Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on their responsibilities to the overseas territories.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the Minister for Overseas Territories, I [Minister Rutley] regularly meet Ministers across Government on priority areas of work progressed by their departments, and on issues requiring cross departmental collaboration. This includes recent meetings with Ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, HM Treasury, Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Ministry of Defence.

Each UK Government Department has nominated a Minister with responsibility for the OTs, in support of the long-standing position that each Department should engage and support the OTs in their areas of responsibility. These Ministers meet quarterly as a Ministerial Group chaired by myself, as the FCDO Minister for the Overseas Territories.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help improve the UK's (a) awareness of and (b) responses to hybrid threats.

Answered by James Heappey

State or hybrid threats prevent a real and evolving risk to the UK which can manifest in a wide range of forms. The activities of Ministry of Defence to counter state threats are fully integrated with HMG's overall approach, which is co-ordinated by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office. The Ministry of Defence is investing significant time, resources and personnel to improve our capacity and capability to respond. We are enhancing integration across Defence and wider Government, as well as with allies, partners, and industry to respond to these threats effectively. We will continue to improve our understanding of current and potential threats, learn and share lessons in combatting them, and identify areas for cooperation, deconfliction and burden-sharing.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US on (a) diplomatic, (b) humanitarian and (c) military support for Ukraine.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

We are in constant contact with our international partners to ensure Ukraine receives the diplomatic, military and humanitarian support it needs. The Foreign Secretary held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reaffirm international cooperation and support for Ukraine during his visit to Washington on 6-7 December last year and spoke again most recently on 7 March. The Foreign Secretary also set out the high level of UK ambition at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January and at the Munich Security Conference in February. We continue to work with US counterparts to deepen and strengthen our mutual priorities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps the Government is taking to help (a) expand and (b) support existing marine protected areas across the UK Overseas Territories.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Overseas Territories (OTs) are an integral and richly biodiverse part of the British family. Since 2016, the Government has worked to assist the OTs with managing their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and sustainable management frameworks through the FCDO's Blue Belt Programme, which provides support, training and technical expertise to protect species and habitats within their waters. The Programme exemplifies what we can achieve in partnership with the OTs, supports the protection of over 4.4 million square kilometres of ocean, and also provides remote surveillance which ensures vessel and fishing activity within these MPAs remains compliant.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to close loopholes in the sanctions regime against the Russian Federation.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to use sanctions to bear down on Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. Last month, a new package of over 50 UK designations targeted Russia's efforts to circumvent sanctions on its war machine and major revenue sources. Earlier this month, we delivered new legislation to bring about a coordinated ban on Russian diamond exports. With partners, we have strengthened the Oil Price Cap (OPC) mechanism and added new items to the Common High Priority (CHP) list. We are preparing to bolster our existing powers to target malign Russian shipping activity. We continue to strengthen sanctions enforcement, with the creation of the Office for Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) and a new unit within the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to licence and enforce the OPC.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) expand, (b) strengthen and (c) protect Marine Protected Areas in the UK's Overseas Territories.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Each UK Government department has a nominated Minster with responsibility for the Overseas Territories (OTs). The Government engages on marine protection with the OTs through the Blue Belt programme which is an FCDO funded initiative delivered in close collaboration with DEFRA. The programme has supported the OTs since 2016 with the creation, protection and enforcement of their Marine Protected Areas, protecting over 4.4 million square kilometres of ocean habitats and species.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to secure the UK's interests in the High North.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government's Arctic Policy Framework, Looking North: The UK and the Arctic, complemented by the UK's Defence Contribution in the High North, set out the UK's aspirations for a safe, secure and peaceful region. The Government collaborates closely with regional partners to protect the environment, promote sustainable prosperity and ensure long-term security and stability, and recently announced new funding for our world-class science engagement in the Arctic.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which Ambassadors and High Commissioners to (a) countries and (b) other institutions in Europe are due to be replaced in 2024.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

he FCDO publishes in the public domain announcements of changes to HM Ambassadors (HMA) and High Commissioners (HC). In 2024, we have so far announced the following changes to our posts in Europe:

