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  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on human rights in China with President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

    The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when and with whom he last raised the issue of the detention of British journalist Rebecca Prosser by the Indonesian authorities.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    In consultation with Ms Prosser’s legal team and advisors, the case has been raised at senior level on ten separate occasions. I personally raised it with the Indonesian Foreign Minister in September at the UN General Assembly and it was last raised on 9 October by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Director General Economic & Consular with the Indonesian Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs. We plan to raise the case again on 29 October during a meeting in London with the representatives of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department last had contact with Rebecca Prosser or her family; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Members of the consular team in Jakarta have visited Rebecca Prosser twice. The first visit took place on 2 June, shortly after her arrest, and lasted 30 minutes. The second, which lasted over two hours, took place on 10 September when she was moved from house arrest into a detention facility. Normal practice is to visit detainees in Indonesia every three months.

    Consular staff are in regular contact with Ms Prosser’s employer’s representatives, her legal team and her family. Since court proceedings began, we have provided a weekly written update to Ms Prosser, her family and their MPs. Our most recent contact with Ms Prosser’s family was on 21 October.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on which occasions British consular officials in Indonesia have visited Rebecca Prosser since her detention on 28 May 2015; how long each such visit lasted; and when the next such visit will take place.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Members of the consular team in Jakarta have visited Rebecca Prosser twice. The first visit took place on 2 June, shortly after her arrest, and lasted 30 minutes. The second, which lasted over two hours, took place on 10 September when she was moved from house arrest into a detention facility. Normal practice is to visit detainees in Indonesia every three months.

    Consular staff are in regular contact with Ms Prosser’s employer’s representatives, her legal team and her family. Since court proceedings began, we have provided a weekly written update to Ms Prosser, her family and their MPs. Our most recent contact with Ms Prosser’s family was on 21 October.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which officials in his Department have visited Rebecca Prosser during her detention in Indonesia; and when and for how long each such visit was.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Members of the consular team in Jakarta have visited Rebecca Prosser twice. The first visit took place on 2 June, shortly after her arrest, and lasted 30 minutes. The second, which lasted over two hours, took place on 10 September when she was moved from house arrest into a detention facility. Normal practice is to visit detainees in Indonesia every three months.

    Consular staff are in regular contact with Ms Prosser’s employer’s representatives, her legal team and her family. Since court proceedings began, we have provided a weekly written update to Ms Prosser, her family and their MPs. Our most recent contact with Ms Prosser’s family was on 21 October.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he or ministers in his Department will next meet their Indonesian countertparts; and if he will ensure that the detention of Rebecca Prosser in Indonesia will be raised at such meetings.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    In consultation with Ms Prosser’s legal team and advisors, the case has been raised at senior level on ten separate occasions. I personally raised it with the Indonesian Foreign Minister in September at the UN General Assembly and it was last raised on 9 October by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Director General Economic & Consular with the Indonesian Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs. We plan to raise the case again on 29 October during a meeting in London with the representatives of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Interserve on the inappropriateness of disciplinary action taken against cleaners who wrote to him requesting a living wage.

    Mr David Lidington

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have been in contact with Interserve and have asked them to comment on allegations that Interserve cleaners had been disciplined for writing to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) in July. Interserve informed the FCO that they had instigated an investigation to establish whether the letter breached their confidentiality agreement with staff. Interserve has since confirmed that their investigation has concluded and that no disciplinary action will be taken against any of the signatories to the letter.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of his Department’s (a) budget and (b) personnel is allocated to promoting human rights, rule of law and democracy in other countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    As the Government set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 2014 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, it is difficult to calculate an exact figure for what we spend annually on human rights and democracy work. This is because it is an integral part of the department’s work across the network.

    However, by combining relevant programme spend, grant-in-aid spending, and estimated personnel costs, we were able to calculate a conservative figure of approximately £42.6 million for the financial year 2014-15.

    In terms of personnel, we also set out in the report that approximately 240 full-time equivalents in the FCO work on human rights.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on the sex-selective abortion of female unborn children in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

    The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on the disability-selective abortion of unborn children in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

    The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.