The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of instances of a newborn baby being sent home from hospital with a woman other than that baby’s biological mother in each of the last 10 years.
Ben Gummer
Information on the incidences of newborn babies being sent home from hospital with a woman other than that baby’s biological mother is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had about access to all areas of East Ukraine for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.
Mr David Lidington
For the Minsk peace process to succeed, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitors must be given full and unhindered access to east Ukraine. I discussed implementation of the Minsk Agreements in detail with Prime Minister Yatseniuk, Foreign Minister Klimkin and OSCE Special Representative Martin Sadjik when I visited Ukraine between 6-8 October. I also raise access for OSCE monitors regularly with the Russian Ambassador to the UK, most recently in June 2015. We also continue to raise it as a point of priority when discussing Ukraine with bilateral partners and in multilateral fora including the EU, OSCE and the UN.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Russian government on full implementation of its obligations under the Minsk agreements.
Mr David Lidington
In all ministerial and senior official contacts with Russia, the UK Government continues to emphasise the importance of full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge ( Mr Hammond) raised the issue of Ukraine when he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the margins of the Iran nuclear negotiations in Vienna in July 2015, and again in the margins of the Syria talks in Vienna in October 2015. I raised it when I met the Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko in June 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Russian authorities about an international tribunal to investigate the destruction of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
Mr David Lidington
I wrote to the Russian Ambassador to the UK in July, prior to the vote in the UN Security Council on a Resolution to establish an international tribunal which would prosecute those found responsible from the criminal investigation into the downing of MH17. I made it clear that there must be accountability for this crime and we expected all UN Security Council Members to cooperate. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also raised this issue with their Russian counterparts both in London and in Moscow and will continue to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of capacity building assistance in the area of strategic communications for (a) Georgia, (b) Moldova, (c) Ukraine and (d) other NATO partner countries.
Mr David Lidington
Her Majesty’s Government has provided expert strategic communications advice to the Governments of Georgia and Ukraine, and to NATO.
The UK has worked with the Governments of Georgia and Ukraine to help them develop strategic communications strategies and plan campaigns focusing on their reform efforts.
We have also provided strategic communications training and support to the NATO HQ Strategic Communications Team to improve NATO strategic communications.
Assessment by recipients and partners of our support is very positive. I share this assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with NATO and EU governments on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2178 on foreign terrorist fighters.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Ministers and officials consistently call for all states to implement fully the recommendations of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2178 on foreign terrorist fighters, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora.
Experts from the UK have presented at technical sessions of the Counter-ISIL Coalition, the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee and the EU, discussing our work in this area and the implementation and passing of legislation in line with recommendations contained in UNSCR 2178 to combat this threat.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many civil servants in his Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to his Department.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are unable to provide the number of Union affiliated Civil Servants within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as there is no requirement for union members to declare their membership to an employer and since April 2015 we no longer collect trade union subscriptions through the payroll.
The FCO submits Quarterly Returns to the Cabinet Office setting out the amount of facility time taken and cost to the pay bill. The Cabinet Office publish these statistics annually, listing the individual departments.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418380/Annex_A_-_Facility_Time_Figures_Q1_2014-Q4_2014_Overall.ods
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many diplomatic staff whose work includes tackling the illegal wildlife trade are based in (a) China, (b) Vietnam, (c) Laos, (d) Malaysia, (e) Botswana, (f) Mozambique, (g) Gabon, (h) South Africa, (i) Thailand and (j) India.
James Duddridge
The numbers requested of diplomatic staff whose work includes illegal wildlife trade are as follows:
China – 5
Vietnam- 3
Laos- 2
Malaysia – 1
Botswana -2
Mozambique- 2
Gabon -2
South Africa -2
Thailand- 2
India -1
In most cases our diplomatic staff in these Posts spend a proportion of their overall time on this issue and are supported by locally engaged staff who also work on tackling illegal wildlife trade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will work with his international counterparts to request that the UN Secretary General appoint a Special Envoy for Sustainable Development.
James Duddridge
Effective follow up and implementation of the now-agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is one of the UK’s top priorities at the United Nations. We continue to discuss this with the UN Secretary General, the wider UN system, and Member States. It would need to be clear what value any new UN special envoy would add to existing UN activity before the UK advocated such an idea, over and above existing sustainable development activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will undertake a review into how his Department advises British citizens on the ethical rating of nations in line with performing to international standards on the illegal wildlife trade.
James Duddridge
The UK plays a leading role in encouraging countries to take action to stop poaching of endangered species and to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products. For example, the UK drafted both the London Declaration from the London Conference on IWT in 2014 and the Kasane Statement from the Botswana Conference of March 2015 to push countries into committing themselves to ambitious actions to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. A review was compiled for the Botswana Conference showing progress by countries on the commitments to action agreed at London. These documents have been made publicly available on www.gov.uk.