Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to help end female genital mutilation in (a) Sierra Leone and (b) other African states.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We advocate for a comprehensive approach to eliminating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) that includes prevention and access to services. In Sierra Leone, we support the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls and their education. We tackle sexual gender-based violence by providing grants to survivor-led movements and changing societal beliefs and behaviours that underpin FGM through work with women and girl led civil society organisations. Globally, the UK has supported the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM since 2013 and is providing £35 million between 2019 and 2027 to grassroots African organisations leading change within communities. We also provide funding to the UN Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM which works with 17 national governments in Africa.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Angolan counterpart on supporting (a) investigation, (b) freezing, (c) seizure, and (d) recovery of any assets held in UK jurisdiction of individuals from that country under investigation for corruption; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime for those individuals.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK regularly engages with the Government of Angola to encourage all political parties to play a positive role in the democratic development of Angola. This includes engagement from the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit and the International Anti-Corruption Co-ordination Centre who have provided assistance and training to Angolan authorities to support efforts to tackle corruption.
Regarding Global Anti-Corruption sanctions, we continue to explore future use and implementation of our autonomous sanctions powers. Imposing sanctions is one response among other tools and we will continue to use a range of approaches to combat corruption globally. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 1078 on Rwanda: Human Rights, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of due process during the investigation into the death of John Williams Ntwali and; whether he is aware of any action taken by the Rwandan authorities since 7 February 2023 to address concerns around due process during that investigation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK government understands that a police investigation determined that a traffic incident led to the death of John Williams Ntwali. We raised this case with Government of Rwanda and underlined the importance of transparent investigations. The UK remains committed to working with Rwanda to support the development of its civil and political rights, and to address any concerns around the limited space for political opposition and critical voices. We discuss these issues regularly with the Government of Rwanda, both directly and via our High Commission. We are not aware of any further updates to the case but will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people at risk of death from (a) hunger and (b) drought in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
During my recent visit to Ethiopia, I saw firsthand the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Tigray. Across northern Ethiopia, including Tigray, El Nino is causing drought that is affecting 4 million people. According to assessments from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1.4 million in Tigray will need immediate emergency food assistance because of drought.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Tigray.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) in November 2022, reduced the scale of violations and abuses in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, though reports of sexual and gender-based violence continued throughout last year, particularly in areas occupied by Eritrea and militias. The space for civil society and media continues to be constrained and whilst progress has been made in the process to develop a national Transitional Justice policy, implementation and genuine accountability for human rights violations and abuses remains lacking.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Rwanda on the (a) treatment in detention and (b) health of journalist Dieudonné Niyonsenga; and if he will make it his policy to call for his release.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of the detention of Dieudonné Niyonsenga. The UK remains committed to working with Rwanda to support the development of its civil and political rights, and to address any concerns around the limited space for political opposition and critical voices. Where we have concerns about restrictions on political opposition, civil society and media freedom, we raise these with the Rwandan government, both directly and via our High Commission.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has taken steps to fund the BBC World Service after 2025.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Funding for the BBC World Service after 2025 will be determined as part of the next Government Spending Review.
For the FY2022-25 Spending Review, FCDO provided a flat-cash settlement of £283 million to the World Service via the World 2020/2025 programme. As part of the Integrated Review Refresh in 2023, the Government provided a further £20 million over 2 years to protect all 42 language services from closure. The Government recently launched a BBC funding review, which will report to Ministers in the Autumn.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 whether the death sentences given to six people in Ghana in January 2024 will be carried out; and whether he has had recent discussions with his Ghanaian counterpart on this issue.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and congratulates Ghana for its recent abolition of the death penalty for ordinary crimes. We encourage Ghana to sign the second optional protocol on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which abolishes capital punishment for all crimes, including treason which relates to the recent sentencing. Ghana has not carried out an execution since 1993, but courts have continued to hand down death sentences. I [Minister Mitchell] raised the recent sentences with the Vice President and leaders of the Foreign Affairs Committee during my recent trip to Ghana.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce has taken evidence from BBC Persian journalists as part of its review into the UK's approach to transnational repression; and whether it has had recent discussions with the BBC World Service on that review.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
This Government is committed to tackling the issue of transnational repression. Any threats made by a foreign state against individuals in the UK, including journalists, will be thoroughly investigated.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce's review into the UK's approach to transnational repression is intended to ensure the UK has a robust and joined up response across government and law enforcement to this threat to our democracy.
The Taskforce has engaged a range of partners during the review, including other government departments, relevant agencies and law enforcement, and external stakeholders.
I intend to update the House on the review in due course.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the capital funding provided to Barts Health NHS Trust for fire safety works at (a) Newham Hospital Gateway Surgical Centre, (b) other areas of Newham Hospital and (c) other facilities within that Trust.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not actively assess local infrastructure projects such as fire safety works; this falls under the responsibility of individual trusts. The Department provides operational capital to address these needs, allowing National Health Service providers to prioritise works at the local level.
As such, North East London Integrated Care Board, of which Barts Health NHS Trust is a partner member, was allocated £83 million in operational capital in 2023/24, which can be used for capital projects, including fire safety works. Previously, the trust received £4.6 million in 2020/21 from national programmes to fund works relating to fire safety.