Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the freezing of funds to the Taliban Government, what plans her Department has to ensure aid reaches people who require it in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Prime Minister has said that the Government will increase our overall assistance for Afghanistan to £286 million this financial year. On 31 October the Prime Minister announced the allocation of £50 million of that money for humanitarian purposes. The UK Government is providing life-saving humanitarian assistance through the UN and other trusted Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on the ground, who are continuing to ensure that it reaches those who need it most. All aid that was being channelled through the Afghan Government has stopped. All UK aid is subject to strict monitoring and verification to ensure it is only used to help the vulnerable people it is intended for.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has plans to ease covid-19 restrictions on travel between the UK and South Africa.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Following the UK Government's announcement on 7 October, 47 countries and territories, including South Africa, were removed from the red list on 11 October. The UK is also accepting South Africa's vaccine certification. These steps will enable people to travel more freely again between the UK and South Africa, in a safe and sustainable way, while protecting public health.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to respond individually to asylum cases from Afghanistan raised by hon. Members with her predecessor.
Answered by Amanda Milling
Responding to MPs' cases and correspondence remains a top priority for the Government and the FCDO has been working tirelessly to undertake the task. Staff from across the global FCDO network have been pulled into the crisis surge team along with colleagues from MOD and HMRC. As Minister Cleverly said in the House on 9 September, we are determined to work with the Home Office and the MOD to assess all cases which have come through to us as quickly as possible. Cases which are to be dealt with by the MoD under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Home Office under the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme will be passed on to the relevant Department. The team at the FCDO is thoroughly analysing to ensure they go to the right Department. Asylum applications will be handled by the Home Office and would not be for the FCDO to answer in detail.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of threat from the newly formed Taliban government in Afghanistan to (a) UK nationals and (b) Afghans who worked with British forces who remain in Afghanistan.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK continues to monitor closely the terrorist threat from Afghanistan, including from Al Qaeda and ISKP, and has proscribed both of these organisations and their associated groups. We will work with our international partners to stop Afghanistan from again becoming a haven and inspiration for terrorism and thereby reduce the terrorist risk to the UK and the international community. The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme ,for those who worked with the UK in Afghanistan, remains open. We are working to identify anyone who is still in Afghanistan and eligible for ARAP.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to encourage the President of Cameroon to enter inclusive peace talks mediated by an impartial third party, setting out a roadmap toward a new constitutional settlement recognising the rights and aspirations of minority populations in Cameroon; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the crisis in the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions of Cameroon, including the disturbing reports of human rights abuses by both armed separatists and security forces. We assess that the root causes of the conflict are varied and complex. These include constitutional issues and the different legal and education systems in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, and the need for sustained political will on all sides to resolve the crisis. These were discussed at the Grand National Dialogue in 2019 and we continue to urge progress on the issues identified, including further inclusive dialogue to address the root causes of the crisis.
We regularly raise our concerns with the Government of Cameroon. In March I travelled to Cameroon and met President Biya, Prime Minister Ngute and Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella to push for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. I also met the President of the South-West Regional Assembly, civil society, political opposition and religious leaders, to hear the experiences of the affected communities. We have shared our experiences of conflict resolution with the Government of Cameroon, and we urge all sides to remain engaged with the Swiss-led process to facilitate talks.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the predominant cause of the conflict in anglophone Cameroon; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the crisis in the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions of Cameroon, including the disturbing reports of human rights abuses by both armed separatists and security forces. We assess that the root causes of the conflict are varied and complex. These include constitutional issues and the different legal and education systems in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, and the need for sustained political will on all sides to resolve the crisis. These were discussed at the Grand National Dialogue in 2019 and we continue to urge progress on the issues identified, including further inclusive dialogue to address the root causes of the crisis.
We regularly raise our concerns with the Government of Cameroon. In March I travelled to Cameroon and met President Biya, Prime Minister Ngute and Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella to push for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. I also met the President of the South-West Regional Assembly, civil society, political opposition and religious leaders, to hear the experiences of the affected communities. We have shared our experiences of conflict resolution with the Government of Cameroon, and we urge all sides to remain engaged with the Swiss-led process to facilitate talks.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 provide (a) vaccines, (b) oxygen, (c) ventilators and (d) other covid-related support to India.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner in the fight against COVID-19, and send our solidarity and condolences to the Indian people at this difficult time. The UK is committed to rapid, equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, treatments, and tests globally. As the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation of COVID vaccines, COVAX is best placed to allocate any surplus vaccine the UK has, based on where it is most needed and where it will be most effective.
The UK has put together a package focusing on India's most urgent needs, including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and oxygen generating units. The first shipment was delivered on 27 April. On 2 May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would send a further 1,000 ventilators to support India's response, these arrived in Delhi on 9 May bringing the total package of equipment to 495 oxygen concentrators, 1,200 ventilators and three oxygen generating units.
There is also extensive scientific and medical collaboration underway. Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance have spoken to their Indian counterparts to provide advice, insight and expertise to the Indian healthcare system as it deals with the surge in Covid-19 cases. NHS England and NHS Improvement are establishing a clinic advisory group, led by Chief People Officer Prerana Issar, to support India's Covid-19 response.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 ensure that developing nations have access to a covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, and has committed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which is the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines, of which the UK is one of the largest bilateral donors. Our commitment has helped encourage other donors to commit $1 billion by the end of 2020, and will contribute to the supply of at least 1.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 for up to 92 developing countries. Over 100 countries and territories have received COVAX deliveries. The Prime Minister has also said that the UK will share the majority of future vaccine doses surplus to domestic needs with COVAX.
The COVAX AMC aims to supply fully subsidised doses sufficient to vaccinate up to 20 per cent of country populations, initially prioritising healthcare workers, and then expanding to cover other priority groups. Countries will then be able to procure additional subsidised doses, subject to vaccine availability, to increase coverage further. COVAX is supporting countries to assess vaccine introduction readiness, and to develop detailed national deployment and vaccination plans, including support needed to strengthen delivery systems. Our network of health advisers in AMC countries are working to support host governments to apply to the COVAX AMC and prepare for vaccine delivery.