Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1194917

registered interest
date	12/05/2020
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 Nationals Abroad: Coronavirus
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 his Department's guidance last updated on 7 April 2020, Financial assistance abroad, if he will provide additional assistance to UK citizens required to pay higher airline fees to return to the UK from overseas as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Halton
tabling member printed	Derek Twigg
uin	45960
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we remain committed to ensuring that British travellers around the globe are able to return home.</p><p>We hope most travellers will be able to claim their costs from their travel insurance but for those British nationals that cannot afford the cost of a flight to return, and have no other funding options, they may be eligible for financial support through an emergency loan from public funds.</p><p>To help more British nationals who need a loan return to the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has streamlined the process for emergency loans, and begun working with a commercial travel agency (Corporate Travel Management or CTM) to ensure loan recipients' have travel arrangements in place to return home.</p><p>More details can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-assistance-abroad/financial-assistance-abroad#if-you-need-financial-help-abroad" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-assistance-abroad/financial-assistance-abroad#if-you-need-financial-help-abroad</a>.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 18/05/2020 15:56:21 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	429 label Biography information for Derek Twigg

1194929

registered interest
date	12/05/2020
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 Nationals Abroad: Coronavirus
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 cost to the public purse has been of the Government's charter flights to repatriate people to the UK during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	46122
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2020 answer text <p>Helping British nationals who need and want to return to the UK is one of the Government's highest priorities. Since the outbreak in Wuhan, we estimate that over 1.3 million people have returned to the UK via commercial routes - the majority supported by our work to keep vital routes open. Additionally we have now brought home over 32,000 people on 155 flights organised by the Foreign Office from 29 countries and territories.</p><p>The UK Government continues to work with the airline industry and host governments across the world to help bring back British travellers to the UK as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary on 30 March - with up to £75 million available for special charter flights to priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers. A proportion of the funding remains and the work is ongoing to utilise it to support the next phase of our repatriation effort.</p><p>We have asked passengers to pay for a ticket home, just as they would pay for a commercial flight, to help ensure that we can use the money to bring as many people as possible home. The money is being spent directly on the transport required to get people home - this includes charter flights to the UK as well as the costs of ground transport and internal flights to get people to the departure airport.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 26/05/2020 15:49:39 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1194954

registered interest
date	12/05/2020
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	Taiwan: INTERPOL
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 it his policy to support the (a) granting of observer status to Taiwan at the 89th INTERPOL General Assembly and (b) attendance of Taiwan in that organisation's (i) meetings, (ii) mechanisms and (iii) activities.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	46032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan and international organisations has not changed. The British Government continues to hold the view that the people of Taiwan have a meaningful contribution to make towards global issues such as combatting organised crime. We therefore support Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations, such as INTERPOL, where there is precedent for their involvement, where they can contribute to the global good and where there is no pre-requisite of nationhood for participation. The UK has not made any representations on Taiwan's observer status at INTERPOL this year but will work with international partners on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams grouped question UIN 46033 question first answered 22/05/2020 14:16:47 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1194955

registered interest
date	12/05/2020
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	Taiwan: INTERPOL
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 member states of INTERPOL to (a) grant observer status to Taiwan at the 89th General Assembly of INTERPOL, and (b) enable Taiwan to have access to that organisation's I-24/7 Global Police Communications System and key training programmes.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	46033
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan and international organisations has not changed. The British Government continues to hold the view that the people of Taiwan have a meaningful contribution to make towards global issues such as combatting organised crime. We therefore support Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations, such as INTERPOL, where there is precedent for their involvement, where they can contribute to the global good and where there is no pre-requisite of nationhood for participation. The UK has not made any representations on Taiwan's observer status at INTERPOL this year but will work with international partners on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams grouped question UIN 46032 question first answered 22/05/2020 14:16:47 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1195028

registered interest
date	12/05/2020
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	Abdullah al-Hamid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2020 to Question 38936 on Saudi Arabia: Political Prisoners, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that Saudi Arabian human rights defender Abdullah al-Hamid was denied urgent medical attention before his death in detention.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	46088
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2020 answer text <p>We are aware of reports concerning Abdullah al-Hamid's medical attention in detention. While reporting on this case has been limited, we continue to seek information, and will raise any concerns we have with the Saudi authorities. We will continue to regularly raise individual human rights cases and call for political detainees to be given adequate legal representation.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 20/05/2020 14:15:55 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1194147

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
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	Coronavirus: Emergency Powers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps he is taking with his international counterparts to ensure that states use their emergency powers proportionately during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire South
tabling member printed	Mhairi Black
uin	902376
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK is playing a major role in the global response as we galvanise support for our Four-Point Plan: 1) co-ordinating the global health response; 2) accelerating the search for a vaccine, treatments and testing; 3) securing a sound economic response; and 4) bringing our people home.</p><p>The Foreign Secretary and Ministerial team are carrying out extensive bilateral and multilateral engagement, including with G7/G20 counterparts, and working with international companies to tackle the crisis.</p><p>We are also working closely with UN Security Council members and the UN Secretary-General to address pandemic and secondary impacts, including instability.</p><p>Through our international engagement, we have repeatedly made clear that measures taken by States to tackle CV19 must be necessary, proportionate, time-bound, transparent and regularly reviewed.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 11/05/2020 15:59:58 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4421 label Biography information for Mhairi Black

1194148

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
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	Coronavirus: Disease Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What recent diplomatic steps he has taken with his overseas counterparts to tackle the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	902385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK is playing a major role in the global response as we galvanise support for our Four-Point Plan: 1) co-ordinating the global health response; 2) accelerating the search for a vaccine, treatments and testing; 3) securing a sound economic response; and 4) bringing our people home.</p><p>The Foreign Secretary and Ministerial team are carrying out extensive bilateral and multilateral engagement, including with G7/G20 counterparts, and working with international companies to tackle the crisis.</p><p>We are also working closely with UN Security Council members and the UN Secretary-General to address pandemic and secondary impacts, including instability.</p><p>Through our international engagement, we have repeatedly made clear that measures taken by States to tackle CV19 must be necessary, proportionate, time-bound, transparent and regularly reviewed.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 11/05/2020 16:00:44 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1194149

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
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	Coronavirus: Disease Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UN Security Council in tackling the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Bournemouth East
tabling member printed	Mr Tobias Ellwood
uin	902387
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK is playing a major role in the global response as we galvanise support for our Four-Point Plan: 1) co-ordinating the global health response; 2) accelerating the search for a vaccine, treatments and testing; 3) securing a sound economic response; and 4) bringing our people home.</p><p>The Foreign Secretary and Ministerial team are carrying out extensive bilateral and multilateral engagement, including with G7/G20 counterparts, and working with international companies to tackle the crisis.</p><p>We are also working closely with UN Security Council members and the UN Secretary-General to address pandemic and secondary impacts, including instability.</p><p>Through our international engagement, we have repeatedly made clear that measures taken by States to tackle CV19 must be necessary, proportionate, time-bound, transparent and regularly reviewed.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 11/05/2020 16:01:23 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood

1194167

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
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	Human Rights and Surveillance: Coronavirus
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 steps he is taking to help (a) safeguard human rights and (b) prevent surveillance overreach overseas during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	45204
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2020 answer text <p>We are concerned by reports that some governments are using the current crisis to fail to comply with their human rights obligations, including in relation to the use of surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protection of civil liberties remains fundamental to our democratic way of life. Through our international engagement, we will continue to make clear that measures taken by States to tackle COVID-19 must be necessary, proportionate, time-bound, transparent and regularly reviewed.</p><p>On 9 April, the UK participated in the UN Human Rights Council's first ever virtual conversation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Discussion focused on the human rights implications of the COVID-19 crisis; both the immediate impact of the response on human rights around the world, and the social and economic consequences, including the prospect of greater inequality. In his statement to the Council, our Ambassador to the UN in Geneva stressed the importance of ensuring that parliaments, media and civil society all play their role to scrutinise the actions of governments and international agencies, and that we make use of the international human rights frameworks. We support the call made by the UN Secretary-General in his message of 22 April that human rights must be at the front and centre of the COVID-19 response and recovery. The UK Government remains committed to standing up for human rights and supports all efforts by the UN to minimise long-term damage to global economies, societies, politics and freedoms.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 20/05/2020 14:57:26 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1194168

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
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	Human Rights and Journalism: Coronavirus
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 steps his Department is taking to support (a) human rights defenders and (b) overseas journalists during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	45205
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK published the document 'UK Support for Human Rights Defenders' in July 2019, which sets out our ongoing dedication to supporting and protecting human rights defenders worldwide. The UK will continue to give strong support to human rights defenders worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable them to carry out their work safely and without fear, and we regularly assess how we can enhance our ability to make a positive difference. Our diplomatic network regularly engages with Non-Governmental Organisations representatives and human rights defenders to address the challenges which they face and how the UK can help overcome them. Media freedom is vital to open societies and journalists must be able to investigate and report without undue interference. We must oppose all attempts by any state to use the pandemic to restrict press freedom, silence debate, abuse journalists, or spread misinformation. When he addressed the Alliance for Multilateralism on 16 April, the Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon highlighted the UK's commitment to human rights and media freedom, particularly during the crisis. To mark World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), the Foreign Secretary issued a statement with his German, French and Dutch colleagues, calling on governments to defend media freedom, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK also signed a statement issued by the Media Freedom Coalition on WPFD and supported a Dutch social media campaign publicly highlighting cases of journalists who have been killed or imprisoned.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 21/05/2020 13:43:09 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon