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  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements he plans to put in place to ensure that medicines for rare cancers can be appropriately evaluated after the Cancer Drugs Fund ends in March 2016.

    George Freeman

    The Government remains committed to the Cancer Drugs Fund and is working with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the future arrangements for the Fund.

    NHS England has advised that its plans for a public consultation on its proposals for the Fund are being finalised.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Ms Patricia Hart was employed on a full-time basis continuously from 2011 until her retirement.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally.

    We have written to Deborah Jenkins, Chair of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indian counterpart on the illegal use of bull-hooks on Asian elephants in the tourism and logging industries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 29 October 2015 (PQs 12817, 13418, 13419) which can be located at:

    www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that UK citizens travelling to India, Thailand and other elephant-range states are made aware of the illegal practice of capturing and breaking the spirit of baby elephants for use in the tourist industry.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The United Kingdom is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. We have been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, such as India and Thailand, to increase protection for Asian elephants. In 2014, we secured agreement in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

    Although it is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to boost exports to (a) Indonesia, (b) Vietnam, (c) Thailand, (d) Malaysia, (e) the Philippines and (f) other countries in South East Asia.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has established a regional network to support UK trade and investment across South East Asia. This helps provide UK companies with access to the fast-growing markets of the region. The network is on target to assist nearly 10,000 businesses this year. UKTI has directly assisted in export deals with the region worth £2bn in the first six months of this financial year, putting us on track to deliver the UK’s best ever trade figures for the region. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister urged the European Union to accelerate negotiations on the EU-ASEAN FTA, a deal that is worth an additional £3 billion a year to the UK economy.

    Closer collaboration across the region, supported by continued investment from government, has enabled UKTI to operate ever more efficiently, working with more British businesses and securing a higher value of business wins. Six regional priority sectors have been identified- reflecting UK strengths as well as the scale of opportunities in the region – enabling a more strategic approach to trade delivery in Infrastructure, Education, Energy, Financial & Professional Services, Consumer Retail and Healthcare.

    Significant investment is also being made in the development of additional trade service capacity, being delivered by industry partners in the region, principally through Chambers of Commerce. This represents the government’s growing focus on the region as a global growth engine, and is indicative of the continuing importance that this government places in seeking out global opportunities to boost the UK economy.

    In July of this year my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister led a trade mission to Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. The mission was made up of 30 British businesses, and included the signing of trade deals worth over £750 million. Concurrently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary for State for Business, Innovation and Skills led the inaugural Northern Powerhouse delegation, comprising over 50 UK companies, to Singapore and Malaysia.

    During his visit to Indonesia, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that the Government will make available up to £1 billion to finance infrastructure projects involving UK business, in Indonesia through its export guarantee scheme. The UK welcomes the recent commitments made by President Joko Widodo’s government on deregulation and improving the business and investment environment in Indonesia, as well as the talks between Indonesia and the EU on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which will benefit both Indonesia and the UK. Richard Graham MP, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Indonesia and the Asian Economic Community (AEC) has paid two visits this year to Indonesia, pushing forward trade priorities and promoting work on second-tier cities within Indonesia.

    Two-way trade with Vietnam more than doubled between 2009 and 2014, reaching £2.81 billion, with the UK being amongst Vietnam’s largest trading partners within the EU. During my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s visit in July, the first by a serving British Prime Minister, Rolls Royce and Vietnam Airlines signed an agreement totalling £340 million, Prudential announced a £100 million investment and ZincOx agreed a £75 million investment for hazardous waste recycling.

    In the past year, over 1000 UK businesses have been helped to trade with Thailand. Notable improvements to the business environment include: British beef and lamb now being allowed to be imported into the Thai market after a 20-year hiatus, which will bring business of some £9m over the next five years; the British Embassy Bangkok, with other embassies and Chambers, encouraged the Thai authorities not to proceed with new regulations which would have directly impacted foreign ownership of over 5000 companies, many British, as well as deter further UK investment opportunities; finally the Government has encouraged the Thai authorities, with strong support from the Thai Prime Minister, to sign up to the Construction Transparency Initiative, which should improve public procurement practice for major infrastructure projects.

    Exports to Malaysia (the UK’s second largest export market in ASEAN) have risen by almost 25% between 2010 and 2014. Over the past four years, there have been more UK Ministerial and VIP visits to Malaysia promoting trade and investment than ever before, including two visits by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. Recent successes include a £4.2bn supply and maintenance deal between Rolls Royce and Air Asia. Posts have successfully worked to tackle market access barriers, for example, helping to open up engineering and legal services in Malaysia.

    In the first half of this year UK exports to the Philippines grew by 44%, the third highest growth in exports to any country worldwide. Major deals include a £90m contract for the supply of electronic voting machines, a £70m deal for a British solar company and the appointment of Arup as the lead designer on the country’s second largest airport.

    Lord Puttnam, UK Trade and Cultural Envoy to Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam has also made two visits to the region this year, strengthening important business and governmental links and working on campaigns ranging from infrastructure to education.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to use its membership of the UN Security Council to facilitate diplomatic negotiations on the protection of civilians in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the Security Council we have co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs, starvation as a method of warfare, and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor, providing over £1.1 billion to those most in need in Syria and neighbouring countries. This is our largest ever response to a crisis. The long term protection of civilians requires an end to the conflict in Syria and a political settlement based upon the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. We continue to pursue this objective, including through the new political process which began in Vienna on 30 October.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to address the political crisis in Syria before March 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are closely involved in international efforts to facilitate a political solution to the conflict in Syria. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) attended discussions convened by US Secretary Kerry in Vienna on 30 October, which may be the begining of a political process in Syria.

    Foreign Ministers agreed to meet again within two weeks. The UK will fully support this process including by hosting ministerial or official-level meetings. We are supporting the moderate Syrian opposition to ensure they are represented in the political process. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the Foreign Office is also providing a broad range of support to Syrians inside Syria on peace building, governance, human rights, and civil society issues.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect civilians in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK has been at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the conflict in Syria. To date, we have pledged over £1.1 billion aid in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second biggest bilateral donor after the United States. We are exploring with the UN and other major donors how best to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained over the longer term, including how to respond to the 2016 Appeals, once these have been issued. The UK has provided £6.7m for the Syrian civil defence teams (known as ‘White Helmets’) to carry out search and rescue, fire fighting and First Aid in besieged areas. They have saved over 14,840 lives since March 2013. We are also working with other international donors to establish and build up the Free Syrian Police, a moderate police force in opposition-controlled areas in Syria. We are also taking action internationally. The UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165 and 2191 which enable the UN to deliver aid across borders, without the consent of the regime, to assist those in the hardest to reach areas. By 31 August 2015, the UN and its partners had delivered 175 convoys of aid cross-border.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the government of Saudi Arabia on ending the conflict in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir during his visit to Saudi Arabia on 28 October. He discussed the need for accelerating the political process in Yemen and humanitarian issues, particularly the importance of ensuring sustained access for shipping. The UK is actively supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire and return to the political transition in Yemen. The UK has provided £85 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government plans to take, other than by offering support to other countries in the region, to ensure that the UK meets its international obligations to refugees from the conflict in Syria.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis and has committed over £1.1 billion to date. This makes us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We continue to play a leading role in encouraging the international community to contribute generously to the UN appeals. We are exploring with the UN and major donors how best to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained in the longer term, including in response to the upcoming 2016 Appeals.

    The conflict raises significant protection concerns for civilians. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect International Law and ensure free, unimpeded access for impartial humanitarian agencies to provide vital assistance to those in need.