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Tag: Andrew Rosindell

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to reduce aid spending in countries with their own space programme.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    No UK aid money is spent on helping developing countries put people in space. We already take the growing ability of emerging economies like India and China to finance their own development programmes into account in reviewing our aid relationship with such countries.

    Through the ongoing Bilateral Aid Review, we will decide which countries will receive bilateral funding and how much. We will use a range of criteria to determine allocations to countries, including the level and persistence of extreme poverty in the country and the ability of the government of that country to finance its own development needs.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that British citizens travelling to India are aware of the illegal practice of capturing and breaking young elephants in India for use in the tourism industry.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of reports that some elephants in use in the tourist industry in India have been captured as calves and then beaten and mistreated. This practice is illegal in India. Officials in London have discussed this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE), an organisation that works to stop this cruel treatment.

    The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. The UK has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, including India, to increase protection for Asian elephants. We secured agreement from the Indian government in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

    It is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice. However, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-01-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many citizens of other EU member states currently living in the UK receive child benefit.

    Nicky Morgan

    HMRC are not able to provide the information in the manner requested. HMRC do not record the nationality of the claimant receiving Child Benefit for children living in another member state.

    Published Child Benefit statistics provide annual estimates of the number of families and children claiming. The latest available (August 2012) show that there were 7.92 million families, responsible for 13.77 million children and qualifying young people receiving Child Benefit.

    The main purpose of Child Benefit is to support families in the UK. Consequently, the rules generally do not provide for them to be paid in respect of children who live abroad.

    Nevertheless, Child Benefit is a family benefit under EC Regulation 883/2004. This regulation protects the social security rights of nationals of all member states of the European economic area, including the UK, and Switzerland when they exercise their rights of free movement under EU law.

    HMRC holds information on the number of Child Benefit awards under EC Regulation 883/2004. As at 31 December 2013, there were 20,400 ongoing Child Benefit awards under the EC Regulation in respect of 34.268 children living in another member state.

    This is a fall of 3,682 (15.3%) awards in respect of 5,903 (14.7%) fewer children since 31 December 2012.

    The breakdown by member state is as follows:

    *We have withheld the number where it is fewer than 5, as there is risk that the information could be attributed to an identifiable person, which would prejudice their right to privacy and would therefore be a breach of Principle 1 of the Data Protection Act.

    Child Benefit

    Country of residence of children

    Number of awards

    Number of children

    Austria

    23

    37

    Belgium

    75

    140

    Bulgaria

    186

    245

    Croatia

    *5

    *5

    Cyprus

    39

    61

    Czech Republic

    124

    203

    Denmark

    13

    23

    Estonia

    45

    65

    Finland

    12

    23

    France

    789

    1429

    Germany

    283

    495

    Greece

    44

    69

    Hungary

    136

    196

    Iceland

    *5

    *5

    Italy

    156

    273

    Latvia

    797

    1091

    Liechtenstein

    0

    0

    Lithuania

    1215

    1712

    Luxembourg

    7

    14

    Malta

    15

    22

    Norway

    30

    61

    Poland

    13174

    22093

    Portugal

    202

    309

    Republic of Ireland

    1231

    2505

    Romania

    230

    392

    Slovakia

    692

    1232

    Slovenia

    11

    21

    Spain

    600

    1019

    Sweden

    49

    95

    Switzerland

    77

    150

    The Netherlands

    142

    288

    Totals

    20400

    34268

    As announced in the 2014 Budget, to prevent EEA migrants claiming benefits they are not entitled to, the Government will increase compliance checks to establish whether EEA migrants meet the entitlement conditions to receive Child Benefit

    Under domestic law, in order to claim Child Benefit EEA Migrants must be present in the UK, ordinarily resident and have a right to reside in the UK and their children must live in the UK.

    The recent changes to migrants’ access to benefits announced by the Government sends a strong message that the UK benefit system is not open to abuse, as well as deterring those who may seek residence in the UK primarily to claim benefits.

