The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the £1 billion over five years for use by the Ross Fund in conjunction with the Gates Foundation is UK Aid funded.
Mr Nick Hurd
All of the £1 billion Ross Fund, announced in November 2015, is UK Aid funded. Discussions are underway with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about how their investments can contribute to the objectives of the Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Angola on the yellow fever epidemic and shortages of medical supplies.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
FCO officials have been in direct contact with the Angolan Government and Angolan Embassy in London on yellow fever. Although we are unable to provide direct assistance given the UK regulations around yellow fever supplies, the Department for International Development are directly funding Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and as its largest donor is providing £1.44 billion for 2016-2020. Gavi is supporting Angola’s response through the International Coordination Group’s (ICG) Revolving Fund. Angola has already received 7 million doses from the ICG to respond to the outbreak. We also provide central funding to the WHO, who have been running a vaccination campaign in Luanda province.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Ministers and staff of her Department will be attending the Hanoi Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in November 2016; and what the projected cost of that attendance will be in (a) staff salaries, (b) travel and (c) other costs.
Karen Bradley
The UK remains committed to its global leadership role in helping to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. During his visit to Vietnam in July 2015, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would provide £200,000 to support Vietnam in hosting a third high level international conference on the illegal wildlife trade. The Conference, to be held on 24-25 November 2016, will build on the successful London and Kasane Conferences of 2014 and 2015. Decisions about who will represent the UK at the Vietnam Conference have not yet been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Angola on freedom of human rights activists and organisations in Angola.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government continue to have concerns over the freedom of human rights activists and organisations in Angola. We followed the case of the 15+2 closely. The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) raised his concerns over the handling of the case and length of sentencing with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights during his visit to Luanda on 8 June. During the course of the trial, UK staff in Luanda discussed the promotion and development of human rights with the Angolan Minister of Justice and Human Rights; the Public Prosecutor; the Secretary of State for Human Rights; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the Minister for Presidential Affairs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Ministers and staff of her Department will be attending the Hanoi Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in November 2016; and what the projected cost of that attendance will be in (a) staff salaries, (b) travel and (c) other costs.
Rory Stewart
The UK remains committed to its global leadership role in helping to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. During his visit to Vietnam in July 2015, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would provide £200,000 to support Vietnam in hosting a third high level international conference on the illegal wildlife trade. The Conference, to be held on 24-25 November 2016, will build on the successful London and Kasane Conferences of 2014 and 2015. Decisions about who will represent the UK at the Vietnam Conference have not yet been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11026, whether the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare has met; when that group’s next meeting will be; and who will be chairing that group.
George Eustice
The IMG has yet to formally reconvene and therefor membership of the group is yet to be finalised. However, I have had discussions with Ministerial colleagues about reconvening the group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Ministers and staff of his Department will be attending the Hanoi Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in November 2016; and what the projected cost of that attendance will be in (a) staff salaries, (b) travel and (c) other costs.
James Duddridge
I refer the hon Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr Stewart) on 22 January to question number 23306.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the treatment of Sikhs campaigning for human rights in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) discussed religious tolerance in India with Prime Minister Modi on 12 November 2015. Mr Modi reassured the British Government that he remained committed to diversity and fundamental freedoms. Mr Modi was clear in his commitment to and respect for India’s core values of tolerance and fundamental rights, as well as reaffirming the importance of social harmony and inclusive development. Mr Modi met a delegation of Sikh leaders during his visit to the UK in November 2015 and discussed a range of issues effecting the Sikh community in India. His visit, including his address at Wembley, highlighted the contribution that Sikh and other religious minority communities make to India, and to UK-India relations. I also discussed religious tolerance with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on 5 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he received a document on UK Sikhs from the Indian delegation during the Indian Prime Minister’s recent visit to the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Hugo Swire
I did not receive a document on UK Sikhs from the Indian delegation during Prime Minister Modi’s visit.
The speech made by Fabian Hamilton, the Labour MP for Leeds North East, in the House of Commons on 12 December 2022.
I again thank the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron) for securing this urgent question. He has been a great champion of the British Council in this place. We know that hundreds of British Council contractors are still stranded in Afghanistan following this Government’s botched evacuation from Kabul. Earlier this year, the Minister told the House that the Government were “supporting those in need” and that 50 British Council contractors had been evacuated. However, a recent report in The Guardian indicated that, as the hon. Gentleman said, the Government had not granted a single ACRS application since the programme was opened—not one. Furthermore, fewer than 10 staff are currently working on the scheme at the FCDO.
I am contacted frequently by British Council contractors who are suffering terribly, and I would be grateful if the Minister would allow me to raise these cases with him privately. Many of those that are still in Afghanistan are former security guards who protected British staff at the embassy, and they undertook an extremely difficult task during the evacuation in August last year. We owe so much to those courageous British Council contractors, and the fact that they are still in Afghanistan and facing daily violence and threats as a result of their co-operation with the UK is nothing short of a disgrace.
The last time I put these questions to the Government, answers were not forthcoming, so I am hopeful that this time I might be able to get some clarity. Can the Minister tell us how many former British Council contractors are still stuck in Afghanistan, what measures are being put in place to evacuate the rest of the British Council contractors still stranded in Afghanistan and what engagement he has had with regional partners to facilitate safe passage for British Council staff who attempt to leave? And message does it send to other British Council contractors who work in challenging environments around the world if the UK Government will leave these contractors stranded in this way?
Mr Mitchell
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and he is quite right to express deep concern about those who are caught in this way. He asks me whether he may raise cases privately with me, and of course the answer is yes. I will make arrangements for those meetings to take place straight after this urgent question is over. He asks a number of questions, and if I do not answer them fully, I will ensure that we write to him. He is right to say that we keep in very good contact with regional partners in countries to try to advance this issue. This particular stream only opened in June this year. The Foreign Office has processed and is informing something in the region of 200 of those who are eligible in principle, and if the dependants are added to that, it is something like 750. So those are proceeding, and it is of course up to the Home Office to procure the necessary security clearance prior to them securing entry clearance. So, the process is going on, but I fully accept his frustration—it is a frustration we all share in this matter—and as I say, perhaps we can proceed with a private meeting, as he has requested.