Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the recovery of Sri Lanka from Cyclone Ditwah.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the extensive damage and distress caused by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka. The British High Commissioner in Colombo has been in regular contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Disaster Management Centre, and the UN Resident Coordinator to monitor the situation and understand emerging needs.
We have allocated £1 million of humanitarian support through the Red Cross, UN partners and civil society organisations to support immediate humanitarian assistance.
The UK is tracking the situation closely and remains in regular contact with the Sri Lankan authorities and humanitarian partners.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what engagement her Department has had with counterparts in Sri Lanka regarding Storm Ditwah.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 18 December in response to Question 99464.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the US government shutdown on (a) sanctions coordination, (b) security cooperation and (c) other joint UK–US foreign policy initiatives.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain in constant contact with our US counterparts on a range of joint foreign policy initiatives and priorities.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms are in place to ensure effective coordination between the (a) FCDO, (b) National Crime Agency and (c) Border Security Command in implementing sanctions against (i) people smugglers and (ii) their enablers.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The new regime has been established by this government to prevent and disrupt the operations of criminal gangs who smuggle people along dangerous migrant routes to attempt the channel crossing into the UK. This new regime boosts our ability to prevent, combat, deter, and disrupt irregular migration and hold smugglers and their enablers accountable.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials engage in regular consultation with a range of key stakeholders, including the National Crime Agency and Border Security Command to ensure coordination, effectiveness and implementation.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of the people smuggling sanctions regime.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has so far sanctioned 25 targets - 20 individuals and five entities - at the heart of people-smuggling networks that drive irregular migration to the UK. These targets were identified through close co-ordination across government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Home Office, National Crime Agency, our global network of Diplomatic Posts and others. We will collectively continue to monitor the effectiveness of the designations imposed so far, including with international partners and others, and forthcoming designations, as we seek to demonstrate our ability to target individuals and entities around the world, disrupt the activities of criminal networks, and deter others from engaging in this vile trade.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria are used to determine which (a) individuals and (b) companies involved in people smuggling should be recommended for sanctions.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The new regime has been established by this government to prevent and disrupt the operations of criminal gangs who smuggle people along dangerous migrant routes to attempt the channel crossing into the UK. This new regime boosts our ability to prevent, combat, deter, and disrupt irregular migration and hold smugglers and their enablers accountable.
The Government has set out the following factors relevant to the consideration of designations under the Global Irregular Migration regime in a policy note here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-irregular-migration-sanctions-consideration-of-designations/global-irregular-migration-sanctions-consideration-of-designations#interaction-with-law-enforcement-activities. These include wider government irregular migration policy priorities and the scale, nature and impact of the activity. Sanctions are a foreign policy and national security tool under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and the exercise of sanctions functions under that Act is a matter for the Foreign Secretary.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to publish the list of (a) individuals and (b) entities sanctioned under the new people smuggling sanctions regime.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Sanctions List is updated every time a decision is made to make, vary or revoke a designation. The list is published on gov.uk and sets out which people, entities and ships are designated or specified under regulations made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, and why. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list. The list of individuals and entities sanctioned under the Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons regime was updated on 23 July 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria are used to determine whether an (a) individual and (b) entity is considered an enabler of people smuggling for the purposes of sanctions.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To consider whether someone is an enabler or otherwise involved in the relevant activity, we use the criteria set out in regulation 8 of The Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025, combined with the statutory threshold of reasonable grounds to suspect and taking information from a range of sources.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff hours in his Department were allocated to (a) drafting, (b) reviewing and (c) promoting the LGBTQIA+ Legal Guidebook; and what estimate he has made of the total cost of this.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works with a range of organisations globally to protect and promote the human rights of the most vulnerable communities. The Legal Guidebook in question was developed by external partners, with no HMG staff time allocated to drafting. A small amount of staff time in our Embassy in Manila was allocated to hosting the launch event, part of HMG's efforts to advocate for human rights-compliant laws and policies around the world.