Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16051, aside from Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which of the 60 other non-EU countries with which the UK has signed continuity trade agreements are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16051, aside from Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which of the 60 other non-EU countries with which the UK has signed continuity trade agreements are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16052, aside from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, which of the 47 other Commonwealth nations are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance the Government has spent in the Caribbean in the last five years; and how much of that spending was disbursed for the purpose of advancing global LGBT+ rights.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Between 2015 and 2019, the UK Government has spent over £456 million of Official Development Assistance in the priority ODA-eligible Caribbean countries (Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and over £1.1 billion in the wider Americas region. The UK plays an active role globally in support of LGBT+ rights. We have consistently committed funding to LGBT+ rights programme work across the region.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much bilateral Official Development Assistance has been allocated to Belize in 2021-22.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Following a thorough review, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO's) aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against the challenging financial climate of COVID-19. FCDO programme managers are currently working with their suppliers and delivery partners to determine the precise allocations for each programme. Each country's full budget will be published in due course, including in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts, and in the 'Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend' publication.
The portfolio agreed by the Foreign Secretary will focus our investment and expertise on issues where the UK can make the most difference, and achieve maximum strategic coherence, impact, and value for money. We remain a world-leading aid donor, and across HMG, will spend more than £10 billion this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change , and improve global health.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish details of the overseas (a) exercises and (b) deployments undertaken by the British Army in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2021.
Answered by James Heappey
The below tables show the overseas exercises in which the British Army have deployed on during the period 2019 – 2021, including those that are ongoing. Please note that the tables below do not include sub-unit training that takes place outside of the United Kingdom. Activity in 2020 is significantly lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exercise Name | Location | Duration (incl dates) | Purpose | |
2019 | ||||
ASKARI STORM 1/19 | Kenya | 28-Jan-19 | 08-Mar-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup exercise |
DYNAMIC FRONT | Germany | 12-Feb-19 | 12-Mar-19 | Live Fire Exercise/Command Post Exercise. NATO, US and other nations conducting joint fires and interoperability training |
ULCHI FREEDOM GUARDIAN | Republic of Korea | 25-Feb-19 | 12-Mar-19 | Command Post Exercise |
KHANJAR EDGE 19 | Oman | 01-Mar-19 | 15-Mar-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup exercise |
ASKARI STORM 2/19 | Kenya | 04-Mar-19 | 12-Apr-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup exercise |
CITADEL GUIBERT 19 | France | 04-Mar-19 | 29-Mar-19 | To train and evaluate France and US Divisions |
AUSTERE CHALLENGE (JVAC19) | Germany | 13-Mar-19 | 22-Mar-19 | Divisional Level Training exercise with US European Command (USEUCOM) |
OF6 TEG SOR (JVAC 19) | Germany | 13-Mar-19 | 22-Mar-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup training |
WARFIGHTER 19.4 | USA | 28-Mar-19 | 15-Apr-19 | Command Post Exercise (CPX) to train and develop bilateral interop of UK Division into a US Corps. |
JOINT WARFIGHTER ASSESSMENT | USA | 22-Apr-19 | 10-May-19 | US Force development and interoperability activity. |
PRAIRIE STORM 1/19 | Canada | 28-Apr-19 | 03-Jun-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup training |
Ex ASKARI SPEAR 3/19 | Kenya | 20-May-19 | 07-Jul-19 | Specialised Infantry combined arms sub-unit exercise in preparation to deploy on operations. |
SWIFT RESPONSE | Romania | 08-Jun-19 | 26-Jun-2019 | Command Post Exercise / LIVE USEUCOM multi-national Airborne interoperability exercise |
PRAIRIE STORM 2/19 | Canada | 28-Jun-19 | 05-Aug-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup training |
ASKARI STORM 4&5/19 | Kenya | 23-Sep-19 | 01-Nov-19 | Combined Arms Battlegroup exercise |
TRACTABLE | Europe | 25-Sep-19 | 30-Nov-19 | Lead Armoured Task Force deployment test |
CITADEL BONUS 19 | Poland | 27-Nov-19 | 13-Dec-19 | Interoperability exercise |
Ex Name | Location | Duration (incl dates) | Purpose | |
2020 | ||||
ASKARI STORM 1/20 | Kenya | 27-Jan-20 | 17-Mar-20 | Combined Arms Battlegroup exercise |
MAYAN WARRIOR 19-2 (now 20-1) | Belize | 03-Feb-20 | 01-Mar-20 | Jungle training |
ASKARI SPEAR 2/20 | Kenya | 05-Mar-20 | 24-Apr-20 | Specialised Infantry combined arms exercise |
Ex Name | Location | Duration (incl dates) | Purpose |
| ||||||
2021 |
| |||||||||
TALLINN DAWN 3/20 | Germany | 11-Jan-21 | 14-Feb-21 | Mission Specific training |
| |||||
MAYAN SPEAR 21 | Belize | 09-Jan-21 | 10-Mar-21 | Specialised Infantry combined arms exercise |
| |||||
ASKARI STORM 1-21 | Kenya | 08-Feb-21 | 28-Mar-21 | Combined Arms Battlegroup exercise |
| |||||
DEFENDER 21 | Various | 01-Mar-21 | 14-Jun-21 | US led multi-national exercise |
| |||||
SWIFT RESPONSE 21 | Estonia | 01-Mar-21 | 14-Mar-21 | Command Post Exercise / LIVE USEUCOM multi-national Airborne interoperability exercise. |
| |||||
Warfighter 21-4 | USA | 13-Mar-21 | 23-Apr-20 | Command Post Exercise (CPX) to train and develop bilateral interop of UK Division into a US Corps. |
| |||||
