Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of local staff of the British Embassy in Khartoum who have been resettled in the UK in the last three years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office do not hold this information.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) do not hold central data of anyone who has resettled in the UK as they would have done so on their own accord. The FCDO has not facilitated any resettlement of Sudanese CBS to the UK in the last 3 years.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 1465 on Military Aircraft: Helicopters, whether the Airbus H135 helicopters purchased under Project MATCHA have been sold.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm that the Defence Equipment Sales Authority has completed a sale to the Commonwealth of Australia and their leasing partners of five surplus H135 helicopters.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what his (a) process and (b) timetable is for engaging with (i) governments and (ii) elected representatives on his Department's upcoming strategy refresh on the Overseas Territories.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, working with other UK Government departments, is leading the development of a refreshed strategy for the Overseas Territories (OTs) to be published in 2024. The strategy will set clear direction and renewed aims for the UK Government across each of the following themes: economies, environment and climate, defence and security, governance, and communities. As set out in the December 2023 UK-OT Joint Declaration, the strategy is being developed through collaboration with the Territories. Consultations across the strategy themes are ongoing and are being delivered through engagement with OT governments, the OTs' representatives in the UK, Governors, and other key stakeholders.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made representations to the Qatari government on allegations of (a) mistreatment and (b) torture made by Manuel Avina Guerrero.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and we take all allegations of torture and mistreatment extremely seriously. When such concerns are raised, with the individual's consent, we will raise these with the relevant authorities. We are unable to provide comment on individual cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found at [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter].
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the operation of the rule of law in Rwanda.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Conclusions from FCDO experts fed into the Home Office's policy statement on evidence of the safety of the Republic of Rwanda, published on 11 January 2024, which assessed the Rwanda's legal framework. The World Justice Project's Rule of Law index ranks Rwanda top in sub-Saharan Africa and amongst low-income countries for order and security. The UK encourages Rwanda to uphold and champion Commonwealth values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are taking to ensure transparency in relation to ministerial recusals.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Under the terms of the Ministerial Code, Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their ministerial position and their private interests, financial or otherwise.
There is an established regime in place for the declaration and management of interests held by ministers. This ensures that steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential or perceived conflicts of interest. Interests judged, by the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests, to be relevant to a ministerial role are published in the List of Ministers' Interests, which is available on GOV.UK.
As set out in the Ministerial Code, it is the personal responsibility of each Minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict, taking account of advice received from their Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers' interests.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the issuing of practice recommendations to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office by the Information Commissioner’s Office, following its assessment that the information request handling processes of that department "do not conform to parts 1, 4 and 5 of the section 45 Freedom of Information Code of Practice".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO takes its responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act very seriously and will continue to strive to answer Freedom of Information (FOI) requests within the required timescales.
We welcome the Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) Practice Recommendations and have agreed to publish a full response by the 31 May 2024 as requested. We are considering all of their recommendations and are constructing a detailed implementation plan to improve our timeliness.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2024 to Question 22306 on Gaza: Aid Workers, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs maintains his comment of 5 April 2024 that findings of Israel’s review into the killing of aid workers must be published in full and followed up with a wholly independent review to ensure the utmost transparency and accountability.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As the Foreign Secretary has said, we are carefully reviewing the initial findings of Israel's investigations into the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers and welcome the suspension of two officers as a first step. Their inquiry so far has highlighted failures in deconfliction processes and the unacceptable conduct of the IDF personnel involved. This must never happen again.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has had discussions with the Prime Minister of Israel on the reported finding of mass graves in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Reports of the discovery of mass graves in Gaza, including within medical facilities, are deeply concerning. We continue to call on all parties to respect International Humanitarian Law and ensure the protection of civilians.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has a joint unit with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
His Majesty's Government has a joint unit on Euro-Atlantic Security Policy consisting of officials from FCDO and MOD. Additionally, both Departments regularly coordinate policy on Ukraine.