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1452988

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	BHP: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the efforts of British incorporated company, BHP, to compensate the victims of the 2015 Fundão disaster in Brazil.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	143789
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>It would not be appropriate to comment as this matter is the subject of ongoing litigation.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 29/03/2022 13:53:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1452989

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Companies: Environment Protection and Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that corporations licenced in the UK do not (a) abuse human rights and (b) cause environmental damage.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	143790
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government is clear that it expects all businesses that carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Additionally, financial penalties will be introduced to drive compliance with this reporting requirement. This requires primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are a set of voluntary principles and standards for businesses to encourage responsible business practices, including human rights, labour standards and environment.</p><p>We have introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. We consulted from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the detail of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions. The Government will publish a summary of responses within 12 weeks of the consultation's close.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 143793 question first answered 29/03/2022 14:13:41 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1452991

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Overseas Companies: Risk Assessment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the UK has a strong disaster risk disclosure for UK licenced companies that work internationally.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	143791
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>The UK has responded to the growing demand for non-financial information in UK corporate reporting, by introducing measures to increase and improve the public disclosures entities make. In 2013, the UK introduced the requirement for certain entities to produce a strategic report, an ambitious change which required directors and boards to take a broad range of issues into account in the running of their company, including on social and environmental matters.</p><p> </p><p>These requirements were expanded in 2016, through the introduction of additional disclosure requirements for all large Public Interest Entities (PIEs), to require a description of the principal risks relating to social and environmental matters. In addition to this, and where relevant, the entity must also include a description of the business relationships, products and services which are likely to cause adverse impacts on risks relating to social and environmental matters, and provide a description of how the entity manages those risks.</p><p> </p><p>More recently, in 2022, the UK became the first country in the G20 to mandate large public and private businesses to report their climate-related financial disclosures in line with the framework set out by the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure, including their exposures to climate change-based risks.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 29/03/2022 15:23:20 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1452992

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Overseas Companies: Indigenous Peoples
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of considering the principle of free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous communities as a legal requirement for companies incorporated in the UK but operating overseas in and around indigenous lands.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	143792
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government is fully committed to promoting and protecting human rights for all individuals, including indigenous people. The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To further bolster our commitment to tackle modern slavery, in January 2021, the UK Government announced that financial penalties will be introduced for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. We have also enhanced Companies Act reporting (2013, 2016) and the UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 29/03/2022 14:05:35 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1452993

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Foreign Companies: Environment Protection and Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to prevent international companies incorporated in the UK from committing human rights abuses and causing environmental damage both domestically and internationally.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	143793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government is clear that it expects all businesses that carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Additionally, financial penalties will be introduced to drive compliance with this reporting requirement. This requires primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are a set of voluntary principles and standards for businesses to encourage responsible business practices, including human rights, labour standards and environment.</p><p>We have introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. We consulted from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the detail of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions. The Government will publish a summary of responses within 12 weeks of the consultation's close.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 143790 question first answered 29/03/2022 14:13:41 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1452996

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Foreign Companies: Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect human rights around the world from negligence and malpractice of transnational mining corporations incorporated in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	143794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>The UK Government works through a number of international mechanisms including supporting the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which enables businesses to operate responsibly in conflict affected and high risk areas and as a member of the Kimberley Process to help stem the flow of conflict diamonds.</p><p>The UK is also a member of the Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights which promote a set of principles to guide companies in the extractives sector to maintain the safety and security of their operations in a manner that reduces the risk of human rights abuses including in local communities.</p><p>More broadly, the Government expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 29/03/2022 14:02:56 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1452128

registered interest
date	17/03/2022
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Military Aid: Saudi Arabia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the ethical implications of supplying weapons and military support to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	142081
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>I can assure you that HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously. We assess all applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which take into account our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law. They provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to think hard about the possible impact of providing equipment and its capabilities.</p><p> </p><p>In making our decisions on the exports of arms, we take advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 24/03/2022 16:44:40 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1451854

registered interest
date	16/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Fundão Tailing Dam: Disaster Relief
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her Brazilian counterpart on support provided to Brazil to help with recovery from the Mariana dam disaster in 2015.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	141302
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2022 answer text <p>British diplomats have, in partnership with UN Environment Programme, been promoting the new Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) that brings together key stakeholders in the mining sector including Brazil's Federal and State Government, academia, UK specialists and civil society to address and discuss the safety of Brazilian dams. The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has not raised the 2015 Mariana dam disaster with her Brazilian counterpart.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 23/03/2022 12:15:06 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1451856

registered interest
date	16/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Brazil: Environment Protection and Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) support human rights in Brazil and (b) tackle the effects on Brazilians of the exploitation of natural resources by private companies in that country.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	141303
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2022 answer text <p>The UK regularly engages with the Brazilian government, civil society organisations and other partners to monitor human rights developments and respect for the rule of law in Brazil. We consider human rights issues in the development and implementation of projects supported by our Embassy in Brazil.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 23/03/2022 12:16:32 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1451859

registered interest
date	16/03/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Environment Protection: Private Sector
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with international counterparts to protect global populations from damage caused by negligent exploitation of natural resources by private companies.
tabling member constituency	Stirling
tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
uin	141304
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>Good governance is essential if national economies and local communities in developing countries are to benefit from the exploitation of natural resources, such as mineral reserves and timber. This is necessary to ensure that revenues from natural resources are invested to support education, health and economic development and to ensure that natural resources provide jobs and benefits to local communities. For example, in the forest sector, the UK supports efforts to tackle illegal logging and promote trade in legal timber in global timber markets. UK support provided through the Forest Governance, Markets and Climate programme (£280 million, 2011-23) ensures that illegal timber is eliminated from supply chains in countries with valuable forest resources, that the rights of local forest-dependent communities are respected and that companies in the timber industry are held accountable for their actions.</p><p>The UK also works to promote reform in industries which are closely associated with the destruction of natural resources, such as forests and encourage companies to operate in ways that reflect best practice. For example, through Partnerships for Forests (£120 million, 2015-23), the UK supports public-private partnerships with companies operating in the palm oil, rubber, cocoa, coffee, soya and cattle industries, which are helping to protect and restore forests, provide local jobs and livelihoods and ensure recognition and respect for local community rights. This work is helping to drive bad practice out of these industries and protect local communities and global populations from the damage caused by deforestation.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 24/03/2022 12:19:54 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith