Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement on 8 February 2023 that aid will be provided following the recent earthquake, whether he plans to send further aid to (a) Turkiye and (b) Syria.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK responded immediately to provide life-saving support to people in Turkey and Syria. On 15 February the UK committed a further package of support to address the urgent humanitarian needs in Turkey and Syria including £25 million in new overseas aid to fund additional emergency relief, such as tents and blankets and the ongoing deployment of UK medical expertise. To date the UK has delivered over 400 tonnes of relief items to both Turkey and Syria. On 19 February I [Minister Mitchell] visited Turkey to witness first-hand the impact of UK aid helping those affected in Turkey and Syria.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to the World Food Programme to help tackle the immediate humanitarian needs in (a) Türkiye and (b) Syria following the recent earthquakes.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK currently has no plans to provide additional funding to the World Food Programme. The UK is providing life-saving support to people in Turkey and Syria, including vital relief items, such as tents and blankets and the ongoing deployment of UK medical expertise as well as support to UN agencies and NGO partners.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to point 49 on page 29 of his Department's policy paper entitled UK government's strategy for international development, CP 676, published on 16 May 2022, what is meant by locally owned; and whether his Department has taken recent steps to implement locally owned policies.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Local ownership of development means that design, decision-making and delivery should involve local partners, who understand the context of the challenges to be addressed. The FCDO prioritises strong partnerships with national and local organisations to boost impact and sustainability, building on our commitments to the 2011 Busan Partnership and the 2016 Grand Bargain.
For example, the FCDO has sought where possible to localise our response to the crisis in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian government.
Our multi-year Shifting the Power partnership with Comic Relief aims to strengthen local civil society organisations, and enable local people to make funding decisions.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page six of his Department's policy paper entitled UK government's strategy for international development, CP 676, published on 16 May 2022, what is meant by stripping back excessive bureaucracy; and whether his Department has taken recent steps to implement this policy.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Strategy for International Development commits FCDO to driving down bureaucracy, making it quicker to get programmes delivering on the ground. We have developed a plan to guide this work, consulting Non-Executive Directors and delivery partners on what we need to improve.
We have already implemented a number of measures including: speeding-up FCDO's programme approval process; introducing central Due Diligence Assessments with selected NGO partners; and streamlining programme documentation.
Future steps include: improving the grants process through a streamlined grant template for NGOs; and continuing to build the capability and professionalism of our senior responsible owners and programme teams.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 3011 on Mohammed Al-Roken, what recent discussions he has had with the United Arab Emirates on Mohammed Al-Roken's release.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports that Mohammed al Roken was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 and remains in detention. The UK urges all countries to uphold their international human rights obligations and believes that the best approach is to promote and defend universal freedoms. The strength of the UK-UAE relationship means we can discuss issues such as respect for the right to peaceful protest and assembly, the rule of law, freedom of speech and of the press, in a frank and open way. Where the UK has cause for concern, we raise these concerns including at senior level, most recently with the UAE, Director Human Rights. We will continue to seek opportunities to do so at official and Ministerial level.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of (a) purchasing and (b) supporting the production of winter clothing for people in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is closely monitoring the impact of winter in Ukraine. The UK is delivering more than 25,000 sets of extreme cold weather clothing by mid-December, to help Ukrainian troops fight through the winter. Our economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine, over £1.5 billion, is responding to needs arising from cold weather and Russian attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, including over 850 generators, £10 million to the Energy Community Ukraine support fund, and £4 million to the International Organization for Migration to provide shelter and repairs to water, sanitation and health facilities. We assess options for our support, including providing clothing, in ongoing dialogue with the Government of Ukraine, our delivery partners and other donors.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to prevent (a) individuals and (b) organisations based in (i) the UK and (ii) other countries that have sold military vehicles to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine from undertaking any economic activity within the UK.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK, in coordination with our international partners has introduced several packages of increasingly hard-hitting sanctions that prohibit the provision of a wide range of services and goods, including military equipment, to Russia by UK individuals and organisations. On 20 October, the UK introduced sanctions that target Iranian individuals and a business responsible for supplying Russia with drones in contravention of UNSCR 2231. The UK Government does not speculate on specific future sanctions, as to do so could reduce their impact. We will continue the pressure against Putin and his regime, until Ukraine prevails or Putin ends his war of choice.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with its Indian counterparts about (a) the potential reinstatement of access for UK nationals to the Indian e-visa system, and (b) normalising visa processes between the UK and India.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We regularly raise our concerns regarding our exclusion from the list of countries eligible for e-visas with the Government of India (GoI). The Prime Minister, whilst Foreign Secretary, raised this matter with the Indian External Affairs Minister during her visit to India in March. We continue to work closely with the GoI on this issue, while respecting it is for them to determine the types and validity of the visas it offers. British nationals can continue to use the GoI's regular/paper visa application services for all visa categories. We will update India Travel Advice with the latest information if there are any changes in India's visa rules.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the sanctions regime to include people facilitating the (a) purchase and (b) transfer of civilian drones that could be used by Russian service personnel during the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK, along with its allies, have introduced severe sanctions against Russia's defence industry. This includes prohibitions on the export, supply and delivery, and making available of restricted goods, including unmanned aircraft, to Russia. Sanctions against Kronshtadt, the main producer of Kronshtadt Orion drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles widely used during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will make it harder to replace these drones. We will continue this pressure against Putin and his regime, until Ukraine prevails or Putin's ends his war of choice. It is not appropriate to speculate on specific future designations. To do this could reduce the impact of the designations.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with their counterparts in third party countries that (a) have not sanctioned Russia over its war in Ukraine and (b) import UK produced goods on ensuring that UK manufactured products within the sanctions regime are not transferred or sold onto Russia.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In close coordination with our allies, we continue to engage extensively with countries across the world to urge them to support our effort to deprive Putin's war machine of the goods and services it needs to continue its illegal invasion. This includes countries which do not impose autonomous sanctions. In addition to banning the direct export of hundreds of goods to Russia, we have also prohibited UK persons from directly or indirectly supplying these goods from a third country to Russia.