Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to people who have been displaced in Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the Egyptian Government's decision to open the Egypt-Gazza Rafah crossing.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to Afghanistan following earthquakes in October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO allocated £1 million towards the Red Cross response to help meet emergency needs following the first earthquake on 7 October. This has funded shelter and emergency relief items for vulnerable people. UK funded prepositioned supplies have been drawn on by humanitarian partners for early response. $5 million has been allocated from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund and a further $5 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, both of which the UK supports. We continue to closely monitor the situation.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to help secure the release of (a) Aiden Aslin and (b) Shaun Pinner.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
HMG condemns the reported sentencing of two British Nationals, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine. As repeated statements by the Government of Ukraine set out, they are soldiers in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and are therefore prisoners of war. They should be treated in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions. The UK Government is engaging with the Ukrainian authorities on this issue as a matter of urgency and is fully supportive of all their efforts to secure the prisoners' release.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to strengthen the UK’s (a) security and (b) economic relationship with (i) Latvia, (ii) Estonia and (iii) Lithuania.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK has close security and economic relations with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Together we are deterring Russia, supporting Ukraine and deepening our economic ties, for example, in the technology and digital sectors. As recently as 06 June the PM met the Estonian PM and the Foreign Secretary regularly engages with her Baltic counterparts on these matters. We work closely in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and in NATO. The UK has now signed declarations of cooperation with each of the Baltic States which will strengthen our collaboration.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help support preparations for the rebuilding of Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK supports Ukraine's vision for rebuilding a sovereign, prosperous, democratic nation that is stronger than before Putin's invasion. The Government of Ukraine has established a National Recovery Council, which will develop its National Recovery Plan, to be announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland on 4-5 July. We are working with the Council to develop our support. We will be guided by Ukraine's priorities in harnessing the best of UK development, business and civil society capabilities in support of its recovery and reconstruction. The UK's total financial support for Ukraine so far totals $3.6 billion, including military, humanitarian and fiscal support.Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect women and girls from the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is a global leader on action to tackle conflict-related sexual violence, committing £50m since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in 2012. This includes providing £2.7m to the Global Survivors Fund since it was established in 2019. In November 2021, the Foreign Secretary announced that she is determined to strengthen the global response to conflict-related sexual violence and build a new consensus to prevent these atrocities. We will host a conference in November to secure commitments from partners and drive coordinated action on this issue.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide humanitarian aid in Ethiopia.
Answered by Vicky Ford
This year nearly 30 million people throughout Ethiopia will require life-saving humanitarian aid. Conflict, environmental pressures, COVID-19 and the inflationary impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are the main drivers of humanitarian suffering.
The UK is a major humanitarian donor to the East Africa region including Ethiopia. In financial year 2021/2022 the UK provided more than £230 million towards humanitarian crises across the region of which £86 million was to Ethiopia. UK-funded activities are making a difference. In Ethiopia through the World Food Programme nearly 900,000 people have been provided with food assistance and over 200,000 with nutrition support. Beyond UK finances, the UK is working to secure improved humanitarian access to northern Ethiopia and to improve the performance of UN agencies in Ethiopia. I have written to World Bank President Malpass this week urging further action on food security in the Horn of Africa.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the Embassy in Afghanistan will be reopened.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The British Embassy in Kabul suspended in-country operations on 14 August 2021. We intend to establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul when the security and political situation in the country allows and are coordinating this effort with allies.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What plans the Government has for the publication of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Prime Minister commissioned the Integrated Review as the most ambitious review of our foreign policy since the Cold War. The Prime Minister set out in his speech to the House on 19 November how the UK will support a world order in which open societies and economies flourish. The Indo-Pacific is of central importance.
The Prime Minister is clear: Global Britain will be more active and engaged around the world. The FCDO is central to delivery and we will integrate development and diplomatic expertise to maximise UK impact as a force for good. We will apply a more strategic lens to our use of ODA to ensure it delivers both for the ‘bottom billion’ and in the UK’s national interest.