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  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made any representations to the Iranian government on (a) the need to respect trade union rights and International Labour Organisation conventions and (b) the detention and abuse of Shahrokh Zamani.

    Hugh Robertson

    Independent unions and labour organisations have been heavily repressed in Iran, and many members have been jailed or harassed. The UK has repeatedly called on Iran to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of expression to all Iranians.

    We are aware of the detention of Shahrokh Zamani, a member of the Founding Board of the Syndicate of Paint Workers of Tehran, who was sentenced to prison for “acting against national security by establishing and or being a member of groups opposed to the system”. The UK has called for Iran to release all political prisoners.

  • David Winnick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Winnick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent complaints he has received on the handling of correspondence on passport delays by HM Ambassador to Italy.

    Mr David Lidington

    I am not aware of complaints on the handling of correspondence by our Ambassador in Rome. Passport renewal is the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Passport Office under the responsibility of Home Office Ministers. Any related correspondence received in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is therefore transferred to that Office for response.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent offers of assistance his Department has made to the government of Iraq.

    Hugh Robertson

    The UK was the first to deploy a team to assess the humanitarian situation following the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant’s attack on Mosul. On 14 June the Department for International Development (DFID) announced £3 million of emergency assistance to help around 500,000 displaced Iraqis, and a further £2 million was allocated on 17 June.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Government’s written submission to the European Court of Justice which was the subject of the hearing before the Court in April 2014 about the EU application to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Damian Green

    The European Court of Justice held a hearing on 5-6 May 2014 before a full court in proceedings under article 218 (11) of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding the European Commission’s request for an Opinion on the compatibility of the draft Accession Agreement with the EU Treaties.

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 10 December 2013, Official Report, Column 123W.

    My subsequent letter to the European Scrutiny Committee of 20 December 2013, as referenced in the Committee’s Twenty-ninth Report of session 2013-2014 of 8 January 2014, clarifies the basis on which documents in the proceedings are confidential.

    My most recent letter to the European Scrutiny Committee of 18 June 2014 outlines that the UK’s oral submissions supported the compatibility of the draft Accession Agreement with the EU Treaties, and sought to encourage the Court to robustly test the draft Accession Agreement and its implications while steering clear of making any findings that prejudge the content of the internal EU rules.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his priorities are for renegotiating UK membership of the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government’s priorities are to reform the EU so that it is more flexible, competitive and democratically accountable. We want to see further deepening of the Single European Market, especially in services; an ambitious and sustained drive to cut red tape, and successful free trade negotiations with the United States, Japan and other countries. We are also seeking greater powers for groups of national parliaments to block or review EU legislation; an end to benefit tourism, and the development of Economic and Monetary Union in a way that safeguards the interests of countries which have chosen not to join the Euro. The Government has already made progress in delivering reform, including cutting the EU budget for the first time and securing reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy that include a ban on discards and a shift to the regional and local management of fisheries.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, from which countries other than India the import of mangoes to the EU is banned.

    Dan Rogerson

    None. The ban only applies to mangoes from India.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 196584 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 41W, on drinking water, what plans his Department has to test for the levels of tranquillisers and antidepressants in drinking water; and if his Department will conduct a study into levels of psychotropic drugs in UK river and seawater.

    Dan Rogerson

    In 2012, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) published research looking at pharmaceuticals likely to present the worst case scenario in drinking water. Fluoxetine was included in the study, the outcome of which was that these pharmaceuticals presented no concern for public health. The research is part of an ongoing risk assessment which is revisited in the event of new information. The DWI has also responded to the earlier PQ (0019) on this matter.

    Monitoring river water and seawater is driven by requirements under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). As psychotropic drugshave not been identified as harmful chemicals under the WFD they are not routinely monitored, although they may be detected in less-specific investigations.

    The water industry has undertaken collaborative research into chemicals in sewage effluent through the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Chemicals Investigation Programme. Some medicines were included in the first Programme of 2010-13, including fluoxetine. A second Chemical Investigations Programme, beginning in 2015, will look at the psychoactive medicines fluoxetine and sertraline in sewage effluent.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many red kites there are in the UK; and whether his Department has set a population number above which it will take steps to control that population.

    George Eustice

    The most recent estimate of red kites in the UK is 1600 breeding pairs (as recorded by both the British Trust for Ornithology and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 2013).

    The Government has no plans to control red kites.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to enforce the waste hierarchy in managing food waste and to prioritise prevention and redistribution for human consumption ahead of anaerobic digestion and composting

    Dan Rogerson

    In accordance with the waste hierarchy, voluntary agreements with business and the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP’s) Love Food Hate Waste Campaign encourage action by households, food manufacturers, retailers and the hospitality and food service sectors to prevent food waste.

    If surplus food cannot be prevented, the next best option is to ensure it is redistributed for human consumption, and I have met with a number of companies and organisations which are looking at innovative ways to redistribute food.

    The Courtauld Commitment 3 supply chain target includes action on both prevention and redistribution. This dual target approach encourages redistribution as the most desirable route for any surplus food suitable for human consumption. Defra convened a Ministerial round table in July 2012 and requested WRAP to lead an industry working group to follow up on recommendations. As a key output of the group, WRAP has recently published research, guiding principles and good practice case studies to help industry take action. Further information is available at http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/foodredistribution.

    There will always be some unavoidable food waste. The Government’s Anaerobic Digestion Strategy is in place to reduce the amount of organic material going to landfill and drive the waste that is produced into energy recovery or recycling.

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  • Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of TB tests for Alpacas; and if he will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency undertook research sponsored by the British Alpaca Society, the British Llama Society and British Camelids Ltd. to validate ante mortem TB tests in camelids. Their report was delivered to the sponsors in 2012 and a copy can be found at: http://www.llama.co.uk/resources/Validation_of_ante_mortem_TB_tests_in_Camelids.pdf.

    The outcome of that research formed the basis of Defra’s proposals for combined skin and blood TB testing of camelids on which we consulted in April this year. They can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bovine-tb-disease-controls-for-deer-and-camelids

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