    Strengthening compliance checks will help prevent EEA migrants from claiming, and continuing to claim, benefits they are not entitled to. Checks will be applied to both new claims and existing awards.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the memorandum from the Director of the US Office of the Secretary of Defense on Observations on the Marine Corps F-35B Demonstration on USS Wasp, published by Project on Government Oversight on 14 September 2015, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on procurement of the F-35 of that memorandum’s finding on that aircraft’s reliability and combat readiness.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The trial aboard the USS Wasp was an operational test for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35B, with much of the data produced being used to inform the USMC’s declaration of initial operating capability. This achievement was a significant milestone for the USMC and for the wider Joint Strike Fighter programme, particularly for the UK which operates the same Short Take-Off Vertical Landing variant.

    UK personnel were fully embedded in the USS Wasp trial and we will use the data gathered from this event, future trials and operational deployments to support our own flying trials aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2018 as we re-generate the UK’s Carrier Strike capability.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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 discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on preventing the practice of capturing and breaking young elephants in India for use in the tourism industry.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of reports that some elephants in use in the tourist industry in India have been captured as calves and then beaten and mistreated. This practice is illegal in India. Officials in London have discussed this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE), an organisation that works to stop this cruel treatment.

    The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. The UK has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, including India, to increase protection for Asian elephants. We secured agreement from the Indian government in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

    It is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice. However, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to assist Middle East countries in learning lessons from Tunisia in overcoming political instability.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As Tunisia continues to demonstrate, long-term stability can only be achieved through peaceful dialogue and building legitimate and inclusive institutions. We are using our diplomatic influence, practical programming assistance, training and capacity building to support other countries in the region to do this. Through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), we are working to tackle conflict and support reforms to build more open and inclusive government. Middle East and North Africa’s £136m allocation (for FY 15-16) supports projects in areas such as conflict management, security sector reform and civil society capacity building. Our £6m (for FY 15-16) Arab Partnership Fund for Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia supports the development of legitimate and inclusive institutions, including civil society, parliaments, media and judiciaries. The UK also works with international partners through the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy and the Deauville Partnership to support political and economic development programmes in Arab Countries in Transition, aimed at fostering longer term prosperity and stability.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to promote the UK’s ties with Taiwan; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK continues to enjoy a strong relationship with Taiwan in the fields of trade, investment, education and culture. A number of ministerial visits were made during the last Parliament which developed this relationship. We are looking to develop our commercial and cultural ties further, for instance in the fields of green energy and financial services.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the implications for his Department’s advice on travel to Egypt are of the accidental killing of foreign tourists in that country on 13 September 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As stated in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Travel Advice for Egypt, in September 2015 Egyptian security forces mistakenly killed 12 members of a tour group, including 8 Mexicans, in the Western Desert area of Al-Wahat.

    Before the incident, FCO Travel Advice already advised against all but essential travel to this area of the country. After the incident, we made a factual update to the Travel Advice in order to make British Nationals aware of the incident, so they are able to make an informed decision on travel to the area.

    We keep our travel advice under constant review, based on robust and up to date information and analysis from our experts in country.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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 plans he has to meet with his Argentinian counterpart following the recent presidential election in that country; and if he will reaffirm to the new Argentinian administration British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    As my hon.Friend will be aware, Argentina held an inconclusive first round of Presidential elections on Sunday. A second round is due to take place on 22 November. The Government would prefer a more constructive bilateral relationship with Argentina, however, we shall not renege on our commitment to the self-determination of the Falkland Islanders.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the introduction of the National Living Wage does not have a detrimental effect on small businesses.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is reducing Corporation Tax to 19% from 2017-18 and then to 18% from 2020-21; setting the Annual Investment Allowance at a new permanent level of £200,000; and increasing the Employment Allowance by £1,000 to £3,000 from 2016-17. The increase in the employment allowance means a business could employ four people on the National Living Wage and pay no National Insurance Contributions.