The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-03-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timetable the Government has set for the release of sanctioned Iranian assets; and what value of assets the Government expects to release in 2016 and 2017.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer my Honourable friend to the written answer I gave on 10 March 2016 (Ref: 29924).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-03-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of sanctioned Iranian assets that have been released by (a) UK Government and (b) other UK entities since the conclusion of the agreement with that country in May 2015.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer my Honourable friend to the written answer I gave on 10 March 2016 (Ref: 29924).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Turkey since the recent terrorist bombing in Ankara; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Lidington
The Government condemns the attacks in Ankara on 13 March and in Istanbul on 19 March. The UK stands in solidarity with Turkey, a NATO ally and valued partner for the UK. As noted in our travel advice, the threat from terrorism remains high, with the Kurdish separatist PKK, Daesh and other terrorist organisations continuing to plan and carry out attacks. The UK condemns terrorism in all its forms, and is clear that PKK terrorist attacks must end. We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how much and what proportion of the total budget for UN peacekeeping was spent in support of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in each of the last six years.
James Duddridge
The table below sets out how much the UN General Assembly allocated to the gross budget for the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for the last six UN budget years (which run from 1 July to 30 June); the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus net budget, following the deduction of voluntary contributions from the Governments of Cyprus and Greece; how much the total UN Peacekeeping Budget was for each year; and the percentage of the UN Peacekeeping Budget allocated to UNFICYP’s gross budget. The UN budgets in US dollars, therefore all the figures below are in that currency.
|
UN budget year |
UNFICYP budget (gross) |
UNFICYP budget (net) |
Total UN Peacekeeping Budget |
Percentage of UN Peacekeeping Budget allocated to UNFICYP’s gross budget |
|
2015/16 |
55,139,400 |
31,027,967 |
8,256,758,900 |
0.67 |
|
2014/15 |
62,531,500 |
36,082,233 |
8,510,143,233 |
0.73 |
|
2013/14 |
58,514,200 |
33,332,866 |
7,901,248,366 |
0.74 |
|
2012/13 |
56,968,200 |
32,251,867 |
7,364,983,850 |
0.77 |
|
2011/12 |
60,121,200 |
34,506,933 |
7,835,339,630 |
0.77 |
|
2010/11 |
59,759,200 |
34,304,608 |
7,823,615,600 |
0.76 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what financial contribution his Department has made to each of the 16 UN peacekeeping operations which are underway.
James Duddridge
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays the United Kingdom’s assessed financial contributions to 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations. These payments are mandatory under the United Nations Charter. The United Nations apportions the UK’s share of contributions in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolutions that determine the annual budget for each peacekeeping operations and the ‘Scale of Assessments’, which sets every United Nations member state’s percentage share of the United Nations Peacekeeping Budget. At present, the United Kingdom pays 5.8% of the cost of each mission, with the exception of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. These missions are funded from the United Nations Regular Budget, to which the United Kingdom currently contributes 4.5% of costs.
The table below provides the total budget and United Kingdom contribution to the 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations currently operational for financial year 2015/16:
|
Name of Peacekeeping Operation |
Total PKO budget in FY2015/16 (UK contribution) in £ millions |
|
United Nations Mission for |
38.5 (2.0) |
|
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated |
571.6 (31.8) |
|
United Nations Multidimensional |
668.5 (37.5) |
|
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti |
305.3 (15.5) |
|
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
1001.3 (54.4) |
|
African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur |
812.9 (39.9) |
|
United Nations Disengagement Observer Force |
40.7 (2.2) |
|
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus |
40.1 (1.2) |
|
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon |
376.8 (20.9) |
|
United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei |
208.9 (8.7) |
|
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo |
30.3 (1.4) |
|
United Nations Mission in Liberia |
271.8 (14.1) |
|
United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan |
793.9 (43.0) |
|
United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan |
6.9 (0.3) |
|
United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire |
316.5 (16.2) |
|
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization |
24.6 (1.2) |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the government of the United Arab Emirates on the continued imprisonment of David Haigh.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been providing consular assistance to Mr Haigh since his arrest, and has discussed his case with the Emirati authorities on a regular basis, most recently on Monday 21 March 2016. We are pleased that Mr Haigh has now been found not guilty and will soon be released.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on protecting the dual citizenship of people with British citizenship living in Hong Kong.
