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644319

registered interest
date	25/11/2016
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: Official Gifts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, to which countries his Department has gifted equipment costing less than £300,000 per gift in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	54908
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2016 answer text <p>​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not record centrally the gifts that it makes with a value less than £300,000. Consequently, details of these gifts could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Parliament is notified of any gifts above £300,000. Such gifts are typically of items of equipment we might provide to friendly countries.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 05/12/2016 17:17:08 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

644320

registered interest
date	25/11/2016
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: Departmental Responsibilities
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 effectiveness of his Department's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	54909
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2016 answer text <p>The Foreign &amp; Commonwealth Office's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance is generally considered to be a global standard for the screening of overseas activities for unintended human rights risk. It is a tool that allows the Government to assist countries struggling to protect human rights, while also ensuring that British assistance does not inadvertently worsen the situation. Officials are currently considering changes to the guidance, drawing on five years of experience of application to improve it further. We would like to make it easier for all parts of Government with a role to play overseas to collaborate to produce the best possible assessments of risk and the strongest possible mitigations of those risks. These changes will not in any way increase our level of tolerance of the risk of causing human rights violations. We will inform Parliament when Ministers have considered what changes might be made.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 05/12/2016 10:48:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

540073

registered interest
date	19/07/2016
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	COE Commissioner for 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 representations his Department has made to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in response to his Memorandum on surveillance and oversight mechanisms in the United Kingdom, published in May 2016.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	43323
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2016 answer text <p>Following his visit to the United Kingdom from 17 – 22 January, Commissioner Muižnieks published his “Memorandum on surveillance and oversight mechanisms in the United Kingdom” on 17 May. The same day Her Majesty’s Government formally responded, detailing the necessity of surveillance powers and the ways in which the Government has bought world-leading oversight and transparency to these powers. The Government’s full response, which runs to 27 pages, can be found on the Commissioner's website here: http://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/country-report/united-kingdom</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 28/07/2016 15:32:50 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

521187

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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: Pay
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 average hourly earnings were of his Department's (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	38221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2016 answer text <p>The table below shows the average hourly salary rates for all employees (Senior Civil Service and below) within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. However, I would note to the Hon. Member that such simple overall averages do not paint an accurate figure of our workforce and recruitment practices. The table therefore also includes a breakdown for each Foreign and Commonwealth Office grade.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="3"><p>2015</p></td><td colspan="3"><p>2016</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Grade</p></td><td><p>BME</p></td><td><p>Non-BME</p></td><td><p>Unknown</p></td><td><p>BME</p></td><td><p>Non-BME</p></td><td><p>Unknown</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>A1</p></td><td><p>9.76</p></td><td><p>9.95</p></td><td><p>9.55</p></td><td><p>9.59</p></td><td><p>9.71</p></td><td><p>9.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>A2</p></td><td><p>11.14</p></td><td><p>11.07</p></td><td><p>11.09</p></td><td><p>11.18</p></td><td><p>11.09</p></td><td><p>11.07</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>B3</p></td><td><p>13.01</p></td><td><p>13.11</p></td><td><p>13.06</p></td><td><p>13.04</p></td><td><p>13.16</p></td><td><p>13.08</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>C4</p></td><td><p>15.06</p></td><td><p>15.15</p></td><td><p>15.36</p></td><td><p>15.39</p></td><td><p>15.64</p></td><td><p>15.64</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>C5</p></td><td><p>18.28</p></td><td><p>18.97</p></td><td><p>18.93</p></td><td><p>18.66</p></td><td><p>19.01</p></td><td><p>19.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>D6</p></td><td><p>25.75</p></td><td><p>24.91</p></td><td><p>25.30</p></td><td><p>26.49</p></td><td><p>25.86</p></td><td><p>26.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>D7</p></td><td><p>30.05</p></td><td><p>30.75</p></td><td><p>31.21</p></td><td><p>30.60</p></td><td><p>31.09</p></td><td><p>30.84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>SMS1</p></td><td><p>36.48</p></td><td><p>36.48</p></td><td><p>37.61</p></td><td><p>36.45</p></td><td><p>36.63</p></td><td><p>36.20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>SMS2</p></td><td><p>46.37</p></td><td><p>46.80</p></td><td><p>49.78</p></td><td><p>46.78</p></td><td><p>47.39</p></td><td><p>48.84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>SMS3</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>64.79</p></td><td><p>70.00</p></td><td><p>60.94</p></td><td><p>66.32</p></td><td><p>66.45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>SMS4</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>92.52</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>96.16</p></td><td><p>89.66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Overall</p></td><td><p>15.81</p></td><td><p>20.82</p></td><td><p>20.64</p></td><td><p>16.15</p></td><td><p>21.58</p></td><td><p>19.81</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Civil Service is changing, and our recruitment seeks to reflect the make-up and composition of our nation as a whole. Historically, BME staff were under-represented, both in terms of previous recruitment patterns and the number and proportion in higher grades. These factors have contributed to the differences in overall average salaries.</p><p>We are making progress - the proportion of BME staff in the Civil Service has risen from 9.2% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2015 - but we recognise that there is still more to do.</p><p>In March, the Government published its 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success</a></p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 08/06/2016 14:19:33 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

520771

registered interest
date	23/05/2016
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	Burma: Rohingya
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 he has had with the Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aung San Suu Kyi, on human rights for the Rohingya.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	37777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/05/2016 answer text <p>We remain deeply concerned about the plight of the Rohingya community. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised the situation of the Rohingya with Aung San Suu Kyi during his conversation with her after the Burmese election in November. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), subsequently wrote to Daw Suu in December, again raising this issue. The Burma Resolution at the March Human Rights Council, which we co-sponsored, placed Rakhine as the central and most pressing human rights matter facing the incoming administration.</p><p>While the new Government has been in power for a few weeks only, we will continue to support and encourage Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy-led Government in making progress on this important issue.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 31/05/2016 14:28:34 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

