Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to her oral contribution of 5 September 2018, Official Report, column 169, what progress she has made in working with international partners to empower the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to attribute chemical weapons attacks to other states beyond Syria.
Answered by Alan Duncan
As set out in the statement of 13 December 2018 [HCWS1177] by the Foreign Secretary and his predecessor’s update to the House on 9 July 2018, the UK was at the forefront of significant successful diplomatic efforts last year to secure, fund and implement decisions to enable the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to attribute responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, and more widely at the request of an affected State Party. In accordance with the terms of the June Decision, on 15 November 2018, the Director General of the OPCW set out the measures that the OPCW will implement to provide technical expertise on attribution to requesting States Parties and set out his proposals to establish independent, impartial, expert arrangements to assist with this. We continue to work with international partners in supporting the OPCW Director General and the OPCW Technical Secretariat to put in place structures and staffing to take forward their mandated attribution work, a significant step forward in international efforts to end use of chemical weapons.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Zimbabwean counterpart to ensure that individuals detained by the military and the police during the recent unrest are given a fair trial in accordance with international law.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador on 17 January to express our concern at the ongoing situation there, and to urge the security forces to stop using disproportionate force and to investigate any cases of alleged human rights violations and abuses. On 30 January, I spoke to Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Moyo, repeating our calls for an end to human rights violations and abuses and a full investigation into all allegations, including arbitrary arrests.
We will continue to call on the Government of Zimbabwe to investigate all allegations of human rights violations and abuses and urge them to follow the due process of law.
The British Embassy team continue to attend court cases in Harare and Bulawayo and are in regular contact with the legal teams of a number of individuals who have been arrested.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) South Africa, (b) Botswana, (c) Namibia and and (d) Malawi on the situation in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I travelled to South Africa on 30 January and raised Zimbabwe with key regional interlocutors, emphasising the need for urgent action by the international community.
I also attended the EU-AU Ministerial meeting in Brussels on 21 January and discussed a range of issues, including Zimbabwe at the meeting.
I will continue to raise the political and security situation in Zimbabwe with key counterparts, including those from Commonwealth states, as I did with the Foreign Minister of Mozambique on 3 February.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Zimbabwean counterpart to ensure that Evan Mawarire is given a fair trial in accordance with international law.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I raised the need for all those arrested to be given a fair trial with the Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Moyo on 30 January. Our Ambassador has reinforced this message in Harare, in meetings with Home Affairs Minister Mathema on 23 January and Foreign Minister Moyo on 25 January.
Following his recent arrest, the British Embassy have been monitoring Pastor Evan Mawarire’s court hearings. We were pleased to see he was released on bail on 30 January.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that climate change is exacerbating conflict in Mali; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We agree that climate change is exacerbating conflict in Mali and the broader Sahel region, particularly by increasing competition over land and resources. The causes of conflict in Mali are, however, wider than climate change and include in particular issues around governance, demography, terrorism and organised crime.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of Persistent Genital Arousal Syndrome (PGAS) have been recorded in each of the last five years; and how many PGAS specialists are currently practising in England.
Answered by Steve Brine
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
When his Department plans to respond to its consultation entitled Food labelling: amending laws.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra intends to provide a summary of responses and the Government response by 7 February as set out on the consultation web page.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department is spending on a public information campaign to prepare people for the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID has not spent any money and is taking a no-cost approach to ensuring our stakeholders are briefed on the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department is spending on a public information campaign to prepare people for the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government has a duty to inform citizens and businesses about how leaving the EU might affect them, and to advise on the steps they may need to take to prepare for EU Exit.
We have developed a cross-departmental public information campaign to help achieve this. Over the coming weeks, we will be using a range of channels to direct UK citizens, businesses, EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU to a dedicated area on GOV.UK at Gov.uk/EUexit
Information on the costs associated with this campaign will be released in due course as part the normal data transparency releases by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Independent Commission for Aid report, Global Challenges Research Fund - a rapid review, published in September 2017, what progress his Department has made on delivering recommendation 3 of that report.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
BEIS accepted recommendation 3 of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s (ICAI) report and is taking action accordingly to enhance assessment of the performance of the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
We have commissioned an evaluation of the GCRF by the independent contractor ITAD, the first stage of which established a clear Theory of Change. ITAD is now refining a further comprehensive evaluation methodology for the fund.
Work is also being undertaken to provide assurance on value for money and to develop Key Performance Indicators to enable monitoring of project and portfolio outcomes.
BEIS is actively engaged with ICAI in their follow up to the review.