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  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterparts on the siege of Cizre by Turkish government forces.

    Mr David Lidington

    Security operations, including military curfews, are continuing in Cizre and other towns in south-east Turkey against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its youth wing, the YPS (Civil Protection Units, formerly the YDG-H). There has been intense fighting in recent days. One policeman and one soldier were killed on 9 February. Our condolences are with the families of the soldiers and police who have been killed, and with civilians caught up in the violence. We continue to call for the PKK to end its terrorist attacks and for the peace process to be resumed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights and avoid civilian casualties. We stand ready to help in any way we can.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the UK is providing to Taiwan since the recent earthquake in that country; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Through The British Office in Taipei we have worked closely with the Taiwanese authorities to establish whether any British Nationals were affected by this tragic earthquake. The Taiwanese authorities have responded swiftly and effectively to the earthquake. Taiwan is not a recipient of UK aid, which is targeted at the poorest, and those least able to cope with such disasters.

    The Foreign Secretary and I have passed our thoughts and condolences to the people of Taiwan and all those affected.

  • Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the letter from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the right hon. Member for Camberwell and Peckham of 16 November 2015, whether British consular officials in Nigeria have made a further visit to Nnamdi Kanu.

    James Duddridge

    Consular officials in Nigeria have visited Mr Kanu a number of times since his arrest, most recently on 3 February.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24086, how many cases were referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privacy Council as the final court of appeal by Commonwealth realms in 2013 and 2014.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The number of cases referred by Commonwealth realms to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal was 15 in 2014 and 19 in 2013.

  • 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 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to Bahraini government on the treatment of political prisoners in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently raised human rights with his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 4 February. Where we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our dialogue on human rights and reform.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to meet the UN target of reducing food wastage by 50 per cent by 2030.

    Rory Stewart

    Food waste is an issue requiring urgent action throughout the world and the UN target of halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels is an important objective. Working through WRAP, we are taking concerted action and are leading the way in the EU and Internationally.

    We have made significant progress to reduce food waste through the Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary agreement with retailers and food manufacturers, and WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign which gives consumers advice and tips on reducing food waste at home. Courtauld Commitment signatories reported a reduction of 7.4% in supply chain waste between 2009 and 2012 under Courtauld 2. Interim results for Courtauld 3 show signatories reported a further 3.2% reduction by 2014.

    We also made progress through a voluntary agreement with the hospitality and food service sector. Hospitality Agreement signatories achieved a reduction in CO2e emissions of 3.6% by preventing food waste and the food and packaging recycling rate rose from 45% to 57% between 2012 and 2014.

    We want to go further. WRAP is currently brokering a new agreement, Courtauld 2025, which will build on this progress. Courtauld 2025 is expected to be launched in March 2016.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has undertaken on the best available means of countering coastal flooding and beach erosion at Avon Beach, Christchurch.

    Rory Stewart

    The Poole and Christchurch Bays Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) assessed options for managing the Avon beach and has set a policy of ‘holding the line’. This means its defences will be maintained and upgraded or replaced in their current position where funding permits. The SMP is available on line at:

    www.twobays.net/index.htm.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s financial contribution was to the Christchurch beach recycling scheme; and what assessment has been made of the cost-effectiveness of the works carried out under that scheme.

    Rory Stewart

    The Christchurch Beach Recycling Scheme took place in 2015 and cost a total of £640,000. The EA contributed £585,000 under the repair and recovery programme allocation of funding as urgent works. The remainder of costs was met by Christchurch Borough Council. The project was assessed by the Environment Agency’s Large Project Review Group, which considered the Scheme’s viability, including cost benefit analysis.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) special needs students and (b) higher skills learners in horticultural training.

    Edward Timpson

    We want all young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), whatever their chosen career path, to be well prepared for adult life. As we have made clear in the SEND Code of Practice, the vast majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained employment with the right preparation and support. Study programmes for individual young people with SEND should be tailored to their individual aspirations and abilities.

    Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need, and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes eight qualifications in horticulture that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the sector.

    However, we want to go further to reform technical and professional education to develop a world-leading system. In November 2015, the Government announced reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is owned, understood and valued by employers. This Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression to higher level skills. This will make it clearer to young people how they can gain the skills necessary to access different occupations, including horticulture related occupations. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and will report to Government in the spring‎ of 2016.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her speech at the Oxford Farming Conference on 6 January 2016, what additional powers she plans to grant to internal drainage boards and other groups to maintain local watercourses.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government believes that flood risk management work should be carried out by those best placed to do it. The Environment Agency (EA) works in close partnership with Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and regularly discusses local watercourse maintenance plans with them, including to agree where IDBs could do work on the EA’s behalf, through public sector cooperation agreements. We will continue to discuss with IDBs and other groups where they could take on more responsibility and control of local flood risk management, including by facilitating flood risk partnerships.