The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the UK-China human rights dialogue to take place.
Mr Hugo Swire
The next round of the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue will take place in London. The date is still being agreed with the Chinese Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with which countries the UK has negotiated agreements on the exchange of tax information which (a) are in compliance with the OECD’s standard for such agreements and (b) provide for the automatic exchange of tax information since the OECD’s standard was released in July 2014.
Mr David Gauke
The UK has exchange of tax information agreements with 142 different jurisdictions, through Double Taxation Agreements and Tax Information Exchange Agreements, and also as party to the OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the ‘Multilateral Convention’).
A list of the international agreements the UK is party to can be found on Gov.uk under ‘Tax Treaties’, and details of which jurisdictions have entered the Multilateral Convention into force alongside the UK can be found on the OECD website.
Of the 142 international tax agreements the UK is party to, only the following 12 do not meet the international standard for exchange of information on request:
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Namibia
Oman
Papua new Guinea
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
That international standard does not apply to automatic exchange. The standard for automatic exchange the question refers to (as published by the OECD in July 2014) is the Common Reporting Standard, the globally acceptable standard on automatic exchange of information with respect of financial accounts information.
The means of ensuring this standard was through a common Competent Authority Agreement, which supplements the international tax agreement allowing for exchange of tax information, rather than being an international tax agreement itself. There is no standard for automatic exchange in international tax agreements; just whether the agreement allows for it or not.
It is the UK policy to interpret international tax agreements to allow automatic exchange even where not expressly stated, with the exception of cases where the exchange of information provision clearly uses restrictive wording that would preclude such an exchange.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 10 of NHS England’s Strategic Framework for Specialised Services board paper, published in May 2016, what plans his Department has to issue directions to NICE regarding the adoption of its guidance by NHS England for treatments recommended through (a) the technology appraisal programme and (b) the highly specialised treatment evaluation programme.
George Freeman
The Department has no plans to issue any such directions to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
NHS England and clinical commissioning groups are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies guidance issued by the NICE, normally within three months of the publication of the NICE’s guidance.
Following NHS England’s review of its specialised commissioning processes and the publication in the summer of the final report from the Accelerated Access Review, we anticipate the NICE will want to look at its processes and methods for the assessment of drugs and treatments used in specialised commissioning.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when he plans for the UK to initiate Article 50; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robin Walker
The Prime Minister has made it clear that we will not be triggering Article 50 before the end of 2016. She has said that we won’t be triggering Article 50 until we have a UK approach and clear objectives for negotiations. It is in everyone’s interest that we establish this before we trigger Article 50.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to distribute money awarded by the European Solidarity Fund to flood-affected communities in the event that funds are awarded.
Andrew Percy
The Government will determine how best to use any additional benefit received from the European Union Solidarity Fund once the amount of any award is known.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test; and if he will make a statement.
Jeremy Wright
The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and whenever appropriate the Law Officers’ Departments would follow that guidance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howe of Idlicote on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how a child is defined within the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
Baroness Shields
For the purposes of protecting children from viewing or listening to unsuitable material, section one of the Broadcasting Code defines children as those aged under fifteen years. For the purporses of safeguarding children involved in programmes, the Code protects all young people under the age of eighteen.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the situation in Madaya; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood that access will now be possible on a regular basis.
Baroness Verma
The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.
On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived and more are planned. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoys.
The UN and partners continue to do all they can on a daily basis to gain access to the 4.5 million Syrians in hard to reach and besieged areas. The UK supports UN agencies and its partners who are trying to secure such access and deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria
A wide range of constraints on humanitarian access exist, including continued hostilities, onerous bureaucratic requirements, and attempts by parties to armed conflict to intentionally block access. In the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard to reach areas have been approved and delivered. That is why the UK played a critical role in co-sponsoring and lobbying for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid into Syria without the consent of the regime. It is vital we maintain the pressure on the regime to let aid convoys in and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access.
The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis, especially regarding jobs and education. We also hope the Conference will put pressure on the parties to the conflict by shining a spotlight on violations of international law and impediments to humanitarian access in Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage households to (a) reduce food waste and (b) increase awareness of food waste.
Rory Stewart
Working through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), we are increasing awareness of food waste and helping households waste less and save money through the Courtauld Commitment and the Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) campaign. These have contributed to a 15% reduction in the amount of household food and drink waste between 2007 and 2012, from 8.3m tonnes to 7.0m tonnes.
WRAP is currently running the LFHW ‘10 cities’ campaign across the UK. The campaign includes activities in each city including cascade training, practical cookery classes and demonstrations, a kitchen skills programme, food champion networks and memorable experiential events.
WRAP is currently brokering a new agreement, Courtauld 2025, which is expected to be launched in March and will build on this progress.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24958, how much funding the Government allocated for the provision of (a) domestic abuse services, (b) female rape support centres, (c) independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAs) and (d) independent sexual violence advisers (ISVAs) in each year from 2009-10 to 2015-16; and how many (i) rape support centres, (ii) IDVAs and (iii) ISVAs were supported with that funding in each of those years.
Karen Bradley
The previous Government provided £40 million of dedicated funding for domestic and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015 equating to £10 million per year. This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refuges, a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refuges, and an uplift of £7 million for victims of sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
This funding included £1.7 million per year to part-fund 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), an increase from £860,000 in 2009-10 and 2010-11 which supported 43 and 44 posts respectively, and £2.5 million per year to part-fund 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs), an increase from £1.5 million in 2009-10 and £2.3 million in 2010-11 which supported 63 and 114 posts respectively.
While it is not fully possible to disaggregate funding for domestic abuse services from support for wider violence against women and girls services, the attached table provides a detailed breakdown of funding to support the provision of IDVAs, ISVAs and Rape Support Centres for each year from 2009/10 to 2015/16.