Mr Hugo Swire
During his meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January and in London on 4 February, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), stressed the importance of respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all residents of Hong Kong. He also made clear our expectations that the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law for Hong Kong should be respected. During those meetings, China reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.
During the visit to London by Hong Kong Chief Executive C Y Leung on 15 and 16 October 2015, the Foreign Secretary and I also discussed with him the importance of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and the need to preserve the rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Joint Declaration.
The Foreign Secretary’s most recent six-monthly report to the House, published on 11 February (covering the period 1 July–31 December 2015), urged “the Chinese and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments to reassure the people of Hong Kong that the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents will continue to be fully protected, and respected by all, in accordance with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law.” The report also stated that “while we assess that during the reporting period ‘One Country, Two Systems’ has, in very many areas, continued to function well, there have been some areas which have given grounds for concern. These revolve principally around the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, including academic freedom and the freedom of the press.” We will continue to raise such issues with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.
We aim to provide consular assistance to all British citizens, and to dual nationals in their country of other nationality in exceptional circumstances, in line with our consular guidance. We acknowledge that some countries do not accept dual nationality.
In the case of British citizen Mr Lee Po, the Government continues to call at the highest level on the Chinese Government for his
immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Mr Lee’s family.
The Government will continue to monitor rights and freedoms in Hong Kong through the Foreign Secretary’s six-monthly reports.
The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the proportion of rivers, lakes, coastal and ground waters in the UK that (a) are compliant with the EU Water Framework Directive and (b) will be so compliant by 2020; and when she expects all UK waters to achieve good status.
Rory Stewart
The principle environmental objective of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to protect and enhance all bodies of surface and groundwater so as to prevent deterioration, with the aim of achieving good status for all water bodies by December 2015. The WFD provides exemptions which allow the deadline to be extended to 2021 or 2027 and, in some cases, a less stringent objective to be set, for reasons of disproportionate cost or technical feasibility.
Implementation of the WFD in the UK is a devolved matter. In England, 19% of water bodies are currently good status or better, 22% are predicted to achieve good status or better by 2021, and 75% of all water bodies have an objective of good or better status.
The breakdown by water category is detailed in the table below.
|
% water bodies at good or better now |
% water bodies predicted to be achieve good by 2021 |
% water bodies with an objective of good or better |
||||
|
Rivers |
17 |
20 |
74 |
|||
|
Lakes |
16 |
19 |
80 |
|||
|
Coastal |
44 |
48 |
71 |
|||
|
Transitional (estuarine) |
21 |
25 |
58 |
|||
|
Groundwater |
42 |
48 |
72 |
|||
|
All waters |
19 |
22 |
75 |
|||
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what controls arising from health considerations are placed on manufacturers on the use of formaldehyde.
Justin Tomlinson
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for the regulation of workplace health and safety in the UK, and it is the legal duty of those who create risks through work activities to understand those risks and ensure they are adequately controlled. This includes ensuring that duty holders/employers identify and obtain relevant information on the hazardous properties of the substances or materials they use or manufacture.
The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) requires those who place chemicals such as formaldehyde on the market to provide information on the hazards associated with the chemical both up and down the supply chain. This includes the provision of Safety Data Sheets which must accompany chemicals through the supply chain, providing the information users need to ensure that chemicals are safely used and managed.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) also applies in the workplace when hazardous substances, such as formaldehyde, are manufactured, used, or where processes are undertaken that generate hazardous substances. COSHH requires the employer to carry out a risk assessment to establish what, if any, risks to health are associated with the products/processes their employees are using/undertaking and then to put in place measures to eliminate or control exposure to those risks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the mean time taken was between application for payment and receipt of the (a) Basic Farm Payment and (b) Single Farm Payment to individual farms in the UK in the financial year 2014-15.
George Eustice
We do not hold information on mean time taken between the application for payment and a receipt of payment for the Basic Payment Scheme and the Single Payment Scheme in England.
Like-for-like comparisons cannot be made as the scheme rules and consequent administrative checks are different.
As of 10 March 90.5% of farmers (1,661 of 1,835) in Kent had been paid their BPS claim.