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has begun a focused programme of work to streamline processes and improve response times to tackle the high volume.