The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials from the Government plan to attend the Montreal Protocol meetings in July 2016.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
The UK Government delegation comprised two officials from Defra’s Environmental Quality Directorate and one official from the Department’s Team of the Government Legal Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Blood on 2016-10-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the UK withdrawing from the EU will have on Port Health Authorities.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government is considering the impacts of the decision to leave the European Union, including the impact on Port Health Authorities (PHAs). The Government recognises the significant contribution PHAs make to public and animal health protection and the United Kingdom is committed to ensuring any potential impacts to PHAs are well managed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-05.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking at EU level to make sanitary products exempt from VAT.
Mr David Gauke
I have, following the recent Parliamentary debate on this issue, written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out our strong view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to these products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s Action Plan on VAT initiatives. That Action Plan is now expected to emerge in March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many data protection breaches there have been by HM Courts and Tribunals Service when dealing with non-devolved tribunals in Scotland since April 2013.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Below are the reported data incidents figures of non-devolved tribunals in Scotland since April 2013:
April 2013 – March 2014 64 reported incidents
April 2014 – March 2015 65 reported incidents
HMCTS staff are mandated to complete annual information assurance training, which includes actions to take in respect of a data protection breach or data incident.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to support and develop the export potential of UK dairy through the Dairy Exports Strategy.
George Eustice
There is great global demand for quality British dairy products and we are working to maximise this opportunity by opening up new markets around the world. Eight dairy companies accompanied the Secretary of State on a trade mission to China in November, and next month a Chinese dairy delegation is visiting to discuss opportunities for investment in our domestic industry.
Further trade missions are planned over the coming months to the US, Japan and China. Together with UKTI we will continue to promote our fantastic British dairy brand.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 27866, what powers EEA states which are not EU members have to (a) terminate and (b) change the terms of the membership of the EEA of another EEA state which is not a member of the EU.
Anna Soubry
As set out by the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), the contracting parties of the Agreement are the EU, the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Agreement does not set out what powers Contracting Parties have over the termination or change of others’ engagement with the Agreement. The only mention in the Agreement of termination is that each Contracting Party may withdraw from this Agreement provided it gives at least twelve months’ notice in writing to the other Contracting Parties. Meanwhile, the Agreement states that any European State becoming a member of the EU or of the European Free Trade Association may apply to become a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and that the terms and conditions for such participation shall be the subject of an agreement between the Contracting Parties and the applicant State.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 996, what evidence has been gathered and preserved of potential (a) war crimes and (b) genocide in (i) Syria and (ii) Iraq.
Mr Philip Hammond
Evidence is being gathered and preserved by a range of state and non state actors for potential prosecutions. The UK is supporting a number of these efforts. In Syria, the UK is funding the work of NGOs who are gathering evidence of Human Rights violations committed across Syria, including by Daesh and the Asad regime. This is being done to the standards required for criminal prosecution against high level perpetrators in a domestic or international court. In Iraq, we are considering how the UK might best complement similar efforts already underway. Working with international partners, we are doing everything we can to assist in the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used by judicial bodies to make a judgement on this matter. It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost or destroyed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to increase reporting and improve data collection of violence against women and girls in developing countries.
Mr Nick Hurd
DFID has championed the introduction of a VAWG ‘marker’ by the OECD-DAC to better track donor funding on VAWG. The Department has also already made changes to its own systems so that it can report annually to the OECD-DAC about VAWG spending. The DAC marker is a critical accountability tool for all donors, including in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 5.2. In addition the department is supporting some national governments to collect data on violence against women and girls through its bilateral programmes, one example of which is the support to Ghana to conduct a violence against women and girls prevalence survey.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub is still planned to proceed.
Ben Gummer
Departments are working to progress the anti-corruption agenda, including work that was set out at the London Anti-Corruption Summit on May 12. However, the new government will wish to consider its approach to specific anti corruption policies, and the governance structures that will oversee this work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to change the rules on VAT applicable to sixth form colleges.
Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has no plans to change the rules on VAT applicable to sixth form colleges.