Tag: Andrew Rosindell

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on Russia’s actions in Crimea.

    Mr David Lidington

    In addition to ongoing dialogue at official level, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has discussed it with State Councillor Yang, and the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has raised the situation in Ukraine with President Xi Jinping and State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to take steps against Spain other than to appeals to the Government should incursions on the UK border continue.

    Mr David Lidington

    We will continue to uphold British sovereignty by challenging and protesting each and every unlawful incursion into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. We will also continue to lodge formal diplomatic protests about delays at the border.

    In addition to these formal measures, we will continue to make representations to the Spanish government at the highest level, making clear the damage that unlawful incursions and disproportionate measures at the border cause to our bilateral relationship.

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has spoken twice to the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, about delays at the border. As a result of those conversations, the Commission sent a monitoring mission to the border and we now expect the Commission to insist that Spain implements the recommendations it received on improving the flow of people and traffic.

    We do not rule out further measures. However, it is important that we act in ways that do not make life still more difficult for businesses and ordinary citizens in Gibraltar. We are continuing to seek a way forward on the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) proposal for ad hoc talks as the best means of discussing and resolving issues of concern.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people living in the London Borough of Havering have moved off unemployment benefit as a result of gaining employment in 2013.

    Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart on reform of the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed EU reform with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on 3 February 2014 in London. They discussed the need to make the EU more competitive, flexible and democratically accountable, as well as the importance of the EU becoming more effective and more focused on economic development, in order to deliver the jobs and growth EU citizens want and need.

    On 27 March 2014, I chaired a meeting of the European Affairs Sub-Committee with the German Committee of State Secretaries for European Affairs during which I and other Ministers discussed aspects of EU reform with our German counterparts.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives from the European Commission on European sanctions on Russia.

    Mr David Lidington

    As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) told the House on 8 April, we are gravely concerned about the situation in Crimea and in the east of Ukraine. We have consistently condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea including in public statements, international fora, and in bilateral contacts with the Russian Federation.

    The UK has played a key role in ensuring a tough and united response from the international community. We have reviewed all bilateral engagement with Russia and have frozen military cooperation, refused export licence requests which may be used by the Russian military, and postponed a number of planned Ministerial Summits. Along with other G7 members, the UK has withdrawn participation in the planned G8 Summit in Sochi in June, and will instead take part in a G7 meeting in Brussels.

    The Foreign Secretary has taken part in a number of discussions on sanctions at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in which the European Commission has also been involved. On 14 April, the FAC agreed to expand the second tier of sanctions and to add further names to the list of individuals subject to those sanctions. The FAC agreed on the urgency of completing work on a possible third tier of more far reaching sanctions, which might be implemented in the absence of meaningful diplomatic engagement by Russia or further provocation against Ukraine. The European Commission was tasked to identify such economic measures.

    As the Foreign Secretary has made clear to the Russian Foreign Minister, the EU remains prepared to impose additional sanctions should that become necessary. Russia should be clear that any deliberate escalation of this crisis may bring serious political and economic consequences.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many migrants from non-EU countries claim benefit payments.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested is not available in the form requested however the department has published some statistics on working age benefit recipients. This information is known as “Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants” and is included in the Statistical Bulletin on National Insurance Number Allocations to Adult Overseas Nationals Entering the UK – registrations to March 2013, available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2013

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Russia withdraws all of its forces from the Ukrainian border.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are concerned by Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. We are clear that Russia has no legal basis or justification to enter Ukrainian territory and call on Russia to withdraw. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has highlighted these concerns to Foreign Minister Lavrov.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the situation in Ukraine.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed the situation in Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on 23 April. The Foreign Secretary pressed for the immediate implementation of the 17 April Geneva agreement. He urged Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine, including making a clear public statement calling for illegally armed groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate occupied buildings. He also invited Russian diplomats to join efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine.

  • 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 2014-03-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many migrants from EU countries 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 – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of Japan’s lifting of its ban on arms exports on the UK.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Japanese government’s new guidelines on arms exports have shifted the country’s policy on arms exports from a de facto ban with occasional exceptions, to a set of principles governing the transfer overseas of defence equipment. This move is in line with Japan’s National Security Strategy, published last year, and reflects the commitment of the Japanese government to play a more active role in international peace and security, a commitment which the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) welcomed when he visited Tokyo in October 2013.

    The new principles which the Japanese government have published make clear that Japan will implement its new export control regime in line with international treaty obligations, including the Arms Trade Treaty, and UN Security Council resolutions. Applications will be subject to strict examination and transparency, and controls will be applied concerning extra-purpose use and third-party transfer.

    For the UK, the new export control principles may give rise to further opportunities for British defence companies to engage in co-development and joint production of defence equipment with Japanese partners. This builds on the UK-Japan Defence Equipment Cooperation Framework agreement signed by the Foreign Secretary with his Japanese counterpart in July 2013.