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 the Sixth Special Report HC911, Tackling corruption overseas: Government Response to the Fourth Report from the International Development Committee, Session 2016-17, whether it remains the Government's policy to persuade the UK's Crown Dependencies to adopt public registers of beneficial ownership.
Answered by Alan Duncan
It remains the Government’s ambition for public registers to become the global standard. Our priority is to implement the new bilateral arrangements which were concluded with the Overseas Territories in 2016. Under the arrangements, the Overseas Territories have committed to establish, where they have not already done so, central registers of beneficial ownership information or similarly effective systems, and to give UK law enforcement and tax authorities near real-time access to beneficial ownership information on corporate and legal entities incorporated in these jurisdictions.
The Overseas Territories have also committed to systematic exchange of beneficial ownership information as part of a wider international initiative.
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 steps his Department is taking to support investigations into the recent killings of communities in Beni and the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The British Government is deeply concerned by the reports of mass killings in Beni. We are supporting efforts to investigate these horrific incidents, including through funding an independent researcher to assist the UN peacekeeping mission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (MONUSCO) in understanding the underlying drivers of such killings. The UK strongly supports the work of MONUSCO as it seeks to defeat armed groups in DRC. During my visit to the DRC in August, I raised the ongoing violence in eastern DRC with Maman Sidikou, Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in eastern DRC (MONUSCO). In mid-November, my colleague, the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for International Development, James Wharton MP, raised protection of civilians with the UN Deputy Special Representative for Operations and the Rule of Law, David Gressly.
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 discussions he has had with his international counterparts on ensuring that people who are responsible for deaths as a result of the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are brought to justice in the international courts.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK strongly supports the International Criminal Court's (ICC) mandate and efforts to bring those responsible for deaths as a result of the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to justice. It welcomes convictions made to date, including that of former vice-president Bemba in June this year, and continues to make clear that those responsible for human rights violations will face individual responsibility for their actions. The UK remains committed to active diplomatic engagement to prevent DRC sliding back into conflict – FCO Minister Mr Ellwood visited DRC in August and DFID Minister Mr Wharton in November to urge all parties to ensure that Presidential elections and a peaceful transfer of power takes place.
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 (a) coal, oil and gas projects and (b) renewable energy projects in each financial year since 2013-14.
Answered by Lord Sharma
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 coal, oil and gas projects:
•2013/14 approximately 1.9% (£370,000 from a total budget of £19.5m)
•2014/15 approximately 3.9% (£758,000 from £19.5m)
•2015/16 approximately 3.4% (£997,000 from £29.3m)
Since 2013/14 the Prosperity Fund allocated the following to renewable energy projects:
•2013/14 approximately 5% (£983,000 from a total budget of £19.5m)
•2014/15 approximately 2% (£402,000 from £19.5m)
•2015/16 approximately 5.1% (£1.5m from £29.3m)
These figures include ODA and non-ODA projects.
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 Lord Sharma
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.