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Written Question
Libya: Elections
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the United Nations and (b) UN agencies on the resumption of elections in Libya.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is fully committed to supporting the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to drive forward a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process. The UK is using its position as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) penholder to work with the council and engages regularly with international partners in support of the SRSG's efforts. British Embassy Tripoli engages regularly with UNSMIL and Libyan interlocutors to encourage them to work constructively with the SRSG as he seeks to facilitate a political agreement that addresses the underlying issues preventing elections.


Written Question
Occupied Territories: International Courts
Monday 4th December 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria he applies when deciding whether to file an amicus brief to international court proceedings; what amicus briefs the Government has submitted to international courts in the last 12 months; and what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on the policies of the Israeli Government in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The process and rules around filing a submission or making some other form of intervention will depend upon the particular statute or rules of procedure of the international court in question. There will be many factors which determine whether HMG decides to become a party to a case, make submissions or intervene in some other manner. These will include both legal and policy considerations, including UK views on any relevant international law issues and wider diplomatic considerations, amongst others. Looking specifically at UK involvement at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the last twelve months, the UK: intervened in the Ukraine v Russia (Genocide Convention) and the Gambia v Myanmar (Genocide Convention) cases; submitted a statement to the Court in the Legal Consequences (Occupied Palestinian Territories) Advisory Opinion; and is a joint party, alongside several other states, in the Montreal Convention (PS 752) case against Iran. The UK also intervened in the request to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for an advisory opinion on climate change-related obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

FCDO Ministers frequently discuss a wide range of issues with their international counterparts. We cannot provide specific detail on those discussions.


Written Question
Libya: Politics and Government
Monday 16th October 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to help re-establish democratic institutions in Libya.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The devastating floods underscore the unsustainability of the political status quo. The UK is fully committed to supporting the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to drive forward a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process. The UK is using its position as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) penholder to work with the council and engages regularly with international partners in support of the SRSG's efforts. British Embassy Tripoli engages closely with Libyan interlocutors to encourage them to work constructively with the SRSG as he seeks to facilitate a political agreement that addresses the underlying issues preventing elections.


Written Question
Libya: Storms
Monday 18th September 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Libya with damage caused by Storm Daniel.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are closely monitoring and assessing the impact of Storm Daniel on Eastern Libya. The UN have announced $10 million in support through the UN's Central Emergency Relief Fund, of which the UK is the third largest donor. We have also announced an initial package of up to £1 million for life saving support. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, is in touch with the Libyan authorities, reiterating the UK's readiness to support Libya and expressing our deepest condolences to the Libyan people at this tragic time.


Written Question
Gibraltar: EU Grants and Loans
Tuesday 2nd May 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to provide compensation to Gibraltar for the loss of EU structural funding.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

In March 2021, the UK Government allocated £500,000 to Gibraltar under the UK Community Renewal Fund to support Gibraltar's transition away from EU Structural Funds. The UK Government and Government of Gibraltar continue to work side-by-side to conclude a UK-EU treaty which can secure the future prosperity of Gibraltar and the region.


Written Question
EU Law: Northern Ireland
Friday 17th March 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2023 to Question 161247 on Windsor Framework, if he will publish a list of the less than three percent of EU rules that now apply to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 March 2023 to Question 161247 [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-03-08/161247].


Written Question
UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland
Friday 17th March 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the costs to (a) hauliers and (b) traders of using the green lane proposed in the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The green lane will mean that goods being sold in Northern Ireland will be freed of unnecessary paperwork, checks and duties, using only ordinary commercial information rather than customs processes or complex certification requirements for agrifood. Goods moved in the green lane will face no tariffs or no rules of origin requirements. Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods in the green lane will move on the basis of a simplified single certificate per lorry, removing the need for costly veterinary certificates. And movements in the green lane will continue to benefit from the existing Trader Support Service. Further guidance on the green lane will be provided in due course.


Written Question
UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland
Friday 17th March 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the qualification requirements are that a carrier must fulfil in order to obtain approval under the proposed Trusted Trader Scheme in the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The requirements include having a system in place to maintain appropriate control of their operations and having no recent history of serious infringements related to their economic activity.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Wednesday 15th March 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 8 of The Windsor Framework: a new way forward, CP806, what the more than 1,700 pages of EU rules are; and if he will place copies of them in the Library of the House.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

We have published the legal instruments that make up the Windsor Framework, which set out how the relevant EU rules are disapplied, and both the UK and EU will respectively take forward further legislative measures to translate those solutions into law. The legal text on the agrifood green lane, for example, lists the 67 EU rules which are disapplied there. Through these changes we have ensured that it is UK authorities which approve medicines for the whole UK market; that changes on alcohol duties and VAT rates on the installation of energy-saving materials apply UK-wide; ensure consumer parcels are moved without customs processes; allow plants, trees and seeds to be able to move under the same UK plant passport arrangements as for elsewhere in the UK; and for agrifood products in the green lane to meet UK food and drink safety standards.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Monday 13th March 2023

Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 57 of The Windsor Framework: a new way forward, CP806, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the Windsor Framework narrows the range of EU rules applicable in Northern Ireland to less than 3 per cent overall; and if he will publish a list of those rules.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The old Protocol already stripped EU rules from a series of key areas: with the full freedom to regulate for the services industries of the future; to control United Kingdom waters; to remain outside of the Common Agricultural Policy permanently; and to avoid alignment on social, broader environmental, consumer or competition law. The Windsor Framework goes further and disapplies a range of further EU rules on medicines, VAT and excise, the movement of goods and food and drink safety standards. By the EU's own calculations, that means less than 3 percent of EU rules now apply, with those that remain the bare minimum required to secure Northern Ireland's access to the EU market and avoid a hard border. The people of Northern Ireland, of course, retain the right to reject the application of those rules through next year's consent vote. Furthermore through the Stormont Brake we have ended the automatic presumption of any dynamic alignment for the future, putting democratic oversight and control at the heart of the Windsor Framework.