Tag: Andrew Rosindell

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to support the principle of self-determination and the right of the British Overseas Territories to remain self-governing dependent territories as long as their inhabitants wish to remain so; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge

Support for the principle of self-determination is at the heart of the UK’s relationship with its Overseas Territories. It is a modern relationship based on partnership, shared values and the right of the people of each Territory to choose to remain British.

The Government continues actively to support the rights of the peoples of the Territories to self-determination: diplomatically (for example when UK sovereignty is challenged at the UN) and in terms of our security guarantees. The Strategic Defence and Security Review published last year emphasised that the Government’s most important duty is the defence of the UK and the Overseas Territories.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for economic security of the proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse.

Harriett Baldwin

Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint.

In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage wider participation and interest in St George’s Day; what steps his Department is planning to take to further increase participation and interest in such events in 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Department supports a number of Arm’s Length bodies that run events across the country on St George’s day.

English Heritage hold an annual programme – which includes one of its biggest events of the year, the St George’s Day Festival at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. English Heritage also organise St George’s Day pageant events (living history shows) at other sites including Dover Castle in Kent, Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire and Warkworth Castle in Northumberland.

In addition to English Heritage events, The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded ‘Derby Live’ £35,300 for a three-year community project called ‘Maypoles, Mummers and Merry England.’ The project, designed for school children explored English folk traditions through workshops, activities and folk dances at the Derby St George’s Day celebrations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve transparency and accountability in spending by schools.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Appropriate arrangements are currently in place to ensure that school spending is transparent. Details of income and expenditure in all maintained schools and academies are published annually by the department in Statistical First Releases, available on GOV.UK. The Permanent Secretary’s Accountability System Statement sets out in detail the accountability system for education, including maintained schools and academies, and for children’s services.

While we are always interested in improving transparency and accountability in spending by schools we have no current plans for changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to Belize and Guatemala on (a) adhering to the provisions established under the 2005 Confidence Building Measures related to the disputed border between those countries and (b) steps to improve confidence and trust between those countries.

Mr Hugo Swire

I last met Foreign Minister Elrington of Belize and Foreign Minister Morales of Guatemala on 25 May to discuss confidence building measures and further steps towards referring the border dispute to the International Court of Justice. We continue to encourage both countries to enhance confidence and trust between them by engaging in constructive dialogue, building on the provisions established by the 2005 Confidence Building Measures. We fund a number of projects to support increased economic activity in the border region, with the aim of reducing the need to cross the border illegally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to encourage financial institutions to maintain their London operations and employment levels.

Harriett Baldwin

The Chancellor has met with financial institutions this week to discuss the impact of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union.

Britain’s economy and financial system are fundamentally strong. Action by the government and the Bank of England over the last six years has substantially strengthened the resilience of the financial system, and the authorities have all the necessary tools in place to protect financial stability.

The UK is a leading global financial centre serving not just Britain or Europe, but the entire world. It has natural strengths such as a central time zone and the English language, together with an unrivalled pool of firms and investors, supported by world leading legal and professional services. Major banks from across the globe have bases in the UK, and the UK has the fourth highest share of cross-border banking. It is also fast establishing itself as a global hub for renminbi, rupee, Islamic finance, green finance and FinTech business.

Formal negotiations with the EU will not begin until the UK triggers Article 50. In the meantime, and during the negotiations that will follow, there will be no change to people’s rights to travel and work, and to the way our goods and services are traded, or to the way our economy and financial system is regulated.

The government is committed to deepening relationships with new and established trade partners. Earlier this week the Chancellor laid out plans to build a highly competitive economy by targeting a corporation tax rate of less than 15%, focusing on a new push for investment from China, ensuring support for bank lending, redoubling efforts to invest in the Northern Powerhouse and maintaining the UK’s fiscal credibility.

The government will also maintain an open and constructive dialogue with the UK financial services industry, including through the Financial Services Trade and Investment Board, which is tasked with boosting and promoting the UK’s financial services competitiveness position and supporting jobs. Government and industry collaboration will continue to play a central role in delivering a global, sustainable, innovative and competitive UK financial services industry that continues to go from strength to strength.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to make extension of the 1966 UK-US Agreement on the British Indian Ocean Territory conditional on a commitment by both parties to support and facilitate resettlement of the Chagossians.

Sir Alan Duncan

The US presence on the island of Diego Garcia is governed by a series of agreements, called Exchanges of Notes, of which the overarching agreement sets out the whole Territory should be made available for UK and US defence purposes for an initial 50 year period of 1966 to 2016. If neither side object during a two year window of December 2014 to December 2016, the agreement will continue as it stands until end December 2036. The Government welcomes the US presence on Diego Garcia and we continue to discuss with the US Government their continued presence beyond 2016. We have consulted a range of stakeholders, including the US, as we work towards a decision on resettlement of BIOT. The Government is examining its policy closely and will announce developments to Parliament and the public in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of people rehabilitated in UK prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The government is committed to making prisons in England and Wales places of safety and reform.

We have already taken steps to reform the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting offenders coming out of prison to be better able to find work, better able to support their families and less likely to re-offend. We have invested £10m of new funding to support governors in improving prison safety, are investing a further £14 million to provide more than 400 extra staff in in ten prisons to allow staff more time to supervise and support prisoners. Alongside that, we have established six Reform Prisons to trial what significantly greater freedoms for governors can achieve. We are investing £1.3bn to reform and modernise the prison estate.

We will set out full details of our plan for prison safety and reform in a White Paper in the coming weeks.

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 he had during his recent visit to the Gulf states to encourage those states to increase their involvement in the (a) war against ISIL and (b) resolution of the refugee situation in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign Secretary discussed the counter ISIL effort with all the countries that he visited during his recent trip to the Gulf, which included Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. We will continue to work intensively with Gulf States to deal with ISIL, both bilaterally and multilaterally, including under the auspices of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

Our partners in the Gulf share our view that ISIL presents a threat to regional stability. Several of them have suffered from ISIL attacks in their homelands, and many host large numbers of refugees fleeing Assad’s and ISIL’s brutality. They are committed to defeating ISIL, and fully recognise that coordinated international action is the best way to achieve that. All the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited during his recent trip are working to defeat ISIL, including as part of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

As a result of the Syrian crisis, there are now over 4 million refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries. All of the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited are in agreement with us that a political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis.

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 assessment he has made of the effect of the recent increase in migrants from Haiti to the Turks and Caicos Islands on local resources on those islands.

James Duddridge

While the number of arrivals of illegal migrants to the Turks and Caicos Islands has decreased over the last two years, each occurrence continues to place a strain on local government resources and increases the risk for loss of life particularly for those arriving in overcrowded boats. Our Embassy in Haiti is pressing the Haitian government to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding to establish agreed arrangements for repatriations and better communication on migration issues.