Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's forecast budget is for development assistance to nations in the Indo-Pacific region broken down by (a) nation and (b) financial year for each of the next five years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have doubled the number of British High Commissions across the Pacific Island Countries over the past three years. The UK now has six High Commissions in the Pacific including: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. The UK also opened the UK Mission to ASEAN in 2019 to strengthen UK-ASEAN engagement. Since achieving ASEAN Dialogue Partner Status, the UK Mission to ASEAN has expanded with further roles planned by March 2023.
We have increased resourcing in a number of key Missions including Canberra, Jakarta, and Singapore.
In addition, a significant and increasing number of FCDO roles both at Headquarters and across the global network, involve an element of China policy. This shift in focus and resource has been underway for a number of years. The FCDO dedicated an additional £3 million in 2020/21 and a further £3 million in 2022/23 to increase our capability on China, including a significantly expanded China Department and new China-related roles in the overseas network.
Following the Autumn Budget announced by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, FCDO ODA allocations are being worked through and will be published in due course. FCDO will also be launching detailed Business & Country Planning and Workforce Planning exercises in the new year. This will help to determine the FCDO's future workforce requirements from 2023-24 onwards, taking into account Ministerial priorities, and delivering our FCDO transformation.
The actual FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend has been published in Annex A within the Annual Report and Accounts for 2021-22 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022) and 2020-21 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021). ODA is measured on a calendar year basis. Provisional UK ODA figures are published annually in spring, with final figures in autumn. Final data for 2021 was published on 23 November 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development)
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether there has been a change in the number of (a) his Department's (i) personnel and (ii) assets and (b) the level of development assistance in the Indo-Pacific region since 16 March 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have doubled the number of British High Commissions across the Pacific Island Countries over the past three years. The UK now has six High Commissions in the Pacific including: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. The UK also opened the UK Mission to ASEAN in 2019 to strengthen UK-ASEAN engagement. Since achieving ASEAN Dialogue Partner Status, the UK Mission to ASEAN has expanded with further roles planned by March 2023.
We have increased resourcing in a number of key Missions including Canberra, Jakarta, and Singapore.
In addition, a significant and increasing number of FCDO roles both at Headquarters and across the global network, involve an element of China policy. This shift in focus and resource has been underway for a number of years. The FCDO dedicated an additional £3 million in 2020/21 and a further £3 million in 2022/23 to increase our capability on China, including a significantly expanded China Department and new China-related roles in the overseas network.
Following the Autumn Budget announced by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, FCDO ODA allocations are being worked through and will be published in due course. FCDO will also be launching detailed Business & Country Planning and Workforce Planning exercises in the new year. This will help to determine the FCDO's future workforce requirements from 2023-24 onwards, taking into account Ministerial priorities, and delivering our FCDO transformation.
The actual FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend has been published in Annex A within the Annual Report and Accounts for 2021-22 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022) and 2020-21 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021). ODA is measured on a calendar year basis. Provisional UK ODA figures are published annually in spring, with final figures in autumn. Final data for 2021 was published on 23 November 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development)
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether there has been a change in his Department's (a) departmental expenditure limit and (b) annually managed expenditure spending in the Indo-Pacific region since 16 March 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have doubled the number of British High Commissions across the Pacific Island Countries over the past three years. The UK now has six High Commissions in the Pacific including: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. The UK also opened the UK Mission to ASEAN in 2019 to strengthen UK-ASEAN engagement. Since achieving ASEAN Dialogue Partner Status, the UK Mission to ASEAN has expanded with further roles planned by March 2023.
We have increased resourcing in a number of key Missions including Canberra, Jakarta, and Singapore.
In addition, a significant and increasing number of FCDO roles both at Headquarters and across the global network, involve an element of China policy. This shift in focus and resource has been underway for a number of years. The FCDO dedicated an additional £3 million in 2020/21 and a further £3 million in 2022/23 to increase our capability on China, including a significantly expanded China Department and new China-related roles in the overseas network.
Following the Autumn Budget announced by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, FCDO ODA allocations are being worked through and will be published in due course. FCDO will also be launching detailed Business & Country Planning and Workforce Planning exercises in the new year. This will help to determine the FCDO's future workforce requirements from 2023-24 onwards, taking into account Ministerial priorities, and delivering our FCDO transformation.
