Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) discussions and (b) meetings he has had with Nigel Farage since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Ochil and South Perthshire of 16 November (written PQ 52754).
Details of all FCO Ministers' external meetings are published on the gov.uk website on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to develop (a) diplomatic and (b) trading relationships with Japan since the referendum on exiting the EU.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Ministers and senior Government officials have been in close contact with the Japanese government and Japanese investors since the referendum in June. I met representatives of Japanese business on 8 September at Asia House. During my visit to Japan on 26-29 September, I met my counterparts in the Japanese Foreign and Defence Ministries, and spoke to individual investors in Tokyo and Osaka. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) and Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) also met their counterparts during the UN General Assembly on 20 September. UK-Japan relations are broad and deep, ranging from trade and investment to security and defence. As we plan our exit from the European Union we will continue to work closely together, strengthening an open and thriving economic partnership.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to maintain relationships with his European counterparts as a result of the outcome of the UK referendum.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) and I have spoken to a number of European colleagues since taking office to discuss a full range of international business, and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will meet representatives of Norway and Switzerland to discuss the outcome of the EU referendum.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held discussions with European counterparts and a range of other partners to explain the result of the referendum and next steps. Officials continue to be in frequent contact with their Norwegian and Swiss counterparts and have discussed a range of topics since 24 June, including the outcome of the EU referendum.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to meet the President of the European Council to discuss the outcome of the EU referendum.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and the former Minister of State, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), have held discussions with EU counterparts and partners in the EU institutions to explain the result of the referendum and next steps. The former Foreign Secretary had discussed the outcome of the EU referendum with European Parliament President Martin Schulz and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions he or his predecessor has given evidence to committees of the House on arms sales to (a) Saudi Arabia and (b) other countries in each of the last six years.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided evidence on UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other countries to committees of the House on a number of occasions in the last six years. From the start of the 2010-12 session until recently this has involved the submission of written and oral evidence to the Committees on Arms Export Controls (the CAEC) as part of their annual inquiries. The Rt Hon the Lord Hague of Richmond (the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) and the Secretary of State gave oral evidence to the CAEC on global UK arms exports on 7 February and 19 December 2012 and 8 January 2014, and 1 December 2014, respectively. The former Secretary of State was questioned about arms exports to Saudi Arabia on 7 February and 19 December 2012. Details about such evidence, including the Government's response of 31 July 2015 to the most recent CAEC inquiry, can be found in the committees published reports.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 19992, what the reason was for the time taken to answer that Question.
Answered by David Lidington
I, along with my ministerial colleagues, always aim to provide timely and comprehensive responses to Written Parliamentary Questions. However, there are occasions where this is not possible. In the case of Question 19992, this Question did not fall within the remit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, leading to a delay in providing the response.