Speeches by Foord.

“I would like to ask first, Foreign Secretary, about the business of frozen Russian assets. Clearly, your Government have made a positive step by seizing and confiscating the interest on assets that we hold here in the UK, but what about the principal? What about the assets themselves? We know that Czechia, Finland and …”

“At the outset, Foreign Secretary, it was really good to hear you say that relations with the European Union will probably be one of your top priorities as Foreign Secretary; I think you said one of the top three priorities. I wonder if you could say a little bit more, please, about the reset. What does the reset betwee…”

“The humanitarian situation in the middle east is made worse by arms supply from within and beyond the region. The Liberal Democrats have a long-standing policy that the UK Government should not be exporting arms to Israel or to the Occupied Palestinian Territories given that they were referred to in the FCDO’s last hum…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I should start by saying that I have some sympathy with the Minister, because this is the second time today that he has had to suffer my representations on this subject. He kindly set aside 10 minutes this morning to hear all about Honiton and Sidmouth, and he wil…”

“Steven Tysoe from east Devon used to be a Metropolitan police officer in London, and he showed me footage of his involvement in the riots in the capital over a decade ago. He was severely injured and was regarded by the DWP as disabled. Under the new right of disabled people to work, will the Secretary of State ensure …”

“I agree with the hon. Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes), who talked about there being no national security without energy security. We discovered after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine how dependent the UK was on imported gas. When talking to other countries, did the Government make the case for investment in clean e…”

“Not all members of the G20 at the summit are as concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the UK is. Ahead of the summit, it was said that the Prime Minister would talk about the “unfathomable consequences” if Putin succeeds. Did the Prime Minister talk to some of those sceptical leaders about those consequenc…”

“I declare an interest in that my nephew is an aircraft engineer with the Royal Air Force, so I shall not be commenting on the retention payment, much as it sounds very handsome. I welcome the emphasis in the statement on defence people. A legacy of the last Conservative Government was that there was not enough emphasis…”

“I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) for her excellent maiden speech. She spoke movingly and touchingly about her father and about dementia, and it is a theme that we must come back to in this House. It is really profound. I also share her admiration for Nigel Mills, who was an excellen…”

“I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I have heard her say that at this stage the Government intend to work on the profits rather than the seized assets themselves, but will she undertake to talk to ministerial colleagues in Finland, Czechia and Estonia to find out how they have gone about seizing and using con…”

“At the weekend in Devon, I met a psychiatric nurse who previously worked in London and has been recruited to the south-west. She does not have a start date, and is still subject to routine checks after waiting months. Can the Secretary of State expedite these routine checks, given waiting lists for mental health?”

“One other thing that the permanent secretary talked about was the cuts to international development funding—to the ODA budget. Now that it is so limited—way less than 0.5% of GNI—do you think that there are alternative sources of funding that we could look to for world language services besides ODA?”

“My question for the Foreign Secretary is about security guarantees. As we mark 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion, we should remember that Ukraine’s allies failed to deter Russia in advance of the invasion. I do understand why a country at war cannot be admitted to NATO, but we must never again offer some me…”

“In 2023 the Hong Kong police issued arrest warrants for eight overseas activists under the national security law. What are Ministers doing to challenge the extraterritorial reach of the national security law?”

“One other thing that the permanent secretary talked about was the cuts to international development funding—to the ODA budget. Now that it is so limited—way less than 0.5% of GNI—do you think that there are alternative sources of funding that we could look to for world language services besides ODA?”

“Is that really enough FCDO expertise to move, given that you have the strength around negotiation and diplomacy?”

“Devon county council children’s services was assessed by Ofsted in April. It found that the children’s front door service was effective, after previously having been deemed by Ofsted to be inadequate. When the Secretary of State simplifies and consolidates the money available through the local government finance settle…”

“The Secretary of State said a moment ago that the UK is working on a potential UK-EU security agreement. Might that include involvement in the European Peace Facility, which procures ammunition jointly?”

“When we are talking with the European Union, if all this is now the responsibility of the Cabinet Office, what residual responsibility will the FCDO have?”

“This is the last one from me on this subject. Last week we heard the Governor of the Bank of England talking about how the UK’s exit from the European Union had weighed upon the economy, and he said we should be alert to welcome new opportunities. What role might the FCDO have in that?”