Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is he taking to support Ukrainian authorities with the exhumation and identification of victims of alleged mass killings by Russian forces in (a) Bucha and (b) Izyum.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Attorney General led a scoping mission to the region in May, to assess how the UK could help the Ukrainian Prosecutor General to identify and collect evidence of atrocities. Since then, the UK has been supporting the Office of the Prosecutor General in its work to investigate potential war crimes committed in Ukraine. Our support has included the creation of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, which the UK helped to establish alongside the United States and the European Union, and a £2.5 million support package.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact on regional security of escalating military tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of September 2022 and following the conclusion of the Nagorno Karabakh War.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government condemns the recent violence along the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In calls with Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov on 15 and 17 September respectively, I reinforced the need for a cessation of hostilities and a return to substantive negotiations to settle all outstanding matters between the parties. The United Kingdom will continue to work with both parties in the coming months to support efforts to secure regional stability and security.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has plans to appoint a UK Ambassador to the Arctic region.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK takes a whole-of-government approach to the Arctic, overseen by a Minister with responsibility for the Polar Regions in FCDO. The UK attends all major Arctic meetings and conferences, either from the UK or from our embassies in the region.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to attend the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty Review Conference in August 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK looks forward to working with all states to strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the Tenth Review Conference in August. The FCDO is still finalising Ministerial attendance. The senior official who will represent the UK delegation will be the UK's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2022 to Question 23221, how many meetings of the National Security Council she has attended since April 2022.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The National Security Council is a committee of the Cabinet. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings of the National Security Council she has attended since April 2022.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The National Security Council is a committee of the Cabinet. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to lay the security and defence agreements signed between the UK, Sweden and Finland before Parliament under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 makes provision for treaties subject to ratification first to be laid before Parliament. The Act's definition of a treaty does not capture arrangements which are not legally binding under international law.
The joint statements made between the UK and Finland and the UK and Sweden on 11 May both note that they are political declarations and are not legally binding obligations under international law. The statements in their entirety were published on gov.uk immediately after their signature. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/international/foreign-affairs#policy_and_engagement
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK personnel have worked at the National Cyber Security Centre in each year since 2015.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not provide exact figures on the number of personnel working at NCSC for reasons of national security.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British employees are funded by the UK’s funding to the OSCE’s special monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK provides the third largest number of secondees to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission. The specific figure, which currently stands at around 50, changes regularly subject to Mission needs and the availability of UK candidates.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much annual funding does the Government provide to the OSCE’s special monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Information on the UK's financial contribution to OSCE Field Missions can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conflict-stability-and-security-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021/conflict-stability-and-security-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021#annex-b-cssf-non-discretionary-spend-breakdown
Information on the budget of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission can be found here: https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/0/0/484139.pdf