Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and (b) representatives of higher education institutions on the potential impact of such institutions' collaboration with Chinese higher education bodies linked to the People's Liberation Army on national security.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government takes the risk of foreign interference in our higher education (HE) sector extremely seriously, regardless of its source. The department has made it clear that it will not accept collaborations that compromise national security. The department recognises concerns about interference in the HE sector and regularly assesses the risks facing academia, working with partners across government. The department will continue to take steps to significantly strengthen the UK’s protections from overseas interference in our HE sector, helping to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive research.
The ‘Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023’ will ensure that universities in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom. The Act will enable the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions and student unions, and to take appropriate action.
The department expects Confucius Institutes at UK universities to operate transparently and within the law, and with a full commitment to the government's values of openness and freedom of expression. The department has taken action to remove any direct or indirect government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK.
The ‘Integrated Review Refresh’, published in 2023, committed to launching a review of legislative and other measures designed to protect the academic sector, to identify what more the government could or should be doing. This is currently underway and is led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. This will include an assessment of the risks to research security as a result of collaboration with international bodies.
The department also works with the sector to improve HE providers’ overall resilience and economic security. The department has encouraged Universities UK to publish a number of guidelines and case studies to enable HE providers to assess risks associated with international collaboration.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what directives or guidelines they have issued to the Welsh Government in relation to overseas initiatives on matters related to devolved responsibilities.
Answered by Lord Harlech - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FCDO remains fully committed to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government and other Devolved Administrations on overseas initiatives which may support the delivery of devolved policy objectives. The FCDO has developed internal guidance to ensure that the foreign affairs reservation is respected, including requiring a UK Government official to be present at meetings between devolved ministers and ministers of foreign governments.
Since April 2023, the FCDO has supported over 15 overseas visits by Welsh Government Ministers. International activity undertaken by each of the Devolved Administrations will continue to be supported appropriately by Posts.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help ensure access (a) into Gaza and (b) across the Strip.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
An immediate humanitarian pause is the most effective way of increasing the flow of much-needed aid into Gaza and securing the safe release of hostages. Crucially, it would also allow for progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
We have been clear about the steps which are needed to get more aid into Gaza. All parties must take immediate action to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, ease restrictions on humanitarian supplies and ensure the UN and aid agencies can reach civilians in need throughout Gaza. We are focussed on five key humanitarian needs in our engagements with Israel:
1. An effective de-confliction mechanism to enable safe distribution of aid through that extended humanitarian pause.
2. Increased capacity inside of Gaza, enabling the humanitarian system and private sector to scale up the provision of goods.
3. Increased access for aid through land and sea routes.
4. An expansion of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, including fuel, shelter and public health items, as well as items critical for infrastructure repair.
5. The provision of electricity, water and telecommunications.
We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. The Foreign Secretary has appointed his Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson. He is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland about the defence of the Western Atlantic.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Ireland face a range of common threats to our security. We are committed to a close partnership and discuss a wide range of defence and security issues, including maritime security, underpinned by our Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2015. The Foreign Secretary hosted Micheál Martin, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and for Foreign Affairs, in London in December.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps to deliver aid to Palestine by sea.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are increasingly concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and recognise the urgent need to significantly scale up the flow of aid getting in. All parties must take immediate steps to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, ease restrictions on humanitarian supplies and ensure the UN and aid agencies can reach civilians in need throughout Gaza. We continue to explore all routes for aid deliveries, including the Cypriot initiative for a maritime corridor between Cyprus and Israel/OPTs and have called on Israel to open further aid routes into Gaza, such as Ashdod Port and the Erez crossing.
The Foreign Secretary has appointed his Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson. He is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of tonnes of (a) aid and (b) UK-funded aid entering Gaza each (i) day and (ii) month in the 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has delivered 161 tonnes of life saving aid and equipment to Egypt for the Gaza response. This comprised 74 tonnes on board four RAF flights in October and November and 87 tonnes - inclusive of five tonnes of Cypriot aid - on board RFA Lyme Bay in January. In late January the UK and Qatar delivered a joint consignment of 17 tonnes of family sized tents, and in February the UK and Jordan delivered 4 tonnes of aid by air to Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza.
