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Tag: 2016

  • George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision of China to land civilian planes on Fiery Cross reef in the disputed South China Sea on regional relationships.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The landings of Chinese civilian aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef have prompted diplomatic protests in the region and widespread expressions of concern about heightened tensions. The UK opposes any actions likely to increase tensions in the South China Sea and threaten regional stability. We continue to call on all parties to exercise restraint.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where his Department plans for work to take place on rectifying the electrical and propulsion faults on the Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified and the ongoing programme to implement these changes continues to deliver positive results, with the majority of work undertaken so far being at Her Majesty’s Naval Base, Portsmouth.

    In addition, and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we are committed to improving system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity. Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with several competing industrial partners. The total cost and timetable for implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision. I am withholding details of our current time and cost estimates as premature disclosure of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

    Mr David Lidington

    At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with staff at his Department’s office at 2 St Paul’s Place, Sheffield, since the announcement of the proposed closure of that office.

    Joseph Johnson

    The responsibility for running the Department, including personnel issues lies with the Permanent Secretary and the BIS Executive Board. The Permanent Secretary went to Sheffield in January to inform staff of the intention to close the Sheffield office and to answer questions. Since then, many of the Department’s Directors and Directors-General have visited the Sheffield office to discuss the proposals, answer questions and provide support to affected staff.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to reduce UK reliance on fossil fuels from Eastern Europe.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Fossil fuels are widely traded internationally, and the UK imports fossil fuels from a variety of different countries to supplement our domestic production. This diversity of supply reduces our reliance on fossil fuels from any single region, including Eastern Europe.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will support the immediate establishment of an international, impartial investigation into repeated international humanitarian law violations by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK Government has been clear that we want to see thorough and conclusive investigations where allegations have been made against parties to the conflict in Yemen regarding international humanitarian law. The Saudi Arabian government has its own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail on how they investigate such incidents earlier this year and that any lessons learned would be acted upon. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to comply with international humanitarian law, including to take all feasible precautions to minimise harm to civilians and civilian objects.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 25 July 2016 to Questions 43380 and 43381, what proportion of that £12 billion was spent on (a) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) winning contracts directly from government and (b) large companies winning contracts directly from government and then outsourcing parts of those contracts to SMEs.

    Ben Gummer

    In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion with small and medium sized businesses, of which £4.88 billion was direct spend and £7.27 billion through our supply chains.

    A full breakdown of the data can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2014-to-2015

    “

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role the Government plans to take in helping to facilitate a resumed dialogue between Somaliland and Somalia after presidential elections in Somaliland in March 2017.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The Government recognises the importance of dialogue between Somalia and Somaliland, currently facilitated by the Government of Turkey, and we expect to see this resumed once both the Somaliland Presidential elections and the Parliamentary and Presidential electoral processes in Somalia have been held.

    The Government’s position on Somaliland has long been that it is for Somalia and Somaliland to decide their future, and for regional neighbours to take the lead in recognising any new arrangements.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the level of aseptic pharmaceutical medication error within the NHS.

    George Freeman

    Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2015 to Question HL 5030, when he expects the upgrade work required on Type 45 destroyers to be completed; whether any such destroyers on which such work has not been completed have been deployed on any operation since the decision to proceed with the upgrade work was taken; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that work on the operational capability of the Royal Navy.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    All Royal Navy ships have a rolling programme of work which is being applied as operational commitments, planned maintenance and design solutions allow. With regard to the Type 45s, decisions on the optional Diesel Generator upgrade, announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 is in the planning phase and the costs and timescales of the three leading options will be confirmed in the Assessment Phase.

    I am withholding information about the potential costs of the Diesel Generator upgrade as releasing such information at this stage would prejudice the commercial position of the MOD.

    Since the previous answer was given, Type 45 Destroyers have routinely deployed to the Gulf, with HMS Duncan undertaking the first successful nine month deployment of a Type 45 to that region in 2015. She was relieved by HMS Defender in December 2015, also on a nine month deployment, which is currently utilising the recognised world leading Anti-Air Warfare capabilities of Type 45 in providing direct support and protection to the US carrier operations against Daesh.