In addition, we expect a small number of additional announcements to be made, following appropriate recruitment and approval processes concluding.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the spread of avian influenza in South Georgia; and whether his Department is taking steps to implement biosecurity measures to help prevent the further spread of avian influenza.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in gentoo and king penguins, brown skua, kelp gul, wandering albatross, elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals on South Georgia. The effects appear to be localised. The FCDO is working to support the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), alongside the British Antarctic Survey, to put in place strict biosecurity procedures and mitigation measures, including enhanced cleaning of clothing and equipment, and to monitor for further spread.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to (a) identify and (b) prosecute sanctions evasion.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

HMG is committed to investing in its sanction’s policy and enforcement architecture. In recognition of the centrality of sanctions, the FCDO established a permanent Sanctions Directorate in 2022 with over 120 permanent staff delivering its response. In addition, we have strengthened financial sanctions enforcement capacity and capability. OFSI has significantly increased its staffing from 40 FTE in February 2022 to over 100.

On 13 March 2023, the Prime Minister announced a new Economic Deterrence Initiative (EDI) which will tackle sanctions evasion across the UK’s trade, transport and financial sanctions. The initiative will be a cross-government effort, led by FCDO and involving a range of Departments and agencies including DBT, HMT and DFT, as well as HMRC and NCA.

With funding of up to £50m over two years, the initiative will improve our sanctions implementation and enforcement. This will maximise the impact of our trade, transport and financial sanctions, including by cracking down on sanctions evasion.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 brought powers to provide for the civil forfeiture of cyrptoassets and can be used as a tool to prevent cryptoassets being used as vector for sanctions evasion.

Finally, a new kleptocracy cell in the NCA has been established to target sanctions evasion and corrupt Russian assets hidden in the UK – meaning oligarchs in London will have nowhere to hide.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he last held discussions with representatives of the Chagossian community (a) in and (b) outside of the UK on the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

UK Government ministers and officials met Chagossian groups representing communities in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles in February, May and October 2023 to update on the progress of negotiations. We will continue to update Chagossian groups as the negotiations progress.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his international partners on taking steps to enhance resilience to hostile state threats to elections taking place in 2024.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK Government is committed to working with international partners to build our collective electoral resilience, including from hostile state actors. The Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, discussed election resilience with international partners at the Summit for Democracy in Seoul on 18-20 March. At the Munich Security Conference attended by the Foreign Secretary in February, we issued a joint statement with Canada and the US to increase international coordination efforts to counter foreign state information manipulation that seeks to undermine our democracies. FCDO officials have engaged with 5EYES, G7 and European partners, including Austria, Romania, and Moldova to share best practice and identify opportunities for future collaboration on election resilience.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to support a lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

I [Minister Docherty] visited Yerevan and Baku in November 2023. I underlined to President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan the UK's support for negotiations to conclude a peace settlement; meaningful direct dialogue is the only way to secure stability and security for the region. The UK welcomed the meeting between President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan in Munich on 17 February and that between Foreign Ministers Mirzoyan and Bayramov in Berlin on 28 - 29 February. We urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue negotiations in order to finalise a lasting peace agreement and we stand ready to support them in doing so.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) European and (b) US counterparts on (i) seizing and (ii) re-purposing Russian state assets to support the financing of Ukraine's reconstruction.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is discussing with our partners how to use immobilised assets to support Ukraine. G7 Leaders have tasked Ministries to continue working on these issues and to report back ahead of the Leaders' Summit in June. We will update the House as this develops, noting it would not be appropriate to offer a running commentary on those discussions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what plans he has to (a) make an assessment of the adequacy of the Navalny list and (b) review further sanctions on Russia.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The United Kingdom consistently condemned Mr Navalny's politically motivated sentencing, called for his immediate and unconditional release and expressed our grave concern for his welfare.

Over 2020 and 2021, the UK sanctioned 13 individuals and one entity responsible for his poisoning. The UK has also sanctioned six individuals heading up the penal colony where Alexei Navalny died after years of mistreatment by the Russian authorities on 21 February 2024. Whilst we do not comment on potential future designations, the UK has designated the majority of individuals on both the original Navalny 35 list, and the wider Anti-Corruption Foundation list.

