Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much UK embassies have spent on hospitality in the last two years.
Answered by David Lidington
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertakes a wide range of activities to establish and maintain contacts throughout its network of over 270 overseas embassies, consulates and other posts. This includes meetings and events hosted for political and business delegations (including those in support of UK Trade and Industry) to promote British interests overseas and the prosperity agenda. For financial years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, FCO expenditure on official representation and business hospitality undertaken at our overseas posts was £8,539,350.61 and £7,888,008.22 respectively. Any such spending is undertaken for business reasons, and is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that the outcome of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict reflects the wide range of people affected by such violence.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict will turn the political commitments made in the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict into practical action and bring real change to those affected by this crime. We have consulted widely with experts, practitioners and international partners since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative in 2012, including on the outcomes of the Summit. Over 1,500 delegates will attend, including legal, military and judicial practitioners, representatives from multilateral organisations, and over 100 NGOs and grassroots organisations. The Summit is an opportunity for governments from countries around the world to hear directly from those affected what action needs to be taken to effectively tackle this issue.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the UK has taken to support UN Security Council Resolution 2139 regarding humanitarian access in Syria.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
The UK played a leading role in ensuring the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2139 on 22 February. Since then, we have regularly echoed the UN Security Council's demand that all parties to the conflict, in particular the Syrian authorities, implement fully the requirements of UNSCR 2139. We welcome the National Coalition's commitment to implementing UNSCR 2139 and have encouraged those with influence on the parties to urge them to implement the demands of the resolution. The UK is working closely with P5 colleagues and others in New York on a draft resolution in response to the UN Secretary General's call for the UNSC to act decisively to address the worsening humanitarian situation.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what aid the Government has provided for the relief of flooding and landslides in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia.
Answered by David Lidington
I discussed the impact of the floods with Prime Minister Vucic of Serbia in Belgrade on 2 June and with Prime Minister Bevanda in Sarajevo on 3 June. During my visit to the region I also met the Serbian Red Cross and travelled to Maglaj in Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet the Mayor and representatives of World Vision.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), between 18 and 23 May a thirty-three person water rescue team from the British Fire Service was deployed to work alongside EUFOR Operation Althea and local rescue efforts. They rescued nearly 200 people, delivered large amounts of humanitarian aid, and helped restore power in villages North of Bijeljina.
In Serbia, the UK provided 64 radios for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, to assist with the coordination of their response teams; and donated £280,000 worth of heavy lift and transport vehicles to the Serbian Red Cross to aid their relief distribution effort.
A team from the UK flew out to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the week commencing 20 May to assess likely humanitarian and recovery needs. During my visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina I was able to announce that the UK had approved £250,000 to support a World Vision flood response project in the region focussing on sanitation and health and providing support for 140,000 people made homeless by the floods.
In addition to this bilateral support, the UK provided support to BiH, Serbia and Croatia through the EU, UN and other international organisations. In BiH, EUFOR Operation Althea, to which the UK contributes troops in-theatre and in reserve, assisted the BiH Armed Forces in their response to the flooding. The First Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who provide part of EUFOR's intermediate reserve, and are in BiH for a routine operational rehearsal, will assist the BiH Armed Forces in this regard.
The UK has worked closely with the EU European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), and offered advice and assistance during all phases of the flood response effort. ECHO have released €3.2m in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable population in BiH and in Serbia (to which the UK will have contributed 15%).
The Government will work closely with the UNDP, the EU and other international organisations to assess what further help might be given to help both Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina recover from the impact of the floods.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
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 outbreak of the ebola virus in Western Africa.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
We continue to monitor the Ebola outbreak in West Africa closely. As of 6 June there had been over 220 confirmed cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
International health agencies are providing support to affected countries. There is no specific vaccine or anti-viral drug available, so the priority is to contain the outbreak by limiting human to human transmission by early identification and care for those affected.
We are keeping our Travel Advice for British nationals under regular review and in line with WHO guidance. There have been no reports of British citizens being infected and there have been no known imported cases of Ebola in the UK to date.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in working with the Commonwealth Secretary-General to review LGBT rights in Uganda.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) wrote to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth on 1 March to ask him to work with us to review the worrying trend on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the Commonwealth. We welcomed the Commonwealth Secretary-General's statement to the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council on 6 March reiterating the Commonwealth's commitment to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of rights without discrimination on any grounds. Whilst we support the work of the Secretariat in strengthening the capacity of national human rights institutions to engage their respective governments on sensitive areas such as LGBT rights, we continue to encourage the Commonwealth to do more to address LGBT rights across the Commonwealth, and in particular Uganda.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
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 conflict in Central African Republic as described in UN OCHA Central African Republic Situation Report No. 2.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
Reports from the Central African Republic (CAR), including those of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), show that the country remains beset by violence and instability. We welcome the vital ongoing work of African Union, French and EU security forces, without whom the situation would likely be far worse. The UK will continue to work with the UN to ensure the effective deployment of the UN Peacekeeping Operation (MINUSCA), and with the AU to support MISCA's efforts ahead of the transition to MINUSCA. I last discussed the situation in CAR with interim President Catherine Samba-Panza on 23 May.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what co-operation programmes between the UK and Thailand there are; and what steps he has taken to review that co-operation.
Answered by Lord Swire
The UK and Thailand have strong bilateral ties which are exemplified by a range of activities and programmes across the political, commercial, and cultural spectrum, for example strong trading and tourism links. We want our bilateral relationship to prosper, but in view of the rapid and serious deterioration of the democratic environment, we are reviewing the scope of our cooperation with Thailand. We are particularly concerned by restrictions on the freedoms of assembly, association and expression, and by the large numbers of arbitrary detentions we have seen since the coup was announced.