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  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Russian language (a) speakers, (b) interpreters and (c) translators are employed by his Department; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of such experts working in his Department.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have 163 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employees with some level of Russian capability, ranging from basic Russian to operational skills (equivalent to degree level) recorded centrally.

    Russian is a priority language for the FCO, and since 2010, we have increased the number of Russian-language speaker positions in our Russian and former Soviet Union Posts by 30% and increased the minimum duration for Russian-language training from 10 to 14 months.

    The FCO does not deploy UK-based staff overseas as translators or interpreters. British Embassy Moscow has one full time locally recruited translator/interpreter position. Our local staff overseas routinely assist with translation as part of their daily work.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable and process is, including parliamentary scrutiny, for ratification by the UK of the EU-Israel Civil Aviation Agreement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The EU-Israel Aviation Agreement was signed on 10 June 2013. Prior to this it was subject to UK parliamentary scrutiny (EM 16502/12 & 16650/12 dated 4 December 2012). Scrutiny clearance was received from the European Scrutiny Committee on 12 December 2012 and the UK government therefore agreed to the Council Decision to sign the Agreement at the Council held on 20 December 2012.

    The Agreement is currently being amended due to the accession of Croatia to the European Union. The Decision to sign the amendment was agreed by Council on 8 October 2014 and is currently being considered by the European Parliament. Once this is complete, the Agreement and the amendment will then be concluded at a later date. The amendment will not be subject to UK parliamentary scrutiny as the European Scrutiny Committees of both Houses have agreed to waive parliamentary scrutiny of all amendments to EU-3rd country agreements, where the sole purpose of the amendment is to accede Croatia to an agreement.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times he has attended public meetings of the Foreign Affairs Committee since his appointment.

    Mr David Lidington

    Ministerial attendance at parliamentary committees is a matter of public record. The transcripts of appearances by the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) are available on the Foreign Affairs Committee website.

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/formal-minutes/

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids have been received since February 2016; and how many such applications have been granted.

    George Eustice

    The Government has received two applications for emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids since February 2016. These applications are currently being assessed according to the normal rules, which allow for limited and controlled use of a pesticide on an exceptional basis in emergency situations to control a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means. No authorisations have been granted.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee since her appointment.

    George Eustice

    Attendance at Committee meetings is a matter of public record and transcripts of such appearances can be found in Hansard and on Committee web pages.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in implementing the British Food Plan across all Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Government is committed to providing food produced to British standards or their equivalent in all its canteens, restaurants and cafeterias by the end of this Parliament. Defra is working closely with other Departments and businesses to implement the Plan for Public Procurement of Food, including a balanced scorecard. The Ministry of Justice recently launched a tender for supplying food to prisons, worth £500 million, which requires bids to use the balanced scorecard. Their current supplier has agreed that the 30 million portions of UHT milk served in prisons each year will be sourced from UK producers. We are working with MoD to develop the best way to embed the balanced scorecard into their forthcoming contracts. We are working with all central Departments to ensure their food and catering contracts comply with the balanced scorecard approach.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of banning micro beads.

    George Eustice

    Microbeads from personal care products are believed to make up a very small percentage of the total amount of microplastics entering the marine environment, with estimates ranging from 0.01% to 4.1%. A ban in the UK would therefore be expected to have only a small impact on the effects on the environment attributed to microplastics. However, microbeads, like other microplastics, do not biodegrade and so accumulate in the marine environment. There are also less harmful alternatives that are suitable to use.

    Defra supports voluntary action by industry to phase out microbeads from personal care products, and is supporting other EU Member States in calling for the European Commission to come up with proposals to ban their use in cosmetics and detergents.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage schools to procure their food from local producers and suppliers.

    George Eustice

    The Plan for Public Procurement of Food was launched by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with the support of the Prime Minister in July 2014. The Plan seeks to improve the quality of the food served in public establishments through the use of a procurement toolkit which includes a balanced scorecard to assess the value of food and catering contracts. The balanced scorecard rewards businesses which offer high quality, locally sourced and seasonal produce.

    Defra has worked closely with the Department for Education sponsored School Food Plan and has commissioned pilots of the balanced scorecard approach with schools taking part in the London Food Board Flagship Food Boroughs initiative. These pilots will build on the very firm foundation laid by the School Food Plan.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what research her Department has commissioned on the particular challenges of implementing cyber security to cover small modular reactors (SMRs); and whether the recently announced competition for research on SMRs includes research on cyber security.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK is subject to regulation. Therefore, any small modular reactor (SMR) design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment, including an assessment of cyber security.

    Ensuring safety and security is the legal duty of operators and safety and security at all nuclear sites are kept under regular review. The UK’s independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), carries out inspections to ensure operators are fulfilling their duties and that robust safety and security measures are in place across the industry.

    DECC is working with ONR to ensure that the regulatory regime is fit for any possible future deployment of SMRs. DECC is currently developing the detail of the programme that will be taken forward as part of the £250m nuclear innovation, research and development funding announced by my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Autumn Statement. The recommendations and advice of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board and key stakeholders will be taken into account in the process.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects to sign the Investor Agreement for Hinkley Point C power station; and what conditions will have to be fulfilled by EDF before that signing.

    Andrea Leadsom

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is minded to proceed with the Contract for Difference and associated agreements for Hinkley Point C, including the Investor Agreement, subject to EDF taking a final investment decision. EDF and the French Government have said that EDF are working towards a Final Investment Decision ‘in the near future, with the full support of the French Government’.