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  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on compliance with the EU Marine Strategy Framework after the UK has left the EU.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The UK’s vision is for clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse seas and oceans.

    Until we leave the EU, EU law continues to apply, so we continue to comply with the requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

    We are now preparing to negotiate our exit. Defra will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU on the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship, liaising closely with other key departments. The Government will work with industry and the public to develop these new arrangements. The Government is committed to improving our environment and achieving the UK vision for our seas and oceans.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the area of new woodland planting was in 2015-16; and what assessment she has made of progress towards meeting her Department’s target for such planting.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.

    Figures published by the Forestry Commission show that between April 2015-June 2016, 1,292,000 trees were planted on 968 hectares, supported by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

    In addition, the Forestry Commission estimates that a further 165 hectares of woodland was created without RDPE support during 2015-16.

    The Government remains committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what targets are in place to reduce antibiotic use in the husbandry of farm animals.

    George Eustice

    In line with the recent recommendations of the Independent Review on AMR, Defra has committed to reducing the average across all food-producing species to 50mg/kg by 2018. Future reductions will be underpinned by industry working collaboratively with Government to set long-term, sustainable, sector-specific targets by 2017.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce approval process timescales for woodland planting.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.

    We have improved the process for Countryside Stewardship applications for woodland creation in the 2016-17 planting season. Any amendments that may be required for existing Environmental Stewardship Schemes can be made earlier in this year than in previous years. The Rural Payments Agency has new systems for digitisation of land registration and parcel amendments to support smoother application processing. Scoring has been simplified and we have introduced a self-calculating and self-populating application form to ease the application process.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Palestinian authorities on reports that three death sentences were issued or upheld by Gaza Military Court on 19 July 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have not raised this issue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) as the sentences were issued by the de-facto authorities in Gaza and the PA, at this present time, has no control over the Gaza Strip. However, the EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah issued a statement on 21 July condeming the death sentances, calling for the de facto authorities in Gaza to refrain from carrying out any executions of prisoners and comply with the moratorium on executions put in place by the PA.

    On 19 August, I issued a statement condemning the latest death sentence issued in Gaza on 17 August and also called on the de-facto authorities in Gaza to respect the PA’s moratorium on implementation of the death penalty.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage a reduction in violence in Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

    Alok Sharma

    I remain very concerned by reports of violence and offer my condolences to the victims and their families. The UK abides by its commitments under international law and expects all countries to comply with their international legal obligations. Our High Commission in Delhi is monitoring the situation closely and we have updated our travel advice.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British citizens who have entered into early forced marriage have been charged with the cost of repatriation to the UK in the last four years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not provide financial assistance to British nationals overseas, but is sometimes able to provide an emergency loan from public funds for pay for a repatriation. The FCO aims to support all vulnerable British Nationals overseas and this includes victims of forced marriage who receive specialist support from the Forced Marriage Unit. The Forced Marriage Unit work with colleagues overseas to repatriate forced marriage victims and arrange post-repatriation assistance which includes finding suitable emergency accommodation where needed and providing advice and support. The Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,220 cases in 2015, 1,267 in 2014, 1,302 in 2013, and 1,485 in 2012. To provide more information on the nature of the assistance provided over the last 4 years, including repatriation, would involve a disproportionate cost.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2016, to Question 42328, if he will provide (a) a schedule of the consular documents and (b) a copy of the investigation report referred to in that Answer.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The consular documents referred to in my Answer of 19 July, to Question 42328, contain numerous pieces of correspondence between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the many interested parties in the case, including the Governments of the Bahamas and Mexico. However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold a copy of the police report, which was passed to Cheshire Police. Officials will meet you and the Coriam family to discuss the case, and our engagement with the Governments of the Bahamas and Mexico.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    No member of staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) or its Executive Agencies who is directly employed is paid less than the living wage.

    The FCO defines zero-hours contracts as a contract of employment which does not specify a fixed number of hours per week, and has no guaranteed minimum number of hours. The FCO uses this type of contract to cope with fluctuating demand and/or retain specialist expertise no longer available in the current workforce. For example, we bring back retired FCO officers with relevant skills/experience to act as sensitivity reviewers or VIP visit liaison officers.

    Our centrally held records do not enable us to differentiate between staff on zero-hours contracts and those on contracts with a fixed number of hours. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.

    We do not hold a record of contract status for staff employed by companies providing outsourced services to the FCO.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Ambassador to Israel was asked to sign the letter, signed in July 2016 by eight European ambassadors, to Israeli officials on the confiscation of EU-funded structures and the displacement of 49 people in Jabal al Baba; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Our Ambassador to Israel was not asked to sign this letter. We understand that a group of international donors to the Occupied Palestinian Territories Humanitarian Pooled Fund wrote to the Israeli authorities to note their concerns about confiscation of several humanitarian assistance projects. The UK is not part of this fund.