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 the Government has made of the potential effect on the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine of the OSCE’s special monitoring mission's budget not being renewed beyond March 2022.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK is resolute in our support to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). With partners, we will call on all OSCE participating States to ensure a timely adoption of the budget for 2022/23 and continue to support efforts to ensure the SMM is able to fully implement its mandate.
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 14 December 2021 to Question 90329 on Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation, which recommendations in the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament her Department does not support.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK supports the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament and agrees with the principles behind its recommendations. The UK has made significant progress in fulfilling certain recommendations including in reducing our nuclear arsenal to the minimum credible level and reducing the role of nuclear weapons in our security policies. However, the Integrated Review set out the current deteriorating strategic security environment which limits further unilateral action from the UK at this time. In this context, the UK cannot further reduce our arsenal or the role our nuclear weapons play in our policies and doctrine, nor can we tighten our negative security assurances. Our NPT national report highlights the UK's continued commitment to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons and our work to facilitate progress towards nuclear 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, how many UK officials will be attending the 2022 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK's delegation at the 2022 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons will be led by the UK's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament. Delegations this year will be limited in number because of restrictions related to the Covid pandemic.
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 her Department is taking to help ensure that Afghans who are (a) not eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) at risk of harm from the Taliban in Afghanistan are given assistance before the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme opens.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have committed to provide £286 million in humanitarian and development support and continue to explore the best ways to provide support to the Afghan people. The Prime Minister's Special Representative for the Afghan Transition, Sir Simon Gass, and Chargé d'Affaires of the UK Mission to Afghanistan in Doha, Dr Martin Longden, travelled to Afghanistan on 5 October to hold talks with the Taliban. Sir Simon and Dr Longden stressed the need to ensure continued safe passage for those who wish to leave the country and respect human rights, including the rights of minorities and women and girls.
During Op PITTING we were able to get approval for evacuation of a number of Afghan nationals, to whom the Home Secretary agreed to grant Leave Outside the Rules to enter the UK, in addition to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy contingent and British nationals. These people were identified as being particularly at risk and not all were able to leave before the end of the Operation. Providing assistance to those individuals eligible for HMG support remains our priority.
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 implications of the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban for the security of the UK and its allies.
Answered by Nigel Adams
One of our key objectives is to stop Afghanistan from again becoming a base for terrorist attacks around the world, to reduce the threat to the UK and the international community. We will work with our allies and use all the levers at our disposal to achieve this.
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 Office, what steps he has taken to further the development of international (a) norms, (b) rules and (c) principles on responsible behaviours in space in each of the last six months.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
In December 2020, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a UK-led resolution on "Reducing Space Threat through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour". The resolution called for States to study space threats and contribute their ideas to the United Nations Secretary-General by 3 May 2021. The United Kingdom submitted its views which can be found on the website of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, https://www.un.org/disarmament/topics/outerspace-sg-report-outer-space-2021/.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on protection of Christians in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We remain deeply concerned by the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. We continue to raise our human rights concerns with the Pakistan authorities at the highest level.
I raised this issue with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 28 October, and with the Chief Minister of the Punjab, Mr Shanbaz Sharif, on 26 November.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials in his Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The new Civil Service Employee Policy Performance Management system applies to UK-based staff in the delegated grades (Band A (AA-AO) to Band D (G6/7). Senior Civil Servants (SCS) follow Cabinet Office guidance on performance management. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) adopted the new Performance Management System in April 2013. The Department operates a split appraisal cycle with Bands C (HEO/SEO) and D using the financial year and Bands A and B (AA/AO/EO) using the calendar year. Bands C and D used the new policy for appraisal year 2013/2014, with Band D appraisals being subject to performance validation. Bands A and B only started to use the new system from 1 January 2014 and will complete their cycle in December. The FCO uses the third box marking of “Partially Met” rather than “Must Improve”. We also have a guided distribution in place across the ratings as follows: Exceeded – 25% Met – 60% Partially Met – 15% The FCO takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. Information about the diversity and makeup of our staff is listed in the FCO's Diversity and Equality Report. We will complete an analysis of the appraisal and performance related pay (PRP) data for diversity purposes early in 2015 once all staff have completed one full year on the new system.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The new Civil Service Employee Policy Performance Management system applies to UK-based staff in the delegated grades (Band A (AA-AO) to Band D (G6/7). Senior Civil Servants (SCS) follow Cabinet Office guidance on performance management.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) adopted the new Performance Management System in April 2013. The Department operates a split appraisal cycle with Bands C (HEO/SEO) and D using the financial year and Bands A and B (AA/AO/EO) using the calendar year. Bands C and D used the new policy for appraisal year 2013/2014, with Band D appraisals being subject to performance validation. Bands A and B only started to use the new system from 1 January 2014 and will complete their cycle in December. The FCO uses the third box marking of “Partially Met” rather than “Must Improve”. We also have a guided distribution in place across the ratings as follows:
Exceeded – 25%
Met – 60%
Partially Met – 15%
The FCO takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. Information about the diversity and makeup of our staff is listed in the FCO's Diversity and Equality Report. We will complete an analysis of the appraisal and performance related pay (PRP) data for diversity purposes early in 2015 once all staff have completed one full year on the new system.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The new Civil Service Employee Policy Performance Management system applies to UK-based staff in the delegated grades (Band A (AA-AO) to Band D (G6/7). Senior Civil Servants (SCS) follow Cabinet Office guidance on performance management. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) adopted the new Performance Management System in April 2013. The Department operates a split appraisal cycle with Bands C (HEO/SEO) and D using the financial year and Bands A and B (AA/AO/EO) using the calendar year. Bands C and D used the new policy for appraisal year 2013/2014, with Band D appraisals being subject to performance validation. Bands A and B only started to use the new system from 1 January 2014 and will complete their cycle in December. The FCO uses the third box marking of “Partially Met” rather than “Must Improve”. We also have a guided distribution in place across the ratings as follows: Exceeded – 25% Met – 60% Partially Met – 15% The FCO takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. Information about the diversity and makeup of our staff is listed in the FCO's Diversity and Equality Report. We will complete an analysis of the appraisal and performance related pay (PRP) data for diversity purposes early in 2015 once all staff have completed one full year on the new system.