Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has received representations from his US counterpart on freedom of speech in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Like the United States, the UK supports freedom of expression as a fundamental right and we have a long history of promoting freedom of expression globally, underpinned by our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Houthi rebels in Yemen on the interests of (a) the UK and (b) UK allies.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Over the last 19 months, the Houthis have conducted attacks against international commercial shipping, as well as British and American warships. This has violated the principle of freedom of navigation, further destabilised the region, and caused the peace process in Yemen to stall. In addition, the Houthis have waged economic warfare against the Government of Yemen and obstructed humanitarian aid from reaching Yemenis in need.
The UK has underlined these concerns at the UN Security Council alongside our international partners.
The best route towards a secure, stable and prosperous future for Yemen is through an inclusive peace process, under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy, and negotiated political settlement.
Furthermore, the UK continues to call for de-escalation within the region. We have long been clear about our concerns over Iran's political, financial and military support to militant and proscribed groups, including the Houthis.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many permanent civil servants in his Department had their contract of employment terminated as a result of poor performance in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.
Answered by Catherine West
In financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24 fewer than five permanent Civil Servants were dismissed due to poor performance, and in 2024/25 there were five dismissals.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of the security and counter-terrorism partnership between the UK and India.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK and India have a long-standing security relationship, including on counter-terrorism and we work together both bilaterally and through multilateral mechanisms.
We continue to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation to take decisive and concerted action against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities. India hosted the sixteenth meeting of the UK-India Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group in New Delhi in May 2024. We look forward to hosting the seventeenth Joint Working Group this year in London.
Ensuring the utmost safety of British nationals - and the protection of British interests - in India will continue to inform our deepening relationship with the Government of India.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of terrorist organisations impacted by India's Operation Sindoor.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK condemns all forms of terrorism and both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed their outrage at the horrific attack in Pahalgam on 22 April. We are aware of India's actions under Operation Sindoor and the UK, along with our international partners, urged both India and Pakistan to de-escalate from military confrontation. The UK has not assessed the material impact of India's Operation Sindoor or Pakistan's Operation Bunyaan Marsous.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help secure the release of Peter and Barbie Reynolds from Afghan authorities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. I met their family on 2 April and I am closely monitoring this case. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on increasing the number of days British citizens with property can stay in Spain without a residence permit.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials and Ministers regularly engage Spanish counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals, including on visa matters. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the EU allows for travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling visa-free to the EU. Applications for visas to visit or stay for longer periods of time would be processed according to the rules of individual Member States.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether they have made an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in their Department on annual staffing costs.
Answered by Catherine West
Equality, diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the Civil Service is an important lever to support the delivery of the Government's Plan for Change and wider Civil Service reform. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees and the full time equivalent (FTE) of staff hired in EDI roles is currently 2.9 (reflected as FTE as these staff also have other responsibilities). These roles sit within HR as required by the Civil Service Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Expenditure guidance published in May 2024. There are no plans to abolish these roles as they are crucial to ensuring the FCDO meets Public Sector Equality Duty obligations.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has made Microsoft Copilot available to staff as part of a trial. It is therefore possible that officials have used Copilot to assist them when drafting replies to written parliamentary questions. All responses are reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy, and are signed off by Ministers.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the UK leaving the European Court of Human Rights.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government will not withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and not, therefore, from the European Court of Human Rights. The protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law both domestically and internationally is a key way to ensure security and stability for the British people and our interests globally.