Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Throughout the pandemic the FCDO has, and will continue to ensure its Covid-19 related policies and practices align with the relevant HMG and Scottish Government guidance for our staff and buildings in England and Scotland respectively.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department took to mark International Men's Day on 19 November 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton
FCDO recognises that men and boys, as well as women and girls, suffer from harmful social norms and violence. International Men's Day offers an opportunity to reflect on how outcomes for men and boys can be improved, as well as how men and boys can play a key role in advancing gender equality.
FCDO's policy and programmes look to support men and boys as survivors and victims of violence as well as responding to violence against women and girls. Last year we appointed male and female survivor champions to support our work on the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. We work with whole communities to challenge the acceptability of violence and bring about social change. For example, in Pakistan we supported an intervention which achieved significant reductions in corporal punishment at school and peer violence for boys as well as girls.
Men and boys can also be powerful change agents in their communities and positive role models. Many of our Girls' Education Challenge projects include activities to target boys and engage them as champions of gender equality. For example, in Mozambique and Nepal, marginalised boys as well as girls will be trained in peer education, life and vocational skills, and business initiatives.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) people who have been convicted of murder and (b) victims of murder who were transgender around the world.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The FCDO does not collect statistics for the number of people convicted of murder, or victims of murder who were transgender, around the world.
The Government firmly believes that the chance to live with dignity, free from violence or discrimination, should not depend on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. We directly challenge governments that criminalise homosexuality, at the highest possible level. The UK is currently co-chair and a founder-member of the Equal Rights Coalition, a grouping of 42 countries committed to working together to promote LGBTI equality globally. We work with partner countries and through international organisations, including the UN, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth, to promote inclusion.
We believe that the strongest, safest and most prosperous societies are those in which all citizens can live freely without fear of violence or discrimination. The international community must uphold the universality of human rights.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the biggest pay rise given to someone in his Department was in (a) percentage and (b) cash terms in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nigel Adams
FCDO cannot provide the data requested as it has the potential to identify an individual's personal information.
Information on the salaries of our Senior Board members are already published on an annual basis in our annual reports. Information on salaries and roles for all staff, highlighting those at Director and above is published as Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries on Gov.UK; this information is updated every six months. Our annual pay awards are aligned to the Cabinet Office pay remits for delegated grades and SCS.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will include imports of coal from Russia in the list of sanctions against that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is committed to playing a leading role in sanctions against Russia. Sanctions are one of a range of measures we have taken, in concert with others, to defend our security and enhance our capabilities against Russian malign activity. During the transition period, EU sanctions on Russia will continue to apply in the UK. These measures do not currently include sanctions on the import of coal.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to mark International Men's Day on 19 November 2019.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
No one should suffer unfair treatment because of their gender. Every year International Men's Day offers an opportunity to highlight how outcomes for men and boys can be improved and to talk about some of the important work going on every day across Government to do this.
The work ranges from the introduction of shared parental leave, which allows men to take time away from the workplace and bond with their new children, benefitting that crucial long-term relationship for both parent and child, to our programme tackling LGBT bullying in schools which seeks to protect those who may be victimised by outdated and stereotypical ideas of what it means to be a 'real man'.
Government is also working with local authorities to ensure their suicide prevention plans support more men, and in the Domestic Abuse Bill we propose to create a statutory definition of domestic abuse that makes clear men also can be victims of this abhorrent crime.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on purchasing (a) national newspapers and (b) newspaper online subscriptions since 2016; and how many copies of each national newspaper were purchased in that time period.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent a total of £725,286 on newspapers supplied centrally in financial years 2016-17 to 2018-2019 for FCO staff in the United Kingdom and its diplomatic missions overseas. £617,911 of this was spent on online/electronic newspaper subscriptions which are made available digitally to all staff and £29,658 on print copies for use by its departments in London. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office purchases these through pan-government frameworks and contracts and encourages staff to use newspapers digitally wherever possible in order to ensure efficiency savings. The remaining amount of £77,717 was spent locally by overseas diplomatic missions over the three financial years.
| FY 16-17 | FY 17-18 | FY 18-19 |
Total FCO spend on newspapers | £270,820 | £312,394 | £142,072* |
| FY 16-17 | FY 17-18 | FY 18-19 |
Spend on online/electronic newspaper subscriptions provided centrally for access by all FCO staff | £232,527 | £285,118 | £100,266* |
Spend locally by overseas diplomatic missions | £29,813 | £17,213 | £30,693 |
* In this financial year the FCO made adjustments to record spending on annual subscriptions according to the proportion actually spent within the same financial year. In many cases that total spend is now spread over more than one financial year.
Titles and number of daily copies of print national newspapers delivered under contract to FCO London
Newspaper title** | FY 16-17 | FY 17-18 | FY 18-19 |
Daily Express | 3 copies | 2 copies | 1 copy |
Daily Express Sat | 3 copies | 2 copies | 1 copy |
Daily Mail | 4 copies | 5 copies | 8 copies |
Daily Mail Sat | 3 copies | 2 copies | 1 copy |
Daily Mirror | 3 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Daily Mirror Sat | 3 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Daily Telegraph | 9 copies | 12 copies | 10 copies |
Daily Telegraph Sat | 2 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Financial Times | 4 copies | 5 copies | 3 copies |
Financial Times Sat | 3 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Guardian | 7 copies | 6 copies | 10 copies |
Guardian Sat | 3 copies | 2 copies | 2 copies |
i-Newspaper | 3 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Mail on Sunday | 3 copies | 3 copies | 1 copy |
Observer | 3 copies | 2 copies | 2 copies |
Sun | 6 copies | 5 copies | 6 copies |
Sun Sat | 2 copies | 2 copies | 2 copies |
Sunday Express | 2 copies | 2 copies | 2 copies |
Sunday Mirror | 2 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Sunday People | 2 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Sunday Telegraph | 2 copies | 2 copies | 2 copies |
Sunday Times | 3 copies | 5 copies | 2 copies |
Sun on Sunday | 2 copies | 3 copies | 2 copies |
Times | 13 copies | 16 copies | 24 copies |
Times Sat | 3 copies | 5 copies | 4 copies |
**Non-UK national newspaper titles to the value of £28 over the three financial years above have been omitted
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2018 to Question 181215 on South Africa: British Nationals Abroad, what steps are being taken to identify UK expatriates living in South Africa who will be affected by the motion to confiscate land without compensation.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I refer to my previous answer of 25 October. It is not possible to make a meaningful assessment of the impact of a future land reform programme, including on UK nationals living in South Africa, until that programme has been formulated and set out by the South African Government.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK expatriates living in South Africa that will be affected by the motion passed in the Parliament of South Africa on 1 March 2018 to confiscate land without compensation from white farmers.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The motion passed by the South African Parliament on 27 February 2018 committed to ‘make use of all mechanisms at the disposal of the state’ in pursuing a land reform programme, and tasked a committee with reviewing whether the Constitution needed to be amended for the State to expropriate land without compensation. It is not possible to make an assessment of the impact of a future land reform programme until it has been formulated, however, President Ramaphosa has provided clear examples of when a policy of expropriation could be used. These include: unused land, derelict buildings, purely speculative land holdings, or circumstances where occupiers have strong historical rights and title holders do not occupy or use their land, such as labour tenancy, informal settlements and abandoned inner-city buildings.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the main policy priority is for his Department for 2018; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office published an updated Single Departmental Plan on 23 May 2018. This set out the Department's main policy objectives and how it will achieve them. Single Departmental Plans will be revised annually to reflect new priorities or changes in responsibilities.