Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what (a) staff and (b) legal resources have been committed to the International Humanitarian Law Compliance Assessment Process Cell in his Department.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The FCDO currently has a small bespoke capability, including legal resources, to look specifically at international humanitarian law issues in the context of the Israel/Gaza conflict. This is part of a larger team in the UK and across our overseas network actively delivering the Government's goals of ending the conflict and reaching a lasting peace.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish the findings of each assessment by the International Humanitarian Law Compliance Assessment Process Cell in his Department of Israel’s compliance with such law.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Legal advice to Ministers and policy assessments related to it are confidential. We therefore do not publish the International Humanitarian Law Cell's assessments of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL). It is for Ministers to decide what to say publicly about each assessment.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish his Department's review of sanctions architecture.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We keep our sanctions under constant review to ensure that they are as impactful and effective as possible. This includes keeping under review how the UK's sanctions framework and architecture best supports that. To that end, we have amended the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 through recent Economic Crime Acts to reflect our learning during the first five years of operation of the Act.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the relationship between Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co. Ltd and the State Council of China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co. (also known as JAC Capital) is a subsidiary of JIC Capital. JIC Capital is reportedly a state-owned investment group with a 51 per cent holding of JAC Capital.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by David Rutley
No FCDO programme spend is devolved for administration by local government in England or by other local spending bodies.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish legal advice he received on the seizure of Russian central bank assets.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK are continuing to pursue all lawful routes to make Russian assets available to support Ukraine's reconstruction. As part of this, it is important that Ministers are able to obtain full and frank legal advice in confidence to properly test a range of policy options. On this basis, we do not intend to publish any legal advice Ministers may receive on the seizure of Russian central bank assets.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to seek admission to the US-EU Trade and Technology Council.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government is not seeking admission to the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) but continues to work closely with key partners, including the EU and US, on our shared trade and technology priorities, advancing UK interests and exploring further areas for cooperation where mutually beneficial.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) economic and (b) financial sanctions have been imposed on Chinese nationals in the last five years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has imposed asset freezes on six Chinese nationals in the last five years.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
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 benefits of the international work of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance; and if he will take steps to support that alliance in the future.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has invested £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000, during which time Gavi has vaccinated more than 1 billion children in 78 lower-income countries, saving over 17 million lives. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are working with countries to build stronger primary health care systems as a core part of restoring immunisation services.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan on ensuring timely Provincial elections in Punjab, in line with the Constitution and orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Leo Docherty
We respect Pakistan's democratic process and do not interfere in its domestic political affairs. The timing of elections is a matter for the Government of Pakistan, to be resolved through democratic and constitutional means.