NOBLE JUMP DEPLOY EX | Romania | 10-May-21 | 18-Jun-21 | UK commitment dependant on NATO Response Force commitment. |
| |||||
| ASKARI SPEAR 21-2 | Kenya | 14-Jun-21 | 01-Aug-21 | Specialised Infantry combined arms sub-unit exercise in preparation to deploy on operations | |||||
The table below shows the British Army’s overseas operational deployments during the period 2019 – present day:
Operation | Location | Dates | Purpose |
CABRIT | Estonia and Poland | Jan 2019 – Present | The UK contribution to NATO enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic states and Poland |
ELGIN | Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo | Jan 2019 – Present | Support to NATO and EUFOR (until the end of the EU transition period on 31 Dec 2020) |
FIRIC | Falkland Islands | Jan 2019 - Present | The British Army’s contribution to British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) through the provision of the Falkland Islands Roulement Infantry Company (FIRIC). |
ORBITAL | Ukraine | Jan 2019 – Present | Capacity Building of the Ukrainian Armed Forces |
NEWCOMBE | Mali | Dec 2020 -Present | UK contribution to United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). |
SHADER | Iraq | Jan 2019 - Present | UK contribution to operations against Daesh. |
TRENTON | South Sudan | Jan 2019- Mar 2020 | UK contribution to the United Nations Mission to South Sudan (UNMISS). |
TORAL | Afghanistan | Jan 2019 - Present | UK contribution to NATO Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT. |
TOSCA | Cyprus | Jan 2019 - Present | UK contribution to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). |
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 assist Commonwealth members in the Caribbean to roll out covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Building on its £548 million commitment to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for the 92 most vulnerable countries, which in the Caribbean includes Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the UK will continue to make the case for Caribbean countries to benefit from all vaccination campaigns under COVAX.
There have been successful COVAX vaccine deliveries to 12 independent Caribbean Commonwealth countries - Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what countries the British Armed Forces provided training to on UK territory in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Personnel from the countries listed in the table below have attended defence education or training in the UK in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Year | Countries |
2019/20 | AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ALGERIA ANGOLA ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELARUS BELGIUM BELIZE BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE CHINA COLOMBIA CROATIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GAMBIA GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE GRENADA GUYANA HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LATVIA LEBANON LESOTHO LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MAURITIUS MEXICO MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PAPUA NEW GUINEA PARAGUAY PHILIPPINES POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RWANDA SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SERBIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVENIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWEDEN SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TURKEY UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA UZBEKISTAN VIETNAM |
2020/21 | AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BELGIUM BELIZE BHUTAN BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE COLOMBIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT LEBANON LITHUANIA MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PARAGUAY POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA SAUDI ARABIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TUNISIA UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA |
Note: MOD records information on International Defence Training (IDT) by financial year, rather than by calendar year. Information is taken from a central IDT database. Some activity may not be captured on that database.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel on 22 February (HL13173) and 9 March (HL13586), to list in the body of their answer which specific countries they have secured continuity trade agreements with since the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
In addition to our deal with the EU, we have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, covering £890 billion of trade in total (2019 data). These are:
Albania;
Antigua and Barbuda;
Barbados;
The Bahamas;
Belize;
Botswana;
Cameroon;
Canada;
Colombia;
Côte d’Ivoire (The Ivory Coast);
Costa Rica;
Chile;
Dominica;
The Dominican Republic;
Ecuador;
Egypt;
El Salvador;
Eswatini (Swaziland);
The Faroe Islands;
Fiji;
Ghana;
Grenada;
Guyana;
Guatemala;
Georgia;
Honduras;
Iceland;
Israel;
Japan;
Jordan;
Jamaica;
Kenya;
Kosovo;
Lebanon;
Lesotho;
Liechtenstein;
Mexico;
Morocco;
Moldova;
Mozambique;
Mauritius;
Nicaragua;
Norway;
North Macedonia;
Namibia;
Peru;
Panama;
Papua New Guinea;
The Palestinian Authority;
Saint Lucia;
St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
Samoa;
The Solomon Islands;
St. Kitts and Nevis;
The Seychelles;
South Africa;
Switzerland;
Singapore;
South Korea;
Suriname;
Trinidad and Tobago;
Tunisia;
Turkey;
Ukraine;
Vietnam; and
Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff his Department employed in British Embassies and Consulates in South America in financial year (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have interpreted the question to mean how many staff were employed by the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office in South America in each of the financial years, (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20. All the figures shown are based on the headcount as at 31 March in each year.
The figures below cover our Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. These figures do not include staff from the then Department for International Development (DFID).