Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to her Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence.
The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that UK companies are not complicit in the use of Uyghur forced labour in the (a) manufacture of products of (b) chains of supply.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Department for International Trade has been taking forward measures to help make sure British businesses are not complicit in violations of rights and responsibilities in Xinjiang, as announced in Parliament by the Foreign Secretary on 12th January. This includes a review of export controls as they apply to Xinjiang, to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to prevent the export of any goods that could directly or indirectly contribute to any such violations. It includes updating our Overseas Business Risk guidance too, underlining the specific risks faced by companies with links to Xinjiang and the challenges of conducting effective due diligence there.
We continue to advise businesses with supply chain links in Xinjiang to conduct appropriate due diligence to satisfy themselves that their activities do not support, or risk being seen to be supporting, any violations of rights or responsibilities.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of inserting clauses on human rights in future trade deals with China in order to help tackle forced Uyghar labour in that country.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom has a strong history of promoting our values globally. We will continue to encourage all states to uphold their international obligations and are clear that trade does not have to come at the expense of rights and responsibilities.
China remains an important trading partner for the United Kingdom and we are pursuing increased bilateral trade, but do not have plans to negotiate a free trade agreement currently.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has had discussions with her Israeli counterpart on illegal annexation; and if she will take steps to reconsider UK trade deals with settlement territories.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government has maintained a dialogue with Israel and we welcome the suspension of Israel’s plans for annexation, which would have been counterproductive to the goal of securing peace in the region.
The United Kingdom does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), including settlements, as part of Israel. For this reason, the OPTs are not covered by the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which currently governs our trade with Israel, nor by the United Kingdom-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, which will enter into force at the end of the Transition Period.