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  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will initiate a resolution of the UN Security Council related to whether genocide is being committed against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq.

    James Duddridge

    As the Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (David Cameron) has said, there is a very strong case for saying that the atrocities committed by Daesh amount to genocide, but recognition of genocide should be a matter for international courts, not political bodies.

    When an attempt was made in 2014 to have the UN Security Council refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We have no reason to believe another referral would deliver a different outcome.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are used for decisions on the (a) removal and (b) denial of UK honours.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Forfeiture Committee which makes recommendations on the removal of honours can consider any case where there is evidence to suggest that the retention of an honour would bring the honours system into disrepute, for example, if an individual has been found guilty by the Courts of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment; or has been censured/struck off by the relevant Regulatory Authority or Professional Body for actions or failures to act which are directly relevant to the granting of the Honour.

    Honours nominations are considered by one of the nine independent honours selection committees. There are many reasons why a nomination may not be successful when judged on merit against other nominations.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more UK nationals to take up traineeships in the European Parliament and European Commission.

    Mr David Lidington

    The EU staffing unit, established in April 2013, promotes EU careers across the UK and supports candidates through the application process. It has increased secondments in positions of strategic importance to the UK. The European Fast Stream within the Civil Service has also been re-launched.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals have been on the staff of (a) each of the Directorates-General and (b) other services of the European Commission in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Commission publishes data on its permanent EU officials (excluding seconded national experts) broken down by nationality and by each of its Directorates-General and services at the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/about/figures/index_en.htm

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals have been on the staff of the European Court of Auditors in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Court of Auditors (ECA) does not publish figures relating to its staff numbers and nationality. According to our own internal records, the following number of UK nationals have been on the staff of the ECA since 2010:
    2010: 51
    2011: 50
    2012: No records held
    2013: 50
    2014: 50
    2015: 49
    2016: 50

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals has been on the staff of the European Court of Justice in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Court of Justice (ECJ) does not publish figures relating to the nationality of its staff. According to our own internal records, there were 67 UK nationals on the staff of the ECJ in 2013. We do not hold records for the other years.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on (a) European Commission and Parliament proposals to reduce the routine overuse of antibiotics in farming and (b) proposals for (i) an EU-wide ban on the routine use of antibiotics in groups of food-producing animals where no disease has been diagnosed in any of the animals and (ii) restrictions on metaphylactic use.

    George Eustice

    The objective of the review of EU legislation on veterinary medicines and medicated feeds includes tackling the threat of antibiotic resistance. The government supports measures that will provide a framework for reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock, including restrictions on preventative use.

    When one or more animals have been exposed to a bacterial disease threat and could be sub-clinically infected, the metaphylactic use of antibiotics may be essential to maintain health and welfare.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of fireworks on animal welfare.

    George Eustice

    The Government accepts that fireworks can have a detrimental effect on some animals. However, we consider that if users follow the correct and sensible use of fireworks combined with owners of animals taking certain precautions, these can help to avoid or reduce any detrimental effects.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s policy will be on supporting further protection through an uplisting of (a) elephants, (b) rhinos and (c) lions at the forthcoming CITES Conference of the Parties in September 2016.

    Rory Stewart

    Proposals on the listing protection of 60 species have been submitted to the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Uplisting proposals for elephants and lions will be discussed but there is no proposal on rhinoceroses, which are already generally subject to the highest level of protection.

    All these proposals will be assessed against the scientific criteria for listings set out in the Convention and, where justified, the UK will advocate further protection to support the survival of endangered species. This includes in negotiations with the other Member States of the EU to ensure our positions on proposals are taken into account before the final negotiating position for the EU and its Member States is agreed.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) incidents have been reported to trading standards teams of and (b) prosecutions have taken place for packing and selling beef and poultry with an unknown origin in each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    Monitoring food businesses to ensure compliance with legislation on food labelling and composition is the responsibility of county councils, unitary authorities, the London Boroughs and some but not all metropolitan borough councils. These local authorities are also responsible for taking enforcement action, including prosecutions, where non-compliance is found.

    Data are reported to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on the number of food and drink analyses undertaken in relation to compositional issues and labelling and presentation issues:

    23,599 analyses were undertaken in 2014/15, 16,899 for compositional issues and 6,700 for labelling and presentation issues.

    29,324 analyses were undertaken in 2013/14, 19,386 for compositional issues and 9,938 for labelling and presentation issues.

    26,940 analyses were undertaken in 2012/13, 16,982 for compositional issues and 9,958 for labelling and presentation issues.

    Data are also reported to the FSA on the total number of prosecutions concluded for food standards issues. This includes action in relation to composition, labelling and presentation but also for other issues such as chemical contamination. In 2014/15, 2013/14 and 2012/13 respectively, 75, 57 and 78 United Kingdom food establishments were subject to prosecution.

    The FSA has recently established a central register of successful food law prosecutions. Analysis of data collected for the first year of operation of the register is not yet complete, but in future it will provide more definitive data on prosecutions for offences of this nature.