Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by her Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We currently use a range of methods to heat buildings across our estate. This includes the Whitehall District Heating System for our buildings in Whitehall, a biomass boiler powered by wood pellets for Abercrombie House, and a biomass boiler burning woodchip sourced from the Wilton Estate for Wilton Park. Work is currently underway to implement full decarbonisation plans for our portfolio, as part of our strategic asset management planning.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in his Department.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The lowest paid full-time employee is paid approximately 11% of the salary of the highest paid employee.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in his Department and average full-time pay in that Department.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The average salary of a full time employee is approximately 21% of that of the highest paid.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to include worker representation on its departmental board.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The FCO's Departmental Board (the Supervisory Board) does not have worker representation.
The FCO's monthly Management Board has a long-standing tradition of inviting staff from the UK and overseas to observe each meeting. The FCO also has a representative from seniority band attending its recently established Staff Engagement Committee. Views from the Committee will be represented at the Management Board.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to publish information on the gender pay gap among its employees.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Annual FCO Diversity and Equality Report, published on Gov.uk, sets out average salaries of FCO employees by gender and grade.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to assist the Nigerian government in combating Al-Shabab and prevent the kidnap of young people.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
We have no evidence that Al-Shabab operate in Nigeria, however we are committed to working with the Nigerian authorities to tackle terrorism in Nigeria, including the abduction of young people by Boko Haram.
Following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram in April, the Prime Minister offered a package of assistance to the Nigerian government. This included a pledge of £1 million to the UN's Safe Schools Initiative, which aims to protect children at school. DFID will also be working with US AID on a new education initiative to bring an additional 1 million children into education in northern Nigeria by 2020. DFID will also undertake further work through its existing education programmes to ensure that schools are safer in eight other northern states in Nigeria.
Following the Prime Minister's offer to Nigeria in May and the 12 June Nigeria Ministerial meeting in London, the Foreign Secretary announced new counter terrorism support for Nigeria in tackling Boko Haram. This includes tactical advice and training for the Nigerian military and support to regional intelligence sharing arrangements. Our support is being closely coordinated with that of international partners.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to deal with Argentine threats to the commercial sustainability of the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Lord Swire
The United Kingdom fully supports the Falkland Islands in the development of their economy. Attempts by Argentina to disrupt legitimate commercial activities in the Falklands have no basis in law. Threatening Argentine rhetoric and actions are formally challenged at high levels with the Argentine government in Buenos Aires and in international fora wherever and whenever it is necessary.
Despite Argentine efforts, the Falkland Islands economy is sustainable, continues to grow and has a positive future. The prospective hydrocarbons industry in the Falklands continues to attract interest from new international partners and will see further exploratory drilling next year.