513235

registered interest
date	15/04/2016
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	Syria: Humanitarian Aid
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 he has had with international partners on aid access to Madaya in Syria.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	34221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2016 answer text <p>The UK is part of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). The ISSG Humanitarian Task Force meets on a weekly basis to push for increased access across Syria, in line with relevant Security Council Resolutions. We have been pushing hard through these discussions for humanitarian access to be granted to all besieged and hard to reach places in Syria, including Madaya. As a result, humanitarian convoys have reached 11 besieged areas, including Madaya - several inter-agency convoys have reached a total of 150,000 people in besieged areas. This is out of a total of 487,000 people in besieged areas.</p><p>However, progress is too slow. More needs to be done to provide for all those in need in Syria. We are also deeply concerned by reports of civilian deaths in Madaya because their medical evacuations were blocked. We are pressing for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 25/04/2016 16:00:20 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

511367

registered interest
date	12/04/2016
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	Syria: 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 discussions he has had with his US and Russian counterparts on ensuring the Syrian High Negotiations Committee is involved in drafting Syria's new constitution.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	33629
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2016 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has frequent discussions with his US counterpart about all aspects of the Syrian conflict including the involvement of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) in the political process. Most recently they spoke at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima on 10-11 April. The UK also continues to engage with Russia, including through visits of senior officials to Moscow. These countries are active members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) which is committed to achieving a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict. Working alongside ISSG counterparts, we are supporting the UN-facilitated intra-Syrian negotiations currently underway in Geneva, where the HNC is representing the Opposition in negotiations on a political settlement. Discussions on a new Syrian constitution will need to take place in this forum.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 18/04/2016 15:36:09 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

448679

registered interest
date	28/01/2016
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	Syria: Military Intervention
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 his Department has made to the Russian government following the Russian airstrike in Hazzano, Syria, which damaged the bakery funded by the Department for International Development.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	24704
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2016 answer text <p>We have repeatedly made clear to the Russian Government our serious concerns about its bombing campaign in Syria. We have consistently called on Russia to focus its targeting on Daesh and to cease the targeting of moderate opposition groups. We have also expressed concern over the numbers of civilian casualties being reported as a result of Russian strikes.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has raised our concerns about Russia’s approach with Foreign Minister Lavrov, including at meetings of the International Syria Support Group. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), discussed Syria with President Putin at the G20 Summit in Antalya, and in a telephone conversation on 9 December following Parliament’s vote to support military action against Daesh in Syria.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 02/02/2016 16:22:08 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

443706

registered interest
date	11/01/2016
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	Netherlands: EU Presidency
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 the Dutch government ahead of the publication of the Programme of the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	21870
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2016 answer text <p>Reflecting the strength of the UK-Netherlands relationships, my Ministerial colleagues and I hold regular meetings with our Dutch counterparts to discuss a range of issues, including their current Presidency of the Council of the EU.</p><p>I discussed their Presidency programme with Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plassechaert during my visit to The Hague in November 2015, alongside a number of shared EU priorities.</p><br /><br /> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 19/01/2016 18:01:17 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

443441

registered interest
date	08/01/2016
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	Democracy
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 7 January 2016 to Question 20871, who the (a) applicants and (b) successful bidders were for the £5.5 million Human Rights and Democracy Programme; and how much funding each such successful bidder was allocated.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	21660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2016 answer text <p>For the Financial Year 2015-16, the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 27 bids for democracy projects from the following applicants:</p><p>Ba Futuru<br>British Council Libya<br>Carter Centre<br>DanChurchAid<br>Democracy Reporting International<br>Global Partners Governance<br>Guatemalan Archbishopric´s Human Rights Office<br>International Media Support<br>International Republican Institute<br>Investigative Journalists NGO (HETQ)<br>Jamii Media Company Limited<br>John Smith Trust<br>Law Association of Zambia<br>Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice<br>National School of Government International (NSGI)<br>Northern Ireland-Cooperation Oversees (NI-CO) in partnership with Politics Plus<br>Safer World Bangladesh and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI)<br>Saferworld<br>Stakeholder Democracy Network<br>The Asia Foundation<br>UN Development Programme<br>Westminster Foundation for Democracy<br>Young African Leaders Initiative<br>Youth Association for Human Rights Promotion and Development (AJPRODHO)<br>Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum,<br>Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights</p><p>These bids were then considered on a case-by-case basis by the Programme Team, and evaluated against criteria including: value for money, project design, evidence of need, viability, sustainability, risk and local influence. Seven applicants were successful, and were allocated the amounts listed below:</p><p>DanChurchAid: £80,000<br>Global Partners Governance: £99,727<br>NI-CO in partnership with Politics Plus: £35,000<br>NSGI: £37,220<br>Safer World Bangladesh and BEI: £103,422<br>The Asia Foundation: £99,168<br>Young African Leaders Initiative: £51,397</p><p>The £100,000 Magna Carta Partnerships Fund, to assist democracies in crisis or transition, is also channelled through the HRDP. In the financial year 2015/16, we have so far agreed funding for the following implementers:</p><p>Bingham Centre: £9,993<br>British Embassy Mexico City: £8,000<br>Chatham House: £10,000<br>Citizen’s Watch International: £10,000<br>Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch: £20,000<br>King Prajadhipok Institute: £2,752<br>Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas: £2,000<br>Slynn Foundation: £9,020<br>Westminster Foundation for Democracy: £5,150</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 18/01/2016 16:00:49 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland