Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The majority of FCDO IT is delivered through strategic commercial partners, as a managed service and it is not possible to breakdown the components that relate to support of legacy software. We continue to work with these suppliers to drive value for money in providing these services alongside ensuring we are aligning to advancements in technology.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not hold separate data on subscriptions. Many decisions are made by the UK's 281 embassies and diplomatic posts overseas or by individual departments in the UK. As a result, comprehensive information on individual titles is not centrally recorded and collating this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Efficiency savings are made on core titles by providing these centrally online as part of library services and by partnering with other Government Departments to obtain best value for money. These are reviewed annually. Over the last three financial years, the titles listed below have been supplied centrally through the FCDO Library.
The breadth of titles reflects the wide range of issues, events, and crises the FCDO's staff around the world need to keep track of to protect the UK's interests at home and overseas.
a] Newspapers
Bloomberg News; China Global South Project; The Daily Telegraph; The Economist; The Financial Times; Le Monde Diplomatique; The Local - Europe & Sweden (from 2022); The New York Times; Nikkei Asia; Politico Pro; PressReader (over 6,000 titles from 130 countries); South China Morning Post (from 2022); The Times & Sunday Times; The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
b] Magazines
The New Statesman (from 2023) and The Spectator. Other titles are also available via PressReader.
c] Online Journals
Africa Confidential; Africa Intelligence (from 2023); Africa Report (from 2023); African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review; American Economic Review; Annual Review of Economics; Arab Digest; British Medical Journal (to January 2022) Borderlex; Diplomat; Economic and Political Weekly; Elsevier/Science Direct (4,000 titles); European Council Studies (to December 2021); Intelligence Online (to September 2021); International Affairs; Jeune Afrique; Journal of Conflict Resolution; Journal of Democracy; Journal of Japanese Studies; Nature; Nature Climate Change; Nature Food (from 2023); Nature Geoscience (to January 2024); NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Paper Series; NK News; Prospect; Quarterly Journal of Economics; Science; Taylor Francis Package (2,500 titles); Wiley Social Science & Humanities package (to January 2022); World Economics and World Politics; World Trade Online (to January 2022).
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many and what proportion of digital roles within his Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As part of the 2022 to 2025 Roadmap for Digital and Data, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10 per cent of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. This is to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies now at 15 per cent.
FCDO reports biannually to Cabinet Office on our Digital and Data workforce as defined in the Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework. Our last return, in November 2023, had a vacancy rate of 15.7 per cent.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on allowing spouses of UK citizens, that are Chinese citizens to be repatriated to the UK from China.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Foreign Secretary has spoken directly to his Chinese counterpart about the evacuation of British nationals from Hubei Province, and he raised the issue of dual-nationals and dependents, emphasising the importance of keeping families together. Contact with the Chinese authorities continued at Senior Official level. The Chinese Government did make a last-minute decision to allow dual nationals and dependents to board the UK flight which arrived at RAF Brize Norton on 31 January. At 1945 on 2 February, we successfully evacuated a further 11 people – 7 British nationals and 4 dependents. These figures were correct as of 4 February. We remain in close contact with the Chinese authorities and are working with international partners to provide other ways for British nationals who remain in Hubei to return home.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on allowing non-spouse family members of UK citizens, that are Chinese citizens to be repatriated to the UK from China.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Foreign Secretary has spoken directly to his Chinese counterpart about the evacuation of British nationals from Hubei Province, and he raised the issue of dual-nationals and dependents, emphasising the importance of keeping families together. Contact with the Chinese authorities continued at Senior Official level. The Chinese Government did make a last-minute decision to allow dual nationals and dependents to board the UK flight which arrived at RAF Brize Norton on 31 January. At 1945 on 2 February, we successfully evacuated a further 11 people – 7 British nationals and 4 dependents. These figures were correct as of 4 February. We remain in close contact with the Chinese authorities and are working with international partners to provide other ways for British nationals who remain in Hubei to return home.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to repatriate UK citizens from China in response to the Coronavirus.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
As the Foreign Secretary said on 30 January, the safety and security of British nationals will always be our top priority. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in crisis mode to respond to those British Nationals affected by the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Our Embassy in Beijing and consular teams remain in close contact with British nationals in the region to ensure they have the latest information they need. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office organised a repatriation flight for British Nationals and other entitled persons in Hubei Province which landed on 31 January at RAF Brize Norton, carrying 83 British nationals, including some Government staff and medics, and 41 foreign nationals. On 2 February, we successfully evacuated a further 11 people – 7 British nationals and 4 dependents. They landed at RAF Brize Norton and were transferred to an isolation facility upon arrival. These figures were correct as of 4 February. We remain in close contact with the Chinese authorities and are working with international partners to provide other ways for British nationals still in Hubei to return home.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Myanmar.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign Secretary visited Burma in September, including Rakhine. The situation is grave. He met Aung San Suu Kyi and told her clear accountability for those responsible for atrocities was critical. The UK initiated the EU’s new sanctions on seven military commanders and a strengthened arms embargo. The Foreign Secretary told the Foreign Affairs Council we would likely need to take further action in response to the UN Fact Finding Mission report. We are now discussing options for further EU sanctions with member states, including whether to sanction the Commander-in-Chief and his Deputy.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the avenues available to bring the perpetrators of crimes against the Rohingya under international law to justice.
Answered by Mark Field
The British Government condemns the atrocities in Rakhine and is committed to working with international partners to bring those responsible to justice. The UK convened a meeting of the UN Security Council on 28 August chaired by the Minister for the Commonwealth and the United Nations to ensure the Council remains focused on the Rohingya crisis, including the need for accountability. When the Security Council considers the final UN Fact-Finding Mission report, we will have the opportunity to discuss all options to ensure accountability. On 6 September 2018, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled that courtholders jurisdiction over the deportation of the Rohingya population from Burma to Bangladesh. The UK fully supports the court in its efforts to bring the perpetrators of human rights violations to justice.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help tackle religious and racial discrimination in Burma.
Answered by Mark Field
The British Government continues to be deeply concerned by religious and racial discrimination against minorities in Burma. The Government has repeatedly raised concerns about the treatment of minorities in Burma in the Human Rights Council in September 2017 and March 2018. The Minister for the Commonwealth and the United Nations raised the UK's concerns about the persecution faced by minority groups in Burma in his speech to the Human Rights Council of 27 February 2018. Our Embassy continues to support projects in Burma addressing the drivers of prejudice and inter-communal violence.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle religious persecution of the Rohingya.
Answered by Mark Field
The British Government continues to be deeply concerned by religious persecution and violence against Rohingya in Burma. The Minister for the Commonwealth and the United Nations reiterated the UK's concerns about the persecution faced by Rohingya when he chaired a meeting of the UN Security Council on 28 August. I called for the Burmese Government to take steps to create the conditions needed in Rakhine State for Rohingya to return in my meeting with the Burmese Ambassador on 11 July and in a call with the Burmese Minister for International Co-operation on 17 August. The British Embassy continues to support projects in Burma addressing the drivers of prejudice and inter-communal violence.