Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
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 citizens awaiting repatriation to the UK from the Canary Islands, and what the timeframe is for those citizens to be returned to the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our Embassy and Consulates in Spain are in touch with and providing advice and support to those who remain and who have contacted us. We believe that the vast majority of British nationals who want to return home have now done so. The FCO does not have a central registration system for flights and British nationals will only be asked to register for flights with Corporate Travel Management (CTM) when charters have been announced for a country. Commercial flights are still available from Spain and information options are available from https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/return-to-the-uk.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
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 allow UK citizens to access long-term medication if they are abroad and unable to return to the UK during the covid-19 outbreak; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on establishing reciprocal arrangements for long term medication for non-UK residents who are in the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 26 March, with the following response.The Table Office have agreed this approach.
We are in close contact with the local authorities and are providing consular assistance to all British Nationals currently abroad who request it. This includes providing assistance in securing long-term medication for those who are unable to return to the UK.
We are exploring the possibility of reciprocal arrangements for long term medication for non-UK residents who are in the UK. The British Government is working closely with industry, the NHS and others in the supply chain to help ensure patients, including non-UK residents, can access the medicines they need and precautions are in place to reduce the likelihood of future shortages. The Department for Health and Social Care shares regular information about impending supply issues and the management plan with the NHS via networks in primary and secondary care and will liaise with relevant patient groups about issues affecting specific medicines.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the 2018 Aid Transparency Index published by Publish What You Fund, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the categorisation of his Department as poor; and if his Department will (a) publish data to the International Aid Transparency Initiative each quarter and (b) take steps to improve the quality of that data.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
A 2019 aid transparency assessment by Publish What You Fund categorised the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) rating as Fair following improvements in the way the FCO publishes data. The FCO is committed to continuing to invest in aid transparency. Since 2018 we have improved the way we publish data, in particular ensuring that data is released quarterly. This contributed to our increased score in the latest assessment. We recognise that we still have more to do and are currently considering how to make further improvements in the light of the 2019 assessment's findings.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart to ensure that Uighurs detained in camps in western China will receive equitable standards of medical care should the coronavirus continue to spread.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Foreign Secretary spoke to State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the coronavirus outbreak on 28 January, including the extensive measures being taken by China to contain the virus, and the evacuation of British Nationals from Hubei province. The Foreign Secretary did not discuss the treatment of Uyghurs detained in Xinjiang during the call. However, we regularly raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in “political re-education camps”, with the Chinese authorities at senior levels. Most recently, our Ambassador to China raised our concerns with Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang on 24 December 2019.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the stranding of the Alan Kurdi rescue vessel, what steps the Government is taking to help humanitarian missions on the Mediterranean sea as a result of migration from Libya.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK Government welcomes the safe disembarkation of the 64 rescued migrants on board the German Non-Governmental Organisation-operated search and rescue vessel Alan Kurdi in Malta. This followed an EU-brokered agreement for the migrants to be relocated to four EU member states. We are concerned about the continued impasse over search and rescue in the central Mediterranean that has affected this and other recent search and rescue operations, in the absence of predictable disembarkation arrangements. The UK continues to work with our EU partners and internationally to find a solution and is committed to pursuing a whole of route approach, including upstream interventions, to tackle the causes of irregular migration across the Mediterranean.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Norway, (b) Finland and (c) Sweden on antisemitism.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I have not had recent discussions on antisemitism with my counterparts, but our Posts in the region engage on such issues regularly.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart to ensure that any military action in Northern Syria should not seek to evict the Kurdish population that lives there.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We are concerned about reports of a Turkish military offensive in North East Syria, and have made these concerns clear to Turkey. In the event of military activity, the UK expects all parties to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians and aid workers, and to allow unhindered humanitarian access so aid can reach those in need. We continue to advocate for freedom of movement for civilians caught up in violence across Syria.
Our priority is to end the conflict in Syria through a negotiated political settlement: we believe only an inclusive, non-sectarian government can unite the country and protect the rights of all Syrians.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold a meeting with political representatives of the Kurdish population in Syria to discuss that community's concerns on (a) the withdrawal of US troops and (b) a potential new Turkish military offensive in Northern Syria.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials have contact with political representatives from several Kurdish groups. We are aware of concerns raised by some Kurdish political representatives around withdrawal of US troops from Syria and the potential for a Turkish military operation in northern Syria. I made clear our concerns about the impact of such an operation when I met with the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Önal, on 13 December.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the potential for a new military offensive by that country in Northern Syria.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Minister for Europe and the Americas has had a number of recent conversations with his Turkish counterparts over the conflict in Syria, as have his ministerial colleagues and the Prime Minister. While we recognise Turkey's security interests, we have raised our concern that new military operations in the north of Syria will negatively impact efforts to secure the enduring defeat of Daesh.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of changes in the level of activity of ISIS in Syria.
Answered by Alistair Burt
As the Foreign Secretary made clear in his Written Ministerial Statement on 19 December, the Global Coalition against Daesh has made huge progress. Since military operations began, the Coalition and its partners in Syria and Iraq have recaptured the vast majority of Daesh territory. Important advances have been made in recent weeks in the last area of eastern Syria which Daesh has occupied.
But much remains to be done in the global campaign against Daesh and we must not lose sight of the threat they pose. Even without territory, Daesh will remain a threat. We remain committed to the Global Coalition and the campaign to deny Daesh territory and ensure its enduring defeat.