Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23290, what his Department’s policy is on (a) the application of the convention on giving Parliament the opportunity to debate military intervention abroad to armed drones and (b) informing the House of any exceptional operation on the grounds of self-defence of the UK.

Michael Fallon

The Government is committed to the convention that, before UK troops are committed to conflict, Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there is an emergency. It is fitting to keep Parliament informed of major new developments and to answer questions on them.

The Government will inform the House of any exceptional operation where there has not been prior debate in Parliament as the Prime Minister did on 7 September 2015 in relation to the precision airstrike that took place on 21 August 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 25444, whether she has made an estimate of the proportion of coal that may have been mined by children.

Andrea Leadsom

The majority of power station operators in the UK are members of BetterCoal, an industry-led initiative which is taking action to promote responsible coal mining and has established a set of ethical, social, and environmental principles with which companies in the supply chain are expected to align. This includes conformity with a number of International Labour Organization conventions and recommendations which aim to eradicate child labour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent to which the policies of broadcasters recruiting members of the public for quiz or game shows or similar programmes discriminate against people with disabilities.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Broadcasters are subject to the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 which legally protects disabled people from discrimination in the delivery of services and in wider society. This government is actively encouraging the industry to be proactive in increasing diversity on and off screen – including by increasing the representation of disabled people. Ed Vaizey hosted a conference in January that raised the wider issue of lack of representation of disabled people in the creative industries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will ask her German counterpart to supply the Government with emissions data from new ultra super-critical coal-fired power stations in that country; and if she will place that data in the Library.

Andrea Leadsom

I have no plans to ask for emissions data from new ultra super-critical coal-fired power stations in Germany.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether education will be exempt from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

We have protected public services, including education, in all of our trade agreements and will continue to do so in the EU-US free trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is non-negotiable.

The Government remains committed to providing the best quality education for all children and young people. TTIP will not change this. The government of the day, not our trade partners, will always set the rules governing how the education system is run.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34235, whether the UN Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 10 specifically covers the potential health risks of electromagnetic emissions by multiple driverless vehicles as well as those from single vehicles.

Andrew Jones

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation No 10 seeks to limit the maximum emission of electromagnetic radiation from vehicles. Recognising the rapid changes in technology in new vehicles, the relevant UN-ECE technical committee has established a task force to consider the implications of new technologies such as those used by driverless vehicles.

The Department is participating in the work of the task force.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will reconsider the proposal to privatise the Land Registry; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

A government consultation seeking views on options to move operations of the Land Registry to the private sector closed on 26 May. Government is currently considering the responses but no final decisions have been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the Prime Minister of India during his forthcoming visit the welfare of elephants being trained to work in the tourism industry in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are aware of reports that 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. UK officials have had discussions on this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE).

The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, including from the 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 in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

We are very much looking forward to Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit, which gives us an opportunity to discuss a range of issues. We will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisation, on protecting elephants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend the Local Government Pension Scheme to permit boycott, divestment and sanctions policies; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

We will issue guidance to local government pension scheme administering authorities in the spring on how their policies on environmental, social and corporate governance matters should reflect foreign policy and related issues. This will make clear that their predominant concern should be the pursuit of their financial return on investments and that they should not pursue boycott, divestment and sanctions policies unless they are consistent with UK foreign policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessments he has made of the reasons for the increase in excess winter mortality rates in England in the winter of 2014-15.

Jane Ellison

The increased excess deaths in 2014-15 coincided with the circulation of a strain of flu, A(H3N2), that particularly affects older people. Cold snaps and other respiratory infections may also have contributed to an increase in excess mortality. There was evidence also that the flu vaccine provided reduced protection due to some drift of the circulating A(H3N2) virus.

These observations were not unique to the United Kingdom, with 14 other European countries also reporting an increase in excess mortality. Throughout the last decade, there has generally been a good match between the strains of flu in the vaccine and those that subsequently circulate, highlighting the importance of flu vaccination for at risk groups, including older people and also the childhood flu vaccine programme, which when rolled out, aims to provide protection for both children, but also the general population.

Public Health England has no such data available for North East England.