Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the budget is for projects in (a) Israel and (b) the Palestinian territories within the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (i) in 2016-17 and (ii) as projected for 2017-18.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​(i) The total allocation for 2016-17 for both Israel and the OPTs is £7m. It is not separated into individual, distinct budgets as some of our projects and implementing partners deliver simultaneously in both (a) and (b).

    (ii) We do not yet have a projected budget for 2017-18 so cannot provide this information.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisons provide naloxone for prisoners upon release in England; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    There is no national programme that provides naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release. The decision of whether or not to provide naloxone to prisoners on release is the responsibility of Health and Justice commissioning teams within NHS England’s area teams and other local stakeholders, including local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. The information on how many prisons provide naloxone for prisoners upon release in England is not held centrally.

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the reasons for delays in the full implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant in Northern Ireland.

    Mark Lancaster

    Since the launch of the Armed Forces Covenant in 2011 the Ministry of Defence has worked closely with Northern Ireland Government Departments, Service charities and other groups to build on existing measures to support the Armed Forces Community. In 2013, the Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs reported that, less some specific areas, Covenant measures were being applied in Northern Ireland.

    I acknowledge that the Armed Forces Covenant does not enjoy the same level of awareness or appreciation in Northern Ireland as in other parts of the UK. However, I am clear that every effort is being made to implement the Covenant against the particular nuances of the Northern Irish political and legal environment. The Ministry of Defence and other parties work tirelessly to ensure good relationships help develop improved understanding of specific needs and I have been impressed by the way in which solutions to these needs are generated in a focussed and professional manner. Such provision is fully commensurate with the aims and objectives of the Covenant, whether it is branded as such or not.

    Service personnel in Northern Ireland are well-catered for under the auspices of the Covenant and are at no particular disadvantage, although more work is needed to identify the needs of those within the veterans community. This work is ongoing, well-resourced, and fully recognised as activity provided within the scope of the Armed Forces Covenant.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his German counterpart on compensation for thalidomide survivors in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    At a meeting with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust on 11 January, I agreed to raise with the German Ambassador the Trust’s request for a further meeting with the German authorities. I wrote in these terms to the Ambassador on 4 February.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the UK is intending to take steps to ensure that effective benchmarks for extractive-sector governance are included on the agenda for the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016 will consider progress against the Self Reliance through the Mutual Accountability Framework agreed between the National Unity Government and the international community in September 2015. This Framework includes an objective to improve the investment climate and a commitment on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

    Responsible development of the extractives sector is a UK priority. We are supporting the Government to strengthen legal frameworks, contract management and fiscal regimes, and to implement the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative.

  • 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 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress on implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2005 and concluded in 2010 when it presented its final report. The Government of Liberia has taken some steps to implement the recommendations of the Commission, notably launching the Strategic Roadmap for National Healing, Peacebuilding and Reconciliation in 2014. A key plank of that Roadmap has been the launch of the “Palava Hut Programme”. This draws on a traditional approach to reconciliation whereby those implicated in the civil war meet with affected communities to agree a resolution. However, obstacles to implementation of the Commission’s recommendations remain. As one of the main contributors to the UN Peacebuilding Commission’s Peace Building Fund, which funds the "Palava Hut Programme", the UK will continue to press for progress on the Commission’s recommendations, including in the context of UNSC discussions.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

    David Mundell

    I refer the hon Member to the answer given by my Rt hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General today to UIN 36288.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on (a) complete and (b) partial privatisation of the National Health Service’s Property Services.

    George Freeman

    The Department is always looking at ways to realise efficiencies and value for money from the use of its assets and investments, and this includes its investments in companies like NHS Property Services.

  • Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on allegations of beatings and torture, including rape, in official and unofficial detention centres in Turkey in the period following the failed coup in July 2016.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Government condemns unreservedly this failed coup. In the aftermath of the coup attempt we have emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights, including press freedom, and the rule of law. The Foreign and Commonwelath Office has also raised concerns about reports of ill-treatment in detention. The Turkish Government’s response to the coup attempt should be lawful and proportionate, and undertaken in line with Turkey’s international obligations.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what processes the Government has in place to check luggage on flights to the UK at (a) departing airports with known security concerns and (b) the destination airport.

    Mr John Hayes

    Under international treaties administered by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), all contracting states are responsible for the implementation of aviation security regimes in their own airports, to be applied according to a number of standards and recommended practices set out by ICAO.

    Baggage belonging to air passengers arriving in the UK is screened for security purposes at the airport of departure and would only be re-screened if the passenger was taking an onward flight from a UK airport.

    The standards of aviation security applied to flights inbound to the UK are a priority for the Department for Transport. The Department deploys a network of skilled professionals to engage with host states supporting the improvement of standards in aviation security. This is to ensure the protection of all inbound UK flights, out of those regions by identifying and mitigating security risks, including vulnerabilities at international airports worldwide.