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  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss the imprisonment of Ahmed Naji with his Egyptian counterpart; and if he will make representations on the freedom of expression in Egypt during that discussion.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    My officials are aware of Mr Naji’s case and will continue to follow further developments.

    Political progress is essential for Egypt’s long-term stability. This includes freedom of expression in all its forms. We also want to see better protection of Egyptians’ constitutional rights. Ministers and officials regularly raise our concerns with their Egyptian counterparts.

    We will continue to urge the Government of Egypt to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of speech, including the right of freedom of expression for journalists and writers to operate. The UK has clearly stated that freedom of expression is fundamental to building a democratic society.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the commitments contained in the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016 not to create obstacles to, but facilitate such deepening of the Eurozone and to sincere cooperation with the Eurozone, create any additional legal obligations to those already contained in Article 4 (3) of the Treaty on European Union.

    Mr David Gauke

    No new legal obligations on the UK have been created in this regard. The Eurozone is a key trading partner for the UK and a stable, successful Eurozone economy is of vital importance to the UK’s own economic security. While the UK Government supports the Eurozone taking the steps it needs to succeed, the Prime Minister has secured a legally-binding agreement which recognises that the UK should not be forced to participate nor have its interests undermined.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Thai government on the (a) charges facing and (b) return of the British passport belonging to Andy Hall.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We have taken a number of actions to support Mr Hall. Most recently, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Simon McDonald, raised his case with the Thai Vice Foreign Minister during his visit to Bangkok on 3 February. He emphasised the importance of proceedings against Mr Hall being conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner.

    We have requested the return of Mr Hall’s passport from the Thai courts. However, we have no jurisdiction to interfere in other countries’ judicial processes, which include a court’s ability to set its own bail conditions. We stand ready to provide further consular assistance should Mr Hall require it.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential terrorist and security threat to the corps of Royal Engineers who will be deployed in March to provide short-term engineering support to the multinational force and observers in Sinai.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As is the case with all operational deployments, a full risk assessment was conducted prior to the decision to deploy Royal Engineers to support the Multi-National Force Observers (MFO) mission in Sinai. This covered the full range of risks to our personnel and identified appropriate measures to mitigate risk.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the total number of active Daesh fighters in (a) Iraq, (b) Libya and (c) Syria in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The latest available US figures suggest that there are approximately 19,000 – 25,000 Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria, compared to estimates of 20,000 – 31,000 fighters in 2014. Estimates for the number of Daesh fighters in Libya are between 3,000 – 6,000.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is providing to the Libyan government to assist the removal of Daesh from Sirte; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We must take action to prevent Daesh from using Libya as a base from which to plan and carry out attacks.

    That is why we are working closely with international partners to develop a comprehensive approach to defeating it. Initial planning has focused on building the capabilities of Libyan security forces to provide their own security. We will seek early discussions with a Libyan Government of National Accord.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from his US counterpart on the security situation in Libya; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) spoke with US Secretary of State Kerry on 29 February and discussed a range of issues, including Libya. We have regular discussions with international partners, including the United States, in support of the Libya Political Agreement, including on security matters.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to meet the target of reaching a national recycling rate of 50 per cent by 2020.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK recycling rate has increased from 11% at the turn of the century, to 44.9% now. This progress is thanks in large part to the hard work of Local Authorities and householders.

    The Government is committed to meeting the 2020 EU recycling target of 50% of household waste.

    Local Authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate waste collection and recycling services in their areas and we work with them and the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) to promote best practice.

    I have asked WRAP to look at what further measures can be taken to improve recycling rates and, in particular, the benefits and opportunities there are from having greater consistency in the materials collected and collection systems, to enable Local Authorities to recycle more, and to make it easier for householders to put the right materials in the right bin.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency plans to spend on flood prevention for Crawley, Gatwick and the Upper River Mole over the next three years.

    Rory Stewart

    In the next three years the Environment Agency expects to spend £4,034,000 on completion of the Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme. The Environment Agency also expect to spend £70,250 on studies to investigate future works and have a 2016-17 allocation of approximately £94,000 for maintenance works. The Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme protects the communities of Crawley, Horley and Maidenbower as well as Gatwick Airport.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average number of households using smart (a) electric and (b) gas meters was in (i) St Helens North constituency, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the UK in 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department collects quarterly aggregated data from large energy suppliers on the number of smart meter installations, but does not collect data on the number of households with smart meters.

    Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-3-2015.

    “