Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken with the Home Secretary to facilitate the rescue of scholars from Afghanistan who have been (a) validated by the Council for At-Risk Academics and (b) awarded funded research posts at UK Universities.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government is working through the details of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). The Scheme will provide protection for people at risk and identified as in need. The ACRS will prioritise those people who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan who face a particular risk from the Taliban, for example because of their stand for democracy and human rights, or because of their gender, sexuality, or religion. The Government has committed to welcome around 5,000 people in the first year and up to 20,000 over the coming years. The scheme in not yet open. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take (a) in response to the recent letter sent to him by the CEO of Adam Smith International on the risk to Afghan civilians, employed to administer UK-funded programmes between 2002 and 2018, who were (i) staff members of contractors and (ii) not directly employed by the UK Government and (b) to honour all offers previously made to Afghan students of Chevening Scholarships for the academic year 2021-22.
Answered by Nigel Adams
In addition to schemes offering resettlement for Afghan staff who have assisted the UK government, and their families, we are also setting up the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). This scheme will provide protection for Afghan citizens identified as most at risk. The Government has committed to take around 5,000 refugees in the first year and 20,000 over the coming years.
All offers made to Afghan Chevening scholars for 2021-22 are valid. We successfully evacuated the majority of Afghan Chevening scholars in this year's cohort and will continue to do all we can to support the small number who remain in Afghanistan. We are clear that the Taliban must ensure safe passage for these people out of Afghanistan and any engagement with them will emphasise this first and foremost.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure the safety in Afghanistan of the staff of (a) BBC World Service, (b) other free media and (c) charities with links with the UK, including the Nowzad animal rescue organisation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Between 15 and 29 August, the UK evacuated over 15,000 people from Afghanistan. That includes: over 8,000 British Nationals, close to 5,000 Afghans who loyally served the UK, along with their dependents, and around 500 special cases of particularly vulnerable Afghans, including Chevening scholars, journalists, human rights defenders, campaigners for women's rights, judges and many others. All these figures include dependants.
We are now looking at all possible avenues to ensure that any British nationals and local staff remaining in Afghanistan, as well as at-risk individuals who have already been offered a visa to the UK, are able to leave safely if they wish to. We have been clear that the Taliban must allow safe passage for those who want to leave
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to donate surplus covid-19 vaccines originally ordered for use in the UK to countries in need overseas; what estimate he has made of (a) the quantity of surplus doses which will become available and (b) the timeframe for when they will be available; what estimate he has made of the total monetary value of those surplus doses; and whether that monetary value will be included in calculations of the total of overseas aid given by the UK to poorer countries.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to equitable access to safe and effective vaccines and the Prime Minister has called on G7 leaders to vaccinate the world by the end of next year. As the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines, COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines fairly and to where they will be most effective. We will continue to discuss this issue with our G7 partners and will issue details of the quantities and timeframe for UK sharing of vaccine doses soon.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement of 1 May 2021, whether any of the additional £8 million being made available by his Department to the BBC World Service will be allocated to the work of the BBC Monitoring Service; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO will provide £94.4m to the BBC World Service for 2021-22, including an £8m uplift for 2021-22 to fund disinformation work and digital enhancements. The FCDO has allocated £3m of the £8m uplift to support disinformation work including a boost to investigative journalism and the remaining £5m for digital enhancements to help the BBC develop its digital platforms in order to support audience growth. It is for the BBC to decide how this funding is spent.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to (a) Question 162501 tabled on 3 March 2021 and (b) Question 163140 tabled on 4 March 2021 by the Rt. hon. Member for New Forest East.
Answered by Nigel Adams
My officials have been in touch with the Table Office and discovered an IT issue with the submission portal. This has now been corrected to show that these questions were both answered on time on 8 and 9 March.
Responses to these questions can be found on the Parliamentary website at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-04/163140 and https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-03/162501
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the approximate numbers of captive Isil/Daesh fighters held, respectively, in regions of Syria under the control of (a) Syrian, (b) Turkish, (c) Kurdish and (d) any other armed forces or groups hostile to Isil/Daesh; under what circumstances and to which destinations those fighters are being released, if at all, from captivity in each of those differently controlled areas; and to which of those four categories of armed forces or groups is the UK giving military assistance to suppress Isil/Daesh.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK has not made an estimate of the numbers of Daesh fighters held across Syria. We are aware of reports that provide an estimate, including by the UN. Any decision in relation to the continued detention, transfer or prosecution of detainees is ultimately a matter for the authorities under whose jurisdiction the individuals are detained. The UK continues to encourage all parties to adhere to their legal obligations. As a leading member of the Global Coalition we work with all Coalition members and the Coalition's partner forces to continue tackling the threat from Daesh.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) regional and (b) global implications for tackling terrorism of a return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The US-Taliban agreement includes conditions about preventing international terrorists operating from Afghan soil. The UK will remain committed to tackling the threat from terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including from Daesh/ISKP (Islamic State in Khorasan Province), Al Qaeda and their affiliates. We continue to work closely with the US and NATO Allies to protect our shared interests. Regional stability and human and economic development are interconnected with reducing the threat from terrorism.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the BBC World Service in expanding (a) its reach to additional countries, (b) the number of its language services broadcast and (c) the overall size of its global audience; what recent assessment has has made of the contribution of the World Service to global understanding of major developments in (i) Burma, (ii) China and (iii) Russia; what plans his Department has to restored ring-fenced funding of the BBC World Service for 2021-22; what plans he has to make an assessment of the role of the BBC World Service as part of the Integrated Review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO strongly values the work of the BBC World Service in promoting UK values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting, which is vital especially in places where media freedom is limited or otherwise curtailed.
We have provided the World Service with over £378m over 5 years (2016-21) through the World2020 programme, in order to fund enhancements to existing language services and 12 new language services. The World Service now reaches a record breaking 351m people weekly, an over 40% increase since the programme began in 2016, demonstrating the impact of FCDO investment. Future funding for the World Service is being considered alongside other FCDO spending priorities at SR20 and the role of the BBC World Service, and other soft power assets, is being considered as part of the Integrated Review.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the BBC Monitoring Service in providing open source information to (a) his Department, (b) the Ministry of Defence and (c) the Cabinet Office; what recent assessment he has made of the contribution that Service to the Government's understanding of (i) the covid-19 pandemic in affected countries and (ii) the poisoning of Alexei Navalny in Russia; what plans he has to (A) make an assessment of trends in the level of workload of the Service and (B) reverse Service staff funding reductions made on relocation from Caversham Park to Central London; if he will make it his policy to restore ring-fenced funding to the Service; what plans he has to make an assessment of the role of the Service as part of the Integrated Review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
BBC Monitoring (BBCM) provides services for the whole of Government and consistently meets or exceeds all agreed performance metrics as set out in the Monitoring Agreement. The use of BBCM across government is increasing with 30 departments and agencies using the service. For example, BBCM outputs make a direct contribution to situational awareness in support of MOD activities worldwide, and the Open Source Unit (OSU) in the FCDO, relies on BBCM's unique media monitoring, reporting and analysis alongside other sources to provide situational awareness and understanding of the wider context to FCDO policy leads.
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government and therefore it is not appropriate for us to comment on matters such as staffing. The Government is satisfied with the current funding model and BBC Monitoring's ability to deliver the service based on agreed performance targets. The full conclusions of the Integrated Review will be published in due course.