Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghan translators were used by the UK in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are unable to provide a precise figure for the number of translators who assisted the UK in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, in order to ensure they and their families' safety. Through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), as of 28 August, 8589 Afghans who worked for us have been evacuated and are being resettled, including interpreters and their immediate families, enabling them to build new lives in the UK. The ARAP scheme is being accelerated for those staff still in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will include imports of coal from Russia in the list of sanctions against that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is committed to playing a leading role in sanctions against Russia. Sanctions are one of a range of measures we have taken, in concert with others, to defend our security and enhance our capabilities against Russian malign activity. During the transition period, EU sanctions on Russia will continue to apply in the UK. These measures do not currently include sanctions on the import of coal.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.
Answered by Alan Duncan
HM Treasury has already allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to departments and the devolved administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This includes the £1.5 billion of additional funding HM Treasury announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018/19. A full breakdown of how this was allocated to departments can be found in the Chief Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/). This money will be paid out in Supplementary Estimates 18/19 later this financial year.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been allocated £29.6 million by HM Treasury for 2018-19 to support essential EU Exit preparedness. Through HMT funding and a process of internal reprioritisation we have strengthened our diplomatic network in the UK and across Europe so that it is better able to represent and promote British interests and engage with our European partners in support of a successful EU Exit. We have stepped up our No Deal planning in recent weeks, however it is not possible to identify the amount of money spent specifically on No Deal preparations as data is not stored in this way.