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  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in implementing the British Food Plan across all Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Government is committed to providing food produced to British standards or their equivalent in all its canteens, restaurants and cafeterias by the end of this Parliament. Defra is working closely with other Departments and businesses to implement the Plan for Public Procurement of Food, including a balanced scorecard. The Ministry of Justice recently launched a tender for supplying food to prisons, worth £500 million, which requires bids to use the balanced scorecard. Their current supplier has agreed that the 30 million portions of UHT milk served in prisons each year will be sourced from UK producers. We are working with MoD to develop the best way to embed the balanced scorecard into their forthcoming contracts. We are working with all central Departments to ensure their food and catering contracts comply with the balanced scorecard approach.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee since her appointment.

    George Eustice

    Attendance at Committee meetings is a matter of public record and transcripts of such appearances can be found in Hansard and on Committee web pages.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids have been received since February 2016; and how many such applications have been granted.

    George Eustice

    The Government has received two applications for emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids since February 2016. These applications are currently being assessed according to the normal rules, which allow for limited and controlled use of a pesticide on an exceptional basis in emergency situations to control a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means. No authorisations have been granted.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times he has attended public meetings of the Foreign Affairs Committee since his appointment.

    Mr David Lidington

    Ministerial attendance at parliamentary committees is a matter of public record. The transcripts of appearances by the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) are available on the Foreign Affairs Committee website.

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/formal-minutes/

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable and process is, including parliamentary scrutiny, for ratification by the UK of the EU-Israel Civil Aviation Agreement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The EU-Israel Aviation Agreement was signed on 10 June 2013. Prior to this it was subject to UK parliamentary scrutiny (EM 16502/12 & 16650/12 dated 4 December 2012). Scrutiny clearance was received from the European Scrutiny Committee on 12 December 2012 and the UK government therefore agreed to the Council Decision to sign the Agreement at the Council held on 20 December 2012.

    The Agreement is currently being amended due to the accession of Croatia to the European Union. The Decision to sign the amendment was agreed by Council on 8 October 2014 and is currently being considered by the European Parliament. Once this is complete, the Agreement and the amendment will then be concluded at a later date. The amendment will not be subject to UK parliamentary scrutiny as the European Scrutiny Committees of both Houses have agreed to waive parliamentary scrutiny of all amendments to EU-3rd country agreements, where the sole purpose of the amendment is to accede Croatia to an agreement.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Russian language (a) speakers, (b) interpreters and (c) translators are employed by his Department; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of such experts working in his Department.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have 163 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employees with some level of Russian capability, ranging from basic Russian to operational skills (equivalent to degree level) recorded centrally.

    Russian is a priority language for the FCO, and since 2010, we have increased the number of Russian-language speaker positions in our Russian and former Soviet Union Posts by 30% and increased the minimum duration for Russian-language training from 10 to 14 months.

    The FCO does not deploy UK-based staff overseas as translators or interpreters. British Embassy Moscow has one full time locally recruited translator/interpreter position. Our local staff overseas routinely assist with translation as part of their daily work.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to counter Russian disinformation against western countries and NATO.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK is working with allies to support initiatives that promote a plural and balanced Russian-language media environment; enhance the strategic communications capabilities of NATO and the EU; and build resilience in the region to the impact of information warfare, including in Ukraine and Georgia.

    We are also investing in soft power by supporting the work of the British Council and the BBC. The BBC’s global reputation and editorial independence is crucial. In keeping with its long-standing aim to “provide independent, impartial and accurate news across the world”, it is developing plans to enhance its BBC Russian digital service, for example by providing extended news bulletins to partner stations.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in fighting on the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. I issued a statement on 2 April calling for the sides to halt the fighting and to exercise restraint. While the UK has no direct role in negotiations, we strongly support the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs. On 18 April, I raised Nagorno-Karabakh at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg and expressed my desire to see the Co-Chairs inject new energy into the process. We will continue to urge the sides to work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to reach a negotiated peace settlement.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of the Russian Federation on tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Mr David Lidington

    On 11 April, the National Security Adviser (NSA) discussed the recent upsurge in fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh with senior Russian officials in Moscow. The NSA expressed concern about the recent violence and support for the OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts to reach a negotiated peace settlement. The British Embassy in Moscow will follow up these discussions with Russian counterparts at working level.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the Russian business community and (b) other Russian citizens living in the UK on Russian attitudes towards the West.

    Mr David Lidington

    During my visit to Moscow in December 2015, I discussed Russian attitudes towards the West with a group of Russian political commentators. I also meet periodically with the Russian Ambassador to the UK to seek the views of the Russian Government.

    Officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment meet Russian individuals and businesses on a regular basis, principally through the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) which celebrates its centenary year in 2016. The UK Government also continues to support the development of cultural and people-to-people links which can help build trust between our two countries, such as through the 2016 UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature.