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  • Eric Pickles – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Eric Pickles – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eric Pickles on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Iranian government on the effect on regional relations of the international competition for cartoons and caricatures on the Holocaust organised by the House of Cartoons, under the auspices of the municipality of Tehran.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Our officials in Tehran have raised our opposition to the proposed Holocaust cartoon competition with their counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Ministerial Correction of 11 January 2016 on Saudi Arabia, what work has taken place under the memorandum of understanding since it came into force.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It is the policy of this Government and previous Governments to treat such Memorandum of Understandings with other countries as confidential.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on Hamas’ rearmament in Gaza; and if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the Middle East Peace Process of that rearmament.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of Hamas’ rearmament in Gaza. We remain deeply concerned by Hamas’ attempts to rearm and its efforts to rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza. We are clear that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza must permanently end rocket fire and other attacks against Israel. Any Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

  • 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 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he and the Secretary of State for Defence met in a 2 plus 2 bilateral meeting with their Russian counterparts.

    Mr David Lidington

    The then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble friend the Lord Hague of Richmond and the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met their Russian counterparts at the UK-Russia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue in London on 13 March 2013. The Government suspended the ‘2+2’ format and wider military cooperation with Russia following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Colombian government in the last three months on the security situation for human rights defenders in that country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    On 21 December, Officials from the British Embassy in Bogota raised human rights and protection issues with the national Ombudsman who also explained the role the Ombudsman’s Office will play in post-agreement in Colombia.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the diary of engagements of the Chief Social Worker for Children since 1 January 2015.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not publish the diaries of staff members. Diaries often contain sensitive information and releasing them could impact both on the policy making process and the willingness of officials to meet with particular groups if this information were to be freely available.

    Since her appointment, the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families, Isabelle Trowler, has visited the following local authorities: Bexley; Birmingham; Blackpool; Calderdale; Cambridgeshire; Camden; Central Bedfordshire; Cheshire West and Chester; Derbyshire; Doncaster; Enfield; East Sussex; Gloucestershire; Greenwich; Hackney; Hammersmith and Fulham; Haringey; Hull; Islington; Kensington and Chelsea; Kent; Kingston on Thames; Kirklees; Lancashire; Leeds; Liverpool; Manchester; North Lincolnshire; Northamptonshire; Portsmouth; Redcar and Cleveland; Richmond upon Thames; Rotherham; Sheffield; Slough; Solihull; Staffordshire; Tower Hamlets; Wandsworth; Westminster; Wigan; Wolverhampton; Worcestershire; and York.

    As well as visiting local authorities, the Chief Social Worker meets with representatives of many children’s services departments.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the existing Vineyard Register is maintained in accordance with EU regulations.

    Jane Ellison

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) currently maintains a Vineyard Register for the United Kingdom on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This was established and managed in accordance with the European Union requirements set out in Regulation (EC) 436/2009. This statutory obligation was removed on the 1 January 2016 as a result of Regulation (EC) 1308/2013.

    The FSA uses the register for the purposes of official controls relating to UK wine production and to underpin traceability for the various UK wine schemes.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the conclusions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s assessment of the neoniocotinoid imidacloprid, published on 6 January 2016.

    George Eustice

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published a “Preliminary Pollinator Assessment to Support the Registration Review of Imidacloprid”. The Agency aims to produce the final assessment at the end of 2016. The preliminary assessment indicates a risk to honey bees from uses of imidacloprid on cotton and some uses on citrus. Risks from use on a number of other crops were low and a shortage of data meant that the risks from use on other crops were uncertain.

    The US assessment cannot be read across to the UK situation as there are many differences in the crops, methods of applying the pesticide and environmental conditions.

    The European Food Safety Authority has begun a scientific evaluation of the risk to bees from imidacloprid, as well as two other neonicotinoids (clothianidin and thiamethoxam). The UK will participate fully in that review.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which local authorities received funding from her Department’s air quality grant scheme in each year of the last 10 years.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra’s Air Quality Grant Funding Scheme apportions funds on a Financial Year basis. The list covers records of local authorities awarded funding in each of the years between 2006/7 and 2014/15 (9 years). The list excludes 2015/16 because a formal announcement of the winners is yet to be made. It is important to note that records only go back to 2006/7 as that was the first year of a grant-based scheme. Prior to that, similar schemes such as Supplementary Credit Approvals and Supported Capital Expenditure were in place when Local Air Quality Management LAQM (LAQM) started in 1997. Those schemes served a similar function to today’s grant, namely to support local authorities’ statutory duties as prescribed under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995. The information will be placed in the library.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the number and countries of origin were of dogs imported into the UK for (a) non-commercial reasons under PETS and (b) commercial reasons.

    George Eustice

    For imports under the Pet Travel Scheme, a record is made of the country that prepared the relevant documentation. This will not always be the country of origin.

    The majority of pets entering Great Britain have UK pet passports, suggesting that they are returning with their owners from a holiday or visit abroad.

    Data is collated by a range of third parties, typically transport companies approved to carry pet animals and it is not possible for the Government to guarantee the accuracy of the statistics.

    I have attached the available information on commercial and non-commercial imports of dogs for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015.