The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning unexploded ordnance left after military training close to Palestinian property.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued withholding of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, and whether they have determined why those bodies have been kept for so long.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have raised the withholding of bodies of suspected perpetrators of terrorist attacks on a number of occasions, at senior levels in the Israel National Security Council and with the Israel Defence Forces since the increase in violence in October.
We continue to urge both the Israelis and Palestinians to maintain calm and refrain from taking actions which could make peace more difficult to achieve.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about allowing visits of parliamentarians to Gaza.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We do not make representations on behalf of British nationals, including parliamentarians, wishing to travel to Gaza. Parliamentarians should be aware that at this time the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Gaza. Entry and exit from Gaza is difficult and can, at times, be impossible. Entry is through either Israel, with permission from the Israeli authorities, or Egypt, with permission from the Egyptian authorities (although this border has been closed almost entirely since October 2014).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further plans they have to assist reconstruction in Gaza, and what is the timescale and financial commitment for that further assistance, if any.
Baroness Verma
As part of its Bilateral Aid Review, DFID is in the process of agreeing future multi-year support for Palestinian development, which will include support for Gaza. This will include access for reconstruction materials, basic service delivery, support to the private sector and assistance for the most vulnerable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the UK financial commitment to Gaza since fighting ceased in 2014 has been spent, and on what.
Baroness Verma
The UK provided more than £17 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014. In October 2014, the UK pledged a further £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo. The UK has disbursed this pledge in its entirety. Since then the UK has provided more than £25 million of additional support to Gaza for a range of activities, including basic service delivery and support to the private sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the total financial commitment by the UK to Gaza since fighting ceased in 2014.
Baroness Verma
The UK provided more than £17 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014. In October 2014, the UK pledged a further £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo. The UK has disbursed this pledge in its entirety. Since then the UK has provided more than £25 million of additional support to Gaza for a range of activities, including basic service delivery and support to the private sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the impact on the electricity market of limiting operational run hours for gas-reciprocating-engine-driven electricity back-up plants under environmental permitting legislation.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Defra will consult later this year on options which will include legislation that would set binding emission limit values on relevant air pollutants from small engines – which may include proposals that would be implemented under environmental permitting legislation. As part of this process Defra will assess the impacts of any policy options it proposes to take forward, and will work with DECC to understand any implications this may have for the electricity market.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to review Best Available Techniques permissible with respect to environmental permits for back-up electricity generating plant.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Back-up electricity generating plants with a rated thermal input of 20MW or more are currently regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. Guidance on Best Available Techniques that plants should use is periodically reviewed. The Best Available Techniques for plants with a rated thermal input above 50MW are currently being reviewed. Research is also being undertaken to assess Best Available Technique for combustion plants operating in the capacity market.
Defra is reviewing environmental legislation for back-up generators and will consult on options to set emissions for relevant air pollutants for some plants such as diesel engines. We will consider the coherence of existing legislation with measures we will be introducing as a result of the review and the Medium Combustion Plant Directive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 25 February (HL Deb, col 389), when they first made representations to the EU Commission as regards allegations of dumping of Chinese steel; when action was taken by the Commission; and what assessment they have made of whether the Commission took effective and prompt action.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The European Commission currently has 37 measures in place against steel products, 16 of which concern imports from China.
The government makes regular representations to the European Commission concerning allegations of dumping of steel. The government judges each anti-dumping investigation on its merits, based on the evidence presented by the Commission and on representations from interested parties, including producers, users and importers. We have supported industry calls for action in recent cases, for example in the reinforcing bar case we have raised the steel industry’s concerns that the provisional duties were too low with the Commission. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills spoke with Commissioner Malmström about this and received assurance that the Commission will reconsider this during the definitive stage of the investigation, if industry can provide the necessary evidence.
Given the current crisis in the steel industry, we continue to press the Commission for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Altmann on 2 March (HL6343), why there is a difference within the Overseas Territories resulting in some people receiving uprating of their pensions while the pensions of others are frozen, and what would be the annual cost of unfreezing pensions for all those living in the Overseas Territories.
Baroness Altmann
The government has a clear position, which has remained constant for around 70 years: the UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this.
The annual additional cost of up-rating the state pensions of those recipients who are resident in the British Overseas Territories is estimated at approximately £1million in 2015/16.
Were this to occur, liabilities for pensioners who live in other countries and territories would also have to be met. The estimated cost of increasing pensions in those countries where they are not currently uprated would be over £0.5 billion a year. This would be financially unaffordable.