Asked by: Michael Shanks (Labour - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his (a) Swedish and (b) Canadian counterpart on the decision of those countries to resume funding for UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has released an interim report to the UN Secretary-General. We are pressing Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report on the investigation into UNRWA's neutrality.
We are working with allies, including Sweden and Canada, to try and bring this situation to a rapid conclusion, not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza, and the wider region.
We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.
Any future funding decisions will be taken after UNRWA's review has concluded.
Asked by: Michael Shanks (Labour - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he plans to decide whether to reinstate funding for UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has released an interim report to the UN Secretary-General. We are pressing Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report on the investigation into UNRWA's neutrality.
We are working with allies, including Sweden and Canada, to try and bring this situation to a rapid conclusion, not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza, and the wider region.
We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.
Any future funding decisions will be taken after UNRWA's review has concluded.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the statement from the Canadian Government entitled Canada announces continued assistance for people in Gaza, published on 8 March 2024, whether his Department has received the interim report of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has released an interim report to the UN Secretary-General. We are pressing Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report on the investigation into UNRWA's neutrality.
We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion - not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza, and the wider region. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.
Any future funding decisions will be taken after UNRWA's review has concluded.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of contributions by each country is to the International Fund for Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
To date seven countries have contributed £896 million to the International Fund for Ukraine. These contributions are set out in the following table:
Country | Contribution in £million |
Denmark | 133 |
Iceland | 3 |
Lithuania | 5 |
Netherlands | 110 |
Norway | 119 |
Sweden | 26 |
UK | 500 |
Australia and New Zealand have recently announced their intention to contribute 50 million Australian dollars and 6.5 million New Zealand dollars to the International Fund for Ukraine.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the decision by Australia to provide AUS $50 million to the International Fund for Ukraine on 15 February 2024, whether this funding will be used for a third round of bids for the Fund.
Answered by James Heappey
The third International Fund for Ukraine Urgent Bidding Round launched in January 2024.
The recent decision by the Government of Australia to contribute to the International Fund for Ukraine increases the money available within the Fund for the purchase of critical capabilities for Ukraine.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the decision by Australia to provide AUS $50 million to the International Fund for Ukraine on 15 February 2024, whether any new contracts have been placed through the Fund since that date.
Answered by James Heappey
Since 15 February 2024 no new contracts have been placed through the International Fund for Ukraine.
Two contract amendment have been placed to provide additional air defence ammunition, tracks and engines for Armoured Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which foreign governments have used organised social media disinformation and computational propaganda to manipulate public opinion in the past five years; and what steps they are taking, together with international partners, to combat the threat to democracy from the use of organised computational propaganda, including the employment of private companies by governments in delivering disinformation campaigns.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the issue of information threats to national security seriously, including the risk posed by state-sponsored disinformation to democracy. It recognises that some foreign states attempt to manipulate information online to undermine the UK’s interests and weaken the integrity of our democratic institutions. The UK has a strong record of working closely with a wide range of different partners to tackle these risks.
For example, our Defending Democracy Taskforce works to protect the democratic integrity of the UK from threats of foreign interference, by engaging across government and with Parliament, the UK’s intelligence community, the devolved administrations, local authorities, the private sector, and civil society.
More broadly, the Online Safety Act will address a range of online manipulation tactics which pose a threat to UK democratic integrity. The Foreign Interference Offence has been added as a priority offence in the Act and will require companies to take action against a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-linked interference targeted at the UK. Platforms will be required to take steps to remove content which amounts to foreign interference - including where it is produced by AI bots - if they become aware of it on their services.
Finally, we are working in collaboration with international partners to tackle this shared challenge. The UK recently issued a joint statement alongside the US and Canada on our coordinated efforts to counter foreign state information manipulation and is engaging internationally to manage risks on AI-enabled foreign interference, including disinformation. Government is also working to increase cooperation between like-minded international partners and the tech industry to safeguard forthcoming elections from state manipulation, including through the AI Summit.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.
Answered by James Heappey
The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.
