Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take to commemorate the D-Day landings.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the lead Department for the Government’s National UK D-Day 80th anniversary and is working across Whitehall and with external stakeholders to lead a programme of official commemorations in the UK and in France, ensuring our Normandy Veterans are the VIPs for this significant anniversary.
The UK’s National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth will once again highlight this nation’s major contribution as a leading partner in the Western Alliance. The programme will commemorate the service and sacrifice of all who fought under British command on D-Day, by honouring our veterans, securing their legacy within our youth and demonstrating the UK’s global role in defence and security alliances.
The official programme includes:
UK:
A National Commemoration on Southsea Common, Portsmouth on 5 June – an audience of 4,000 and live BBC One broadcast.
In France on 5 June:
A Royal British Legion service of commemoration in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Bayeux War Cemetery, with up to 50 Normandy veterans present and 1,500 guests.
A CWGC led Bayeux Cathedral Service in partnership with the MOD for 1,000 guests.
A CWGC and MOD partnered BBC One live broadcast from Bayeux War Cemetery when all 4,144 graves will be illuminated.
In France on 6 June:
A National Commemoration at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver sur Mer with up to 50 Normandy veterans present and an audience of 2,500, live broadcast on BBC One. It is the first time, during a major commemorative year, that this event will take place at the Memorial following its official opening in 2021.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government between 2018 and 2022 how many British citizens, if any, have reported being in a forced marriage to individuals in the UK who have students visas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Since April 2019, police forces in England and Wales have been required to provide quarterly data returns to the Home Office on so-called ‘honour’-based abuse offences, including forced marriage. The most recent data show 172 forced marriage related offences recorded in the year ending March 2023.
In addition, the joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) also publishes statistics on forced marriage cases reported to the unit. The most recent statistics show the FMU provided support in 280 cases of forced marriage in 2023.
The Home Office does not hold data on forced marriages relating to individuals with student visas.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
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 recent discussions with (a) Ministers and (b) Officials in (i) 10 Downing Street and (ii) the Cabinet Office on the decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether (a) he and (b) the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (i) have made and (ii) plan to make representations to their counterparts in Georgia on ensuring free and fair elections in that country.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK is committed to supporting Georgia to hold elections that meet international standards. During his March 2023 visit to Georgia, the former Foreign Secretary pledged £500,000 to support election monitoring in Georgia, including £70,000 to support the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights mission ahead of elections expected in October 2024. The former Minister for Europe discussed elections with then Georgian Prime Minister Gharibashvili during his visit to Tbilisi on 21 November 2023.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether (a) he and (b) the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (i) have made and (ii) plan to make representations to their counterparts in Georgia on the treatment of British and international NGOs ahead of elections in the context of the introduction of the foreign agents bill in that country.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK is committed to supporting a vibrant civil society in Georgia, which is an essential attribute of a healthy democracy. I [Minister for Europe] discussed this and a range of other issues with the Georgian Ambassador on 17 April and 14 May. In my statement of 14 May, I called on the Georgian Government to withdraw the law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and also noted my deep concerns regarding the orchestrated intimidation of demonstrators in Tbilisi. Our Ambassador in Tbilisi has also consistently made our concerns clear to the Georgian authorities, most recently to the Prime Minister on 22 April and President on 4 May.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Australian national defence strategy on the UK's cooperation with (a) Australia (b) other partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Australia are close partners and we welcome Australia's inaugural National Defence Strategy. As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, the UK is committed to and strategically focussed on the Indo-Pacific. Our partnership with Australia is an important part of this, and we regularly discuss Indo-Pacific collaboration at senior official and ministerial levels, including at the recent Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in Adelaide in March. We work closely with Australia as members of the Commonwealth, Five Eyes, the G20 and the UN, and we regularly discuss defence matters.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to bring forward Orders in Council to allow judges from relevant overseas jurisdictions to be appointed to serve on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has a jurisdiction beyond the UK and serves as the final court of appeal for many Commonwealth and other jurisdictions. From time to time, the work of the Judicial Committee has been augmented with the jurisprudence and expertise brought by appellate judges from jurisdictions beyond the UK.
The Lord Chancellor welcomes and approves Lord Reed’s proposal to invite judges outside the UK to sit on the Judicial Committee, and the necessary work is in train.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she last held discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the sale of arms to Israel.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
To support her decisions on export licensing to Israel, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade regularly receives advice from the Foreign Secretary and FCDO.
We continue to monitor the situation in Israel and Gaza closely, and all of our export licences are kept under careful and continual review.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on tackling gender-based violence in other countries.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The department works closely with the Foreign Secretary on many issues, including tackling violence against women and girls in other countries.
The UK is a global leader on action to address conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and has committed £60m since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative(PSVI) in 2012.
We have also put forward the first ever UK nomination to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Professor Shazia Choudhry, whose academic work
focuses on violence against women and girls.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for a Minister from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to meet Hazara representatives to discuss the continuing violence and persecution facing their community in Afghanistan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials engage regularly with a range of Afghans, including Hazaras. The Government is monitoring closely attacks against Hazaras in Afghanistan, including by Daesh (Islamic State Khorasan Province), and in December I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] publicly condemned them. I have also raised attacks against Hazaras with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.