Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.
Answered by Mark Field
The FCO does not have a single Marketing and Advertising department and so does not collate social media spend in a way that would able us to fully answer your request without exceeding the appropriate cost and time limit.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials of his Department are working full-time on preparations for the UK leaving the EU; and what proportion of his Department's staff that number represents.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Staff in the Europe Directorate within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) lead on providing advice to FCO Ministers on EU-related issues. Staff in other Directorates in London, as well as in our diplomatic missions around the world, can also work on EU-related issues. It is not therefore possible to give precise figures.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Italian counterparts on the legal status of UK citizens working as lettori at Italian universities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 10 November 2016 (PQ 51789)
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representation he is making to the Turkish government about the suspension of judges, civil servants and education workers and a travel ban on academies following the attempted coup.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK Government has strongly condemned the attempted coup on 15 July. As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on 18 July, Britain stands firmly in support of Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions.
I visited Turkey on 20-21 July to reiterate our support for democracy in Turkey. In meetings with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, amongst others, I stressed the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law. The Turkish Government have assured us that they recognise the importance of this. We will continue to engage with the Turkish Government at all levels on these issues, and to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what legal status UK citizens currently resident elsewhere in the EU will have in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
British citizens living in the EU currently enjoy a range of rights to live, to work and to access pensions, health care and public services that are guaranteed through EU law. There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU. Should an agreement be reached to maintain these rights, the expectation must be that this would have to be reciprocated for EU citizens in the UK.Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK citizens currently resident elsewhere in the EU his Department expects to return to the UK in the event of a vote to leave the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
Estimates suggest that more than 1.2 million UK citizens are living permanently elsewhere in the EU. These estimates do not include people who reside for part of the year in another Member State or British citizens travelling in the EU.
British citizens living in the EU currently enjoy a range of rights to live, to work and to access pensions, health care and public services that are guaranteed through EU law. There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU. Should an agreement be reached to maintain these rights, the expectation must be that this would have to be reciprocated for EU citizens in the UK.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the health condition of Kamal Foroughi in Iran; and what assessment he has made of the level of Mr Foroughi's access to appropriate medical care.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have raised our concerns about Mr Foroughi’s health with the Iranian Government and continue to lobby them at the highest level at every opportunity, requesting consular access for officials, access to lawyers and appropriate access to medical treatment. Most recently, on 18 May, I raised our concerns for Mr Foroughi’s health with the Iranian Charge d’affaires. We continue to ask for his early release on humanitarian grounds given his age and medical history.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department has made on tackling the root causes of the refugee situation in the Mediterranean.
Answered by David Lidington
The UK is using its international development programme and diplomatic efforts to alleviate poverty and bring about greater political stability in countries of origin and transit. We are working with partners in Europe and Africa to disrupt smuggling networks.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will include in its proposed referendum on UK membership of the EU a separate question on approving any changes that have been agreed to the UK's terms of membership of the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
The question in the Bill is simple, short and fair. We have no plans to include a separate question.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what powers the Government proposes to repatriate from the competence of the EU; and what EU Treaty provisions and legislative measures he proposes should be altered as part of such repatriation.
Answered by David Lidington
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has set out the four areas where we seek to address the concerns of the British public: sovereignty, fairness, competitiveness and immigration. Following the June European Council, technical discussions are taking place. The Council has agreed to revert to the issue at the December European Council.