Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department has given the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean to ensure that future built developments incorporate climate resilience.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the destruction caused by hurricanes in 2017, the UK Government has funded construction work in several Overseas Territories (OTs), with a focus on building back with improved hurricane and seismic resilience. In Montserrat, the UK is investing in resilient infrastructure through the Capital Infrastructure Programme for Resilient and Economic Growth (CIPREG), including projects such as the recently laid fibre optic cable link that will bolster Montserrat's resilience against extreme weather. Additionally, with funding from the cross-Government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has supported OTs in the Caribbean to build response and resilience models to hurricane related flood risks. This includes opportunities to maximise the role and value of the natural environment, including coastal vegetation, mangroves and coral reefs, to minimise flood damage, and the use of vulnerability mapping to inform on-island planning processes for new infrastructure and residential developments. The JNCC is also working with individual OTs to develop monitoring programmes capable of recognising changes to their marine and terrestrial environments, including those related to climate change.
Through the UK Government funded Darwin and Darwin Plus Initiatives, the UK continues to support the ability of the OTs to increase their resilience and ability to adapt in the face of climate change by funding individual projects, such as efforts to improve coastal ecosystem resilience in Anguilla and restoration of mangroves in the British Virgin Islands.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support he is providing to ensure climate adaptation plans are adopted and implemented in the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the destruction caused by hurricanes in 2017, the UK Government has funded construction work in several Overseas Territories (OTs), with a focus on building back with improved hurricane and seismic resilience. In Montserrat, the UK is investing in resilient infrastructure through the Capital Infrastructure Programme for Resilient and Economic Growth (CIPREG), including projects such as the recently laid fibre optic cable link that will bolster Montserrat's resilience against extreme weather. Additionally, with funding from the cross-Government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has supported OTs in the Caribbean to build response and resilience models to hurricane related flood risks. This includes opportunities to maximise the role and value of the natural environment, including coastal vegetation, mangroves and coral reefs, to minimise flood damage, and the use of vulnerability mapping to inform on-island planning processes for new infrastructure and residential developments. The JNCC is also working with individual OTs to develop monitoring programmes capable of recognising changes to their marine and terrestrial environments, including those related to climate change.
Through the UK Government funded Darwin and Darwin Plus Initiatives, the UK continues to support the ability of the OTs to increase their resilience and ability to adapt in the face of climate change by funding individual projects, such as efforts to improve coastal ecosystem resilience in Anguilla and restoration of mangroves in the British Virgin Islands.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on providing Julian Assange with safe passage to Ecuador.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We have been clear that when Mr Assange leaves the Ecuadorean Embassy, all UK legal processes would need to be completed before he could leave the country. Mr Assange understands that the only way to resolve this issue is to leave the Embassy to face UK justice. No-one is above the law.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure UK citizens overseas are able to register at UK embassies in order to receive consular support and information.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
British nationals do not need to register at British Embassies to receive consular support and information. Information about our services is available on Consular services - GOV.UK. People needing assistance can contact us by telephone 24/7 by calling the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London or a British Embassy or Consulate overseas. Our operators provide information and advice about the consular services available. Where they are unable to help the caller to resolve the issue themselves, and/or when they judge that the caller needs urgent assistance, they will pass the call to the nearest embassy, or, if the embassy is closed, to our Global Response Centre in London.
The FCO encourages people to subscribe to FCO travel advice email alerts "living in” guides, follow FCO Travel on Facebook and @fcotravel on Twitter for updates and to follow the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate on Twitter and Facebook. FCO travel advice is updated frequently during a crisis and is often the best source of information and advice for those affected.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department records acts of alleged genocide by Daesh reported by refugees who are provided with humanitarian aid by his Department to support future criminal investigations.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have not received such allegations from refugees. However, the UK is supporting evidence gathering by a range of state and non state actors for potential prosecutions. In Syria, the UK is funding the work of non-governmental organisations who are gathering evidence of Human Rights violations, including by Daesh and the Asad regime. In Iraq, we are supporting the victims of sexual violence and considering how we might best complement other evidence gathering efforts already underway. Working with international partners, we are doing everything we can to assist in the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used by judicial bodies to make a judgement on this matter.