Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to offer covid-19 vaccinations to British citizens living abroad.
Answered by Nigel Adams
There are no plans to roll out the UK's NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme to British nationals living overseas. As a residence-based system, the NHS does not provide healthcare (including vaccinations) outside the UK.
Wherever possible, British nationals should aim to be vaccinated in the country where they live. We are providing information through the Travel Advice pages and 'Living In' guides on gov.uk to inform British nationals of healthcare options available to them, including on the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. The UK is also playing a leading international role to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines. For example, we have contributed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to ensure that the 92 most vulnerable economies have access to COVID-19 vaccines. The UK has also committed to sharing 100 million vaccine doses by June 2022, with the majority going to COVAX.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many discussions he has had with his Iraqi counterparts on Turkish military interventions in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK continues to follow the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan closely. The Foreign Secretary met with Iraqi President Saleh, Prime Minister Kadhimi and Foreign Minister Hussein during his visit to Iraq on 8-9 June, and welcomed recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He also reiterated the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. The UK continues to engage with Turkey on a broad range of regional issues.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has he had with his Turkish counterparts on Turkish military intervention in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK continues to follow the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan closely. The Foreign Secretary met with Iraqi President Saleh, Prime Minister Kadhimi and Foreign Minister Hussein during his visit to Iraq on 8-9 June, and welcomed recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He also reiterated the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. The UK continues to engage with Turkey on a broad range of regional issues.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of allegations that Turkey used chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have not made an assessment of the allegations.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) parliamentary and (b) public engagement on the UN Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction process to negotiate a treaty covering the high seas.
Answered by James Duddridge
Further to my answer given on 21 May 2021 to questions 851 and 852, Lord Goldsmith, the Minister of State for the Pacific and the Environment, who leads on UK international ocean policy, regularly discusses the BBNJ Agreement in his engagement with parliamentarians and public stakeholders and in his speeches on biodiversity and ocean protection. The draft text is complex and technical and the UK delegation actively engages key stakeholders including in the NGO, marine science, academic and bio-industry community in the UK. The negotiations themselves take place at the United Nations in New York, are broadcast on UN TV and accredited observer organisations can participate. UK and international environmental organisations are fully aware of the UK's role and objectives.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the incident at Jau Prison on 17 April 2021, what representations he will make to his Bahraini counterpart on (a) inviting the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit and (b) allowing (i) Human Rights Watch, (ii) Amnesty International and (iii) other human rights organisations and monitoring bodies to enter Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We understand that the Government of Bahrain has taken steps to engage with the United Nations, and we continue to encourage this engagement. We understand that the Ombudsman has reached out to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, noting that they are keen to work cooperatively on accusations raised by the Non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We encourage both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch to accept this offer of engagement.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the incident at Jau Prison on 17 April 2021, what plans he has to make representations to his Bahraini counterpart on (a) the welfare of political prisoners in Bahrain, (b) ensuring that victims of the incident at the prison receive adequate and timely medical care and (c) ensuring that prisoners are able to access phone calls.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have regularly discussed the challenge of managing the Covid-19 pandemic in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini Government. We continue to monitor these conditions through our regular contact with the oversight bodies.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what reports the Government has received on the incident at Jau Prison in Bahrain on 17 April 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Since the incident on April 17, we have been monitoring the situation and are in contact with the Ombudsman, who has published its investigation into the event. We understand from the authorities that this was an organised and violent disruption, that prison staff took necessary measures to respond to, to mitigate the threat to the prison's overall security, staff and other inmates. We encourage those with concerns over mistreatment during the incident to share these details with the relevant oversight bodies, in order to allow them to conduct their ongoing monitoring.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the incident at Jau Prison on 17 April 2021, what representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart to ascertain the welfare and whereabouts of (a) Sayed Alawi Alwadaei and (b) Saeed Abdulemam.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have been informed that prison policy is to disperse those involved in this sort of activity amongst the other inmates. Both Sayed Alawi Alwadaei and Saeed Abdulemam have been moved to the new facilities at the Jau Reform and Rehabilitation Centre, which have been inspected by the Ombudsman and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) and the National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR). We understand that they have access to medical services, and they do not have any health care issues.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March to Questions 151798 and 160767 on Western Sahara: Trade Agreements, whether the consultations included seeking the consent of the UN recognised representatives of the Saharawi people, the Polisario.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The European Commission's report, which includes the list of stakeholders consulted, including the Polisario Front, can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=SWD:2018:346:FIN&from=FR(opens%20in%20a%20new%20tab)