UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on demolitions that took place on 9 October 2016 in the community of Khan al-Ahmar in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities on this specific issue, on 7 September, during a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman in London, I raised our concerns about demolitions. The UK’s positions on demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: such demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international law.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the findings in reports by Yale Law School and Queen Mary University of London, and an investigation by Al-Jazeera, as well as research by Fortify Rights, that claim to provide evidence that genocide is being committed against the Rohingya people in Burma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    These and other disturbing reports from Rakhine State make clear that the Rohingya are being persecuted and denied the most basic rights. We welcome the work of a highly effective UN Special Rapporteur on Burma, who has shone a spotlight on violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine. She has not characterised the treatment of the Rohingya as genocide, and neither did the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide in his 4 November Statement on Burma’s elections.

    However, any judgement on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. A UN investigation would require high level international support for which we assess there is little prospect of agreement at this stage. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, irrespective of whether or not they fit the definition of specific international crimes. British Government Ministers take every appropriate opportunity, both publicly and in private, to press the Burmese authorities to take urgent steps to address the situation of the Rohingya. Most recently, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with the Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in September in New York.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what key market sectors have been identified for priority assistance by Innovate UK.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Innovate UK consults widely to prioritise technology areas for investment and carefully considers issues such as global market opportunity and UK research excellence and business capability.

    Innovate UK’s current priority areas are agriculture and food, built environment, digital economy, emerging technologies, enabling technologies, energy, health and care, high value manufacturing, resource efficiency, space applications, transport and urban living. Following the Government’s Spending Review, Innovate UK is considering its strategy for business-led innovation support across the UK’s technology areas for the next Spending Review period, which will be presented to Ministers in spring 2016.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applicants there were to the Advanced Biofuel Demonstration Competition; how many such applicants were successful; and what funding under what structure each successful applicant received.

    Andrew Jones

    There were 17 expressions of interest applications in phase 1 of the Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Competition, of which six projects were shortlisted and invited to submit a phase 2 application.

    Three winning projects were offered the following grants alongside significant private sector investment. Grant instalments will be paid subject to various conditions and the achievement of specified milestones:

    • Advanced Plasma Power Ltd (Go Green Fuels) [Swindon]: £11 million to upscale the production of advanced biofuels from household waste
    • Celtic Renewables Ltd [Edinburgh]: £11 million to expand the production of advanced biofuels from scotch whisky residues
    • Nova Pangaea Technologies Ltd [Teeside]: £3 million to develop the process of producing advanced biofuels from forestry biomass (plant matter).

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the number of drug traffickers who have been sentenced to death in (a) Iran and (b) Pakistan following conviction resulting from counter-narcotics activities supported by the UK in those countries.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government provides counter-narcotics assistance to a range of international partners, including Pakistan. The Government does not provide counter-narcotics assistance to Iran. There is no evidence to suggest that any drug traffickers have been sentenced to death in Pakistan where the conviction has resulted from counter-narcotics activities supported by the UK government.

    All our work is the subject of comprehensive and ongoing assessments of human rights risks, in line with Overseas Security & Justice Assistance (OSJA) guidance. This helps ensure that counter-narcotics assistance provided to countries which retain the death penalty is congruent with UK human rights principles. The Government strongly opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. UK Ministers have and will continue to urge countries, including Iran and Pakistan, to repeal the death penalty and take action to ensure human rights are safeguarded.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in her Department.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID has 2 headquarters in the UK, one in Whitehall and one in East Kilbride. The cleaning of both headquarter buildings is contracted out to MITIE Facilities Management. MITIE pay the cleaning staff the National Living wage in East Kilbride and the London Living wage in Whitehall.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what investigatory methods his Department uses for reports of potential breaches of international humanitarian law by UK allies in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations using all available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations regarding reports of potential breaches of IHL.

    We regularly raise the importance of compliance with IHL with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. The UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition. British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. However we have provided training and advice to Saudi Arabia to ensure continued compliance with IHL and minimise civilian casualties.

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many remote sites for giving evidence in court are open in each region of England and Wales; and what the location is of each such facility.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child abuse victims, can give evidence from a remote site away from the court environment. There is at least one remote site in each of the seven Regions of Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service in England and Wales, and 21 in total. They are located in Ashburton, Ashford, Barry, Bournemouth, Buxton, Durham, Hemel Hempstead, Ipswich, London East India Dock, London Lewisham, Manchester, Margate, Middlesbrough, Neath, Newcastle, Northwich, Norwich, Sittingbourne, Swanley, Teesside and Welwyn Garden City.

    For those who do not need to give evidence away from the court environment, the court estate is video-enabled so that any victim or witness can give evidence from a court building other than that in which the trial is being held. This ensures the victim or witness does not come into contact with the defendant, their family or their supporters.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will give NHS England the power to commission HIV PeEP through the NHS public health functions agreement known as Section 7a; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Work on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is on-going and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked to conduct an evidence review of Truvada for PrEP in groups at high risk of HIV. The NICE evidence summary will run alongside a pilot programme that will see £2 million invested over the next two years to target those at highest risk of HIV. This evidence review and pilot programme signifies the next steps forward and will inform any subsequent decisions about commissioning.

  • Mark Pawsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mark Pawsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pawsey on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were in the care of the local authority in (a) Warwickshire and (b) Rugby constituency in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

    Edward Timpson

    There were 1,010 children looked after by Warwickshire local authority during the year ending 31 March 2014, and 995 during the year ending 31 March 2015. This information is published in table LAB1 of the statistical release, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015. Information on the numbers of children looked after on the 31 March of each year is published in table LAA1 of the same release. There were 695 children looked after in Warwickshire on 31 March 2014 and 690 on 31 March 2015. Figures for the year ending 31 March 2016 will be published on 29 September 2016.

    Numbers of looked after children are not available at a constituency level.

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