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  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) visits to the affected area and (b) meetings with United Utilities management Ministers of her Department held respectively during the cryoptosporidium outbreak in Lancashire in summer 2015.

    Rory Stewart

    The Secretary of State spoke with United Utilities (UU) Chief Executive, Steve Mogford, regularly throughout the incident, both over the phone and in person. Defra officials and Drinking Water Inspectors (DWIs) participated in regular meetings (several per day) convened by Defra and the Local Resilience Forum, all of which were attended by senior level representatives of UU. Defra Ministers were briefed similarly frequently.

    The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) team in the area attended the relevant UU sites to liaise with company officials and to carry out their monitoring and inspection duties on behalf of the Department.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of banning raised laying cages for breeding pheasants and partridges; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Recent Defra funded research into the use of cages for gamebirds showed that enrichment and space allowance, in the forms provided, had little impact on the welfare of caged pheasants. However, egg production and quality and most measures of pheasant welfare were improved in cages compared to floor pens. For the partridges, the behavioural results indicated that enrichment might be positive for welfare and was probably a more valuable modification than increasing the size of an otherwise barren cage. However, the research also concluded that there might be penalties from parasitism and reduced egg production if enrichment is offered at a conventional space allowance. The published research can be found:

    http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=17541&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=aw1303&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

    We intend to discuss the findings of the research with industry and welfare organisations as part of next year’s review of the “Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes”.

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the job description for the Governor of Gibraltar includes a requirement that the post-holder be a serving or retired military officer.

    Mr David Lidington

    In the case of the recent recruitment of the Governor of Gibraltar, the position was open to serving and former senior civil servants and military officers. The successful candidate was then selected on merit.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the development of co-operation with Spain on tackling serious crime in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

    Mr David Lidington

    Responsibility for law enforcement in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters lies with Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar. The UK worked in close consultation with both the Government of Gibraltar and the Government of Spain to reach an agreement on 28 August on stepping up law enforcement cooperation. We have since raised this issue with the Spanish authorities at various levels; I raised the matter most recently with the Spanish Minister for Europe, Fernando Eguidazu, on 12 September.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what technical support his Department plans to provide to the forthcoming elections in the Central African Republic.

    Grant Shapps

    The Central African Republic’s Electoral Authority needs to adopt, without further delay, a revised calendar for the holding of elections. Free, fair and inclusive elections are crucial for the Central African Republic’s future stability and progress towards reconciliation. The UK welcomes the Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court ruling that all citizens of the Central African Republic, including internally displaced people and refugees in neighbouring countries, have the right to vote in upcoming elections. The UK recognises the significant progress achieved in the voters registration process in the Central African Republic and emphasises the importance of the registration of refugees in neighbouring countries. The UK is supportive of an EU Electoral Observation Mission to the Central African Republic, subject to further discussions in Brussels later this year.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Palestinian Authority on introducing legislation to abolish the death penalty.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government opposes all use of the death penalty as a matter of principle, including sentences imposed by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. I have asked that my officials in Jerusalem raise the issue of the death penalty with the Palestinian Authority in due course.

  • Dawn Butler – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to raise the issue of human rights during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2015.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Ministers regularly engage China on human rights. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did so during the UK-China Strategic Dialogue in Beijing in August, as did the Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr George Osborne) during his visit in September. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover areas both where we agree and where we disagree.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what checks his Department carries out on non-governmental organisations and charities before allocating them funding to ensure that they do not have discriminatory policies against individual countries or states.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducts due diligence checks, for example background checks, on non-governmental organisations and charities before any offer of funding is made. However, the checks vary depending on the size, nature and operating environment of the proposed work.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote universalisation and implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK encourages States not party to the ATT to accede to it as soon as possible. A first step towards universalisation was enabling full participation by interested states in the ATT First Conference of States Parties (CSP1) in August 2015. To that end, the UK contributed £150,000 towards the sponsoring of developing States to attend CSP1.

    We are also funding projects totalling approximately £276,000 which are focused on effective ATT implementation and universalisation. In addition, the UK supports efforts by the UN and EU to provide technical assistance to states looking to accede to or implement the ATT.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on reducing the number of attacks on Christian religious sites in Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We condemn all extremist violence, including attacks against religious buildings. We are aware that on 18 June, the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee, was set on fire and vandalised with graffiti. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this at the time with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and National Security Council. On 10 September the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised their concerns for peace in the region with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.