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  • Menzies Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Menzies Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Menzies Campbell on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response his Department has made to the expulsion of Médicins Sans Frontières from Rakhine state by the Burmese government.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    On hearing of the expulsion of Médicins San Frontières (MSF) on 26 February, the British Embassy registered our concerns with the Burmese government that same evening. Since then we have been liaising very closely with MSF tailoring our lobbying to their support, as they negotiate with the Burmese authorities. The British Ambassador visited the MSF clinic in Sittwe during his visit to Rakhine State from 19-20 March to hear first-hand the impact this decision has had on the local community.

    I summoned the Burmese Ambassador to London on 7 April to make clear our grave concerns about the situation in Rakhine State, including the expulsion of Médicins San Frontières. I called on the Burmese government to urgently restore humanitarian access to all communities in need and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State so that they can operate free of constraint and intimidation. We continue to make clear to the Burmese authorities that there must be no deterioration in the provision of health services in Rakhine State, which is already on the brink of crisis.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Iranian counterpart for the release of Shahrokh Zamani.

    Hugh Robertson

    We remain deeply concerned about the detention and treatment of labour activist Shahrokh Zamani. Unions and labour organisations have been heavily repressed in Iran, and many members have been arrested, jailed or harassed. We have called on Iran to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of expression to all Iranians.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure women’s equal and meaningful participation in the Syrian peace process.

    Hugh Robertson

    It is vital that Syrian women are able to participate fully in decisions about the future of their country. We continue to raise international awareness of this important issue and the Foreign Secretary has written to the UN Secretary General, the Joint Special Envoy, and a number of Foreign Ministers recommending that Syrian women should be able to participate fully in the peace process. We are providing £200,000 of support to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom to strengthen the capacity of Syrian women’s groups to engage in the transition process. The Foreign Secretary was pleased to meet representatives from the Syrian Women’s Initiative for Peace and Democracy during Geneva II, and the UK intends to offer further practical support in close coordination with UN Women and donors.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) male and (b) female (i) HM Ambassadors and (ii) High Commissioners there are from each region of the UK.

    Hugh Robertson

    We are unable to breakdown the region that each and every one of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners was born in without incurring disproportionate costs. We are able to breakdown by the constituent country within the UK as follows:

    Male Female
    England 80 22
    Scotland 5 1
    Wales 3 0
    Northern Ireland 1 0
    Born outside the UK or not recorded on file 29 7

    There is also one post where the Ambassador’s role is shared by one male and one female, both from England.

    The key principle of all FCO appointments is selection by merit through fair and open competition. Place of birth has no effect on our appointments system. All UK based members of staff have to be British citizens.

  • Robin Walker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Robin Walker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what joint trade missions have been undertaken by the UK and the Republic of Ireland since 2010; and what steps he is taking to increase collaboration with the Republic of Ireland on trade and exports.

    Michael Fallon

    The UK and Ireland have embarked on a wide programme of cooperation following the visit of HM the Queen to Ireland in 2011. Led by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, this programme is designed to develop and strengthen the relationship between the UK and Ireland over the next decade across a range of policy areas.

    The UK and Ireland delivered the first ever joint trade mission between the two countries to the Singapore Airshow during the week commencing 10 February 2014. The UK-Ireland mission delegation consisted of 25 companies, 16 from the UK (including 9 from Northern Ireland) and 9 from the Republic of Ireland. Delivering a joint trade mission was one of the key deliverables for the 2014 PM/Taoiseach Summit.

    UK Trade & Investment is committed to maintaining its work programme with Enterprise Ireland to further develop cooperation on trade promotion in support of UK and Irish business.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has asked President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka to resign as Chairperson in Office of the Commonwealth in the light of the decision to investigate potential human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

    Mr William Hague

    Any decision on the Chair-in-Office role is for all Commonwealth Heads of Government to take by consensus.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote the commercialisation of scientific and technical research undertaken by GCHQ.

    Hugh Robertson

    GCHQ works closely with business to release Intellectual Properties (IP) which are suitable for more general use in the outside world. For example through its information assurance arm, Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), it operates a number of schemes which enable individuals and companies to gain CESG endorsement of products and services via technical assessment.

    GCHQ is additionally running a number of pilot cases looking at ways of improving its coordination with SMEs and larger industry partners including on Open Source publishing and licencing to SMEs and larger industry partners. GCHQ is also sponsoring research institutes in Cyber Security and running innovation calls aimed at SMEs. The latter initiative in partnership with organisations such as the Centre for Defence Enterprise and the technology Strategy Board.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what specific steps the UK has taken to encourage more opposition groups to join the Syrian National Coalition.

    Hugh Robertson

    We have publicly and repeatedly urged moderate Syrian opposition groups, inside and outside Syria, to join the National Coalition, underlining the importance of a unified, and effective organisation pressing for a democratic and pluralist Syria. We have consistently encouraged the National Coalition to broaden their membership, and they have made strenuous efforts to attract all sections of Syrian society, including ethnic and religious minorities, and women. They have made clear that they stand for all Syrians. We have worked through the London 11 group in support of the National Coalition, as well as providing practical support to develop its capacity.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the gender balance is of his Department’s management board and its sub-committees.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Management Board consists of 8 executive (5 male and 3 female) and 2 non-executive members (1 male and 1 female).

    The Management Board is supported by the four Sub-Committees which are each chaired by a member of the Board; they are Audit & Risk Committee, Human Resources (HR) Committee, Operations Committee and Health and Safety Committee.

    The gender breakdown of the committees is as follows:

    Audit & Risk Committee (ARC): 2 male, 1 female;

    HR Committee: 9 male, 10 female; and the 20th position is currently filled by two people (1 male, 1 female) in a job-share;

    Operations Committee: 9 male and 8 female; and

    FCO Health and Safety Committee: 18 male and 8 female members.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

    Mr David Lidington

    For the past financial year (2013-2014) the 10 organisations paid most by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for consultancy and the associated spend figures were as follows: ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION & DEVELOPMENT (OECD) £285,579.00 DLA PIPER UK LLP £148,283.34 CBRE LTD £103,412.14 FIELD FISHER WATERHOUSE £52,940.75 FONNEGRA GERLEIN S.A £50,745.43 SAMSON AND MCGRATH £34,136.41 ACCENTURE (UK) LTD £29,892.00 DTZ CONSULTING AND RESEARCH £28,700.00 HOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLP £26,153.81 HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS £21,061.27