Blog

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant the Answer of 4 December 2015 to Question 18424, whether the Syrian-led negotiations under UN auspices have begun; what the status is of these talks; and which parties are involved in such talks.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of 18 December has set out a timeline for the commencement of Syrian-led negotiations, for January 2016, under UN auspices, building on an agreement reached in the International Syria Support Group. The date for the commencement of negotiations will be proposed by the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura. Representatives of all Syrian parties will be invited, with the exclusion of UN designated terrorist groups including Daesh and Al Qaeda affiliated groups.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the extension of the term of office of the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, following the legal expiration of his term of office.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Negotiations between the Kurdish parties over the extension of Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani’s term in office are ongoing. We are following the situation closely and encouraging all the parties to work together to resolve this issue peacefully, in the spirit of compromise and respecting democratic principles.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will update his Department’s travel advice guidance on the safety of women travellers to (a) Germany and (b) Austria to take account of recent events in those countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    The FCO’s travel advice is kept under constant review, and is based on objective assessments of the risk to British nationals.

    Our current advice for Germany can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany

    Our current advice for Austria can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/austria

    While we condemn the criminal behaviour seen in Cologne and on a smaller scale in Hamburg, Salzburg and elsewhere on New Year’s Eve, we do not assess that this is now the standard of behaviour to expect at all public gatherings in Germany or Austria. In addition, the authorities are taking action to ensure that such attacks are not repeated.

    We advise all travellers and British nationals resident in Germany and Austria to monitor our travel advice regularly.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in the government of (a) Jamaica and (b) Trinidad and Tobago on the abolition of the death penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    It has been a long-standing aspiration of this and previous Governments to persuade Caribbean countries, including Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, to abolish the death penalty. Both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have refrained from executing any prisoners for some years. We hope that the final steps necessary to abolish the death penalty permanently will be taken. We formally recommended that Jamaica should abolish the death penalty during its last United Nations Universal Periodic Review. The UK is working with the new government in Trinidad and Tobago to improve judicial processes, including effective sentencing. We are also funding an abolitionist project in the Caribbean, which is designed to turn public opinion against the injustices and cruelties that come with use of the death penalty.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will renew its strategy for the abolition of the death penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    This Government has decided to pursue human rights in their universality – a more ambitious and coherent approach than focusing on a small number of single issues. Our commitment to the Rules Based International Order underpins this work, including through bilateral and multilateral support to global efforts to abolish the death penalty. Because of our wider focus, we do not intend to publish a new strategy specific to the death penalty. However, on the 18 January we published a strategy for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which shows how work to abolish the death penalty is important under all three of the strategy’s new themes. The FCO’s death penalty-related work will also be covered in future instalments of the FCO’s Annual Human Rights Report.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support her Department provides to livestock farmers to mitigate the development of antibiotic resistance; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    No specific financial support is offered to livestock farmers to mitigate the development of antibiotic resistance.

    We will continue to promote the importance of the vet-farmer relationship, and the need to be proactive in looking at any measures in husbandry practices that will reduce disease, and therefore the need for antibiotics, in livestock production

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21375 on flooding control: per capita costs, what official data sets were used for her calculations in that Answer.

    Rory Stewart

    The Grant in Aid figures used in the calculations are based on the published six year capital programme. They can be found on the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/programme-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-schemes.

    Population figures are sourced from the Office of National Statistics data from the 2011 Census for England and Wales.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s policy is on the use of neonicotinoids, when that policy was last updated; and what plans she has to revise that policy.

    George Eustice

    The Government’s policy on pesticides, including neonicotinoids, is that decisions should be made on the basis of scientific evidence. Restrictions should be put in place if, and only if, these are necessary to protect people or the environment.

    EU restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids imposed in 2013 remain in force and have been fully implemented in the UK. The European Commission has asked the European Food Safety Authority to review the risks to pollinators from neonicotinoids. This review is due to conclude in January 2017 and may lead to changes to the current restrictions.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the occurrence of ash dieback disease.

    Rory Stewart

    Our long-term national strategy to manage Ash Dieback is based on science, international best practice and the advice of the UK Chief Plant Health Officer.

    We are protecting non-infected areas and have invested over £21 million in tree health research. Restrictions on the movement of ash, both inland and from other countries, are currently in place.

    The Government-funded screening trial of 155,000 ash saplings is unprecedented in its scope and the UK is leading the way on the work to identify resistant strains. Collectively, our research is aimed at identifying the genetic basis for natural tolerance and screening our native ash trees for genetic markers. Work is also underway to further our understanding of the pathogen, how it spreads and local management approaches to protect individual, high value trees.

    Our surveillance programme involving Government, industry, conservation groups and the public enables us to monitor the disease and to target resources effectively.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the total paid out by his Department in flood compensation grants to households who were not entitled to such payments in the last six weeks.

    James Wharton

    To date my Department has paid out £47 million to local authorities under the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme. The Scheme is intended to support local authorities with community recovery, business support and property resilience.