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1138104

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	USA: State Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much was spent from the public purse on (a) security, (b) accommodation and (c) transport for family members of President Trump during his visit to the UK in June 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	275782
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>​As part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's transparency programme, the cost of the State Visit to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be published on the gov.uk website before the end of the year.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 15/07/2019 14:59:23 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1138183

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	USA: Detention Centres
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the US Administration on the treatment of (a) child and (b) other refugees and migrants being held at detention centres on the US-Mexico border.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	275797
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>​We are aware of recent concerning reports describing conditions for children and other refugees and migrants in US detention facilities. The President signed a Bill on 1 July providing emergency funding, including humanitarian support, in part to help address those conditions. We will continue to monitor the situation, though immigration policy in the US is of course a matter for the US Government, just as immigration policy in the UK is decided by the British Government.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 15/07/2019 14:53:58 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1138231

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Diplomatic Service: Disclosure of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the process for (a) distributing and (b) grading of diplomatic telegrams of a sensitive nature; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
	tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
	uin	275645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) gave evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 10 July on the recent leak of classified information official documents, which covered Diplomatic Telegrams. Formal correspondence from diplomats, including these, is marked either OFFICIAL, OFFICIAL SENSITIVE or SECRET in line with government policy.</p><p>We use the Cabinet Office Government Security Classification policy as a guide to classifying all FCO information and its subsequent handling. We are confident we have good security systems. Nevertheless we are reviewing how they are functioning in light of recent events. The new cross-government SECRET system developed by the Cabinet Office now also provides enhanced secure communication in the majority of our posts around the world and across government.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 15/07/2019 14:57:22 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

1137749

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Rockall: Fisheries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on international fishing fleets' access to waters around Rockall.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	275131
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Fisheries compliance policy is a devolved competence for the Scottish Government. I have therefore not raised the matter of international fishing fleets' access to waters around Rockall with my Irish counterpart. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials, working closely with other Government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, remain in close contact with the Irish and Scottish Governments about this issue.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 15/07/2019 08:05:56 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1137445

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Republic of Ireland: Brexit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the 8 July 2019 Irish Times article entitled Dublin and Berlin move closer as Brexit barney continues, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Irish Government on the comments on the UK reportedly made by the Irish President In Germany on 3 July 2019.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	274458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>​The United Kingdom and Ireland enjoy a unique bilateral relationship with strong Ministerial level contact which takes place at all levels of government and across all policy areas including at Prime Minister/Taoiseach and Foreign Secretary levels. Both the United Kingdom and Ireland recently reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that the current high level of bilateral cooperation is maintained and strengthened following the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. We will continue to use this level of cooperation to work on areas of collaboration and discuss topics where we may disagree. The Foreign Secretary has not discussed with his Irish counterpart the President's visit to Germany.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 11/07/2019 15:36:03 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1137494

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Jamaica: LGBT+ People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage his Jamaican counterpart to promote LGBTQ+ rights in Jamaica.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	274438
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>​The defence of human rights, including LGBTQ+ is a key part of our foreign policy. Sexual acts between men remain illegal in Jamaica and there are wider issues of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community there. We are working with the Government of Jamaica and with LGBTQ+ organisations in the country, as well as others with an interest such as Church Groups and human rights organisations, to support equality of treatment for all and to raise awareness of particular issues that the LGBTQ+ community face. We welcome the commitment of Prime Minister Holness, including at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, that Jamaica should protect the human rights of every citizen regardless of sexual orientation or inclination.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 11/07/2019 15:33:32 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1136508

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the UN General Assembly Resolution of 22 May 2019 on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, if he will support the Chagos Refugees Group and Mauritian Government in arranging a visit to the Chagos Archipelago for UK-based Chagossians after the six month time period set out in that Resolution.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	272901
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>We were disappointed that this matter was referred to the International Court of Justice, contrary to the principle that the Court should not consider bilateral disputes without the consent of both States concerned. We have no doubt about our sovereignty over BIOT, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814.</p><p>We are aware of the Mauritian Government's proposal to organise a visit to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). We urge Mauritius to reconsider. Any unauthorised visit to BIOT will be treated with the utmost seriousness. The UK Government, as the sovereign authority, will continue to progress an expanded programme of UK-arranged visits to the British Indian Ocean Territory for Chagossians: five visits have taken place so far with 76 Chagossians each spending a week visiting the Territory. Two to three visits are planned to take place each year for the remainder of the life of the support package. Visits are advertised to Chagossian communities in UK, Mauritius and Seychelles. Any eligible Chagossian or Chagossian group seeking to visit BIOT is welcome to do so through this programme.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/07/2019 16:12:54 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1136725

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Overtime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the total amount of unpaid overtime worked by staff in his Department in the last 24 months.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	272758
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold this information because we do not record total hours worked for any of our staff. This is managed by individual teams, particularly overseas.</p><p>Wellbeing is a key priority in the FCO, and we recognise the importance of staff maintaining a good work life balance and not regularly working beyond their conditioned hours. Wellbeing Confident Leadership workshops have already been delviered to 67 per cent of our Senior Civil Servant and Senior Management Structure staff, with the remainder expected to complete the training by the end of the year.</p><p>Where staff are consistently exceeding their conditioned hours, managers are expected to take steps to ensure that staff are not overstretched, and that they are not exceeding the limits set out in the 1998 Working Time Regulations. However, at times, staff may be asked to work above their conditioned hours to deliver priority work, and will be paid overtime in line with our overtime policies.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 11/07/2019 15:38:51 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1136186

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Venezuela: Arms Trade
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the European Union’s embargo on sales of arms and military equipment to the Venezuelan Government.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
	uin	272165
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>​The UK led international efforts for the introduction of a rigorous EU sanctions regime against Venezuela in November 2017 which includes an arms embargo and an embargo on equipment which could be used for repression. We are not aware of any sales of arms or military equipment by EU countries to the Venezuelan Government since that date<strong>.</strong></p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/07/2019 15:55:30 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

1136222

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Law of the Sea
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, what steps the Government is taking to ensure benefits from areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction are shared fairly and equitably; if he will make it his policy to promote the international law principle of common heritage of mankind in future sessions of that Conference; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	272190
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>​The UK regards a new Implementing Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction as an important step forward in addressing the challenges that the ocean faces. The UK is pressing for an ambitious Agreement to be concluded in 2020. It will be a key mechanism in enabling the designation of 30 per cent of the ocean as Marine Protected Areas by 2030.</p><p>UNCLOS makes clear that the concept of &quot;the common heritage of mankind&quot; applies only to the non-living resources of &quot;the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.&quot; Any new Implementing Agreement under UNCLOS must be consistent with this concept. The UK is an active member of the International Seabed Authority, which is currently drafting a Code for Deep Sea Mining, and considering a mechanism for the equitable sharing of benefits arising from deep-sea mining.</p><p>The UK supports a regime of benefit sharing under the new Implementing Agreement that is focused on the sharing of scientific data and research and better coordinated capacity building and the transfer of marine technology to developing countries to enable them not only to better share in the sustainable use of the resources of the ocean, but also in its conservation. We are studying positively proposals for the new Implementing Agreement to achieve this outcome.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/07/2019 15:57:15 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas