Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what Northern Ireland business organisations (a) she and (b) her officials have met with in the last 12 months; and on what dates each of those meetings took place.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Both the Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland engage with businesses regularly, as did their predecessors. The Foreign Secretary recently chaired a roundtable with key business representatives who reiterated a wide range of issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol and officials in departments across Government are in regular contact with business representatives.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the conflict in Myanmar; and what steps her Department is taking to support Myanmar nationals.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK is deeply concerned about the conflict in Myanmar, where over 14 million people are in humanitarian need, more than one million people have been displaced and violence is escalating across the country. The UK is working with international partners to call for an end to the violence, unhindered humanitarian access and the protection of civilians.
In 2021/22, the UK provided £49.4 million in aid to Myanmar. We are looking to increase our humanitarian assistance, including to the most vulnerable internally displaced persons, by providing food, water, hygiene and sanitation services, shelter and medical equipment. The UK also secured strong language on the protection of civilians at the UN Security Council on 2nd February 2022. We consistently raise the situation in Myanmar with counterparts, including at the UN, G7 and ASEAN, to try and bring an end to the crisis.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what financial commitment she plans to make to the 7th replenishment of the Global Fund.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The Global Fund is a high performing organisation that, with partners, has saved 44 million lives to date. The UK is proud to be the organisations third largest donor historically, investing £4.1 billion since 2002. As set out in the International Development Strategy (IDS), global health will remain a top priority. The UK has not yet determined our pledge to the Global Fund's 7th replenishment. We are currently reviewing the Global Fund's 7th replenishment investment case in line with delivering the IDS. The Global Fund remains a key partner to the UK in the shared fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any Ministers from her Department met with officials from the (a) Democratic Unionist Party and (b) European Research Group on the Government's proposals in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government has been discussing the issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol with a wide range of stakeholders since last year. These include politicians, businesses and civil society groups.
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is focused on what is necessary to resolve issues with the Protocol and restore the balance we need. It is guided by our duty as Government of the whole United Kingdom to safeguard stability in NI and nothing else.