The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 21322, what advice has been issued to UK banks and building societies offering second charge mortgages in territory outside the UK.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is not aware of any formal advice that has been issued to banks or building societies offering second charge mortgages in territories outside the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what actions he has taken as a result of receiving the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.
Mr Philip Hammond
We are looking at the conclusions of the UN Panel of Experts’ report carefully. We recognise the importance of the work of the UN Panel of Experts. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on steps being taken to rescue Yazidis being held hostage by Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Philip Hammond
We hold no specific information on steps being taken to rescue Yazidis being held hostage by Daesh in Syria and Iraq. However, Yazidi hostages have been freed by the Peshmerga during recent offensive operations against Daesh. We are also aware of media reports of organisations who are working to free those being held hostage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work at administrator grade staff level in the European Parliament; and what proportion of the total number of that parliament’s employees they represent.
Mr Philip Hammond
The European Parliament does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. As of April 2015, our records show there were 144 British citizens working in the European Parliament at administrator grade level, including UK secondees. This represents 2.4% of approximately 6000 total staff employed by the European Parliament in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of elections due to take place in November 2016 on political stability in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr Philip Hammond
The Government is concerned that elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may not take place by the Constitutional deadline in November 2016. We believe that it is still technically possible to hold the elections on time and remain committed to doing what we can to support this process.
On 4 March 2016 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my Hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), announced in Kinshasa that the UK was prepared to make available £11.4 million to support the elections provided that certain conditions were met. These conditions include the production of a credible timetable and budget for the elections.
We have called upon the Government of the DRC to ensure that political freedoms, freedom of media and speech and human rights are respected to ensure a peaceful and fair environment for the elections. We have also called upon all actors to respect the law and avoid inciting violence and disorder.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, whether UK personnel provided a quick check on whether the reported airstrike in Yemen on a market place in the Hajjah Governorate had broken international humanitarian law.
Mr Philip Hammond
The role of the UK liaison officers is to maintain an information flow with the Saudi Arabian authorities. We do not comment on the specifics. The Saudi Arabian Government announced on 29 February, that they are forming an independent committee to examine military activity in civilian areas in order to minimise possible civilian casualties; assess the Coalition’s rules of engagement; assess accidents, verification and targeting procedures and advise how they can be improved; and provide a clear, full and objective report for each investigation made including conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations for future actions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 995, what steps the Government is taking to support the (a) gathering and (b) preservation of evidence of crimes that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account.
Mr Philip Hammond
Evidence is being gathered and preserved by a range of state and non state actors for potential prosecutions. The UK is supporting a number of these efforts. In Syria, the UK is funding the work of NGOs who are gathering evidence of Human Rights violations committed across Syria, including by Daesh and the Asad regime. This is being done to the standards required for criminal prosecution against high level perpetrators in a domestic or international court. In Iraq, we are considering how the UK might best complement similar efforts already underway. Working with international partners, we are doing everything we can to assist in the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used by judicial bodies to make a judgement on this matter. It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost or destroyed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Egyptian government on the death penalty imposed on Ibrahim Mohammed Helal and other journalists in that country.
Mr Philip Hammond
We regularly raise our concerns over press freedoms with the Egyptian authorities both in London and in Cairo. The Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised the detention of journalists with President Sisi during his visit to the UK in November 2015. I raised press freedoms and freedom of expression with the Egyptian Ambassador in April, and these concerns are expanded upon in the Human Rights Priority Country report on Egypt which was published on 21 April. It is a long term policy of the UK Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle and we have raised this with the Egyptian Government. There are further stages in the legal process and we will continue to monitor the case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to act upon the Resolution of the House of 20 April 2016 on the recognition of genocide by Daesh against Yazidis, Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Government shares the House of Common’s condemnation of Daesh atrocities and we remain very concerned about appalling crimes committed against Christians, Mandeans, Yezidis and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim populations in Iraq and Syria. Daesh’s victims, whether in Iraq and Syria or elsewhere in the world, must receive justice. This is why the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), announced on 21 July that the UK will work with our international partners to drive a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings he has (a) had to date and (b) scheduled for a future date with trades unions.
Mr Robin Walker
We have already started a wide-ranging programme of engagement in order to build a national consensus, listening to organisations, institutions and companies in as many sectors as possible to establish their priorities and understand their concerns, and also to hear what they think the solutions could be.
One of the Secretary of State’s first meetings was with the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress. I and my Ministerial colleagues have also met with a wide range of representatives from business groups, the universities, the charity sector and farming and fisheries organisations.
In the weeks ahead, we will continue to engage with as many other firms, organisations and bodies as possible, including with trade unions. We will also be holding roundtables with stakeholders in a series of sectors, to ensure that all views are reflected in our analysis of the options for the UK.