Tag: Andrew Rosindell

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 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterparts on the case of Karl Andree.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Ministers and senior officials have raised Mr Andree’s case with the Saudi Government repeatedly since he completed his sentence in August 2015. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this case at the highest levels on 29 September. I spoke to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador on 17 September and wrote to him about the case on 24 September. I had a meeting with Mr Andree’s two sons and Margot James MP on 15 September 2015 to discuss their concerns. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) also wrote a letter to the Saudi Government on 13 October. Officials at our Embassy in Riyadh have also raised the case with the Saudi authorities on numerous occasions. We are actively seeking his release as soon as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to transfer powers over the raising and spending of public finances from the government of Anguilla to the Government.

James Duddridge

There are no plans to remove the power of the Government of Anguilla to tax and spend. In circumstances where an Overseas Territory is in breach of its legal limits for debt, or where the UK taxpayer may be called upon to provide support, it is the established convention that reasonable assurance measures are put in place so that financial obligations continue to be met and public finances remain sustainable. The Government of Anguilla faces considerable challenges in maintaining sound public finances along with support for economic growth and the financial sector. We look forward to receiving the Government of Anguilla’s robust and credible plans, and to discussing these with them. The UK Government will continue to work in partnership with the Government of Anguilla to help ensure the long term financial security of the people of Anguilla. We also continue to keep open our offer to provide further technical assistance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of the Iranian government’s decision to release from custody five senior members of Al Qaeda during international negotiations on the lifting of international sanctions against Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of public reports that Iran released a number of senior Al Qaeda members. We continue to have concerns about Iran’s role in fostering international instability. The recent nuclear agreement has not changed our view on this. As part of the nuclear agreement, Iran will now begin to take required steps on its nuclear programme. These must be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency before Iran benefits from any financial and economic sanctions relief.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to tackle obesity.

Jane Ellison

We will put forward our plans to tackle obesity in our childhood obesity strategy in the new year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of German policy on working with the Turkish government to tackle migration on her Department’s objective to reduce net migration to the UK.

James Brokenshire

The Government supports Turkey’s efforts to manage the flow of illegal migration, and maintain an effective border between Turkey and the EU. Any progress made on these areas, with the support of individual Member States or the EU as a whole, is welcomed.

In line with the Government’s commitment, any nations who aspire to accede to the EU in future, including Turkey, should not gain free movement rights until that accession state’s economy has converged more closely with existing Member States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that people involved in the conflict in Yemen are able to access humanitarian and commercial aid,

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Intense fighting and insecurity on the ground in Yemen has resulted in restrictions being placed on commercial and humanitarian shipping, and difficulties in distributing food and fuel to those who need it. The most important action to address the humanitarian situation, beyond a ceasefire, is to facilitate access for commercial and humanitarian goods, which all parties to the conflict have a responsibility to ensure. The UK continues to monitor this issue, and has engaged frequently with the Government of Yemen and members of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on facilitating access. We have emphasised with all parties to the conflict the importance of the non-politicisation of aid. There has been some recent progress on shipping access, which we welcome, but this needs to be maintained and increased in the future. We will continue to work with the Government of Yemen, members of the coalition, and the UN to see sustained progress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent young people from being forced in to arranged marriages overseas.

Karen Bradley

The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out forced marriage, with our Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat this brutal practice. The FMU can provide support and assistance to anyone in the UK at risk, and to British nationals overseas. The Unit works with our High Commissions and embassies overseas to assist with protection and repatriation of vulnerable victims.

o To date, over 800 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made to prevent people from being forced into a marriage and to assist in repatriating victims;

o In 2014, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,267 cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all sides in the conflict in Yemen maintain acceptable humanitarian and human rights standards.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and abuses of human rights in Yemen, committed by all parties to the conflict – and take them very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition, and have received repeated assurances that they are complying with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances. We are also concerned by reports of alleged IHL violations by Houthi-Saleh forces, including attacks on civilians in Aden and Taiz; intimidation of UN ships attempting to dock at Aden; the use of schools and hospitals for military purposes; the use of child soldiers; and the targeting of aid workers and restrictions on humanitarian access. We have raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL.