Tag: Andrew Rosindell

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to provide British pensioners living overseas with the same annual uprating of their state pension as British pensioners who are resident in the UK.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK state pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have bilateral agreements. There are no plans to change this.

Not uprating where there is no legal requirement to do so frees up about £0.5 billion a year which can be used to fund Government priorities in this country.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Questions 24490 and 24491, when her Department expects to have made a decision on whether to grant the right of abode to former British-Hong Kong servicemen.

James Brokenshire

The assessment of the request by former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps that they be granted right of abode in the UK is on-going, including discussions at official level with other government departments and a review of archived material on the schemes established between 1990 and 1997. A decision will be made as soon as practicable

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Hungarian government on the sale of residency bonds to non-EU citizens.

Mr David Lidington

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has had no discussions with the Hungarian government on this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports he has received on progress made by Greece in implementing the conditions of the 2015 EU bailout package; and if he will press for steps to improve transparency and monitor use of the bailout funds.

Mr David Gauke

While Greece remains in the euro, its financial stability is the responsibility of the euro area. The UK Government has secured a deal that protects UK taxpayers from any risk from financing euro area bailouts now and in the future. The UK is therefore not involved in the review of Greece’s euro area bailout package agreed in 2015.

Ministers and officials routinely meet with international counterparts to discuss economic and financial issues within the euro area and wider European Union, including ongoing financial assistance programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force among young people.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Royal Air Force (RAF) engages in a number of ways to encourage interest in aviation and the RAF among young people including through its investment in the Air Cadet Organisation. In addition, the RAF Youth Engagement Programme is designed to raise awareness of aviation and aerospace, and their relevance to RAF career choices which require STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) qualifications. The programme runs a number of STEM days in schools and at cadet gatherings all over the country. In addition there are a number of residential placements for students and cadets that bring together hands-on engineering projects with face-to-face engagement with real-life aviators and engineers in the RAF.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the contract awarded by his Department to the University of Bath in September 2014 for research study on tobacco taxation and tobacco industry pricing was awarded on a competitive tender basis; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research funds the Public Health Research (PHR) programme to generate evidence to inform the delivery of non-National Health Service interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health. The programme has two workstreams: commissioned and researcher-led. The PHR commissioned workstream welcomes outline proposals in response to specific research questions prioritised for their public health importance. The application for the study ‘Understanding the impact of tobacco tax increases and tobacco industry pricing on smoking behaviours and inequalities’ was received through the researcher-led workstream and therefore did not go through a tender process via the commissioned workstream. Details of the PHR application process are available on the PHR website:

www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/phr/application-process

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Questions 28144 and 28086, if her Department will take into account, when making a decision on granting right to abode, the fact that fewer full British passports were allocated to members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps than the 500 limit set at the time.

James Brokenshire

The assessment of the request by former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps that they be granted right of abode in the UK is under consideration. This will take into account all available information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to engage the private sector in sustainable investments in Africa and South Asia.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID is committed to supporting economic development in Africa and South Asia as it recognises the central importance of inclusive economic growth in eradicating poverty. One of DFID’s priorities is to partner with businesses investing in frontier markets in order to unlock economic opportunities that also have high development benefits.

DFID is working to create a business environment in Africa and South East Asia which is more conducive to attracting private sector capital; key to this is ensuring that investments are made in companies which have responsible business practices. Within DFID we ensure that investment vehicles like CDC and Private Infrastructure Development Group have investment codes with sustainability at their core. We also support internationally recognised Codes of Conduct like the UN Global Compact and organisations which aim to drive better reporting standards like the Global Reporting Initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of military equipment procurement was from UK suppliers in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Philip Dunne

Information on Ministry of Defence (MOD) expenditure with industry, including the amount spent with UK suppliers, is published on gov.uk at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015.

The details in table eight show that, since 2010-11, the MOD has spent around £19.5 billion each year with UK industry. The table shows the expenditure broken down by broad industrial group, but information specifically on the proportion of military equipment procured from UK suppliers is not centrally held. Total MOD equipment expenditure (not just with UK industry) can, however, be found in table four at the following link, but this is not broken down by country:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/defence-departmental-resources-2015.

Details of MOD expenditure with industry for the years prior to 2010-11 are available in table 1.10 at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-defence-statistics-compendium-2011.

It should be noted that these earlier statistics were prepared using a different methodology, which means that the figures are not directly comparable to those from 2010-11 onwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on how many free trade negotiations involving the EU have been both initiated and concluded in the last 10 years.

Anna Soubry

Over the last ten years, the EU has initiated, but not yet concluded, preferential trade negotiations with the following countries: United States of America; Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay); the Pacific Community (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu); Japan; India; the Philippines; Malaysia, Thailand; Tunisia; Libya. The European Commission has also launched trade negotiations to modernise existing agreements with Armenia, Mexico and Morocco.

Over the last ten years, the EU has concluded preferential trade negotiations with the following countries: Kosovo; Bosnia; Serbia; Ukraine; Montenegro; Albania; South Korea; Singapore; Vietnam; Ukraine; Georgia; Moldova; Canada; the Andean Community (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru); Central America (Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala); the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda); the West African Community (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo); the Southern African Development Community (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland); and CARIFORUM (Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Surinam, Trinidad, Tobago, and the Dominican Republic).