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Tag: 2016

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards implementation of the provisions of the EU–Turkey Joint Action Plan to tackle the migrant crisis in line with EU principles.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The UK is committed to ensuring the EU Turkey deal is implemented in an effective and sustainable way. We believe it is going to make a genuine difference to managing the flows of migrants; preventing people from putting themselves in the hands of smugglers and from dying while attempting the crossing. The UK is working with our European partners to ensure that most migrants can be returned quickly, fairly and securely to Turkey. We have offered 75 expert personnel including staff to help with the processing and administration of migrants in Greek reception centres. This will help to ensure that vulnerable people, including children, are identified and can access asylum systems as quickly as possible, while other migrants will be returned to Turkey in accordance with the EU-Turkey deal. The first cohort of staff are due to arrive in Greece next week. The UK also continues to deploy three vessels in the Aegean assisting in Search & Rescue missions, and a Royal Navy vessel operating as part of the NATO mission.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance, education and training the Government is providing to the Burmese Army; and whether the Government provides training on human rights and humanitarian obligations.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Her Majesty’s Government provides educational training to the Burmese military. In 2015 this included the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context and Strategic Leadership Programmes, both delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in partnership with Cranfield University. In addition, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst delivered a Psychology of Leadership programme in Burma, and we have also provided English language training. Both programmes delivered by the Defence Academy included dedicated modules on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. Ethics in Leadership and the issue of Child Soldiers and Women and Girls in Conflict Zones are also included in the syllabus. The Government does not provide any form of combat training to the Burmese army.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will estimate his Department’s spending related to the crisis in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK remains fully committed to helping bring peace and stability to Yemen. In terms of programme spend, through the cross-departmental Conflict Stability and Security Fund, we are spending £2.95m on Yemen in the 2016/17 financial year. This is focussed on the UK priorities in Yemen of de-escalation, support for the UN-led peace process and political transition. It includes: the provision of extra capacity for the UN Special Envoy to Yemen’s office to enable them to lead and broaden the scope of peace talks; support demining and clearance of explosive remnants of war; and efforts to increase the inclusivity of a future political settlement. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also provides funding through the Magna Carta Fund to help improve the human rights situation in Yemen.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a communique will be produced following the Syria donors conference in February 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Germany, Kuwait, Norway, the UK and the UN, as co-hosts of the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region (London 2016), plan to issue a statement at the end of the Conference summarising the outcomes.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether there are any restrictions on the business activities that can be carried out by foreign diplomats based in the UK.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Article 42 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations (VCDR) states that ‘a diplomatic agent shall not in the receiving State practise for personal profit any professional or commercial activity’. The UK expects foreign diplomats to abide by the Articles of the VCDR.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that military personnel based in Cyprus have the cost of flights for them and their family to return to the UK on leave fully covered by the allowances provided, even at peak travel times.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Get You Home (Overseas) allowance enables eligible Service personnel and any spouse, civil partner or dependent children to return to the UK by assisting towards the costs of return journeys to the UK or, in the case of non-British passport holders, to their country of domicile. Get You Home (Overseas) is calculated by the Ministry of Defence based upon an average of economy class airfares obtained from Expedia three times per year – summer, Christmas and Easter. The flight route used is from the overseas location to the UK and prices are sourced from the internet one month prior to the date selected as the date of travel. The current rate for Cyprus is £337 per person. Analysis by British Forces Cyprus for the peak summer period indicates that the allowance fully covers the cost of a routine economy flight.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on supporting proposals for a new Libyan government involving restoration of a monarchy and a return to the 1951 Libyan Constitution.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK, along with our international partners, is focused on working closely with the Government of National Accord (GNA) as the only legitimate government in Libya. It is clear the GNA, agreed after more than a year of political talks between a range of Libyan parties, enjoys clear majority support as the institution to govern the country.

    It is for the Libyan people to decide whether they want to pursue proposals for the restoration of the monarchy and return to the 1951 Libyan Constitution. There is no strong evidence that these proposals have broad support at this time.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the regulatory impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).

    It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.

    The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.

    For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22080, when the Environment Agency will be consulting on the proposals to modernise the rod licence service.

    George Eustice

    The Environment Agency advertised its proposed changes to the rod licence structure and duties on 6 May 2016 in the London Gazette, Welsh newspapers and in the angling press. The Environment Agency also consulted stakeholders through focus groups, newsletters, publications, websites, telephone calls and their stakeholder forum, the England Fisheries Group, prior to advertising the changes in England and Wales.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed new junior doctors’ contract on ensuring safe working hours.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The new contract includes stronger limits on working hours and patterns of work and a robust oversight mechanism to ensure that prompt action is taken if needed. This will be an integral part of how trusts meet their statutory obligations to keep staff and patients safe. Required action includes a review of work schedules to ensure safe working, payment for additional work done and fines where the limits in the contract are breached. There are no such protections under the current contract. For instance, at present, junior doctors can be asked to work up to 91 hours a week, up to seven night shifts in a row and every weekend under the current contract. The Guardian of Safe Working Hours will be tasked with ensuring that rotas reflect the hours that juniors work and they are within the new contractual limits.

    These limits under the new contract are a maximum of 72 hours per week (compared to 91 currently), and the limit on average weekly hours will remain 48 hours (and be limited to 56 hours where a doctor opts out of the Working Time Regulations).