We are currently developing different pathways to decarbonise heat, and as such it is too soon to estimate these costs accurately. However, the climate change committee estimates that the investment required to decarbonise the entire economy and meet net zero is less than 1% of GDP until 2050. Ensuring that the costs of transition are allocated fairly is a priority, and we will publish a call for evidence on affordability and fairness by April.

We are fully committed to children’s rights and to improving the situation of children worldwide. Our embassies and high commissions continue to monitor and raise human rights, including children’s rights, in their host countries against those countries’ commitments to international standards. The UK also makes specific human rights recommendations, including on children’s issues, to countries through the United Nations universal periodic review process.

We have also given support and funding to the work of international institutions tasked with improving the situation of children, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children in armed conflict, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the UN Secretary-General’s study on violence against children.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual Human Rights and Democracy report includes a focus on children’s rights and children in armed conflict globally, and on the situation of children in a number of countries of concern including Afghanistan, Burma, Vietnam and Somalia.

The Government are committed to ensuring that their diplomatic missions overseas work constructively with European Union (EU) delegations in pursuit of the three objectives set out in my previous reply (Official Record 13 July, WA 284-5):

preventing competence creep;

delivering value for money; and

ensuring that EU external action promotes UK security and prosperity.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly asks for and receives reports from our embassies and high commissions on their own performance and that of the local EU Delegation against these objectives. The most recent reporting exercises were carried out in May and July of this year. Posts have also been instructed to work closely with EU Delegations to ensure that the UK is helping to lead and shape EU action locally and that EU Delegations advance our objectives and amplify UK influence with host countries.

I do not wish to speculate on hypothetical scenarios. The UK's policy on the use of Diego Garcia by the United States (US) is based on the 1966 exchange of notes (updated in 1976 and with subsequent amendments and additions).

The notes allow the US to use the base as a forward operating location for aircraft and ships and require the US to seek prior approval for any operations that they wish to undertake from Diego Garcia.

The best chance of achieving full humanitarian access to those in need in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states will be through a cessation of hostilities in both areas, and the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian agencies, so that they are able to operate freely and impartially across those areas. The Governments of Sudan and South Sudan both have roles to play in allowing this to happen. As set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2046, we are pressing the Government of South Sudan to halt all support to opposition movements in Sudan, which only fuels conflict in the border areas, and pushing the Government of Sudan to immediately implement the United Nations-African Union-Arab League Proposal for delivering and monitoring aid, so that assistance is given to those who need it without delay. We are working closely with our international partners to apply pressure on both governments, and supporting the African Union High Level Implementation Panel as they facilitate discussions of these issues.

The UK does not channel any development funding or assistance through the Government of Sudan, but rather delivers its programmes and projects through international partners in order to tackle the underlying causes of conflict and assist Sudan's poorest and most needy. To withhold such assistance based on the actions of the Government would be at odds with these objectives, and cause greater suffering for the people of Sudan.

In a Statement on 10 May, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt) called on Iran to overturn Pastor Nadarkhani’s death sentence and stop the harassment of individuals on the basis of their religious beliefs. (A copy of the Statement can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s website: www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsilatest-news/?view=News&id=763080082.)

While Iran appears not to have overturned the sentence, neither are there reports it has been carried out. We believe that raising the profile of such cases and international pressure does make a difference. We will therefore continue to make representations to Iran about the persecution of individuals on religious grounds, including through their recently accepted protecting power in the UK, the Sultanate of Oman. We will raise Pastor Nadarkhani, Pastor Fathi and the persecution of Christians more broadly, including the effects on their employment and property, with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed; and we will press in international fora such as the UN General Assembly this autumn for the Iranian Government to cease the persecution of religious minorities in Iran.

The human rights clauses of the European Union (EU)-Israel association agreement form the basis for discussions between the EU and Israel regarding the EU's concerns on human rights. This includes at meetings of the informal working group on human rights, at the EU-Israel Association Committee meetings and at the EU-Israel Association Council, which will meet on 24 July.

The EU has been very clear that no progress can be made on upgrading the wider EU-Israel relationship until there is substantial progress towards a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. In addition, that upgrade must be based on the shared values of both parties, and particularly on respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, good governance and international humanitarian law.

We maintain an open communication channel and are in regular contact with representatives of the Coptic Church and other religious minorities through our embassy in Cairo and in the UK.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) follows Civil Service

best practice guidance in monitoring equality and diversity in our workforce. There is no obligation on staff to provide information on their religious practice, and the diversity data collected for those declaring themselves as Christians only distinguish between Christian Catholic, Christian Other and Christian Protestant. We therefore do not hold information on the number of British diplomatic staff in Egypt who practise the Coptic faith.

We continue to make representations to the Government of Bahrain regarding specific human rights concerns that we have. This has, for example, included the mistreatment of detainees which, as the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report concluded, is an issue of serious concern. During the visit of the Bahraini Justice Minister earlier this month, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt) also raised the importance of the authorities respecting the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

It is not for the UK to set a deadline for full implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). Reform is an evolving process. What is of utmost importance is that the reforms implemented are effective and make a difference to the situation on the ground. It will also take time for behaviours and attitudes to change. We believe progress has been made in a number of areas. But we continue to urge the authorities to keep up the momentum and implement reforms that go beyond what is recommended by the BICI.

The reference to “political street violence” in my previous Answer [Official Report, 18/7/12; cols. WA 56-57] refers to a small proportion of demonstrators. As I said in my previous Answer, legitimate and peaceful demonstrations are an integral part of any democratic society. But a minority of demonstrators in Bahrain continue to act outside the rule of law by taking part in illegal demonstrations and are engaged in violent acts, including the use of Molotov cocktails, high-powered darts and basic improvised explosive devices. This is unacceptable. We continue to urge the security forces to exercise restraint and regularly make clear to the Bahraini Government that the human rights of all citizens in Bahrain must be respected. We urge all sides to act within the law at all times.

Our ambassador and members of staff from our embassy in Bahrain have frequently raised the medical welfare of prisoners, including disabled prisoners, with the Bahraini authorities. We continue to make clear that we expect the provision of medical welfare to be guaranteed for all prisoners in Bahrain; we have focused on this rather than on specific individual cases.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s policy is guided by the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and we are committed to taking action to protect and support human rights defenders under European Union guidelines.

We welcomed the decision by the Bahraini Public Prosecutor in December 2011 to drop all charges relating to freedom of expression relating to last year's unrest, as recommended by the Independent Commission of Inquiry.

We have made it clear to the Government of Bahrain that they should meet their international human rights obligations, by ensuring their citizens can exercise the universal human rights and freedoms to which they are entitled. This includes the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. We also expect those exercising those rights to do so peacefully at all times and in accordance with the United Nations declaration and international human rights law.

We are very concerned about the case of Nahid Gabralla who was detained in Khartoum on 3 July. The cause of her detention has not been confirmed, but it seems to be part of the Government of Sudan's wider crackdown on protestors and human rights activists in recent weeks. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my honourable friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) specifically expressed his deep concern over Nahid's case during his meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ali Karti, in the margins of the AU Summit on 14 July. Officials at our embassy in Khartoum have also raised their concerns over the case with Presidential Assistant Abdrahman Sadiq al-Mandi and have been liaising with Amnesty International on advocacy efforts. As Mr Bellingham made clear in his statement of 26 June, we urge the Government of Sudan to release those recently detained while engaged in peaceful protest, and for the security forces to act with restraint and avoid the use of force in responding to peaceful demonstrations. (The full text of Mr Bellingham's statement can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website: www.fco.,gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=780225182.)

Our embassy in Khartoum has a trade section that consists of one commercial officer who is locally employed. This section does not proactively promote British trade with Sudan but is, however, ready to respond to enquiries and requests for assistance from British companies interested in the Republic of Sudan. When we speak to British companies considering doing business in Sudan, we give a full picture of the political situation in the country. Human rights issues are regularly raised when embassy officials meet with the Government of Sudan.

The UK works with all the UN agencies, in particular UN Women, to advance women's rights. The UK embodies the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) non-discrimination principle in domestic legislation and the implementation of the convention is also supported by a range of non-legislative measures. The UK reports regularly to the CEDAW committee. Its latest periodic report was submitted in June 2011 and we expect the oral examination to take place during summer 2013.

We believe that it would be better for any Middle East and North Africa-wide conference on CEDAW to be led and assembled by players in the region. We would consider favourably providing expert input and

support to such a conference if requested, as we did when we part-funded with the European Union, a National Women's Conference in Libya in November 2011, and assistance in meeting their commitments under CEDAW.

In 2011 the UK established the Arab Partnership initiative, backed by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)/Department for International Development (DfID) Arab Partnership Funds of £110 million over four years—a £40 million FCO-led Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF) and a £70 million DfID-led Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF) to support political and economic participation in the MENA region. Encouraging greater participation for women in all political and economic life is an important aspect of the fund's work. Under all our funding instruments we ensure that gender issues are taken into account in our projects and that all programmes have a focus on the marginalised, particularly women and girls. We have also supported projects with a specific gender focus, e.g. a voter outreach programme in Tunisia targeting women voters in rural areas.

The Government support women's participation in their local economies across the region. Our regional women's political participation work is directly linked to women's economic empowerment, and contributes to tackling legal and regulatory frameworks which inhibit their ability to participate fully in economic life. In addition, we are working with international finance institutions in the region to ensure, for example, that their small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and access to finance programming include women fully. At a local level, in Egypt, we are also supporting rural women's engagement in microfinance and entrepreneurship in their communities.

We are aware of clashes between protestors and security forces on 22 June, during which Sheikh Ali Salman sustained injuries. We have not made representations about this incident, but we continue to urge the authorities to ensure restraint is exercised at all times; we also expect demonstrators to act within the rule of law and stage legal rallies. We have consistently made it clear that violence is unacceptable and hinders any efforts towards reconciliation.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt) met Sheikh Ali Salman last week to discuss the situation in Bahrain and ongoing human rights concerns.

We believe that there are a small number of Gulf Co-operation troops currently stationed in Bahrain to safeguard Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) base facilities. The intervention by GCC forces in 2011 came at the invitation of the Bahraini Government. To date, we have seen no evidence that GCC forces have done anything other than safeguard installations, which was also the conclusion of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.

We are aware of reports that the newly appointed Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai, Ma Daqin, disappeared on 7 July. According to media reporting Bishop John Ruowang of Tianshui was allegedly removed from his position in December 2011. We are concerned by these cases and are seeking further information about them. We will continue to seek opportunities to raise our concerns about individual cases and on issues relating to freedom of religious belief with the Chinese Government.

We are aware that the Government of Israel approved some projects on water, sanitation and hygiene in December 2011, but we are not aware of new sanitation or water projects starting since then in Gaza.

We have concerns about the implementation of community projects and continue to make representations to the Israeli Government on this issue. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this with the Co-ordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Dangot, on 16 July.

Water and sanitation projects worth over $70 million and benefiting over 1.4 million Palestinians are still awaiting Israeli approval for access of materials. The fair and effective distribution of shared water resources across the Middle East is of great concern to us. The Government continue to press the Israeli Government, bilaterally and by working with others such as the European Union, on the need to ensure adequate access to water in Gaza. These resources are limited and therefore require effective co-operation from all parties to manage them in such a manner that ensures there will be enough for all.