Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2022 to Question 102932 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Pacific, how many (a) UK-based and (b) locally recruited staff work in the Pacific Development Unit.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Pacific Development Unit is led from the British High Commission in Canberra, with staff also located in the British High Commission Wellington and the British High Commission Suva.
Across these locations, 0-9 UK based staff and 0-9 country-based staff work within the Pacific Development Unit.
FCDO headcount data is provided in bands in line with FCDO headcount data release policies.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 President Biden's proposals for expanding the United Nations Security Council.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government has a long-held position of supporting reform of the Security Council, to make it more representative of the world today. We support the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. This includes permanent African representation on the Council as well as the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil. We also support an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this position as one of his key priorities during his speech on multilateral reform at Chatham House in June 2023.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 ensure Chevening scholarships remain accessible to people in Afghanistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The application window for Chevening Scholarships is open to Afghans resident outside Afghanistan in a country eligible for overseas development aid until 7 November. Due to risks that are outside our control, we are not in a position to offer scholarships to Afghans resident in Afghanistan for academic year 2024/25.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of levels of religious freedom in Nepal.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Constitution of Nepal declares Nepal a secular state and affirms the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). However, laws that criminalise proselytization and blasphemy can be used to discriminate against religious minorities. Attacks on minorities and places of worship have also been reported, but are relatively rare. We raise concerns with the Government of Nepal and engage with faith groups to demonstrate support for religious freedoms. British Embassy Kathmandu also chairs a Human Rights Core Group of likeminded partners to discuss issues such as freedom of religion, and actions to promote tolerance.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has assessed its premises (a) in the UK and (b) overseas for the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. Cabinet Office is coordinating development of a Government RAAC Register to capture and track suspected and confirmed presence of RAAC in Government buildings. This will be updated regularly as buildings are surveyed.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Chevening scholarships awarded to people from (a) the ASEAN nations and (b) Timor-Leste.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Chevening is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and since the programme began in 1983 it has granted Chevening scholarships to over 6200 people from ASEAN nations and over 50 to people from Timor Leste.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing a multi-year funding settlement for its work on China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO receives multi-year funding settlements at each Spending Review, which are then allocated internally. The FCDO have published their planned budget allocations for the remaining years of the current Spending Review period (2023-24 and 2024-25) within the 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts.
As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh in March, we will double our funding (financial year 2024-25) to build China capabilities across the Government in recognition of the evolving and epoch-defining challenge that China poses. We are unable to comment on funding allocations outside of the current Spending Review period.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps with his international counterparts to (a) share and (b) adopt best practice on tackling Chinese espionage.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary laid out in his Mansion House speech, our China policy involves deepening cooperation and strengthening our alignment with friends and partners across the world. This includes sharing our awareness and understanding of threats we, and our allies, face so that we can strengthen our national security protections wherever actions pose a threat to our people or our prosperity.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on that country's sanctions on the (a) Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and (b) Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank; and whether the Government is considering sanctioning those entities.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime. We will continue to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU, Canada and Australia, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to revenue, arms, and equipment. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions, which directly impact the military without harming the wider population. This will be a key consideration for any future designations. It would be inappropriate to speculate on future targets by either ourselves or our partners.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on possible sanctions on the Myanma Economic Bank.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime. We will continue to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU, Canada and Australia, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to revenue, arms, and equipment. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions, which directly impact the military without harming the wider population. This will be a key consideration for any future designations. It would be inappropriate to speculate on future targets by either ourselves or our partners.