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Written Question
UK-EU Partnership Council
Friday 23rd September 2022

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the next meeting of the EU-UK Partnership Council will take place.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

As provided for in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the next meeting of the UK-EU Partnership Council will take place before the end of the year.


Written Question
Nigeria: Economic Crime
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Nigerian counterpart on tackling financial crime in Nigeria.

Answered by Vicky Ford

Tackling financial crime in Nigeria is the responsibility of the Nigerian Government. It is a priority for Nigeria, and the UK is committed to helping them. In February we refreshed these commitments at a National Security Advisor led dialogue in London on our joint Security and Defence Partnership. The National Crime Agency is helping to strengthen the capacity of anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria to investigate and prosecute corruption cases including illicit financial flows. In July, the #ProtectWhatsYours campaign was launched in Nigeria, supported by UK funding. The campaign aims to highlight the direct harms and costs of illicit finance and financial crime to the people of Nigeria and to encourage increased reporting on those involved in these crimes.


Written Question
Saudi Arabia: Refugees
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Saudi Arabian counterpart on support for Yemeni refugees in Saudi Arabia.

Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We engage candidly and regularly with the Saudi authorities on a range of issues, including the efforts to end the war in Yemen and the status of migrants and refugees in Saudi Arabia.

The UK is playing a leading role in supporting UN led efforts to sustain, extend and expand the UN brokered truce in Yemen which came into effect on 2 April. Peace is the only sustainable solution to the humanitarian crisis.


Written Question
Russia: Overseas Trade
Thursday 3rd March 2022

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to her oral statement of 28 February 2022 on Sanctions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of Russian trade denominated in sterling.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

New legislation was laid in parliament on financial measures. These measures will prevent Russian banks from clearing payments in sterling and will apply to Russia's largest bank - Sberbank. With around 75 percent of Russian trade denominated in dollars, euros or sterling, our coordinated action will damage Russia's ability to trade with the world. On average, the UK financial system clears around £0.4 billion of sterling payments to and from Russian banks daily - equating to £146 billion per annum. Stopping access to sterling will mean Russian banks cannot use UK financial markets, invest in the UK, and pay for trade in Sterling.


Written Question
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Appointments
Thursday 27th January 2022

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department seeks references for candidates appointed to public positions which fall under the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Answered by Vicky Ford

The Governance Code on Public Appointments sets out that the Advisory Assessment Panel must satisfy itself that all candidates for appointment can meet the Seven Principles of Public Life and adhere to the Code of Conduct for board members of public bodies.

The Governance Code requires that candidates are asked to declare relevant interests and these are discussed at interview. The FCDO may also provide the panel with other information, for example, open source material that they may wish to consider in reaching a judgement in a fair and open way.

Whilst the FCDO will usually seek references for candidates appointed to public positions which fall under the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, it is noted that references may not always be an appropriate, fair or open way of reaching such an assessment due to the limitations on what might be provided and the lack of transparency as to their contents.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Friday 19th November 2021

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she plans to provide a revised response to the letter dated 6 October 2021 from the hon Member for Cardiff West, relating to the case of Luke Symons.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

A reply was sent on 22 October. I [Mr Cleverly] sent a revised reply on 18 November.


Written Question
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Correspondence
Thursday 8th July 2021

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many items of written correspondence from hon. Members sent to Ministers in his Department have been (a) received and (b) replied to since 1 April 2020; and how many of those responses were responded to by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence.

The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.


Written Question
Yemen: Armed Conflict
Tuesday 2nd March 2021

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

What recent assessment he has made of the prospects for an end to the conflict in Yemen.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK fully supports the efforts of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to resolve the Yemen conflict. I spoke to Martin Griffiths on Monday. He is seeking to secure a ceasefire and the resumption of a comprehensive political process. This comes as the Houthi offensive on Marib threatens these efforts and to displace thousands of civilians.

We are using all our diplomatic and humanitarian expertise to move the peace process forward alongside the UN, the US and our international partners.


Written Question
Canary Islands: Coronavirus
Monday 18th May 2020

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will arrange a direct flight from Fuerteventura in the Canary islands to the UK for British nationals and residents wishing to return to the UK during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Helping British nationals who need and want to return to the UK is one of the Government's highest priorities. Since the outbreak in Wuhan, we estimate that over 1.3 million people have returned to the UK via commercial routes - the majority supported by our work to keep vital routes open. Additionally we have brought home over 31,000 people on 146 flights organised by the Foreign Office from 27 countries and territories.

Special charter flights will only operate for priority countries where commercial flights are not possible. At the current time, there remain commercial options to return to the UK from Spain. Our Embassy in Madrid have been working closely with the Government of Spain, airlines and other travel providers to keep vital routes open and help bring back British travellers to the UK.

Our consular team continues to work around the clock to provide support, advice and information to British nationals in Fuerteventura. Our travel advice and social media pages are also regularly updated to ensure that those wishing to return are aware of further developments: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain


Written Question
Canary Islands: Coronavirus
Monday 18th May 2020

Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of British nationals and residents who have been unable to return to the UK from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Helping British nationals who need and want to return to the UK is one of the Government's highest priorities. Since the outbreak in Wuhan, we estimate that over 1.3 million people have returned to the UK via commercial routes - the majority supported by our work to keep vital routes open. Additionally we have brought home over 31,000 people on 146 flights organised by the Foreign Office from 27 countries and territories.

Our Embassy and Consulates in Spain have helped 200,000 British nationals return home and continue to provide advice and support to those who remain and who have contacted us. In the case of Fuerteventura, we currently have five consular customers and, additionally, 80 British nationals have registered their desire to return to the UK with the local authorities.

Our consular team continues to work around the clock to provide support, advice and information to British nationals in Spain. Our travel advice and social media pages are also regularly updated to ensure that those wishing to return are aware of further developments. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain