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1015366

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Prisoners
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 UK citizens are imprisoned in the United States.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	196212
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>As of May 2018, we are aware of 439 British nationals in detention in the United States. This can include British nationals in immigration detention, in police custody, on remand awaiting trial, and sentenced prisoners. We collate detainee statistics twice a year from our case management system records to provide a snapshot of the number of British national arrest/detention cases reported to us.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:40:07 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1015373

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: EU Countries
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 26 November 2018 Question 193410 on Diplomatic Service: EU Countries, in which countries UK citizens do not have any direct national representation.
tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
uin	196145
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>Further to my previous reply, there are 39 countries where we have no direct representation, but which are covered by other Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Embassies in the region. These are: Andorra, Antigua &amp; Barbuda, The Bahamas, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Honduras, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niger, Palau, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, St Kitts &amp; Nevis, St Vincent &amp; The Grenadines, Suriname, eSwatini, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.</p><p>On 31 October, the Foreign Secretary announced the biggest strengthening of our diplomatic network for around 20 years. We will open 11 new Posts by the end of 2020: Antigua &amp; Barbuda, The Bahamas, Djibouti, Grenada, Lesotho, Niger, Samoa, St Vincent &amp; The Grenadines, eSwatini, Tonga and Vanuatu.</p><p>People who need assistance can call any of our embassies, high commissions or consulates, or the FCO switchboard, 24/7 for advice or help.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 03/12/2018 16:38:38 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

1015384

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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	Zimbabwe: Politics and Government
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 political and security situation in Zimbabwe.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	196089
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>We agree with the international electoral mission's reports, that there remain significant shortcomings in the electoral system which must be addressed to build much-needed confidence in Zimbabwe's democratic process. We welcomed the establishment of the independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the violence against civilians in the post-election period. The Commission must report its findings in a transparent and timely manner.</p><p>Following early August violence, which left at least 6 people dead, the security situation in Zimbabwe has remained calm.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 03/12/2018 16:40:39 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1015387

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funds his Department allocated to pay the private school fees of the children of staff in his Department at (a) schools in the UK and (b) schools overseas in the last year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196148
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017, the FCO allocated the following funds to pay the private school fees of the children of FCO staff:</p><p>(a) Schools in the UK: £12,703,109.00</p><p>(b) Schools overseas: £14,339,087.00</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:44:16 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015388

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Private Education
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 who had the private school fees of their children paid by his Department were (a) based in posts in the United Kingdom and (b) based in posts overseas in the most recent year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196149
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017, the FCO funded UK private school fees of children for the following number of staff:</p><p>(a) Staff based in the UK: 172</p><p>(b) Staff based overseas: 174</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:45:36 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015389

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Private Education
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 children had their private school fees paid by his Department at (a) schools in the UK and (b) schools overseas in the most recent year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196150
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017, the FCO funded the private school fees for the following number of children:</p><p>(a) At schools in the UK: <ins class="ministerial">541</ins> <del class="ministerial">393 </del></p><p>(b) At schools overseas: 1074</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:47:04 question first ministerially corrected 18/03/2019 12:42:38 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan previous answer version 89699 answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015390

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Private Education
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 expenditure his Department allocated to pay the private school fees of the children of Departmental staff at each of (a) Cheltenham Ladies College, (b) Roedean School, (c) Wycombe Abbey, (d) Benenden School, (e) Malvern St James, (f) Wellington College, (g) St Francis College, (h) Sevenoaks School, (i) Malvern College and (j) Hurtwood House in the last year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017 funding was allocated as below to pay the private school fees of the children of FCO staff at the following schools:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>School</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cheltenham Ladies College</p></td><td><p>£61,693.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Roedean School</p></td><td><p>£184,744.25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wycombe Abbey</p></td><td><p>£91,476</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Benenden School</p></td><td><p>£30,492</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Malvern St. James</p></td><td><p>£30,492</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wellington College</p></td><td><p>£121,968</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>St. Francis College</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Seven Oaks School</p></td><td><p>£451,980</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Malvern College</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hurtwood House</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. It is long-standing practice that the FCO provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. Many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, but in some of the 168 countries and territories where the FCO has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available.</p><p>As frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments.</p><p>The FCO refunds standard term fees up to a ceiling which is reviewed annually. Where staff opt to send their children to more expensive schools, the difference in cost is met privately. The maximum amount the FCO will pay is determined by an independent survey conducted by Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) International, which is used by public and private sector employers whose staff work across the world. Various factors, including availability of places (sometimes at short notice) and proximity of other family members, influence which schools staff choose for their children.</p><p>This provision may continue for up to 5 years following an officer's return to the UK, provided the officer will serve overseas again at the end of their home tour (and before the child completes their education), to allow children to complete key stages of their education without multiple disruptions.</p><p>UK-staff based overseas with dependent children living at Post are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. At overseas posts where no suitable free English language based schooling is available (currently all countries except Australia, New Zealand and the United States), the FCO will meet the costs of schooling, where available, at an appropriate English language school from a list of pre-identified schools in the city of posting.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:55:01 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015391

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funds his Department allocated to pay the private school fees of the children of staff in his Department at (a) Tonbridge school, (b) Harrow school, (c) Winchester college, (d) Charterhouse school, (e) Eton college, (f) Westminster school, (g) Rugby school, (h) St Lawrence college, (i) Brentwood school and (j) Millfield school in the most recent year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	196152
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>In Financial Year 2016/2017 funding was allocated as below to pay the private school fees of the children of FCO staff at the following schools:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2016/17 </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>School</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tonbridge School</p></td><td><p>£30,492</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Harrow School</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winchester College</p></td><td><p>£276,656.90</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Charterhouse School</p></td><td><p>£92,142.25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Eton College</p></td><td><p>£122,478.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Westminster School</p></td><td><p>£52,441.90</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rugby School</p></td><td><p>£183,186.34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>St. Lawrence College</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Brentwood School</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Millfield School</p></td><td><p>£91,309.50</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Members of the diplomatic service are expected to be widely deployable throughout their career. It is long-standing practice that the FCO provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. Many parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, but in some of the 168 countries and territories where the FCO has UK-based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children either for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available.</p><p>As frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children, the FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). This enables staff who meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an uninterrupted education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments.</p><p>The FCO refunds standard term fees up to a ceiling which is reviewed annually. Where staff opt to send their children to more expensive schools, the difference in cost is met privately. The maximum amount the FCO will pay is determined by an independent survey conducted by Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) International, which is used by public and private sector employers whose staff work across the world. Various factors, including availability of places (sometimes at short notice) and proximity of other family members, influence which schools staff choose for their children.</p><p>This provision may continue for up to 5 years following an officer's return to the UK, provided the officer will serve overseas again at the end of their home tour (and before the child completes their education), to allow children to complete key stages of their education without multiple disruptions.</p><p>UK-staff based overseas with dependent children living at Post are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. At overseas posts where no suitable free English language based schooling is available (currently all countries except Australia, New Zealand and the United States), the FCO will meet the costs of schooling, where available, at an appropriate English language school from a list of pre-identified schools in the city of posting.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 17:36:20 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1015535

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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: Integrity Initiative
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has (a) funded, (b) provided contracts to and (c) procured the services of the Integrity Initiative in each financial year since 2015/16.
tabling member constituency	Derby North
tabling member printed	Chris Williamson
uin	196177
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>The Institute for Statecraft is an independent, Scottish, charitable body whose work seeks to improve governance and enhance national security. They launched the Integrity Initiative in 2015 to defend democracy against disinformation.</p><p>In financial year 2017/18, the FCO funded the Institute for Statecraft's Integrity Initiative £296,500. This financial year, the FCO is funding a further £1,961,000. Both have been funded through grant agreements.</p><p>At the Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2017, the Prime Minister announced that the UK Government has committed £100m over five years to tackling this threat internationally.</p><p>Such funding furthers our commitment to producing important work to counter disinformation and other malign influence.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 03/12/2018 10:04:06 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	3976 label Biography information for Chris Williamson

1015823

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
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	Bangladesh: Elections
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the forthcoming general election in Bangladesh will be free and fair.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL11827
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>​The British Government has been consistently clear that we wish to see a free, fair and pluralistic election in Bangladesh. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, has repeatedly encouraged the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in an effective dialogue to this end, and the power to deliver it lies with them. Through our High Commission in Dhaka we have been clear that the Election Commission should be allowed to continue its important work without interference. We have consistently made the case for international oversight of the election and the EU has agreed to send an Election Expert Mission. Through the Department for International Development funding, the UK will also support local observation of the general election. The Foreign Secretary raised his concerns regarding the next election in Bangladesh with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when they met at the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September. In a call on 1 November with State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific again made the case for a free, fair and participatory election. As did I when I spoke to him on 23 November.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon grouped question UIN HL11828 HL11829 question first answered 11/12/2018 15:25:07 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed