Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 04 Mar 2021
British Council and the Integrated Review
"I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the British Council and the integrated review. I thank Mr Speaker for granting the debate and the Minister for responding. I should declare my interest as chairman of the British Council all-party group.
The UK is often termed a soft power superpower, …..."John Baron - View Speech
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Written Question
Monday 21st September 2020
Asked by:
John Baron (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Government has donated to the World Food Programme in response to its request for assistance to respond to the covid-19 pandemic, to date.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK has committed £15 million to WFP through the UN's COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan to provide essential global humanitarian functions, such as passenger and cargo services, and medical evacuation. We also accelerated payment of a £12 million tranche of our core funding and worked through our country network to accelerate local payments, enabling WFP to rapidly respond to the global pandemic. The UK is one of the WFP's largest donors, providing £544 million in 2019, and as a force for good in the world we are deeply committed to WFP's essential work on famine and food security. I discussed the work of WFP with David Beasley (WFP Executive Director) when we met on 14 September.
Written Question
Monday 21st September 2020
Asked by:
John Baron (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will set out the (a) terms of reference and (b) progress of his review of the British Council; and if he will publish a (i) financial recovery plan and (ii) long-term funding settlement for the British Council.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The internal review of the British Council is ongoing. Officials continue to work closely with the Council to address the impact of Covid-19 on its operations. Further decisions about long-term funding for the Council will be taken at the upcoming Spending Review.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 22 Jul 2019
Situation in the Gulf
"Given that the risk of seizure was foreseen and that 95% of goods entering the UK do so by sea, does the Foreign Secretary agree that a Royal Navy of fewer than 20 ships is not up to the task and that we need to spend more on our defence, …..."John Baron - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 May 2019
Oral Answers to Questions
"14. What steps his Department is taking to promote and enhance UK soft power overseas. ..."John Baron - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 May 2019
Oral Answers to Questions
"The British Council all-party group, which I chair, is conducting a wide-ranging inquiry into our future soft power relationship with our European partners. Does the Minister agree with our early finding that we could better co-ordinate our efforts, and will he meet the all-party group as part of our inquiry?..."John Baron - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 May 2019
Oral Answers to Questions
"Will the Foreign Secretary update the House on what the Foreign Office is doing to help the British Council employee who was recently sentenced in Iran?..."John Baron - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 08 May 2019
Iran Nuclear Deal
"Thank you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. To ask the Government to make a statement on the status of the Iran nuclear deal...."John Baron - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 08 May 2019
Iran Nuclear Deal
"It is now a year since the US Government unilaterally withdrew from the joint comprehensive plan of action, better known as the Iranian nuclear deal. The Trump Administration have recently announced the forthcoming expansion of oil sanctions to all countries that buy oil from Iran, and have dispatched an aircraft …..."John Baron - View Speech
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Written Question
Monday 11th February 2019
Asked by:
John Baron (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Soft Power Strategy will be published.
Answered by Mark Field
No decision has been taken on a publication date for the soft power strategy, or whether the strategy will itself be a published document, though we anticipate public communication of initiatives arising from it.