Tag: Fiona Bruce

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Democratic People’s Republic of Korea officials the British Embassy in Pyonyang has met in the last year; and how many such officials were women.

Mr Hugo Swire

The British Embassy in Pyongyang met a range of officials from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the past year in support of UK policy objectives. This contact enables our Embassy to deliver our policy of “critical engagement” with the DPRK, and helps inform our diplomatic reporting and analysis. However, given the breadth of contact, it is not practical for the Embassy to maintain a list of all individual meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many North Korean owned or financed businesses operate in the UK.

Mr Rob Wilson

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the Government’s priorities are for the Syria Donor Conference in February 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The core priority of the “Supporting Syria and the Region (London 2016)” Conference is to raise significant new funding to meet the immediate and longer-term needs of all those affected by the crisis within Syria and to support neighbouring countries who have shown enormous generosity in hosting refugees. Both emergency 2016 funding and longer term funding in subsequent years are needed given the protracted nature of the conflict.

The Conference must also address the longer-term needs of those affected by the crisis through supporting the creation of jobs and providing education, offering those that have been forced to flee their homes greater hope for the future.

The Conference should maintain pressure on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and respect International Humanitarian Law, highlighting the deliberate and systematic abuses that continue to perpetuate the humanitarian crisis. Looking ahead, it will need to ensure the international community is well prepared to support a coordinated stabilisation effort.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the implications for his Department’s policies on devolving Sunday trading regulations are of the findings of the report from Oxford Economics, Economics impact of deregulating Sunday trading, published in September 2015, on losses in sales for the convenience store sector.

Anna Soubry

In formulating its final proposals, the Government has carefully considered all the evidence submitted during the consultation process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of first stake free offers on (a) the incidence of gambling addiction amongst (i) children and young people and (ii) other people and (b) people who already have such an addiction.

David Evennett

The Government remains committed to ensuring that people are protected from being harmed or exploited by gambling. As part of this, following a review of its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, last year the Gambling Commission introduced a range of measures to ensure that marketing and advertising is socially responsible. This included a new requirement that the marketing of ‘free bet’ offers is open, transparent and not misleading.

The Government remains alive to concerns in this area and continues to make clear to the gambling industry that it expects them to demonstrate that they are improving existing player protection initiatives and evaluating the effects of previous initiatives.

Looking ahead, the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board have identified this as a priority area for research. The Responsible Gambling Trust is therefore preparing to conduct research into the impact of marketing and advertising on young people’s gambling perceptions, attitudes and behaviour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department invested in research using adult stem cells in 2015.

George Freeman

The information requested is not available. Spending on research is not categorised by specific technology type.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of offences under section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for performing abortions on other people in each year since 1986; and what each such case was.

Caroline Dinenage

The number of offenders found guilty at all courts in England and Wales, from 1986 to 2015, can be viewed in the table. The figures from 2005 onwards are a further breakdown of data published in the outcomes by offences data tool in the annual Criminal Justice Statistics publication, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015

Information as to whether each case referred to abortion or miscarriage Is not available.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will request information from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the measures it has taken to meet the recommendations of the UN Universal Periodic Review.

Mr Hugo Swire

We consistently raise concerns over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) appalling human rights record. In late October, a senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) official met the DPRK Ambassador to the United Kindom and pressed for the DPRK to make tangible progress in addressing these concerns. We believe that implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations presents an opportunity for progress to be made on human rights in DPRK. Earlier in October, a senior FCO official met the International Organisations Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, responsible for DPRK engagement on human rights at the UN, and requested details of their implementation plans for the UPR’s recommendations. We were informed the accepted recommendations were being discussed by the relevant domestic DPRK institutions. We will continue to raise the need for implementation plans to be shared.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government plans to hold or collect any information on the number of UK businesses operating in or contracting with the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea.

Anna Soubry

The Government does not maintain a database of UK businesses operating in or contracting with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Data on the value of trade between UK businesses and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Information on the number of UK businesses exporting goods to, and importing goods from, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are collected by HMRC. Specific information relating to individual businesses cannot be published due to legislation protecting business confidentiality and in line with statistical disclosure control.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to encourage donors to increase access to accredited quality education for Syrian refugee children in host countries in the region.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID supports education for children inside Syria and the wider region through the No Lost Generation Initiative (NLGI). NLGIis an initiative that aims to prevent a whole generation being lost to the Syria conflict. To date, the UK’s total allocation for NLGI across the region is £115 million. As of August 2015, UK support has has provided over 250,000 children with education and over 673,000 children with psychosocial support. This includes accredited formal and non-formal education. The UK is also working with host governments to ensure non-formal education is gradually accredited by host country governments.

The UK will continue to lead international efforts to support the education of Syrian refugees. We are working with host governments in the region, key education partners such as UNICEF and other donors, to develop and finance ambitious targets on education. The London ‘Supporting Syria and the Region Conference’ in February 2016 will be an opportunity to push ahead with this.