Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken with his international counterparts to help support the (a) Ukrainian government and (b) International Criminal Court with (i) investigations and (ii) prosecutions of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK has provided a £2.5 million package to support Ukraine’s domestic investigations and an additional £1 million of funding for the International Criminal Court (ICC). My Rt Hon Friend, the Deputy Prime Minister will host an International Conference in March in support of the ICC investigation. The UK is committed to securing accountability for atrocities committed in Ukraine.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of his visit to Afghanistan of 25 June 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
The cost of the Foreign Secretary's travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by members of his private office.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many public officials other than those who travelled with him for security purposes accompanied him on his visit to Afghanistan on 25 June 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
The cost of the Foreign Secretary's travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by members of his private office.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people other than those travelling with him for security purposes accompanied him at public cost on his visit to Afghanistan on 25 June 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
The cost of the Foreign Secretary's travel will be disclosed in the usual way and published as part of transparency data in accordance with Cabinet Office requirements. The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by members of his private office.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether all powers currently held by the EU will revert to the Government and Parliament in the event of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
The process for a member state to with draw from the EU is set out in article 50 of the Treaty of European Union.
The process of withdrawing from the EU is untested, and would contain numerous elements, including the outcome of the negotiations, about which there is currently little clarity. It could lead to up to a decade or more of uncertainty.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions officials of his Department have contacted representatives of a foreign government to ask for an account of private meetings or discussions held between representatives of that government and Scottish Government Ministers in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Lidington
Foreign policy is reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government recognises the interests of the devolved administrations (DAs) in international policy which touches upon devolved areas. Under the framework of the relevant Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and concordats, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) frequently supports overseas visits by DAs ministers and officials. FCO officials generally attend such meetings overseas and expect the DAs to provide details of any international meetings at which FCO officials were not present. The FCO maintains a broad overview of bilateral relations with all countries.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which other EU member states have stated that they are prepared to support proposals to amend the EU treaties.
Answered by David Lidington
The Prime Minister. my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has spoken to his counterparts in all other EU Member States, setting out the case for substantive reforms. He has been very clear that these reforms must be legally binding and irreversible and that in some areas that will mean treaty change. Technical talks are currently ongoing.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Lidington
In the last five years the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has used Section 38 in a total of 94 cases. In 42 cases both sections 38 (1) (a) and (1) (b) were used simultaneously. Section 38 (1) (a) was used in a further nine cases and Section 38 (1) (b) was used in a further 43 cases. The following table provides a breakdown by year:
| Both | 38(1)(a) | 38(1)(b) | |
| 2014 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| 2011 | 11 | 2 | 16 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
In all Freedom of Information (FOI) cases handled by the FCO dedicated FOI case managers provide advice to Desk Officers on the correct application of exemptions. To do this case managers draw on Information Commissioner's Office guidance notes, including Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No19, as well as Freedom of Information Guidance for Practioners provided by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and available publicly on the MOJ web-site (https://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners).
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Lidington
In the last five years the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has used Section 38 in a total of 94 cases. In 42 cases both sections 38 (1) (a) and (1) (b) were used simultaneously. Section 38 (1) (a) was used in a further nine cases and Section 38 (1) (b) was used in a further 43 cases. The following table provides a breakdown by year:
| Both | 38(1)(a) | 38(1)(b) | |
| 2014 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| 2011 | 11 | 2 | 16 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
In all Freedom of Information (FOI) cases handled by the FCO dedicated FOI case managers provide advice to Desk Officers on the correct application of exemptions. To do this case managers draw on Information Commissioner's Office guidance notes, including Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No19, as well as Freedom of Information Guidance for Practioners provided by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and available publicly on the MOJ web-site (https://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners).
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by David Lidington
In the last five years the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has used Section 38 in a total of 94 cases. In 42 cases both sections 38 (1) (a) and (1) (b) were used simultaneously. Section 38 (1) (a) was used in a further nine cases and Section 38 (1) (b) was used in a further 43 cases. The following table provides a breakdown by year:
| Both | 38(1)(a) | 38(1)(b) | |
| 2014 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| 2011 | 11 | 2 | 16 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
In all Freedom of Information (FOI) cases handled by the FCO dedicated FOI case managers provide advice to Desk Officers on the correct application of exemptions. To do this case managers draw on Information Commissioner's Office guidance notes, including Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No19, as well as Freedom of Information Guidance for Practioners provided by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and available publicly on the MOJ web-site (https://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners).