To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 June, whether they can provide examples of the evidence on which they based their answer; and what assessment they have made of whether leaders of countries targeted by UK sanctions care about the effects of such sanctions on citizens of those countries.

​Sanctions are designed to effect a change in behaviour through coercing or constraining an individual or entity, or sending a clear political signal of international discontent at particular behaviour. Linking behaviour change to sanctions explicitly is challenging as it is difficult to judge the extent of the influence of sanctions alone as they are always deployed as part of a broader strategy, accompanied by other policy tools. The majority of sanctions implemented by the UK are EU and UN sanctions. It is difficult to assess the personal opinions of the political leadership of countries which have been sanctioned; however, sanctions are carefully targeted and not intended to be punitive in nature.