Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the government of Italy on that country's recent ban on couples travelling abroad for surrogacy.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As a key ally, we exchange views frankly and respectfully with Italy including on women's empowerment, gender equality and LGBT+ issues. We do this bilaterally and in multilateral fora. The FCDO will continue to discuss a range of issues with Italian counterparts.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance he is providing to the Republic of Moldova against potential Russian aggression.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During my visit to Chisinau on 16-17 September, I represented the UK at the Moldova Partnership Platform and met President Sandu, Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi and Defence Minister Nosatii to reaffirm the UK's strong support for Moldova in the face of Russian hybrid aggression. This year alone, the UK is providing £27 million of humanitarian, development and defence support to Moldova, including £4.3 million through the Good Governance Fund to strengthen Moldova's capacity to respond to threats. In September, I announced that at least £8 million of our humanitarian support to Ukraine would be used in interventions in Moldova.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has taken steps to work with international stakeholders on creating an international fund for Israel-Palestinian Peace.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This government has prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages, in co-ordination with international partners, since day one. We will continue to use every diplomatic lever to bring about a ceasefire deal as the first step towards long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, and the wider region. The Foreign Secretary has raised the issue of securing long-term peace in all his meetings with counterparts across the region, in addition to the US, Germany and France. The UK will play our full diplomatic role in ending this conflict and creating a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in the context of the G7's commitment to support Israeli-Palestinian civil society peacebuilding.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I have stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in our conversations with Israeli, Arab and regional leaders. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this message during visits to the region on 14-15 July and 31 July - 1 August and during his joint visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories with his French counterpart on 16 August. The Prime Minister has also joined international leaders in this call.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
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 implications for his policies of proposals to establish a UN convention on the rights of older people.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is fully committed to promoting and protecting the rights of all people, including older people. Building stronger legal frameworks at the domestic and international level is key. We were an active participant in the work of the UN's Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing and we welcomed the consensus adoption by the General Assembly in September of its recommendations. The UK seeks to play a constructive role on these issues and we are open to considering further standard-setting, including the possibility of a multilateral instrument to help further address the issues faced by older people.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
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 implications for his policies of the report entitled China: The top ten priorities for early Labour government action published by the Coalition on Secure Technology and the Council on Geostrategy China Observatory in September 2024.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government will bring a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, driven by the national interest. We will co-operate where we can, including on global net zero, health and trade; compete where we have different interests; and challenge where we must, to protect our national security and values. We will improve the UK's capability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses through an audit of the UK's relationship with China as a bilateral and global actor.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report entitled China: The top ten priorities for early Labour government action published by the Coalition on Secure Technology and the Council on Geostrategy China Observatory in September 2024, what steps he is taking to (a) tackle vulnerabilities, (b) redirect critical economic supply chains and (c) otherwise reduce dependencies.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Building economic security is fully compatible with a push for growth. In an age of insecurity, a more resilient economy is essential to avoid geopolitical or climatic shocks leading to economic damage on the living standards of working people. Enhancing economic security helps safeguard longer-term growth, and strengthening and securing global supply chains is essential to the UK's future economic resilience.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help end the execution of political prisoners in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. Iran's consistently high rate of executions is a deliberate attempt to instil fear and stifle dissent. In August, I said on X that we condemned the Iranian regime's executions, including that of protester Reza Rasaei. We will continue to hold Iran accountable for its appalling human rights violations, including at the UN Third Committee in October 2024.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to help secure the release of Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner, Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
British national Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for the Government. The Foreign Secretary raised his case in his first meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ASEAN Summit on 26 July. We will continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Jimmy Lai and we will continue to press for consular access.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the recovery, stabilisation and reconstruction of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) as soon as the context allows. Planning for that must start now. The UK is clear: this must be Palestinian-led and support a political process towards a two-state solution. The UK's humanitarian aid and technical assistance, including through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and to the Palestinian Authority, is helping to support Gaza and prepare for that next phase. But the scale of the challenge is large. According to a UN/World Bank assessment earlier this year, reconstruction costs will exceed $18.5 billion. The UK is therefore committed to working with international partners, other donors, the UN, World Bank and private sector to begin planning for how we can meet this challenge.