Tag: Andrew Rosindell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) EU organisations, (b) UN organisations and (c) charities regarding potential partial funding of the resettlement of Chagossians in the Chagos Archipelago.

James Duddridge

The Government has undertaken a wide public consultation on the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which concluded on 27 October. Officials are now analysing the responses, and ministers will consider these alongside a range of options to address Chagossian aspirations. We will need to take into account the high cost associated with resettlement, as well as the open-ended liabilities it could incur. We need to also ensure the military facility on Diego Garcia can continue to operate unhindered. No decision has yet been made about whether to allow a resettlement, and because of that, no discussions have yet been had with any external funding organisation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the (a) recent increase in illegal transport of weapons from Haiti to the Turks and Caicos Islands and (b) the increase in gun crime in those islands.

James Duddridge

Through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund, the UK is spending £5.5 million in 2015/2016 to help the Caribbean region in its efforts to reduce serious and organised crime and build more secure borders. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Law Enforcement Adviser in Miami oversees the use of programme funds to provide competency and capability training to Turks and Caicos Islands law enforcement officers to improve the maritime interdiction of illegal firearms, migrants and drugs. Furthermore, the Governor and Premier of Turks and Caicos Islands have agreed to the formation of a National Security Council. At its inaugural meeting on 21 October, it agreed to draft a National Security Strategy to address current and long term security issues facing Turks and Caicos Islands including gun crime. Meanwhile, UK Ministers approved a Supplementary Budget estimate of $0.75m submitted by the Turks and Caicos Islands government to carry out an external review of recent murders in the country and to purchase essential crime investigation equipment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the ISIL attacks in Paris and the implications of those attacks for the Government’s foreign policy.

Mr David Lidington

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met his French counter-part Laurent Fabius in Vienna the day after the cowardly terrorist attacks and offered hiscondolences to the French people. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the member for Witney (Mr Cameron) met President Hollande yesterday to discuss how we can strengthen the counter-terrorism co-operation between our two countries and work together to defeat ISIL.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the net contribution to the UK economy made by immigration from Australia, Canada and New Zealand in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

No assessment of the net contribution to the UK economy made by immigration from Australia, Canada and New Zealand has been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what non-military steps he is taking to prevent Daesh from selling oil; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent Daesh raising capital to finance their activities by other means.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We hold regular bilateral and multilateral discussions on Daesh funding, including within the Global Coalition’s Counter ISIL Finance Group, which is co-chaired by the US, Saudi Arabia and Italy. Daesh has three main sources of funding: extortion from communities living in territory under its control; selling oil and antiquities; and donations from individuals. The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international sanctions regime to cut off financial support for Daesh and other terrorist groups. We work with allies, particularly in the region, to ensure sanctions are enforced and that measures are being taken to stop the Daesh trade in oil and hydrocarbon products. Examples of this work include training local customs officials in the region to prevent oil smuggling. We are also focused on ensuring that individuals involved in brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime have been or will be sanctioned by the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18261, if she will make an assessment of the net contribution to the UK economy made by immigration from Australia, Canada and New Zealand in the last five years before proceeding with her Department’s proposals to restrict access to Tier 2 visas for Australian and New Zealand citizens.

James Brokenshire

There are no plans to introduce Tier 2 restrictions specifically aimed at Australian, New Zealand and/or Canadian citizens.

The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The MAC is looking at selection criteria such as, but not limited to, salaries, particular attributes, economic need and skills level. The Government has asked the MAC to consider the economic impact of potential changes.

The MAC is still finalising its report and we do not yet know what its findings and recommendations will be. We await the report with interest and will consider the potential economic impacts carefully before making any significant changes to the Tier 2 route.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2015 to Question 16795, if he will undertake an assessment of activities by third parties fully funded by local authorities designed to influence Government and Parliament; and if he will extend the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity to cover such groups.

Mr Marcus Jones

We have continually made clear that local authorities should not be using taxpayers’ money to lobby Government; not least because they are free to contact Ministers and Members of Parliament to make their views known and indeed many do so on a regular basis. This is reflected in the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) training for army reservists and (b) social cohesiveness between reservists and full-time soldiers.

Mr Julian Brazier

As a result of constant reviews conducted by the Army to improve and modernise the delivery of training, opportunities for Army Reservists have never been better.

Initial training for the Army Reserve was restructured last year. This has streamlined progression through the training programme, as Reservists enjoy greater flexibility with how they complete the modules in Phase 1.

Phase 2 sees Reservists receive instruction at the same specialist training schools as their regular counterparts, equipping them with the professional skills required to fully integrate with the Regular Army.

The Army currently offers 22 bespoke overseas training exercises for Reservists, which Reserve units lead with their paired Regular units integrated to improve interoperability and social cohesion. In addition, Reservists routinely train alongside their Regular counterparts from their paired and other units, in complex exercises at home and overseas, using the same equipment.

Social cohesion between Reservists and Regular soldiers is further fostered though the growth of sports, social and Regimental events facilitated by the pairing mechanism, whereby each reserve unit is paired with a Regular Unit.

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 recent assessment he has made of the (a) security situation in Afghanistan, (b) extent of the Deash presence in Afghanistan and (c) nature of the relationship between Daesh and the Taliban.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) continue to provide security in the vast majority of the country, but in some parts of Afghanistan the situation is fluid as Taliban forces seek to put ANDSF under pressure. NATO and US continue to train, advise and assist the ANDSF. We assess that the Daesh affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan aims to expand its presence in Nangarhar Province in the east of Afghanistan. They are subject to military action by Afghan and US forces and they also face resistance from the Taliban with whom they are competing for influence.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the value of the most recent trade surplus or deficit between Scotland and the EU.

David Mundell

The trade position of a country reflects exports minus imports and includes goods and services. This comprehensive measure is only available for the UK as a whole. HMRC regional trade statistics provides just a partial picture of Scotland’s trade performance as it only takes account of goods and not services. According to the latest available data, Scotland’s trade performance on goods for the year including Q3 2015 with the EU shows a surplus, with a recorded value of £2.1 billion.