Tag: Andrew Rosindell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent people migrating illegally from Haiti to the Turks & Caicos islands.

James Duddridge

Through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund the Ministry of Defence has delivered maritime training to the Turks and Caicos Islands to build maritime police capacity as well as to facilitate their participation in Exercise TRADEWINDS 16, an annual regional exercise sponsored by the United States. This will enable Turks and Caicos Islands maritime police to work and train in partnership with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force and the United States Coastguard, to develop mutual capacity, relations and integration to help deter and detect irregular migration. Her Majesty’s Government has also funded an Immigration Adviser between September 2013 and March 2015 to help build Turks and Caicos Island’s capacity to deal with the full range of migration challenges.

Our Embassy in Haiti continues to press the Haitian government to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding to establish agreed arrangements for repatriations and better communication on migration issues. In parallel, our Embassy in Haiti will be taking forward work on a public diplomacy campaign in Northern Haiti to highlight the dangers and risks of attempting the dangerous sea crossing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications of UN Security Council Resolution 2249 (2015) for the legality of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There is a clear legal basis for further military action against ISIL in Syria. The legal basis of the Coalition’s activity against ISIL in Syria has been, and continues to be, the inherent right of self-defence recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter. The legality of potential UK strikes against ISIL in Syria would also be based on the right of self-defence. The right of self defence may be exercised individually where it is necessary for the UK’s own defence, and collectively in the defence of our friends and allies.

UN Security Council Resolution 2249 provides clear and unanimous political endorsement by the international community for the military action being taken by the Coalition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what planning he has undertaken to ensure that any UN airstrikes in Syria are (a) co-ordinated with all participating countries and (b) do not harm UN relations with the Russian Federation.

Michael Fallon

UK airstrikes are undertaken as part of the Global Coalition’s counter-Daesh campaign and are coordinated by the Coalition’s Combined Air Operations Centre based at Al Udeid in Qatar. UK aircraft also abide by the provisions and procedures in the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Russia which aims to prevent flight safety incidents over Syria and Iraq.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the legal position is on the use of prefixes or styles granted by virtue of honours in Commonwealth realms in the UK to (a) either to a citizen of a Commonwealth realm and (b) to a dual national who is also national of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; how such honours are recognised; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge

The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative and is governed by convention, rather than by law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to dredge rivers to prevent further flooding; and if her Department will review any current restrictions on dredging in place to permit more dredging in the future.

Rory Stewart

Dredging is one of a number of tools that can be used by the Environment Agency and landowners to manage flood risk. Dredging and clearing channels are important parts of the Environment Agency’s maintenance regime and it assess the benefits carefully on a location by location basis. This is done in consultation with local communities and organisations such as Internal Drainage Boards as appropriate.

Subject to parliamentary approval,new regulations will make it easier for farmers to maintain watercourses. Defra have worked with the Environment Agency to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect the environment. An exemption to allow farmers to dredge and clear debris from up to 1.5 kms of certain watercourses is due to be part of the new Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) for flood risk activities planned for April.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in states which allow women to engage in close combat operations on effective implementation of that policy.

Penny Mordaunt

The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary stated on 20 December 2015 that they would like to see all roles in the Armed Forces opened up to women in 2016 and further physiological research currently under way will inform a final decision in mid-2016.

The Ministry of Defence is working closely with other nations who have lifted the exclusion including Australia and the United States. This engagement includes collaboration between scientific and research bodies as well as on policy and training development. The UK research programme is investigating the long-term health effects of UK combat requirements which will benefit both male and female personnel.

I discussed this issue at length with counterparts in the US when I visited Washington in September 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether UK nationals who are also nationals of other Commonwealth realms are required to renounce their UK citizenship if they wish to use a titular honour or knighthood granted to them by Her Majesty the Queen or her representatives in right of another of her Commonwealth Realms or Overseas Territories; and whether his Department’s rules on the use, style and designation of honours to dual nationals has changed in the last two years.

James Duddridge

If a Realm honour has been awarded to an individual when they were a British national, whether or not they were also a national of that Realm, then permission will not be given for the use of a title at a later date if the recipient later renounces their British nationality.

The titles of Realm nationals, who are not British, and have been awarded a knighthood by their own country, are recognised in the United Kingdom as an official courtesy. Official courtesy means that other parties, including official bodies, may refer to the individual’s title if they wish to do so.

The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative and is governed by convention. The convention has not changed in the last two years. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office does not set rules or regulations for these matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his EU counterparts to persuade Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to (a) accept a similar number of Syrian refugees as Jordan and (b) increase their financial support for such refugees.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK actively engages with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, on humanitarian and development assistance, and the Gulf States continue to contribute generously to humanitarian support for the Syria crisis. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are amongst the top ten bilateral aid donors. Contributions from these four Gulf States to UN appeals alone amounts to over $2.5bn. Additionally Kuwait chairs the Top Donor Group and has hosted three pledging conferences. Kuwait is also one of the co-hosts of the London Syria Donors Conference on 4 February. The Gulf States are also contributing through regional charities. For example, the UAE funds the Emirates Jordan camp which houses over 6,000 refugees.

The Gulf States are not signatories to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951, and there is no legal refugee status in these countries. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are living in Gulf States as migrant workers or on visitors’ visas. The EU is also engaging the Gulf States on the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the UK’s outstanding public debt obligations are to China.

Harriett Baldwin

The majority of the government’s public debt is financed through the issuance of UK government bonds, known as ‘gilts’. Information on sectoral holdings of gilts is published on a quarterly basis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The latest figures show that £426.9 billion of gilts (25.9% of the total stock) is held by overseas investors, of which £73.3 billion is held by foreign central banks. The government does not hold detailed information on the identity of foreign central banks or other individual investors holding these gilts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the cost to the economy of unreliable internet connectivity and speeds in 2014-15.

Mr Edward Vaizey

We are not aware of any existing research about the annual cost to the UK economy of unreliable broadband internet connectivity or speeds in 2014-15. However, the economic benefits of broadband access are clear, for example, SQW Consulting’s UK Broadband impact study in 2013 estimated that the availability and take-up of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.

In November, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) and our ambition is to set this at 10 Mbps. This new broadband USO will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection from a designated provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live. A consultation, which has now closed, was published on 23 March setting out the Government’s proposed approach to taking this work forward.