Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will (a) publish the membership of the FCDO’s SME Advisory Panel and (b) confirm how many times it has met since its establishment.
Answered by David Rutley
FCDO's Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) Advisory Panel shortlist has been selected, the outcome is being communicated to all applicants. On confirmation that all applicants have received the outcome correspondence, FCDO will publish the membership details on FCDO's website. The SME Advisory panel launch meeting will take place Spring 2023, with quarterly meetings thereafter.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 Azerbaijani counterpart on the Lachin Corridor Blockade.
Answered by Leo Docherty
On 22 and 23 February, I [Minister Docherty], met Azerbaijani counterparts in Baku including their Foreign Minister to discuss progress on peace discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the ongoing closure of the Lachin Corridor. This followed previous discussions that I had in London with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 6 February, the Armenian Ambassador on 7 February, the Azerbaijani Ambassador on 30 January and the Armenian Foreign Minister on 18 January. I hope to travel to Yerevan next month to continue these discussions. The UK Government remains committed to supporting Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the value of trade between the UK and Azerbaijan.
Answered by Leo Docherty
In the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, bilateral trade between the UK and Azerbaijan was £1.2 billion. The UK Government remains committed to supporting the development of trade between the UK and Azerbaijan in the coming years.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 potential merits of introducing a policy of trade embargo with Azerbaijan.
Answered by Leo Docherty
In the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, bilateral trade between the UK and Azerbaijan was £1.2 billion. The UK Government remains committed to supporting the development of trade between the UK and Azerbaijan in the coming years and has no plans to consider introducing a trade embargo with Azerbaijan.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 Israeli counterpart on the situation in Huwara.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out the UK's concern at the scenes of abhorrent violence in Huwarra in his statement of 26 February. The UK also condemned in the strongest terms the retaliatory incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians, and stresses the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. As Lord Ahmad stated on 26 February, the deadly cycle of violence must end.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 126658 on Refugees: Afghanistan, how many expressions of interest have yet to be reviewed.
Answered by Leo Docherty
FCDO launched an online system on 20 June 2022, closing on 15 August 2022, for individuals to express interest in UK resettlement under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) in its first year. Details were widely communicated and the Expression of Interest (EOI) form was translated into Dari and Pashto. The EOI form was designed to have all mandatory fields populated and could not be submitted with missing information. FCDO began processing EOIs on 21 June 2022. We are assessing eligibility and notifying those who submitted an EOI of the outcome. We will update Parliament on numbers once all EOI processing is complete and we have assured data to share.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 126658 on Refugees: Afghanistan, how many of the 11,400 expressions of interest were rejected because of (a) ineligibility and (b) information was missing from the form; and whether applicants whose forms were missing information were given the opportunity to clarify and resubmit their applications.
Answered by Leo Docherty
FCDO launched an online system on 20 June 2022, closing on 15 August 2022, for individuals to express interest in UK resettlement under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) in its first year. Details were widely communicated and the Expression of Interest (EOI) form was translated into Dari and Pashto. The EOI form was designed to have all mandatory fields populated and could not be submitted with missing information. FCDO began processing EOIs on 21 June 2022. We are assessing eligibility and notifying those who submitted an EOI of the outcome. We will update Parliament on numbers once all EOI processing is complete and we have assured data to share.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 126658 on Refugees: Afghanistan, when her Department began reviewing expressions of interest.
Answered by Leo Docherty
FCDO launched an online system on 20 June 2022, closing on 15 August 2022, for individuals to express interest in UK resettlement under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) in its first year. Details were widely communicated and the Expression of Interest (EOI) form was translated into Dari and Pashto. The EOI form was designed to have all mandatory fields populated and could not be submitted with missing information. FCDO began processing EOIs on 21 June 2022. We are assessing eligibility and notifying those who submitted an EOI of the outcome. We will update Parliament on numbers once all EOI processing is complete and we have assured data to share.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 Israeli counterpart on the situation in Jenin.
Answered by David Rutley
The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out on 26 January 2023 that Israel has a right to self-defence but security operations must be in line with international law. Where security measures are required, we encourage Israel to deploy these in a way which minimises tension and the use of appropriate force. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we advocate for swift, transparent investigations. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 situation in Jenin.
Answered by David Rutley
The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out on 26 January 2023 that Israel has a right to self-defence but security operations must be in line with international law. Where security measures are required, we encourage Israel to deploy these in a way which minimises tension and the use of appropriate force. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we advocate for swift, transparent investigations. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.