Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many of his Department's (a) laptops, (b) mobile phones, (c) memory sticks and (d) external hard drives have been lost or stolen in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley
The following table includes the number of lost/stolen devices in FCDO in the last five years.
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
Laptops | 38 | 80 | 48 | 41 | 59 |
Mobile phones | 141 | 213 | 74 | 101 | 167 |
All departmental IT is fully security encrypted and no memory sticks or external hard drives are used with FCDO devices.
The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. Any mobile device reported as lost is immediately and remotely deactivated and the contents deleted. The user account on any laptop reported as lost is immediately and remotely locked.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 increasing UK contributions to Global Fund programmes that help tackle (a) AIDS, (b) tuberculosis, and (c) malaria.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Global Fund is a high-performing organisation that, with partners, has saved 50 million lives to date. The Global Fund has contributed to a reduction in the mortality of AIDS, TB and malaria by over half since 2002 and plays a key role in ending the preventable deaths of the three diseases.
The UK is a co-founder of the Global Fund and its third-largest donor historically, investing over £4.4 billion to date. At the seventh replenishment pledging conference, the UK committed to remain a strong supporter of the Global Fund. Ministers are carefully assessing the case for the quantum of the UK's funding and will announce our pledge in the coming weeks.
The Government continues to support the innovation in science and technology to combat these diseases though further investments in research and development. We have invested around £400 million in Product Development Partnerships which have led to the development on the dapivirine HIV prevention vaginal ring and the world's first child-friendly antimalarial drug. Our commitments to UNITAID and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium also support innovations in the fight against the three diseases.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 merits of contributing to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Global Fund is a high-performing organisation that, with partners, has saved 50 million lives to date. The Global Fund has contributed to a reduction in the mortality of AIDS, TB and malaria by over half since 2002 and plays a key role in ending the preventable deaths of the three diseases.
The UK is a co-founder of the Global Fund and its third-largest donor historically, investing over £4.4 billion to date. At the seventh replenishment pledging conference, the UK committed to remain a strong supporter of the Global Fund and to announce our pledge in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help support the human rights of Iranians during the current protests in that country.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
On Monday 10 October, the UK announced sanctions on Iran's so-called Morality Police and two of its leaders. The UK also imposed sanctions on five other leading officials for committing serious human rights violations in Iran. The Foreign Secretary said in a statement on 10 October, these sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities, we will hold Iran account for its repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence inflicted on its own people. We have joined 52 other countries in a joint Human Rights Council statement urging restraint and accountability from Iranian law enforcement.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) international and (b) Iranian counterparts on human rights in Iran following recent protests in that country.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The UK has joined the international community in clear condemnation of Iran's response to the protests. In his statement on 3 October, the Foreign Secretary underlined how the UK is working with our partners to hold Iran to account, including via Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly. On 3 October, the Foreign Secretary instructed the FCDO to summon Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK to condemn the violent crackdown on protests following Mahsa Amini's death. We continue to raise our concerns at every opportunity, with the Iranian Embassy in London and via our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 achieve peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government continues to work with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Governments to encourage them to engage with the appropriate international processes, including talks led by the EU, to secure a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and all other related issues. Against the background of renewed hostilities and loss of life, I spoke to Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov on 15 and 17 September respectively to stress the importance of regional stability and negotiations without pre-conditions. His Majesty's Ambassadors in Yerevan and Baku have taken similar steps, in close coordination with partners.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on consultancy fees in each of the last five years.
Answered by Vicky Ford
FCDO consultancy spend in 2020-21 was £2.7 million. Total FCO plus DFID spend for years 2019-20, 2018-19, and 2017-18 was £3.0 million, £2.6 milion and £1.3 million respectively. Consultancy spend for 2021-22 will be reported in the FCDO's annual report and accounts, which will be published shortly.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK (a) GDP and (b) financial services.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy and public finances. The latest forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) were published on 23 March 2022, which used a range of external studies to predict the long-term impacts on UK GDP:
https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2022/
The latest monthly data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that UK goods exports to the EU reached their highest value (in current prices) since records began in January 1997.