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  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what military support has been provided to the government of Ethiopia in the last five years; what such support he plans to provide in the next five years; and whether the UK currently provides training for Ethiopian security or military personnel.

    James Duddridge

    Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest peacekeeping troop contributors, heavily engaged in the fight against Al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia which is vital to build stability in the region and to UK interests. The UK maintains a Defence relationship with the Ethiopian Ministry of National Defence, focused on education and training in non-combat areas. Over the past five years that has been centred on assisting in the setting up of the Ethiopian Peace Support Training Centre, and providing courses that give members of the Ethiopian military an improved range of non-combat skills as they serve on regional peace support operations. We have run a successful programme of English language training, delivered by the British Council, and a Masters course in Security Sector Management, for students from across the Eastern Africa region. We have provided a small number of places to Ethiopian military students on courses in the UK.

    The importance of good governance, accountability and respect for human rights is central to this programme of engagement. Over the next five years, we will continue to focus on helping Ethiopia to develop its capability to conduct peace support operations in the region, and continue to encourage improved governance and accountability within the security sector.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent human rights abuses against the Oromo people in Ethiopia; and what recent representations he has made to his Ethiopian counterpart on that issue.

    James Duddridge

    We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.

    I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.

    The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Japanese and (b) South Korean counterparts on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We have regular contact with key partners on this issue, including Japan and South Korea. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed this issue with his Japanese counterpart and others at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Hiroshima on 11 April.

    The G7 issued a joint communiqué [http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000147440.pdf] strongly condemning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s nuclear tests and calling upon the international community to enforce the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions to respond to the clear and continuing threat to international peace and security that is posed by the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37106, whether the potential use of RAF aircraft to deliver airstrikes on Daesh targets in Libya has been discussed with the UK’s international partners.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are working closely with the new Government of National Accord and international partners to develop a comprehensive approach to defeat Daesh in Libya. Planning so far has focused on training Libyan forces to provide their own security.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential link between the foreign funding of Islamic cultural centres in Belgium and a rise in extremism and terrorism (a) in that country and (b) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We do not have evidence to prove that the funding of Islamic cultural centres is linked to the rise of extremism and terrorism. We work closely with all levels of government in Belgium and with faith communities to discuss issues of mutual concern, including terrorism and extremism. We have a constructive partnership with Belgium to tackle these shared challenges. We will continue to work with a range of partners to protect UK and British interests.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate the handling of recent protests in Oromia, Ethiopia.

    James Duddridge

    We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.

    I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.

    The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress in addressing the UK’s concerns over human rights abuses in Ethiopia since his meeting with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros in January 2016.

    James Duddridge

    We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.

    I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.

    The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Japanese and (b) South Korean counterparts on the development of nuclear weapons by those countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    While the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has discussed nuclear non-proliferation issues with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts this year, the specific issue raised in the question has not arisen: in joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as Non-Nuclear Weapons States, Japan and South Korea have undertaken legally binding commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons. Japan and the Republic of Korea have made clear public statements that strongly support the treaty as the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, to promote the safe and secure use of civil nuclear energy, and to pursue nuclear disarmament.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of military equipment procurement was from UK suppliers in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information on Ministry of Defence (MOD) expenditure with industry, including the amount spent with UK suppliers, is published on gov.uk at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015.

    The details in table eight show that, since 2010-11, the MOD has spent around £19.5 billion each year with UK industry. The table shows the expenditure broken down by broad industrial group, but information specifically on the proportion of military equipment procured from UK suppliers is not centrally held. Total MOD equipment expenditure (not just with UK industry) can, however, be found in table four at the following link, but this is not broken down by country:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/defence-departmental-resources-2015.

    Details of MOD expenditure with industry for the years prior to 2010-11 are available in table 1.10 at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-defence-statistics-compendium-2011.

    It should be noted that these earlier statistics were prepared using a different methodology, which means that the figures are not directly comparable to those from 2010-11 onwards.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many permanent EU officials were passed through the Civil/Diplomatic Service European Fast Stream programme in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Fast Stream was re-established in 2010 with the dual aim of increasing UK representation in the EU institutions, as well as building EU capability in Whitehall. As part of the scheme, each European Fast Streamer spends five months or longer in an EU institution as a national expert. Since 2010 there have been four successful candidates in the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) competitions from the European Fast Stream. Of these successful candidates, one took up a post in 2014 and another is starting in summer 2016.