The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department issues on the import and use of fox urine for the purpose of trail hunting.
Rory Stewart
The Government has no plans to make an assessment or issue guidance on the import and use of fox urine for the purpose of trail hunting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance his Department has provided to Europe Direct on the information it provides to people in the UK in the period before the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.
Mr David Lidington
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not provided any guidance to Europe Direct on the information it provides.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the transfer of protected persons from the West Bank to prisons inside Israel.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We regularly raise our concerns about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners with the Israeli authorities, including routine detention of Palestinians from the West Bank in prison inside Israel. We are particularly concerned about the detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. We welcome recent improvements made by the Israeli authorities, including increasing the age of majority from 16 to 18 years old. However, we remain concerned at the number of Palestinian minors held in Israeli detention.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Law Enforcement Adviser, Larry Covington, declared any interests relevant to his employment by his Department.
James Duddridge
We do not comment on individual staff matters. There are strict rules about staff declaring outside interests, such as accepting employment or engaging business activities to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further representations his Department plans to make to the Iranian government on securing the release of Kamal Foroughi from imprisonment.
Mr Philip Hammond
I have raised the case of Mr Foroughi with President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke to President Rouhani in July 2015 about this case, followed up with a letter on 19 October requesting an update on Mr Foroughi’s welfare and requesting that consular access be granted. The Prime Minister spoke again to President Rouhani on the 19th of January. Mr Foroughi’s case was raised by the Prime Minister in that conversation. We will continue to raise this case, alongside our other consular cases with the Iranian government regularly, at all appropriate levels, including at Ministerial and through our embassy officials in Tehran.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Turkish government on the arrest of academics (a) in general and (b) at the Kocaeli University in north-western Turkey.
Mr Philip Hammond
I was concerned to hear reports of academics being arrested for expressing their views on the conflict in southeast Turkey. This included 15 academics from Kocaeli University who have subsequently been released. Our Ambassador in Turkey released a public statement on the issue, expressing concern. We regularly underline the importance of Fundamental Freedoms, including freedom of expression as part of our dialogue with the Turkish government. Freedom of expression and public debate must be respected without fear of intimidation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of the promotion of democracy and human rights through the Arab Partnership Fund in 2014-15.
Mr Philip Hammond
The Arab Partnership was created in 2010 and became a key part of the Government’s response to the Arab Spring. This initiative comprised two parts: the FCO-led Arab Partnership Participation Fund and the DFID-led Arab Partnership Economic Facility. Between 2011 and 2015 the Arab Partnership Participation Fund provided funding totalling £42,803,007 for projects in the region. In financial year 2014/15 the fund provided £10,512,791 of which £8,498,003 was allocated to projects promoting human rights and democracy across the Middle East and North Africa region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department were employed to work on human rights in 2014-15; and what the cost of these employees was to the public purse.
Mr Philip Hammond
As I said in my published article marking Human Rights Day, human rights work "is the responsibility of all British diplomats". Calculating the proportion of each UK diplomat’s time spent on human rights work, and their associated cost, would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Libyan government on tackling the spread of Daesh
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are extremely concerned about the growing threat from extremist groups in Libya, including Daesh. The recent attacks in the Oil Crescent and Zliten in western Libya show the threat that these groups pose to the stability of Libya and the region, and potentially to the UK and our interests. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to Prime Minister Designate, Fayez al-Serraj, on 10 January to stress the importance of the Government of National Accord forming quickly, and to emphasise the UK Government’s commitment to supporting the new government to tackle the threats from Daesh and people smuggling.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance (a) has been issued and (b) his Department plans to issue in 2016 to UK diplomats in states with the death penalty on representing the Government’s position on the use of that penalty.
Mr Philip Hammond
The Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle but I have no plans to issue prescriptive guidance to posts on how they represent the Government’s position on the death penalty. UK Heads of Mission are best placed to judge what the most effective course of action will be, according to local circumstances.