Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of his Department's Prosperity Fund was allocated to energy projects in each financial year since 2013-14.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The FCO Prosperity Fund was the FCO's dedicated annual fund supporting prosperity work overseas from 2011 until March 2016. Through targeted projects its aims were to support the conditions for global and UK growth.
Since 2013/14 the Prosperity Fund allocated the following to energy projects:
• 2013/14 approximately 23% (£4.5m from a total budget of £19.5m)
• 2014/15 approximately 17% (£3.3m from £19.5m)
• 2015/16 approximately 20% (£5.9m from £29.3m)
These figures include ODA and non-ODA projects on energy distribution, security, policy and efficiency as well as renewables, oil, gas and coal.
The FCO Prosperity Fund ended in March 2016 and was replaced by the new cross-government Prosperity Fund. More information is available on gov.uk where all FCO ODA spend is published.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question HL381, what steps he has taken following allegations of breaches of bribery and corruption laws by Soco International in Virunga National Park; what guidance his Department provides on the exploration of natural resources by UK listed companies operating in national parks and UNESCO wold heritage sites; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are aware of allegations of breaches of bribery and corruption laws made against Soco International in relation to its activities in the Virunga National Park, and have ensured that the relevant law enforcement agencies both here and in the Democratic Republic of Congo are aware of the allegations.
Foreign investment in sectors such as hydrocarbons and the extractive industries can play a vital role in boosting the development of countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, helping lift people out of poverty. Such investment must be conducted responsibly and sustainably, in compliance with local law and conforming to international standards. The government encourage all British companies to uphold the highest of standards, but where they do not it is important that allegations of wrongdoing are investigated and perpetrators are held to account. Anyone with evidence of serious fraud, bribery or corruption should pass this to the Serious Fraud Office.
The government also encourages UK companies to observe the international standards for responsible conduct of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and provides a National Contact Point for the Guidelines complaint process. It was under the UK National Contact Point process that World Wildlife Fund and SOCO reached their 2014 agreement for SOCO to end its operations in Virunga.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to page 60 of background briefing notes to the Queen's Speech 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) British citizens living overseas for more than 15 years in the (i) EU and (ii) rest of the world and (b) EU citizens resident in the UK who will not be eligible to vote in the upcoming European Union referendum.
Answered by David Lidington
There are a number of different reports and figures available on the number of British nationals living abroad and EU nationals living in the UK. These will vary depending on source, methodology and the point in time to which the figures relate. The figure which the Government believes is most accurate is from the World Bank’s “Estimates of Migrant Stocks in 2010” as updated by the UN Department for Social and Economic Affairs in 2013: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimatesorigin.shtml
This report estimates that there were approximately 5.2 million British born migrants living overseas, of which approximately 1.3 million were in other EU countries. The same report estimated that there were 2.7 million EU born migrants resident in the UK. We do not have any figures distinguishing between British citizens living overseas for more or less than 15 years.