Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to enable the use of unused planes at airports to repatriate British citizens.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As Parliament rose earlier than planned and the first day for answer of this PQ was after the Easter recess, due to the pace of developments during the COVID-19 crisis, I submitted a response by email on 8 April, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
The Foreign Secretary announced on 30 March an important new partnership between the Government and airlines to fly home more stranded British travelers, where commercial routes do not exist. The Government will provide up to £75 million financial support to enable special charter flights to priority countries, operated by airlines including British Airways, Virgin, Easyjet, Jet 2 and Titan. This service has already begun, with flights from Peru, Senegal, UAE, Ecuador, Bolivia, Ghana, Algeria and Tunisia as of 6th April.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps is he taking with his international counterparts to respond to the increase in refugees leaving Turkey seeking to enter Greece since Turkey opened it’s borders on 28 February 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by the situation on the Greek border and remain in close contact with the Greek government. The British Government remains committed to supporting Greek efforts to manage migration effectively. We are working both bilaterally and with our international partners to this end. The Foreign Secretary raised this issue with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on 3 March, and the UK Chargé d'Affaires also discussed it with the Greek Foreign Minister on 3 March. The UK is supporting Turkey by providing humanitarian assistance in Syria, and Greece by providing interpreters as well as a cutter to rescue migrants in the Aegean.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to prevent further human rights violations against the Rohingya.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The prevention of further human rights violations against the Rohingya remains a priority for the British Government. It is our view that further violations can only be prevented by addressing the underlying causes of the crisis, specifically through the implementation of the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission and through ensuring there is accountability for the atrocities that took place. We continue to engage the Myanmar Government and regional governments on these issues. In October 2019, Baroness Sugg during her visit to Myanmar raised with ministers the plight of refugees and pushed for faster progress with the remaining Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations. The UK has also shone a spotlight on violations by the Myanmar military by co-sponsoring resolutions on Myanmar at the UN Human Rights Council in September 2019, and at the UN General Assembly in December 2019.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.
Answered by Alistair Burt
No information relating to the question is held centrally for years prior to 2016. The below table highlights the available information held on the number of plastic water cooler bottles used by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) UK in calendar years 2016 and 2017.
Year | Quantity | Size (Ltrs) | Total Cost |
2016 | 1126 | 18.9 | £8,827.80 |
2017 | 973 | 18.9 | £7,628.30 |
Water cooler bottles are returned to the supplier for re-use.
All requests for water coolers are assessed. They are only provided if there is a business need and it is not possible or cost effective to provide a plumbed-in supply. The provision of water coolers is reviewed on a regular basis.
500ml plastic water bottles are available for staff purchase in the UK from the FCO Catering provider as part of their catering offering, but there is no cost to the FCO. Recycling facilities are provided throughout the FCO to enable staff to recycle these bottles and all other recyclable items.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on purchasing EU flags for use in (a) the UK and (b) its missions overseas since June 2016.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Our management information systems do not separately identify these costs and to compile this would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government is working with international partners to ensure that the wildlife in the Antarctic region is protected from expanding krill fisheries.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK is a proactive member of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which is responsible for developing and implementing measures for the conservation of marine life in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica.
Krill harvesting is managed in a precautionary manner based on robust scientific data. The current annual catch is around 0.3 percent of the unexploited biomass of the krill population in this region, ensuring there is a healthy breeding population and enough for predators such as penguins and whales.
UK scientists have been working with other CCAMLR Members to assess any wider ecosystem impacts from krill harvesting, and have encouraged the Association of Responsible Krill (ARK) fishing companies to request their member vessels avoid fishing near biologically sensitive areas, such as penguin breeding colonies.