Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with international partners on mitigating the potential threat from former British nationals in (a) al-Hol and (b) al-Roj prison camps, following recent instability in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work closely with partners to regularly assess and monitor any threats from within al-Hol and al-Roj camps in North East Syria, including through our role in the Global Coalition Against Daesh's military mission.
We do not comment on individual cases, operational intelligence, or security matters, but we will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 potential security risk posed to the UK by former British nationals from al-Roj prison camp in Syria, following recent instability in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work closely with partners to regularly assess and monitor any threats from within al-Hol and al-Roj camps in North East Syria, including through our role in the Global Coalition Against Daesh's military mission.
We do not comment on individual cases, operational intelligence, or security matters, but we will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 potential security risk posed to the UK by former British nationals from al-Hol prison camp in Syria, following recent instability in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work closely with partners to regularly assess and monitor any threats from within al-Hol and al-Roj camps in North East Syria, including through our role in the Global Coalition Against Daesh's military mission.
We do not comment on individual cases, operational intelligence, or security matters, but we will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to monitor former British nationals returning to the UK from (a) al-Hol and (b) al-Roj prison camps, following recent instability in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work closely with partners to regularly assess and monitor any threats from within al-Hol and al-Roj camps in North East Syria, including through our role in the Global Coalition Against Daesh's military mission.
We do not comment on individual cases, operational intelligence, or security matters, but we will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 protect funding for UK-led global health research initiatives, following the reduction in the aid budget.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Input on Official Development Assistance (ODA) demands significant shifts in the scale and shape of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) ODA Research and Development (R&D) portfolio. Our approach to R&D investments will be in line with the shifts underway across the FCDO as we modernise our approach to development. In line with broader reprioritisation of our ODA, ODA R&D will have a sharper focus on humanitarian, health and climate and nature, underpinned by work to develop partners' economies.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK’s involvement in the Security Action For Europe initiative.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Strengthening our security and defence partnership with the EU will deliver on our Plan for Change and turbo charge the UK’s defence industries to help safeguard the security of the European continent. Since we first came to office, the Government has been committed to strengthening its relationship with the EU. The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses European security issues with his Cabinet colleagues. We welcome efforts to enhance the EU’s defence production and look forward to the UK/EU Summit next week.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the threat posed to underwater cables by foreign states; and what steps are being taken across Government to protect this infrastructure.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works closely on this issue across government, in particular with the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which is the lead department for developing policies for the security and resilience of underwater energy infrastructure and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is the lead government department for telecommunications and is responsible for developing policies to help ensure the security and resilience of underwater telecommunications cables.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on tackling the threat to underwater cables posed by foreign states; and what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of such cables.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and I have had a number of discussions with our European counterparts on threats to underwater infrastructure. The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs discussed this most recently at the UK-Netherlands Strategic Dialogue in December 2024. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works closely on this issue with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is the lead government department for telecommunications and is responsible for developing policies to help ensure the security and resilience of underwater telecommunications cables.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the (a) cost and (b) timeline is for the establishment of his Department's office in Glasgow.
Answered by Catherine West
The Outline Business Case for the FCDO's move from East Kilbride to Glasgow has been approved through the FCDO and now rests with HMT and the Cabinet Office. Until this rigorous HMG approvals' process and a tender to fit out the new Joint HQ are complete, we cannot be precise on when the move will take place or its full cost. The costs of the FCDO's move are subject to final commercial negotiations and are, therefore, sensitive and cannot be shared at this point.