Tag: Alan Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with the government of Morocco on the holding of a free and fair referendum on the governance of Western Sahara.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

It is for the parties to the dispute to agree a resolution of the final status of Western Sahara. The UK encourages both sides to cooperate with the United Nations process to reach a mutually acceptable solution that provides for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN Security Council on setting a date for a free and fair referendum in Western Sahara with an option for independence on the ballot paper.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

It is for the parties to the dispute to agree a resolution of the final status of Western Sahara. The UK encourages both sides to cooperate with the United Nations process to reach a mutually acceptable solution that provides for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the loss of skilled manufacturing jobs to other countries in the EU.

Anna Soubry

The best way the Government can help retain skilled manufacturing jobs in the UK is by continuing to ensure a strong economy. We are cutting red tape by a further £10billion, creating three million apprenticeships and lowering corporation tax. This will create the right economic conditions to encourage the investment crucial to UK manufacturing productivity growth and jobs. The UK is the number one destination in Europe for foreign direct investment and around a third of the 2,000 new inward Foreign Direct Investment projects in 2014/15 were in the areas of advanced manufacturing and life sciences. Since the Government’s Reshore UK initiative was launched in January 2014, it has advised more than 140 companies, helping to create or safeguard 4,789 jobs so far, with over 4,000 more in the pipeline.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many barrels of oil Daesh sells through Turkey on a daily basis.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There are no reliable statistics available on how much oil, and related products, are smuggled over the border to Turkey. However, last year the Turkish government greatly increased the number of border guards to tackle oil smuggling across its border with Syria and captured 79 million litres of smuggled oil.

We work closely with Turkey and there is no evidence to suggest that the Turkish government has been involved in the oil trade.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Leader of the House, what progress the Government is making on reform of the Estimates process.

Chris Grayling

Estimates are formal requests for authorisation of expenditure proposed to the House by the Government. Scrutiny of these, which are effectively departmental budgets, is undertaken in a variety of ways including debates selected by the Liaison Committee and it is open to select committees to examine these budgets.

The Procedure Committee has recently announced that it will examine the House’s procedures for examining the Estimates and the passing of legislation which authorises this expenditure through the Supply and Consideration Bill.

The Committee is accepting written submissions until 25 March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is successful in eradicating polio by 2020.

Mr Nick Hurd

Her Majesty’s Government is fully committed to global polio eradication. The UK is the third largest donor to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and is providing £300 million for 2013 to 2019. The UK, as the largest donor to Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, is supporting the rapid global introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a key step in the final stages of eradication.

DFID also plays a key role in sustaining global political commitment and in making sure that every penny we, or others, invest in polio is spent well. We actively participate on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Oversight Board and the Finance and Accountability Committee, ensuring a strong focus on results and delivering value for money. During the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Her Majesty’s Government re-affirmed our unwavering commitment to fighting polio encouraging others to join us in the final push towards global polio eradication.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government is making to the UN on incorporating a human rights mandate into the renewal of the UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are not advocating that the United Nations Security Council pursue the incorporation of human rights monitoring as part of the MINURSO mandate. The international community monitors human rights through other means; there was a technical visit by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2015, a visit by the UN’s Independent Expert on Human Rights in January 2016 and there is an upcoming visit of the Special Rapporteur on Torture.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2016 to Question 42832, if he will allow part payments to cover the one to six day period between people reaching State Pension Age and their allocated pension payday.

Richard Harrington

New rules apply in the new State Pension scheme introduced from 6 April 2016. Individuals who reach State Pension age on or after that date are paid their new State Pension from the date they reach their State Pension age. Payments are made in arrears on a payday based on the individual’s National Insurance number. This means that in most cases the first payment may be in respect of a part of a week – that is from the day the individual reaches State Pension age to their first normal payday. The new State Pension is payable until the date of their death and a part week payment may also apply at the end of their claim.

Under the State Pension system that applies to people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, for those who did not move from a working age benefit to State Pension, the State Pension is payable only in full benefit weeks. This means that depending on the individual’s payday, as determined by their National Insurance number, their payment may not have begun from the day they reached their State Pension age. These arrangements for full week payment apply to both the start and the end of their claim for their State Pension and a full week is paid in respect of the week in which their death occurs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the assistance that could best be offered to help prevent the loss of highly-skilled manufacturing jobs at MAHLE in Kilmarnock.

Anna Soubry

This is disappointing news for the MAHLE workforce and their families. Economic development is devolved to the Scottish Government and as such I am not in a position to comment on their response to this announcement. This Government stands ready to work with the Scottish Government if needed but I note that they are already working with the company over how they might tailor their PACE support programme (their equivalent to our Rapid Response Service) to help those facing redundancy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what estimate has been made of the cost of reconstruction of Syria after the cessation of conflict there; what the timeframe required for reconstruction in that country will be; what countries have confirmed contributions to that reconstruction; and what the value of each such contribution will be.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. We have committed over £1.1 billion to date, making us the second largest bilateral donor to the international response.

The World Bank suggests that reconstructing Syria could cost at least $170bn. Most countries take decades to recover from war on this scale. The UK has always punched above its weight in helping deal with the effects of the Syria crisis. We will continue to do so for the reconstruction of Syria. The PM announced last week that we will commit at least £1 billion to Syria’s reconstruction in the longer term.

We have planned for the endgame since the beginning of this conflict and during the Geneva process. We have learned lessons from previous conflicts. We are now updating our planning to reflect the timeline envisaged in the Vienna process and are asking others to do the same. We anticipate the United Nations to coordinate the international response and will use our position as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to support this.