Country (NRA) | Location of DA |
Angola | Mozambique - Maputo |
Anguilla (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Antigua & Barbuda | Jamaica - Kingston |
Armenia | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Azerbaijan | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Bahamas | Jamaica - Kingston |
Barbados | Jamaica - Kingston |
Belarus | Ukraine – Kyiv |
Belize | Jamaica - Kingston |
Benin | Accra - Ghana |
Bermuda (British overseas territory) | USA – Washington DC |
Botswana | Harare - Zimbabwe |
British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Burkina Faso | Ghana - Accra |
Burundi | Uganda – Kampala |
Cambodia | (In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi |
Cayman Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica – Kingston |
Chad | Cameroon - Yaoundé |
Cuba | Mexico – Mexico City |
Djibouti | Ethiopia – Addis Ababa |
Dominica | Jamaica - Kingston |
Dominican Republic | Jamaica - Kingston |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kampala - Uganda |
Eritrea | Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh) |
Ecuador | Bogota - Colombia |
Grenada | Jamaica - Kingston |
Guinea | Sierra Leone – Freetown |
Guyana | Jamaica - Kingston |
Guatemala | Mexico – Mexico City |
Guinea-Bissau | Senegal - Dakar |
Haiti | Jamaica - Kingston |
Hungary | Croatia - Zagreb |
Iceland | Norway - Oslo |
Ivory Coast | Ghana – Accra |
Khartoum | Egypt - Cairo |
Kosovo | Macedonia - Skopje |
Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan – Astana |
Laos | (in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi |
Lesotho | South Africa - Pretoria |
Liberia | Sierra Leone - Freetown |
Luxembourg | Belgium - Brussels |
Malawi | Zimbabwe – Harare |
Mali | Senegal - Dakar |
Malta | Rome - Italy |
Mauritania | Morocco – Rabat |
Monaco | France – Paris |
Mongolia | Japan – Tokyo |
Myanmar | Thailand - Bangkok |
Montserrat (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Namibia | South Africa – Pretoria |
Niger | Cameroon – Yaoundé |
Papua New Guinea | Australia – Canberra |
Paraguay | Argentina – Buenos Aires |
Peru | Colombia - Bogota |
Rwanda | Uganda – Kampala |
Seychelles | Kenya - Nairobi |
St Kitts & Nevis | Jamaica - Kingston |
St Lucia | Jamaica - Kingston |
St Vincent | Jamaica - Kingston |
Slovakia | Czech Rep - Prague |
Slovenia | Austria – Vienna |
South Sudan | Addis Ababa – Ethiopia |
Switzerland | Vienna - Austria |
Syria | Lebanon - Beirut |
Tajikistan | Kazakhstan – Astana |
Tanzania | Kenya – Nairobi |
The Gambia | Senegal - Dakar |
Timor-Leste (East Timor) | Indonesia - Jakarta |
Togo | Ghana – Accra |
Tonga | Fiji – Suva |
Trinidad & Tobago | Jamaica - Kingston |
Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan - Tashkent |
Turks & Caicos Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Uruguay | Argentina - Buenos Aires |
Vanuatu | Fiji – Suva |
Venezuela | Bogota - Colombia |
Zambia | Zimbabwe - Harare |
Supported by MOD from in the UK |
|
Cape Verdi Islands |
|
Congo |
|
Gabon |
|
Panama |
|
Puerto Rica |
|
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is having discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on including research and innovation into future trade deals.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT and DBT work together to ensure the impact of research and innovation on trade flows is accounted for by including ‘Innovation Chapters’ in the UK’s Free Trade Agreements (FTA). The UK agreed the world’s first innovation chapter in our FTA with Australia in 2021. Future FTAs will maintain this momentum to ensure trade in innovative products and services can thrive.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of the current sanctions regime on the flow of Russian oil into the UK; and whether he has plans to strengthen those measures.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK, alongside the G7 and Australia, has banned the import of Russian oil and oil products. We have also created the Oil Price Cap which prohibits UK and G7+ firms from providing services facilitating the maritime transport of Russian oil and oil products to third countries above that Cap. Importers must provide proof of origin to relevant UK enforcement authorities, to demonstrate that goods are not of Russian origin.
We continue to monitor the efficacy of our oil-related sanctions and, in coordination with our partners and will take further action if needed.