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47242

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
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 extent of persecution of Christians in North Korea; what steps he is taking within the international community to address that issue; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	195499
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text I made clear in my response to Oral questions on 8 April that the UN Commission of Inquiry's report documents a persecution of christians which is truly shocking. The UK played a leading role in ensuring a strong Human Rights Council resolution in response to this report. My Written Ministerial Statement on 31 March 2014 sets out a summary of the concrete measures in the DPRK resolution to ensure the work of the COI continues in order that those responsible for human right violations and crimes against humanity will one day be brought to account. answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

47244

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
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 his Department has had with the Syrian National Coalition.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
uin	195641
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>We have daily discussions with the Syrian National Coalition, most notably with its leadership through the UK Special Representative to Syria, Jon Wilks, but also at Ministerial level. We are in regular touch with the National Coalition representative in London. We have supported the National Coalition since its foundation in 2012 and have consistently encouraged it to reach out to all Syrians as a democratic, inclusive and unified organisation. This has included practical support to the National Coalition, including on strategic communications and design of internal structures and organisation. The UK is a leading member of the “London 11”, the core group of the Friends of Syria, who are the National Coalition's strongest supporters. Most recently we hosted a meeting of senior officials from the London 11 in London on 7 March.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

47246

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
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 how representative the Syrian National Council is of all Syrian opposition groups.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
uin	195644
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>The Syrian National Council is one part of the National Coalition. I have called for women, in particular, to be represented more in the National Coalition. I am pleased that the National Coalition has made strenuous efforts to broaden its membership to attract all sections of Syrian society, including ethnic and religious minorities and women, stating that it is a Coalition for all Syrians. The most recent organisation to join its ranks is the Kurdish National Council. We continue to work with the National Coalition in their efforts to deliver more services on the ground through the Interim Government.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

47248

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the gender balance is of his Department's management board and its sub-committees.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
uin	195624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Management Board consists of 8 executive (5 male and 3 female) and 2 non-executive members (1 male and 1 female).</p><p> </p><p>The Management Board is supported by the four Sub-Committees which are each chaired by a member of the Board; they are Audit &amp; Risk Committee, Human Resources (HR) Committee, Operations Committee and Health and Safety Committee.</p><p> </p><p>The gender breakdown of the committees is as follows:</p><p> </p><p>Audit &amp; Risk Committee (ARC): 2 male, 1 female;</p><p> </p><p>HR Committee: 9 male, 10 female; and the 20th position is currently filled by two people (1 male, 1 female) in a job-share;</p><p> </p><p>Operations Committee: 9 male and 8 female; and</p><p> </p><p>FCO Health and Safety Committee: 18 male and 8 female members.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

47249

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what specific steps the UK has taken to encourage more opposition groups to join the Syrian National Coalition.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
uin	195625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>We have publicly and repeatedly urged moderate Syrian opposition groups, inside and outside Syria, to join the National Coalition, underlining the importance of a unified, and effective organisation pressing for a democratic and pluralist Syria. We have consistently encouraged the National Coalition to broaden their membership, and they have made strenuous efforts to attract all sections of Syrian society, including ethnic and religious minorities, and women. They have made clear that they stand for all Syrians. We have worked through the London 11 group in support of the National Coalition, as well as providing practical support to develop its capacity.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

47250

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
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 promote the commercialisation of scientific and technical research undertaken by GCHQ.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	195657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>GCHQ works closely with business to release Intellectual Properties (IP) which are suitable for more general use in the outside world. For example through its information assurance arm, Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), it operates a number of schemes which enable individuals and companies to gain CESG endorsement of products and services via technical assessment.</p><p>GCHQ is additionally running a number of pilot cases looking at ways of improving its coordination with SMEs and larger industry partners including on Open Source publishing and licencing to SMEs and larger industry partners. GCHQ is also sponsoring research institutes in Cyber Security and running innovation calls aimed at SMEs. The latter initiative in partnership with organisations such as the Centre for Defence Enterprise and the technology Strategy Board.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

47251

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has asked President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka to resign as Chairperson in Office of the Commonwealth in the light of the decision to investigate potential human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire South
tabling member printed	Mr Douglas Alexander
uin	195541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text Any decision on the Chair-in-Office role is for all Commonwealth Heads of Government to take by consensus. answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Mr William Hague question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 379 label Biography information for Lord Hague of Richmond
tabling member	632 label Biography information for Mr Douglas Alexander

47255

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) male and (b) female (i) HM Ambassadors and (ii) High Commissioners there are from each region of the UK.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
uin	195617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>We are unable to breakdown the region that each and every one of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners was born in without incurring disproportionate costs. We are able to breakdown by the constituent country within the UK as follows:</p><p>Male Female<br>England 80 22<br>Scotland 5 1<br>Wales 3 0<br>Northern Ireland 1 0<br>Born outside the UK or not recorded on file 29 7</p><p>There is also one post where the Ambassador's role is shared by one male and one female, both from England.</p><p>The key principle of all FCO appointments is selection by merit through fair and open competition. Place of birth has no effect on our appointments system. All UK based members of staff have to be British citizens.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

47257

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
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 plans to take to ensure women's equal and meaningful participation in the Syrian peace process.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian Lucas
uin	195638
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2014 answer text <p>It is vital that Syrian women are able to participate fully in decisions about the future of their country. We continue to raise international awareness of this important issue and the Foreign Secretary has written to the UN Secretary General, the Joint Special Envoy, and a number of Foreign Ministers recommending that Syrian women should be able to participate fully in the peace process. We are providing £200,000 of support to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom to strengthen the capacity of Syrian women's groups to engage in the transition process. The Foreign Secretary was pleased to meet representatives from the Syrian Women's Initiative for Peace and Democracy during Geneva II, and the UK intends to offer further practical support in close coordination with UN Women and donors.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 09/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

47258

registered interest
date	07/04/2014
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Iranian counterpart for the release of Shahrokh Zamani.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Katy Clark
uin	195491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p>We remain deeply concerned about the detention and treatment of labour activist Shahrokh Zamani. Unions and labour organisations have been heavily repressed in Iran, and many members have been arrested, jailed or harassed. We have called on Iran to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of expression to all Iranians.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
tabling member	1590 label Biography information for Baroness Clark of Kilwinning