The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress he has made on publishing a statutory code for pub companies; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
The Government published the first part of a two-part consultation on the statutory Pubs Code on 29 October 2015 at the GOV.UK website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the 2013 Lough Erne G8 Leaders’ Communiqué, published on 18 June 2013, what progress has been made on implementing the commitments in paragraph 9 of that document; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation, agreed at the Bali Ministerial in December 2013, is expected to significantly reduce the costs of cross-border trade, including between developing countries.The Agreement was opened for acceptance by WTO Members in November 2014 and, to date, 51 WTO Members, including all EU Member States, have ratified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of progress by the Aerospace Technology Institute on reaching its goal of reducing fuel emissions by 20 per cent over the next 20 years.
Anna Soubry
The Government is working through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) to promote UK growth by supporting industry to develop technologies for future aircraft.These will need to meet demanding environmental and societal requirements, and the ATI supports the targets for reducing noise and emissions set out by the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe (ACARE).These targets include reductions by 2050 in fuel burn of 75%, a reduction of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions of 90% and a reduction in perceived noise of 65% based on a year 2000 baseline.
To date, over 100 ATI projects, worth a total of over £1bn, have been approved.The majority of these are focused on technologies for more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage retailers to reduce the amount of food waste they produce; and if she will make a statement.
Rory Stewart
Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Government is working with food manufacturers and retailers to meet targets to reduce food and packaging waste from the grocery supply chain under the Courtauld Commitment.
Signatories reported a reduction of 7.4% in supply chain waste between 2009 and 2012 under Courtauld 2. Interim results for Courtauld 3 show signatories reported a further 3.2% reduction by 2014 against the overall target of a 3% reduction by the end of 2015.
WRAP is currently brokering a new agreement, Courtauld 2025, which will build on this progress and is expected to start in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many primates were imported into the UK for scientific research purposes in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
Mike Penning
The Home Office have previously published data on the numbers of non-human primates imported and used for scientific research in PQs 222873 (05 Feb 2015), 182703 (20 Jan 2014), 80687 (22 Nov 2011) and 76262 (25 October 2011). The numbers of non-human primates imported into the UK for scientific research were: 2,071 in 2010; 1,771 in 2011; and, 1,557 in 2012. This data was gathered from information supplied by project licence holders when requesting permission to import.
On 1 January 2013, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was amended to transpose European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The amended legislation has no requirement to request prior permission to import non-human primates acquired from overseas breeding centres. Therefore, the Home Office does not hold the information requested for 2013 and 2014. The published Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain provide information on the sources of non-human primates used in experimental procedures for 2013 and 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the annual budget for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate was in 2011-12.
Nick Boles
The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate for 2011-12 was £776,643.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the recent statement of the UNHCR that, under a 2003 United Kingdom–Cyprus memorandum, the United Kingdom is responsible for resettling Syrian refugees who arrive at a United Kingdom military base in Cyprus.
Lord Bates
Those migrants who seek asylum will have their claims considered by the Cypriot authorities on behalf of the Sovereign Base Authorities (SBA). There is no obligation to allow those recognised as refugees to take up residence in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of international aid agencies’ efforts to support and protect their staff from sexual abuse.
Baroness Verma
Whilst we do not have a contractual obligation to have a duty of care for the staff of international aid agencies that are funded by DFID, all DFID funding is subject to DFID’s Due Diligence procedures which assess an organisation’s governance and control structure and those of their downstream partners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proportion of aid funding which is channelled to large international agencies compared to that channelled to local non-governmental organisations.
Baroness Verma
UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) channelled through non-governmental organisations is set out in the table below. DFID is currently conducting the Civil Society Partnership Review, which is considering future funding arrangements.
2014 data will be published on the DFID website as National Statistics on Thursday 3rd December 2015.
|
Channel Code Description |
2013 ODA (£ millions) |
% of Total UK ODA |
|
NGO (where country base is undefined) |
£150,895 |
1% |
|
Internationally-based (non-UK) NGO* |
£362,696 |
3% |
|
UK-based NGO* |
£662,307 |
6% |
|
Developing country-based NGO |
£178,313 |
2% |
*Many international and UK-based NGOs have significant local developing country footprints.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the response to conditions in the southern Yemen city of Taiz.
Baroness Verma
The people of Taiz are in urgent need of humanitarian supplies. The city continues to experience intense fighting, which is making it extremely difficult for aid agencies to deliver humanitarian assistance. There are reports that efforts to access the city and provide relief have been consistently blocked by the Houthis over the past month.
The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support UN and NGO partners’ efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to Taiz city.
On 27 September 2015, the Seretary of State announced an additional £20million for humanitarian assistance to Yemen, bringing our overall contribution for 2015-16 to £75million and making the UK the 4th largest bilateral donor to Yemen crisis