Tag: 2015

  • Lord Judd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what level the UK will be represented in the Open Ended Working Group established on 5 November by the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (Disarmament and International Security) and to be convened in Geneva.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK and the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States voted against the Resolution “Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations” in the UN General Assembly First Committee earlier this month which established an Open Ended Working Group. The Government believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment. We remain open to an appropriately-mandated Open Ended Working Group provided that it is conducive to a constructive dialogue and we are considering whether to attend the meeting in Geneva in 2016.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will assess the effect of the lack of a support mechanism for small-scale wind projects in Northern Ireland on those projects.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland and it is for Ministers in Northern Ireland to decide on what support mechanisms they deem appropriate.

    The primary focus of the current review of the Feed-in Tariffs is to ensure generators are incentivised appropriately whilst seeking views on how to control future costs.We therefore do not consider it appropriate at this moment to extend the scope of the scheme.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey, following the killing on 15 November in Nusaybin of Selamet Yesilmen; and whether they intend to call for full compensation for killed and injured civilians and property damaged throughout south-eastern Turkey.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of the case of Selamet Yesilmen, who was killed in clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish authorities in Nusaybin, and closely monitor the human rights situation across Turkey, including the southeast. As we have made clear, the PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed, in the interests of Turkey and the wider region.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the new Israel Defence Forces rules of engagement with Palestinian stone-throwers, and the Israeli sentencing policy towards those individuals.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of press reports of changes to Israel Defence Forces Rules of Engagement. We are also aware of changes to sentencing policy. Like all countries, Israel has a right to defend its citizens from attack and to hold perpetrators of attacks to account. We nevertheless regularly raise with Israel concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, by Israeli security authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv did this most recently on 4 November with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Envoy on the Peace Process, Isaac Molho, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of (a) (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) people aged 16 to 24 and (b) people aged (i) 16 to 24, (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 20, (iv) 21 to 22 and (v) 23 to 24 had been unemployed for more than 12 months on the last date for which figures are available.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to emerging evidence relating to the appropriate level of dietary sodium intake; what meetings Ministers have had with scientists and others about that issue; and what representations they have received regarding dietary sodium intake.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake was extensively reviewed in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report ‘Salt and Health’, published in 2003. In reviewing the evidence, SACN noted that the greatest benefits were likely to be achieved by taking a population approach to reducing salt intakes rather than through individual targeted advice. SACN continues to monitor average salt intakes through a programme of dietary survey work.

    New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.

    SACN has also reviewed the evidence around the impact of low sodium intakes. It found no basis for changing the existing recommendation for a target reduction in average salt intake to 6 grammes per day for the adult population, equivalent to an average reduction of 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    SACN’s ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

    Baroness Masham of Ilton has recently asked three questions about dietary sodium intake. Further representations have been received from the Salt Association. Ministers have not met with scientists and others about this issue.

    “

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward plans to monitor the effectiveness of how the Homelessness Protection Grant is spent.

    Greg Hands

    Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government. It is up to individual authorities to decide how grant funding should be spent in order to deliver local services. To ensure that councils have the necessary skills to do this, the Government supported the establishment of the National Practitioner Support Service’s ‘Gold Standard’ programme to help improve the effectiveness of local authority homelessness prevention services.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has had with (a) business and (b) trade union representatives on job losses in the (i) steel and (ii) energy efficiency, solar and low carbon heating industries since his appointment to his current position.

    Anna Soubry

    Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Ministers have held a number of discussions with UK steel companies, industry representatives and trade unions about the current challenges facing the sector.

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), her Ministers, and DECC officials have had a number of regular meetings and roundtables with external organisations within the energy sector, and will continue to do so, on a wide range of subjects including jobs and growth across different sectors.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    Both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts to discuss a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent British multinational companies avoiding tax in developing countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning extremely seriously, and has taken action both domestically and through working with other countries to prevent this.

    The UK has led global efforts to tackle aggressive tax planning by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.

    The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to collect the tax they are due. Through the G20 Development Working Group, and with the supporting of international organisations, it is working to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations.

    In addition, the UK contributes considerable human and financial resources to help developing countries build robust tax administrations. Earlier this year, the Government committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.