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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of hotel bookings her Department made for its (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Core Defra uses a single provider for all travel and hotel bookings. Provision of this service began in May 2012. Information relating to hotel bookings made prior to that date, through a different provider, is not available.

    This table sets out spend on hotels in financial years 2012-13 (from May 2012 onwards) to 2015-16:

    2012-13 (£)

    2013-14 (£)

    2014-15 (£)

    2015-16 (£)

    Ministers

    1,530

    2,461

    3,157

    1,139

    Special Advisers

    2,952

    1,598

    2,066

    563

    Officials

    425,676

    665,583

    743,896

    472,544
  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what means she will assess the risk to bee populations when considering emergency applications for the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops.

    George Eustice

    Emergency authorisation is a procedure set out in law which allows for the authorisation of a pesticide product for a period not exceeding 120 days, for “limited and controlled use, where such a measure appears necessary because of a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means”.

    All applications for emergency authorisation in the UK, including those for neonicotinoids, are decided according to these criteria following an expert assessment of the scientific data.

  • Gary Streeter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Gary Streeter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has reviewed the Alternative Fuels Framework as part of its consultation on its National Air Quality Plan.

    Rory Stewart

    The national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide that we published in December last year sets out a comprehensive approach to improving air quality and reducing health impacts. It recognises that the use of alternative fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied and compressed natural gas, where appropriate, presents opportunities to improve emissions from vehicles. The plan sets out some of the measures we are taking to support innovation in this area.

    The Government continues to review evidence concerning the environmental impact of alternative fuels. Any changes to the tax treatment of alternative fuels are announced at fiscal events.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the resignation of Ahmet Davutoğlu as Prime Minister of Turkey on the viability of the agreement between the EU and Turkey on migrants.

    Mr David Lidington

    I pay tribute to Prime Minister Davutoğlu for his partnership with the UK both as Prime Minister and previously as Foreign Minister. Turkey is a vital friend and ally with whom we cooperate on a host of issues, including tackling the migration crisis. We look forward to continuing that strong cooperation with President Erdoğan and a new Prime Minister once installed.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the effect of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations regarding reports of potential breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We regularly raise the importance of compliance with IHL with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. We also praise the importance of compliance with IHL with the Houthis.

  • 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 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he is making to the Nigerian government on securing the release of non-Muslim underage girls who have been abducted, forcibly converted and forcibly married in states in the north of that country.

    James Duddridge

    We have received a number of reports on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of women and girls by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. These women and girls reportedly come from both Muslim and Christian communities. Due to the nature of Boko Haram attacks, which often take place in remote areas, it is difficult to obtain precise data on such activities.

    We welcome the progress made by Nigeria and its neighbours against Boko Haram, including the release of women and children. We regularly raise the issue of abducted women and girls with the Nigerian government at the highest levels, and have stressed the importance of providing appropriate support to those who are rescued.

    The UK remains fully committed to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to tackle Boko Haram, support those targeted by its indiscriminate campaign of violence, and find those who are missing. We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.

  • 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 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of underage Christian girls in northern Nigeria.

    James Duddridge

    We have received a number of reports on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of women and girls by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. These women and girls reportedly come from both Muslim and Christian communities. Due to the nature of Boko Haram attacks, which often take place in remote areas, it is difficult to obtain precise data on such activities.

    We welcome the progress made by Nigeria and its neighbours against Boko Haram, including the release of women and children. We regularly raise the issue of abducted women and girls with the Nigerian government at the highest levels, and have stressed the importance of providing appropriate support to those who are rescued.

    The UK remains fully committed to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to tackle Boko Haram, support those targeted by its indiscriminate campaign of violence, and find those who are missing. We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on which EU (a) Commissioners and (b) officials receive a higher salary than the Prime Minister.

    Mr David Lidington

    Information on the salaries of EU officials by grade and details of how Commissioners’ salaries are calculated can be found on http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/toc100_en.pdf. The EU Commission website also contains numbers of Commission officials at each grade.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will suspend immediately UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country, including Saudi Arabia, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria. Our export licensing system allows us to respond quickly to changed circumstances, with the option to suspend or revoke any export licence, including those for Saudi Arabia, where we consider that this is a necessary step.

    The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many Daesh operatives there are in Yemen; and what steps his Department is taking to monitor that group’s activities.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by terrorist organisations including Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Daesh-Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.