Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 in its role as penholder for the Colombian peace process in the UN Security Council to maintain the international community’s support for implementation of that country’s peace accords.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has been a leading international advocate of Colombia's peace process. Supporting the Colombian Government's commitment to implement the 2016 Peace Accords remains an important priority. We are the second largest UN Trust Fund donor, and work with fellow UN Security Council members to support the peace process in Colombia. During the most recent Security Council meeting on Colombia in April, Security Council members reiterated their unanimous and full support for the peace process in Colombia.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May to Question 184795 on Deep Sea Mining, what discussions the UK delegation to the International Seabed Authority plans to have with fellow members of that organisation’s Council on their position on the issuing of deep-sea mining licences before there is (a) sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems and (b) strong enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines have been developed by the International Seabed Authority and are in place.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is fully engaged in the ongoing negotiations, at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council and Assembly in Kingston, Jamaica, to agree deep sea mining exploitation regulations. This takes the form of intersessional meetings and discussions before, during and after the ISA Council and Assembly. The UK recognises the growing pressure to extract deep-sea resources, and is deeply worried about the potential impacts of mining activities on the fragile marine environment.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Colombian counterpart on mandatory requirements for the registration of civil society organisations as contained in the proposed Article 77 of the Colombian National Development Plan.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As penholder at the UN Security Council, the UK consistently raises the importance of the participation of civil society to realise the full benefits of the 2016 Peace Agreement in Colombia and securing sustainable peace across the country. The UK's Global Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, also met with the Colombian Government to discuss UK support to civil society organisations and the importance of civil society's participation in the peace process during her visit to Colombia last month. Colombia is a Human Rights Priority Country and we will continue to monitor any impacts that limit our ability to support civil society organisations.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Colombian counterpart on ensuring participation by (a) civil society and people affected by the armed conflict and (b) women and ethnic communities in the peace talks with the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During his visit to Colombia last week, the Foreign Secretary met with President Petro to discuss our ongoing support to Colombia's peace process and to addressing other security challenges. Since 2015, we have spent over £77 million through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) to support the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement in Colombia, which includes strengthening the security and participation of the communities in conflict-affected areas. The UK's Global Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, also met with the Colombian Government and discussed the importance of civil society's participation in the peace process during her visit to Colombia last month.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the International Seabed Authority on whether it would issue exploitation licences for deep-sea mining projects prior to the establishment of sufficient evidence about the potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is fully engaged in the ongoing negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council and Assembly in Kingston, Jamaica, to agree deep sea mining exploitation regulations.
The UK's policy is not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems and strong enforceable environmental Regulations, Standards and Guidelines have been developed by the ISA and are in place. The UK's approach is both precautionary and conditional.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the arrest by the Belarusian authorities of former presidential candidate Andrey Dmitriev.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The detention of Andrey Dzmitryeu is a further unacceptable act of repression by the Belarusian authorities. It is the right of citizens in a democracy to stand in elections. Mr Dzmitryeu should not face persecution for his political views.
There are nearly 1500 political prisoners in Belarus and we urge authorities to release them all, immediately and unconditionally. We continue to work on accountability measures for human rights violations, including through the International Accountability Platform for Belarus and our sanctions regime.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on international development targeted primarily at (a) the delivery of and (b) research into healthcare services in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
From 2017 - 2021, the FCDO spent more than £4.5 billion on activities that primarily support the delivery of health services, and more than £730 million on global health research.
Between 2016 and 2021, FCDO supported Gavi to vaccinate 324 million children, averting 6.9 million deaths. Between 2015 and 2020, FCDO reached an average of 25.3 million total women and girls with modern methods of family planning per year, and reached 55.1 million young children, women and adolescent girls through our nutrition programmes. In Nepal, sustained UK support has helped to increase the proportion of women giving birth in health facilities from 9% in 2001 to 80% in 2022.
FCDO's investment in health research has supported the development of 11 new drugs for malaria, including a child friendly malaria treatment that is used in more than 50 countries, more than 20 diagnostics for faster and more reliable detection of tuberculosis, malaria, sleeping sickness and COVID-19, and a new vaccine for rotavirus.
The spend figure provided for activities that primarily support, directly or indirectly, the delivery of health services includes all activities under the OECD-DAC Creditor Reporting System sector codes for 'Health, General', 'Basic Health', 'Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)' and 'Population Policies/Programmes & Reproductive Health', excluding 'Medical research' (12182) and 'Research for prevention and control of NCDs' (12382). Further information can be found in the Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2021).
Year | Activities that support delivery of health services |
2017 | £1,018,870,299 |
2018 | £936,597,525 |
2019 | £958,566,780 |
2020 | £1,041,225,156 |
2021 | £559,469,940 |
Total | £4,514,729,701 |
The total spend on global health research by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's central Research and Evidence Directorate over the last five financial years is as follows:
Financial year | Total spend on global health research |
2018/19 | £132,330,000 |
2019/20 | £155,410,000 |
2020/21 | £371,860,000 |
2021/22 | £75,330,000 |
2022/23 | Final and audited spend for 2022/23 will be published in our annual report at the end of the financial year |
Total | £734,930,000 |
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has met with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya since his appointment.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya last visited the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 9 March 2022, where she met the Rt. Hon. James Cleverly, then Minister for Europe. Although there are currently no firm plans in place for a future visit, the UK remains in regular contact with Mrs Tsikanouskaya and other prominent Belarusian civil society figures.
The UK Government continues to urge the Belarusian authorities to end their repression of their own citizens, enter into an inclusive dialogue with the democratic opposition and civil society, and offer the Belarusian people the genuine choice of government that they both want and deserve.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 advance gender equality globally.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO puts women and girls at the heart of its foreign and development policy. As set out in the International Development Strategy, the UK has prioritised action guided by the 3E's: 'Educating Girls, Empowering Women and Ending Violence against women and girls', including using our full range of levers to address the attempted global rollback on women's and girls' rights.
As just one example, at the recent UN General Assembly Third Committee on Human Rights (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/we-must-respect-the-bodily-autonomy-of-women-and-girls-throughout-their-lives-cross-regional-joint-statement-at-the-un-third-committee), the UK co-led a landmark joint statement with 71 signatory countries, committing to protect and promote Sexual, Reproductive Health and Rights, therefore showing strong UK leadership on gender equality.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a detailed budget heading for sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) alongside our partners. The UK International Development Strategy involves support for women and girls including comprehensive SRHR, and will guide aid prioritisation decisions. Comprehensive SRHR is central to achieving the commitments in the International Development Strategy on women and girls and global health, and the Government's manifesto commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and children by 2030.