The UK remains steadfast in our support to Ukraine. Together with our international partners, we have implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. The UK alone has sanctioned 2,000 individuals and entities under the Russia sanctions regime. Most recently, on 22 February a new package of over 50 UK designations targeted Russia's efforts to circumvent sanctions on its war machine and major revenue sources, demonstrating the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to secure the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Government has consistently condemned Vladimir Kara-Murza's politically motivated conviction and called for his release since his arrest. The Foreign Secretary met Mr Kara-Murza's wife and mother on 1 March to discuss our approach. We continue to call for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds for urgent medical treatment. We continue to raise his case with the Russian authorities at every available opportunity, including at ambassadorial-level, and in multilateral fora, most recently at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and UN Human Rights Council. The FCDO sanctioned 11 individuals in response to his sentencing and appeal, as well as two individuals involved in his earlier poisoning.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many UK nationals are detained in (a) Russia and (b) Belarus; and what consular support is provided to them.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The FCDO is currently aware of fewer than 5 British nationals detained in Russia, and are providing consular assistance. According to our records, there are currently no British nationals detained in Belarus. However, British nationals are not obliged to inform the FCDO of their detention. We provide tailored consular assistance in line with our public guidance, found on Gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/arrested-or-detained-abroad), which sets out the support British nationals can expect to receive. This can include meeting with the detainee; offering support to their family; providing a list of English-speaking lawyers and basic information about the local system in the form of our local prisoner pack; facilitating the transfer of funds for prison comforts; and raising concerns with the local authorities where the detainee is not treated in line with internationally-accepted standards.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support people in Wales with incorrectly installed cavity wall insulation.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

This is a devolved matter.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the (a) growth and (b) development of the creative industries in South Wales.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, we are committed to working with industry and the devolved administrations to ensure our creative industries continue to be the best in the world. As part of this, we invited Creative Wales to become a member of the Creative Industries Council to ensure they are represented in discussions about the UK’s creative industries.

Culture and the creative industries are devolved policy areas. The UK Government has provided opportunities to support Welsh creative businesses through the following programmes:

• The UK-wide Film & TV Restart scheme which supported 1,259 individual film and TV productions and £3.06 billion in production expenditure through the pandemic. Wales received £287.5 million – the largest share of funding of any nation after England (c.9%).

• The £56 million Creative Clusters programme was announced in the 2018 Sector Deal: and supported R&D across the Cardiff Clwstwr one of 9 first-wave of clusters across the UK. The Clusters programme has generated approximately £252 million of private co-investment, creating or safeguarding over 4000 jobs.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the impact of potential job losses at Tata on the (a) wider supply chains and (b) economy in South Wales.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

This Government is supporting Tata Steel with £500 million towards building of the electric arc furnace, securing the future of steelmaking at Port Talbot. This will protect 5,000 steel jobs and thousands more in the supply chain. The Tata Steel/Port Talbot Transition Board has been set up to support those affected by Tata Steel’s decarbonisation transition, backed by a £100 million fund. Of that funding, £80 million is provided by the UK Government and £20 million will be provided by Tata.

The Transition Board has commissioned the development of a Local Economic Action Plan to assess the economic impact in South Wales, as well as provide the Transition Board with advice on how to support and grow the local economy. The full impact of Tata Steel’s transition on the wider supply chains and the South Wales economy depends on the outcome of the formal consultation, which remains underway.

This Government acknowledges the need for immediate as well as long-term support, especially in the wake of the announcement on 18 March that Tata Steel UK will cease operation of coke ovens at their Port Talbot site. This decision, while primarily an operational matter for Tata Steel UK, shows again why the UK government is right to step in with one of the largest support packages in our history to secure the future of the Welsh steel industry.

Found: Nagorno Karabakh: Armed Conflict 17 Oct 2023 | 200499 Asked by: Stephen Doughty To ask the Secretary