Additionally, the UK is funding a number of trusted partners through their large-scale appeals to procure and deliver aid to Gaza. This includes supporting the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. 750 tonnes of life-saving food aid arrived in the first delivery in December and a second delivery of 315 tonnes was made in January. It must be recognised that the support to large scale appeals prevents us from directly attributing UK funding to specific items, and it remains challenging to track aid deliveries by weight by international partners and aid organisations. Updates on the number of aid trucks entering Gaza are published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) as part of their daily updates on "Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel - reported impact", available on their website https://www.ochaopt.org/crisis
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what preparations his Department has made for increasing aid to Gaza after a potential ceasefire.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. Our focus must be on practical solutions that save lives.
We need Israel to ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of aid convoys, humanitarian operations and IDP returns, and facilitate access, as well as ensure the UN has the people, vehicles, equipment and fuel to distribute aid safely across Gaza. This includes issuing visas.
We have also called on Israel to extend the opening hours and capacity of the Nitzana screening facility and Kerem Shalom checkpoint so more trucks, aid and fuel can enter Gaza, and to open the Kerem Shalom crossing 7 days a week.
We also want to see Israel remove restrictions to ensure greater consistency on the goods allowed in, and unencumbered access to aid coming from Jordan. In addition, we want Israel to open Ashdod Port as a route for aid to reach Gaza, open the Erez Crossing to allow direct access to the north of Gaza, and restore water, fuel and electricity connections.
The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 halting of cross-border humanitarian operations on (a) the delivery of UK aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad and (b) those displaced within Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK condemns in the strongest terms the decision of the de facto authorities to stop humanitarian personnel and supplies from entering Sudan from Chad. The UK will do all we can to press for this further serious restriction on humanitarian access to be urgently lifted. On 27 February, the UK called the UN Security Council to convene for a closed consultation in response to this issue. We used this opportunity to condemn the decision and called for the re-instatement of permission for humanitarian supplies and workers to cross from Chad as well as for crossline access from Port Sudan into areas of Sudan under control of the Rapid Support Forces. We are currently urgently reviewing UKAid that may be affected to ensure our aid can still reach those in need. Given further increased risk of famine in Darfur as a result of this decision, we have also been urging the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to make a formal warning of the risk of famine in Sudan, through the issuance of a White Note under UNSC Resolution 2417.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 counterparts in Nigeria on the training of Nigerian security forces to help (a) reduce and (b) prevent anti-Christian violence.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Rising insecurity in Nigeria has affected communities of all faiths, including Christians. UK Government officials and I regularly raise freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), including the impact of insecurity on communities and the need to bring perpetrators to justice, with the Nigerian Government. In February, I met the Nigerian Minister of State for Police Affairs, where I emphasised the UK's commitment to helping Nigeria tackle the root causes of conflict and instability. During the UK/ Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership dialogue in February, we agreed to enhance the existing cooperation in a number of areas, including training of security forces and conflict management.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not hold separate data on subscriptions. Many decisions are made by the UK's 281 embassies and diplomatic posts overseas or by individual departments in the UK. As a result, comprehensive information on individual titles is not centrally recorded and collating this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Efficiency savings are made on core titles by providing these centrally online as part of library services and by partnering with other Government Departments to obtain best value for money. These are reviewed annually. Over the last three financial years, the titles listed below have been supplied centrally through the FCDO Library.
The breadth of titles reflects the wide range of issues, events, and crises the FCDO's staff around the world need to keep track of to protect the UK's interests at home and overseas.
a] Newspapers
Bloomberg News; China Global South Project; The Daily Telegraph; The Economist; The Financial Times; Le Monde Diplomatique; The Local - Europe & Sweden (from 2022); The New York Times; Nikkei Asia; Politico Pro; PressReader (over 6,000 titles from 130 countries); South China Morning Post (from 2022); The Times & Sunday Times; The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
b] Magazines
The New Statesman (from 2023) and The Spectator. Other titles are also available via PressReader.
c] Online Journals
Africa Confidential; Africa Intelligence (from 2023); Africa Report (from 2023); African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review; American Economic Review; Annual Review of Economics; Arab Digest; British Medical Journal (to January 2022) Borderlex; Diplomat; Economic and Political Weekly; Elsevier/Science Direct (4,000 titles); European Council Studies (to December 2021); Intelligence Online (to September 2021); International Affairs; Jeune Afrique; Journal of Conflict Resolution; Journal of Democracy; Journal of Japanese Studies; Nature; Nature Climate Change; Nature Food (from 2023); Nature Geoscience (to January 2024); NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Paper Series; NK News; Prospect; Quarterly Journal of Economics; Science; Taylor Francis Package (2,500 titles); Wiley Social Science & Humanities package (to January 2022); World Economics and World Politics; World Trade Online (to January 2022).