The Westminster lensArchive · Written questions · 764 tabled · 734 answered

Written questions by Naish.

Every parliamentary written question tabled by James Naish this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.

Department:All (764)Department of Health and Social Care (159)Department for Education (88)Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (72)Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (72)Home Office (69)Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (56)Department for Transport (49)Department for Work and Pensions (38)Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (38)Treasury (31)Department for Business and Trade (29)Ministry of Defence (14)

Showing 6172 of 72 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

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6 Jun 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on guaranteeing the long-term continuation of the British National (Overseas) visa scheme for eligible individuals from Hong Kong.

Reply

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

30 May 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office on the impact of the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper on British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders.

Reply

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

30 May 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper on the UK's foreign policy in relation to Hong Kong.

Reply

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

30 May 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department had discussions with the Home Office on the development of the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper; and what representations his Department has made since its publication on the potential impact of the white paper on British National (Overseas) visa holders.

Reply

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

19 May 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered bringing forward legislative proposals that are similar to the Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act.

Reply

The UK has called for the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it.It is not appropriate to speculate on future legislative proposals or potential future sanctions, as to do so could reduce their impact, but we keep our sanctions powers, regimes, designations and measures under review.

6 May 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with EU member states on securing new bilateral voting rights agreements.

Reply

Prior to the UK's departure from the EU, in December 2018, the UK wrote to all 27 EU Member States signalling willingness to enter into bilateral agreements to ensure continuity of local election voting and candidacy rights (VCR) for each other's citizens.Some EU countries already grant local voting rights to UK nationals, and we have bilateral agreements with other EU Member States.A number of EU Member States have constitutional barriers which prevent them from entering into bilateral agreements.

28 Apr 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to support state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the context of alleged attempts to undermine the Dayton Peace Accords.

Reply

In response to unconstitutional activities by Republika Srpska entity President Dodik, the UK, with European counterparts, is working to ensure a strong and unified international response that encourages Bosnian state institutions to act to protect Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) sovereignty and stability. At the UN and other multilateral fora we have coordinated backing for BiH state institutions to resolve the current political crisis. We welcome the High Representative's clear statements setting out support for the state institutions. The Foreign Secretary, the Special Envoy and I continue to engage leaders in BiH and the region in support of BiH's territorial integrity. I reiterated these messages to BiH Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković and the High Representative of BiH when we met on 12 April, and recently convened Quint partners with my French counterpart to discuss our response to these destabilising and undermining actions.

3 Apr 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Nicaragua on the suppression of (a) human rights and (b) religious freedoms in that country.

Reply

We share widespread international concern about the relentless suppression of democratic, religious, and other freedoms in Nicaragua. We continue to urge the Nicaraguan authorities to re-establish democratic freedoms in our engagements with the Nicaraguan Embassy and in Managua, as well as through our public statements in international fora. Most recently, on 28 February at the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, we raised our grave human rights concerns, including relating to freedom of religion and belief, and arbitrary detentions. Nicaragua's declaration on 27 February that it is leaving the UN Human Rights Council does not change the need to hold the authorities accountable for the suppression of human rights in Nicaragua.

3 Mar 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered re-joining the EUFOR peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of a new security pact with the EU.

Reply

Europe's security is critical to our own and we recognise the contribution of many of the EU's military operations and missions to regional security. We see the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) as vital for peace and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). We are open to discussions about opportunities for the UK to cooperate more closely with EU missions, considering UK engagement on a case-by-case basis. We will continue to support security and stability in BiH through our bilateral contributions in support of their Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

3 Mar 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to place sanctions on Naftna Industrija Srbije.

Reply

On 10 January the UK designated Gazprom Neft, one of Russia's energy giants. We do not comment on future designations as this could affect their impact. We keep all evidence and potential designations under review.

3 Mar 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that sanctions placed on Russia by (a) the UK and (b) other countries are not being circumvented by Serbia.

Reply

Russia is making extensive efforts to circumvent sanctions in order to maintain its military machine. Our focus is on stopping these critical goods from reaching Russia and deprive Russia from generating revenue to fund the war. That includes ensuring our sanctions are as effective as possible. We are coordinating closely with G7 partners on our efforts to tackle circumvention risks across a number of priority countries including Serbia, and our support has ranged from technical assistance to diplomatic engagement at all levels.

3 Mar 2025·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
Asked

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to support steps to help tackle malnutrition at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris in March 2025; and whether he plans to maintain funding for such programmes in the official development assistance budget from 2027.

Reply

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.The UK worked in close partnership with France to make the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris a success. The Minister for International Development led the UK delegation. Alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, the Minister launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration.Partners have welcomed the Compact as a new initiative to drive change, and a positive signal of the UK's continued leadership on development. We will continue to support new approaches like this as we modernise our approach to international development.

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