Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding his Department or its predecessors have provided for the Syrian Civil Defence (White Helmets) in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK funding to the Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets) since their formation in 2014 totals £55.6 million. By financial year this support is:
FY 2014-2015 £2,375,287
FY 2015-2016 £12,171,537
FY 2016-2017 £10,471,689
FY 2017-2018 £13,401,000
FY 2018-2019 £7,515,117
FY 2019-2020 £1,936,856
FY 2020-2021 £1,078,826
FY 2021-2022 £2,280,544
In the current Financial Year, 2022-2023, the UK is providing £2.5 million of support to the White Helmets. Since the devastating impacts of the earthquake in Syria, the UK has released an additional £4.3 million to White Helmets to assist their vital search and rescue operation and recovery efforts. The UK is proud of our longstanding partnership with the White Helmets who consistently play a crucial role in supporting Syrian civilians in the most desperate circumstances.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent steps the Government has taken to support refugees and internally displaced people overseas.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains at the forefront of refugee responses around the world. In March, the Foreign Secretary announced ‘at least £205 million’ to the Syria Crisis, bringing our total support to over £3.7 billion since 2012.
We continue to be one of the lead donors to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), supporting its efforts to provide assistance to vulnerable refugees in some of the most challenging environments around the world.
The UK is also one of the largest bilateral donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, supporting access to vaccines in up to 92 low and middle-income countries, aiming to supply 1.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines before the end of 2021.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking with his counterparts in the (a) Chinese Government, (b) US Administration and (c) EU on limiting global temperature increases.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Climate change is one of the most urgent and pressing challenges facing the world today. No country can solve this problem alone and we are working with all partners to raise global ambition in this area. We will continue to intensify our engagement with China, the US and the EU in the run up to 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which as you know the British government bid and secured responsibility to host in Glasgow in November this year, in partnership with Italy. COP26 will be the major international moment for climate change in 2020, and there is no greater priority this year for the FCO. Our diplomatic network network will have a key role to play in driving up ambition and action.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has been invited to attend the meeting of a new contact group on Syria at the UN in New York in September 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
President Macron has announced his intention to convene a contact group to discuss Syria at the United Nations in New York in September. We are in regular touch with our French counterparts on this and other issues, as part of our close cooperation on Syria.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government last held discussions with the Saudi government in which specific reference was made to human rights in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised human rights with the Saudi Arabian authorities on 7 September. Our Embassy in Riyadh also frequently raise our concerns and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to publish written guidlines for British drone strikes.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Unmanned drones are no different from any other weapon system and subject to the same legal and other frameworks. We have no plans to publish any guidelines. I refer the hon. Member to the evidence provided by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 16 December 2015 to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what presence his Department has in Burkina Faso; and what steps his Department is taking to support a peaceful transition of presidential power in Burkina Faso in 2015.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK has an Honorary Consul in Burkina Faso who provides basic consular assistance to British Nationals as and when required. Our High Commissioner to Ghana is currently awaiting accreditation as non-resident Ambassador to Burkina Faso. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for International Development visited Burkina Faso in February 2014.
The UK supports the democratic process in Burkina Faso and wishes to see peaceful and constitutional elections in 2015, in order to secure Burkina Faso’s own stability and that of the region. We are working with partners on the ground, including the European Union, to make clear to the Government of Burkina Faso international concern about possible attempts to amend the constitution ahead of the elections.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effects of political instability in Burkina Faso on (a) the Sahelian region and (b) the Ebola outbreak.
Answered by James Duddridge
Serious political instability in Burkina Faso would have a wider effect given the fragility of the Sahel region. Burkina Faso has demonstrated commitment to ensuring regional stability through its role as a mediator on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) during the Mali crisis, and as a major contributor to the United Nations Multi-Dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali. We are working with international partners to make clear to the Burkina Faso government our desire to see this positive approach to external stability mirrored domestically.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is an unprecedented human tragedy. The UN has declared it a public health crisis requiring an urgent international response.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of school-age girls in Nigeria abducted by Boko Haram or similar groups in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
While abductions by Boko Haram are not new, the scale of this recent abduction of over 200 school girls from Chibok School on 14 April was unprecedented. As most of the reported abductions in the last few years have taken place in remote areas, where communication is difficult, we have been unable to verify the details of how many have taken place or how many children have been abducted.