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693267

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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	Georgia: Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to compile a human rights report on South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	65206
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>We monitor the situation closely but have no plans to compile our own such report.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/03/2017 17:13:52 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

693268

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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: Information Officers
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 staff in his Department are employed in media relations and communications roles; and how much was spent on the salaries of such staff members in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	65109
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>​Communication is core to diplomacy and is a component of many roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO): it is therefore not possible to specify the exact number of staff who have a communications remit.</p><p>The FCO's central Communication Directorate had 88 staff on its UK based headcount as of 31 January 2017.</p><p>The Communication Directorate consists of four departments: a Media Office, a Campaigns and Engagement Department, a Digital Transformation Unit and a Counter Daesh Communications Department. Collectively they have responsibility for a range of activities to achieve the FCO's priorities of protecting our national security, generating economic growth and helping British people overseas. These include increasing Britain's influence in the world through sponsoring the British Council and the Marshall and Chevening Scholarships schemes, promoting trade and investment with the UK through activities on the GREAT Britain campaign and providing travel advice so British people can keep themselves safe when overseas.</p><p>Salary costs for the Communication Directorate from 2009/10 to 2015/16 inclusive were as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Salary costs</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£3,025,594</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£3,243,852</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>£2,801,066</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£2,498,697</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£3,070,242</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£3,552,733</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>£3,593,416</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Our management information system does not allow us to go back further than 2009/10. Sourcing equivalent data for the years 2006/7 – 2008/9 inclusive is therefore not available except at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 02/03/2017 17:31:39 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

693269

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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	Religious Hatred
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 tackle faith-based persecution in countries with a high level of such persecution.
tabling member constituency	North Swindon
tabling member printed	Justin Tomlinson
uin	65122
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>This Government remains firmly committed to the promotion and protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief in all countries. Through our bilateral work we lobby host governments to raise individual cases and highlight practices and laws that discriminate against people on the basis of their religion or belief. For example, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) raised the rights of all Pakistani citizens, including religious minorities, during his visit to Pakistan in November 2016. Multilaterally, we work to sustain consensus on the adoption and implementation of two important Resolutions: the European Union's resolution on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)'s resolution on Combating Religious Intolerance. We also support a number of projects through the FCO's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights. For example, we support a network of human rights defenders in South Asia working on this priority. In October 2016 the FCO hosted a groundbreaking international conference to draw attention to the importance of freedom of religion or belief to global efforts to counter violent extremism.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 02/03/2017 14:54:48 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson

693272

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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	Libya: Women's Rights
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 assessment he has made of the level of protection for women's rights in Libya.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	64942
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>​The British Government notes with concern that the Libyan authorities currently have limited capacity to investigate human rights violations and bring perpetrators to justice, including the rights of women.</p><p>Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the UK is funding programmes in Libya to support peace mediation and local level stability, women's rights, civil society and freedom of speech. The UK is also providing humanitarian support to people affected by the conflict, including supplies and technical support to medical centres, assistance to those who have been forced to flee their homes, and support to migrants held in detention. A £1.5m project has been agreed with consortium lead Danish Refugee Council under the Women and Girls Protection Fund, which aims to protect 40,000 vulnerable women migrants from trafficking, forced labour and sexual violence through improved shelters, psychosocial support and awareness raising among migrants and host communities of the heightened risks and fundamental rights of migrating women.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 01/03/2017 15:59:18 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

693273

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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: Procurement
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 civil servants of his Department oversee contracts which have been awarded to external providers.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	64998
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>Providing numbers of all staff who oversee all contracts in the FCO (for the UK and Overseas) could only be provided at disproportionate cost. For major departmental contracts that are delivered in or from the UK for the FCO worldwide, there are approximately 50 staff overseeing contracts.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/03/2017 15:31:36 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

693344

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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	Fisheries: Indian Ocean
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 his Department has made of the level of risk to the security of UK citizens posed by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Western Indian Ocean.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Oliver Colvile
uin	65027
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the West Indian Ocean poses a limited security threat to British nationals, so we have not made a formal assessment.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/03/2017 17:16:49 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4022 label Biography information for Oliver Colvile

693365

registered interest
date	22/02/2017
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 Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies: 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, which Government Minister has responsibility for the protection of LGBT rights in the (a) overseas territories and (b) Crown Dependencies.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	64954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>The protection and promotion of human rights, including LGB&amp;T rights, are primarily the responsibility of the Overseas Territory and Crown Dependency governments. Baroness Anelay of St Johns is the Minister of State for the Overseas Territories, excluding the Falklands and Gibraltar for which I am responsible. The Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon, is responsible for the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and the Minister of State for Justice, the Rt Hon Sir Oliver Heald QC, is responsible for the conduct of Crown Dependencies<ins>' business</ins><ins class="ministerial"> within Whitehall</ins>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/03/2017 15:29:49 question first ministerially corrected 06/03/2017 16:53:23 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan previous answer version 38177 answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

692529

registered interest
date	21/02/2017
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	Israel: Peace
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic and development-related steps his Department is taking to support peace groups in Israel.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
tabling member printed	Tommy Sheppard
uin	64916
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2017 answer text <p>​The UK has regularly supported pro-peace projects run by Israeli Non-Governmental Organisations. We are currently supporting a project to empower young Israeli religious leaders to strengthen support for peace in their communities. The Department for International Development is also developing a programme of support for people-to-people projects in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which will help Israelis and Palestinians work together to achieve tangible improvements in their lives and build understanding.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 24/02/2017 16:07:50 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood previous answer version 36930 answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4453 label Biography information for Tommy Sheppard

692538

registered interest
date	21/02/2017
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	South Sudan: Security
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 assessment he has made of the security situation in South Sudan.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	64823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2017 answer text <p>We are deeply concerned at the ongoing substantial fighting and displacement in South Sudan, particularly in such hotspots as Greater Upper Nile, where it is a direct cause of the ongoing famine, and the Equatorias. An estimated 80,000 people have been forced out of their homes due to insecurity in the last month alone, and there are still widespread reports of grave human rights abuses and violations committed by both sides. The UK continues to pursue every opportunity to call on all parties in the conflict in South Sudan to cease hostilities and engage in a genuine dialogue. We are working closely with the UN, African Union, the region and other partners to facilitate an inclusive dialogue in an effort to revive the peace process.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 24/02/2017 16:04:07 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood previous answer version 36929 answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

692539

registered interest
date	21/02/2017
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	Juhel Miah
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 discussed the case of Mr Juhel Miah, a British National who was removed from a flight from Reykjavik to New York on 16 February 2017, with his (a) Icelandic and (b) American counterparts.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	64824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2017 answer text <p>The US Embassy has confirmed that all international travellers must obtain an appropriate visa for the purpose of travel unless they qualify for entry under the Visa Waiver Program.</p><p>The US authorities do not comment on individual cases but have confirmed that the incident is not related to President Trump's 27th January Executive Order, which has been suspended. We will continue to offer assistance to any British nationals that require it, but we cannot influence US immigration decisions.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan grouped question UIN 64825 question first answered 24/02/2017 14:15:01 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West