Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 18175 on Nature Conservation: Finance, what estimate he has made of the total budget that is (a) unspent and (b) unallocated as of 12 April 2024.
Answered by David Rutley
Between financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 the UK spent £763 million on climate change interventions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity leaving £2.2 billion to spend between 2023/24 and 2025/26. This figure will be updated when total spend for the financial year for 2023/24 is finalised later this year. There is currently over £3 billion allocated to nature programming between 2021/22 and 2025/26.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 18175 on Nature Conservation: Finance, if he will publish a detailed breakdown of how the budget for climate change interventions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity was spent in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Later this year we will publish a detailed breakdown of all International Climate Programme spend, including those that protect and restore nature and biodiversity, through the UK's first Biennial Transparency Report under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will cover calendar years 2021 and 2022. Future years spending will be published in future Biennial Transparency Reports.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the press release by the Prime Minister, entitled Prime Minister commits £3bn UK climate finance to supporting nature, published on 11 January 2021, if he will provide a breakdown of where this money has been spent to date.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Between financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 the UK spent £763 million on climate change interventions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity. This includes £402 million on programmes focussed on protecting and restoring forests and £361 million on programmes supporting other nature and biodiversity priorities such as protecting oceans and supporting land use and agriculture. All programmes supported by UK International Climate Finance, including those supporting our nature commitment can be accessed via the development tracker website and we provide a detailed breakdown of programme spend to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every two years in line with our international reporting obligations.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
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 counterpart in the Moroccan Government on the detention of Ahmed Aliouat.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are aware of the case of Ahmed Aliouat but have not raised it specifically with the Moroccan Government. We regularly discuss a wide range of issues, including human rights, with the Moroccan authorities, and will raise individual cases where there are grounds to do so.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the state of human rights in Morocco.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are encouraged by the steps Morocco has taken in recent years to address human rights concerns, including its ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), and ending the practice of trying civilians in military courts. We continue to monitor and raise human rights issues with the Moroccan authorities and support Morocco's efforts to make progress on human rights.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss the imprisonment of Ahmed Aliouat with his Moroccan counterpart.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are aware of the case of Ahmed Aliouat. We continue to monitor and raise human rights issues with the Moroccan authorities, and will raise individual cases where there are grounds to do so.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of blasphemy laws on religious minorities in Pakistan.
Answered by Mark Field
We remain deeply concerned by the misuse of the blasphemy laws and the treatment of minority religious communities in Pakistan. The blasphemy laws are used against people of all faiths although minority communities are disproportionately affected. This is particularly concerning given the harsh penalties for blasphemy, including the death penalty.
We regularly raise our concerns about the protection of minority communities and misuse of the blasphemy laws with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level, most recently during my visit to Pakistan in November 2017
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Libyan Government regarding recent reports of African migrants being sold at slave auctions.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Tackling forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking is a domestic and foreign policy priority for the British Government. We share others’ disgust and concern at the recent news footage reportedly showing slave markets in Libya. We have raised our concerns about these reports with the Libyan Government, and welcome their commitment to immediately investigate these reports and to ensure those involved are brought to justice. We also support the announcement in Abidjan this week of a joint EU-AU-UN Task Force to address this dire situation, and efforts to sanction people smugglers at the UN. Our new £75m migration programme will also specifically target migrants travelling from West Africa via the Sahel to Libya, and get humanitarian support to those in desperate need. We are clear that a sustainable improvement in the human rights situation in Libya can only be achieved under the stability of a united and representative government, and continue to work with our international partners to support UN efforts towards this goal.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the lack of clean water in Sri Lanka's Jaffna Peninsula; and if he will raise that scarcity with the Sri Lankan government.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka visited Jaffna in June and raised concerns about water contamination with the local authorities. He received assurances that they were aware of the issue and were addressing it. They also discussed water quality in general and longer term plans for providing water through desalination.