The actual FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend has been published in Annex A within the Annual Report and Accounts for 2021-22 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022) and 2020-21 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021). ODA is measured on a calendar year basis. Provisional UK ODA figures are published annually in spring, with final figures in autumn. Final data for 2021 was published on 23 November 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development)
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what changes there have been to the level of UK official development assistance in the Indo-Pacific region by each nation in the region and in each year since March 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have doubled the number of British High Commissions across the Pacific Island Countries over the past three years. The UK now has six High Commissions in the Pacific including: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. The UK also opened the UK Mission to ASEAN in 2019 to strengthen UK-ASEAN engagement. Since achieving ASEAN Dialogue Partner Status, the UK Mission to ASEAN has expanded with further roles planned by March 2023.
We have increased resourcing in a number of key Missions including Canberra, Jakarta, and Singapore.
In addition, a significant and increasing number of FCDO roles both at Headquarters and across the global network, involve an element of China policy. This shift in focus and resource has been underway for a number of years. The FCDO dedicated an additional £3 million in 2020/21 and a further £3 million in 2022/23 to increase our capability on China, including a significantly expanded China Department and new China-related roles in the overseas network.
Following the Autumn Budget announced by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, FCDO ODA allocations are being worked through and will be published in due course. FCDO will also be launching detailed Business & Country Planning and Workforce Planning exercises in the new year. This will help to determine the FCDO's future workforce requirements from 2023-24 onwards, taking into account Ministerial priorities, and delivering our FCDO transformation.
The actual FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend has been published in Annex A within the Annual Report and Accounts for 2021-22 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022) and 2020-21 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021). ODA is measured on a calendar year basis. Provisional UK ODA figures are published annually in spring, with final figures in autumn. Final data for 2021 was published on 23 November 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development)
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2022 to Question 89754, whether His Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine has attended any state schools to make similar presentations.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
His Majesty's Ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, speaks regularly at Ukrainian schools and universities about the work of the British Embassy in Kyiv and the UK's ongoing support to Ukraine. In her role as Ambassador, she was also invited to speak at Eton College on 16 November 2022 by the Eton College Politics Society. The event, which is the first invitation the Ambassador has received from a British school or university, included the participation of two local state schools.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the visit of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine to Eton College on 16 November 2022 was conducted in a public or private capacity.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Melinda Simmons was invited to speak at Eton College on 16 November 2022 by the Eton College Politics Society about the work of the British Embassy Kyiv in Ukraine. In her capacity as His Majesty's Ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons spoke for 15 minutes and took 45 minutes of questions.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the G7 Communique expressing progress on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), which Minister leads UK policy on the PGII; which role is providing executive day to day leadership of the PGII; how much resource has been committed to the PGII (a) by the UK and (b) in total; and how many projects are in the pipeline for funding through the PGII.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) is the G7's commitment to help countries get the investment they need to grow secure, open, thriving economies. Collectively, G7 countries aim to mobilise $600 billion of honest, reliable finance for low and middle-income countries over five years, as announced at the recent Leaders' summit, and are committed to closer co-ordination and communication of initiatives, in close conjunction with the G7 Presidency. The UK's contribution to PGII will be our work through British Investment Partnerships(BIP), as set out in our recently published International Development Strategy. Led by the Foreign Secretary, BIP aims to mobilise up to £8 billion of UK backed financing a year by 2025, including from the private sector. The UK delivers BIP through a range of instruments and tools, including development finance, export finance, concessional finance, guarantees and expertise, and each of these mechanisms has its own pipeline of initiatives, either being implemented or under development.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
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 on seeking participation in the US-EU Trade and Technology Council.
Answered by Rehman Chishti
The Foreign Secretary has not held any discussions seeking participation in the US-EU Trade and Technology Council. The UK continues to work closely with the US and EU to further our shared technology objectives.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will list the assets and properties (a) seized and (b) frozen under sanctions regulations in 2022.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Sanctions List, published by the FCDO on GOV.UK, is the comprehensive list of persons or ships designated. Additionally, there are entities listed in Schedule 2 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which are covered by sectoral financial measures.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine we have announced an unprecedented package of sanctions to cut off the funding for Putin's war machine. We have now sanctioned over 1000 individuals and businesses since the invasion of Ukraine. Putin himself has acknowledged the "problems and difficulties" caused by sanctions. Our package of sanctions includes asset freezes on major banks, a prohibition on clearing for Sberbank, and the removal of selected banks from SWIFT.UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe cost on Putin and his regime.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she will reply tot he correspondence of 11 January 2022 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Lodge Hill on the detention of British citizen Shakeel Arshad.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I [Minister Cleverly] replied to this correspondence on 23 January 2022.