Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for what reason the UK-Africa investment summit due to be held in April 2024 has been postponed.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK-African Investment Summit (UK-AIS), due to take place in April 2024, has been postponed to a later date owing to scheduling issues in the international calendar. New summit dates will be announced in due course.
The UK government is committed to building on the success of the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit, which laid the foundations for new partnerships between the UK and African nations based on trade, investment, shared values and mutual interest. This includes by ensuring attendance from governments across the continent, as well as British and African businesses eager to harness the benefits of our trading relationship.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has rearranged a date for the UK-Africa investment summit.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK-African Investment Summit (UK-AIS), due to take place in April 2024, has been postponed to a later date owing to scheduling issues in the international calendar. New summit dates will be announced in due course.
The UK government is committed to building on the success of the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit, which laid the foundations for new partnerships between the UK and African nations based on trade, investment, shared values and mutual interest. This includes by ensuring attendance from governments across the continent, as well as British and African businesses eager to harness the benefits of our trading relationship.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential risk to Afghan refugees who are deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty
In Pakistan we are working with the UN Refugee Agency to ensure Pakistan, which has a long history of hosting vulnerable refugees, adheres to its international human rights obligations. In Afghanistan, there has been a significant scale up in the provision of emergency assistance to returnees at the border and we are following the humanitarian and human rights implications closely, including the work of the Taliban Refugee Commission to aid the resettlement of people returning. Since September, we have committed £18.5 million to the International Organisation for Migration in Afghanistan to support vulnerable undocumented people returning from Pakistan and Iran.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations he has made to his Venezuelan counterpart on that country's territorial dispute with Guyana.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK Government does not recognise the legitimacy of the Maduro regime. On 30 November, the Foreign Secretary discussed Venezuela's steps with respect to the region of Essequibo in Guyana with President Ali of Guyana. We consider the unilateral actions of Venezuela unjustified and have said they should cease. The UK is clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration. We will continue to work with partners in the region and international bodies such as the UN Security Council, the Commonwealth and the Organisation of American States to seek a peaceful resolution.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghans are in hotel accommodation in Pakistan that is funded by the UK Government as of 18 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty
As of 18 October 2023, there are approximately 3,250 Afghans eligible for resettlement in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS schemes in UK funded hotel accommodation in Pakistan.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has for contributing to the Education Cannot Wait fund over the next four years.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is proud to be a co-founding member and leading donor to Education Cannot Wait (ECW). Given the UK Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider Official Development Assistance (ODA) pressures including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the FCDO and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit aid budgets to ensure all eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of Gross National Income this calendar year.
The Government remains committed to transparency and will provide an update to Parliament on spending plans in due course.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of the use of cluster munitions being used by Russian forces in Ukraine; and whether she has had discussions with her international counterparts on the compatibility of such munitions with international law.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK Government condemns the indiscriminate or disproportionate use of any weapon, including incendiary weapons or those that have an incendiary effect. The targeting of civilians and civilian objects is not only abhorrent, but also a blatant violation of international law, and should not continue under any circumstances. The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to support the investigation of atrocities being committed in Ukraine, and welcomed the publication of the OSCE's Moscow Mechanism report in April, which found multiple instances of clear violations of international law by Russian forces in Ukraine, including credible evidence of war crimes.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department has to debrief British nationals who return to the UK after fighting in Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Where relevant and practicable, we will debrief any persons who volunteer credible information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.