Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on temporary staff in the last three financial years in support of the FCDO Integration programme following the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The creation of the FCDO brought together our development and diplomatic expertise to deliver greater impact for the UK internationally. The merger has required all FCDO staff across the department to work in different ways. Spend on temporary staff within the FCDO is largely driven by the nature of the projects being undertaken and the expertise required. At a high level, temporary staff costs over the last three financial years are associated to IT and digital activity, priority programmes and merger activity where temporary and specialist expertise has been needed to ensure delivery. These costs are set out in the FCDO Annual Reports for the previous three financial years:
2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | |
Temporary staff costs | 49,105,281 | £39,575,855 | £25,679,267 |
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on temporary staff in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Spend on temporary staff within the FCDO are set out in the FCDO Annual Reports for the previous three financial years:
2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | |
Temporary staff costs | £49,105,281 | £39,575,855 | £25,679,267 |
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the issuing of arrest warrants for Hong Kong nationals living overseas.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 13 July, at the Foreign Secretary's instruction, his senior official conducted a formal démarche of the Chinese Ambassador. The senior official set out our strong objections to actions in Hong Kong in recent weeks, including the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties for eight individuals living overseas, three of whom live in the UK, as well as the detention and questioning of the family members of some of those individuals in Hong Kong. We also expressed our ongoing opposition to the imposition of the National Security Law by Beijing on Hong Kong, which is a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
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 the implications for his policies of changes in the level of violence against civilians in the occupied West Bank since January 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The security situation in the West Bank is deteriorating and further escalation must be avoided. The UK unequivocally condemns terror attacks against civilians. Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security. On 5 July, the Foreign Secretary discussed recent violence and attacks against civilians in calls with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh. We call on the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel to cooperate in securing the safety and protection of civilians across the West Bank.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much overseas development assistance funding has been spent on Palestinian schools in the occupied territories which have been (a) demolished and (b) threatened with demolition by Israeli authorities in the last five years .
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I [Minister of State for the Americas and the Caribbean] said in the House of Commons on 18 July, the UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to international humanitarian law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. On 7 May, The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon wrote to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to express the government's opposition to the demolition of Jubbet Adh Dhib school. Lord Ahmad has also visited a school under threat of demolition in Masafer Yatta during his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in January.
The FCDO aid budget is allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate. It is not possible to calculate the exact figure for UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding spent on schools in the OPTs that have been demolished (or are at risk of demolition) because ODA funding for this area goes into a multilateral pooled fund. However, there is a robust framework in place for allocating ODA. Data on ODA spend in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is available on DevTracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/countries/PS).
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times he has held discussions with his counterparts in (a) Israel and (b) Palestine in 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has spoken with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen four times this year, one of which was in person, three of which were phone calls. With regards to the Palestinian Authority, this year the Foreign Secretary has had one phone call with Foreign Minister Riad Malki, and two phone calls with Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki, and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in January 2023. Lord Ahmad has also had several meetings this year with Palestinian head of mission Dr Husam Zomlot and Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely in London. Finally, FCDO diplomats and development experts in the UK, Israel and the OPTs meet regularly with both Israeli and Palestinian officials to discuss UK foreign and development policy issues.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with his counterpart in Israel on the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution and call into question Israel's commitment to a two-state solution. We urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately and we continue to monitor the changes to the settlement approval process instituted by the government of Israel on June 18, which facilitate swifter approval of construction in settlements. The Foreign Secretary reaffirmed this position in his 30 June statement along with his Australian and Canadian counterparts, and to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen directly in their 5 July phone call. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon also frequently raises this issue with the Israeli ambassador to the UK.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last discussed the case of Alaa Abdel Fattah with his Egyptian counterpart.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 2 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised the case several times with the Egyptian Ambassador, most recently on 10 July and also raised it with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo on 4 April. The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, raised the case with the Egyptian authorities on 25 May during his visit to Cairo.
The Government continues to make every effort in our engagement with the Egyptian authorities on the case. We remain focussed on Mr El-Fattah's welfare and pressing for consular access and his release. We continue to provide consular support to Mr El-Fattah and his family, who Lord Ahmad most recently met on 6 July.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with his counterpart in Israel on (a) recent and (b) potential future demolitions of Palestinian schools in the occupied territories that are (i) funded and (ii) co-funded by the UK overseas development assistance budget.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I [Minister of State for the Americas and the Caribbean] said in the House of Commons on 18 July, the UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to international humanitarian law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. On 7 May, The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon wrote to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to express the government's opposition to the demolition of Jubbet Adh Dhib school. Lord Ahmad has also visited a school under threat of demolition in Masafer Yatta during his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in January.
The FCDO aid budget is allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate. It is not possible to calculate the exact figure for UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding spent on schools in the OPTs that have been demolished (or are at risk of demolition) because ODA funding for this area goes into a multilateral pooled fund. However, there is a robust framework in place for allocating ODA. Data on ODA spend in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is available on DevTracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/countries/PS).
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
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 implications for his polices of the denial of UK consular access to Alaa Abdel Fattah by the Egyptian government; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 2 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised the case several times with the Egyptian Ambassador, most recently on 10 July and also raised it with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo on 4 April. The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, raised the case with the Egyptian authorities on 25 May during his visit to Cairo.
The Government continues to make every effort in our engagement with the Egyptian authorities on the case. We remain focussed on Mr El-Fattah's welfare and pressing for consular access and his release. We continue to provide consular support to Mr El-Fattah and his family, who Lord Ahmad most recently met on 6 July.