Tag: Andrew Rosindell

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the effect on black taxi drivers of the operation of Uber in London.

Andrew Jones

We receive representations on a number of issues from the Mayor of London, and this has included the impact of the increasing number of private hire vehicles in London on congestion, air quality and parking issues on London’s road network.

The Government is continuing to discuss with the Mayor ways of addressing these issues.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the care industry of the implementation of the living wage.

Alistair Burt

Out of an estimated 1.52 million adult social care jobs in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage.

More widely across the sector, higher productivity and better-quality care through efficiency would benefit employers and care home residents and there is potential for improvements in staff retention if higher wages engendered greater job commitment.

The Department continues to work in collaboration with delivery partners to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce.

Our assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage for the Spending Review drew on projections and data on pay including information from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of foreign language teachers are native speakers.

Nick Gibb

The information requested is not collected by the Department for Education.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to monitor the location and use of the recently announced military equipment being given to Ukraine.

Michael Fallon

All equipment being gifted is non-lethal in nature, and includes night vision goggles, global positioning sets (GPS), helmets, body armour, ruggedized laptops, large tents, heating units, cold weather clothing and individual first aid kits.

This equipment has helped save lives in contested areas in the Donbas. Given its non-lethal nature, we see no need routinely to monitor its location and usage.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on the construction and procurement of HMS Prince of Wales and the accompanying aircraft for both Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The construction, test and commissioning of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES continues in Rosyth. Around 80% of the structure of HMS PRINCE OF WALES has been built, and she will be structurally complete this summer. Aircraft will continue to be purchased incrementally, as part of a coherent build-up of capability, and we remain on track to deliver an Initial Operating Capability in the Carrier Strike role from 2020.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions there have been under legislation on tobacco display in retail outlets since 2010.

Jane Ellison

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts under legislation on tobacco display in retail outlets, England and Wales, 2010 to 2014 can be viewed in the table:

Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts under legislation on tobacco display in retail outlets¹ England and Wales, 2010 to 2014^2,3

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
2	2	6	5	4

¹ Includes Sec 8, and 16(2) of Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002

² The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for or found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

³ Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice.

Court proceedings data for 2015 are planned for publication in due course.

Legislation restricting the display of tobacco products in retail outlets came into force for large stores in 2012 and for all other retailers in April 2015. The penalty for non-compliance is a fine not exceeding £5,000 on summary conviction in a magistrates’ court. Trading standards have taken a compliance building approach at both stages of implementation, providing information and advice on the first visit, with follow up visits if needed and issuing warnings before considering court action. Compliance by large retailers has been almost universal since the legislation came into force. Early indications are that compliance in small shops is also high.