Tag: Hilary Benn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on encouraging Transforming Care teams to employ people with learning disabilities to help deliver services.

David Mowat

The Government is committed to increasing the number of people with learning disabilities employed across the full range of National Health Service organisations. NHS Employers and NHS England have a range of tools and guidance to support organisations to increase their recruitment of people with learning disabilities, including providing real examples of jobs currently being done. People with learning disabilities bring their own expertise, personal experience and knowledge to roles. As such, roles that can specifically draw on this experience should be considered.

Further information on the NHS Learning Disability Employment Programme is available on NHS England’s website at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/gov/equality-hub/ld-emp-prog/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the Government’s policy to negotiate to continue participation in the European Aviation Safety Authority after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr John Hayes

The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for the continued participation in the European Aviation Safety Agency System. Until we leave, EU law still applies, so EU rules in this area will continue to apply in the UK, alongside national rules.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the Women’s League of Burma.

Mr Philip Hammond

Officials at the British Embassy in Rangoon regularly meet representatives of the Women’s League of Burma and its member groups of civil society organisations. The UK has also provided occasional funding support to the Women’s League of Burma, including towards the publication of some of their research. Representatives from the Women’s League of Burma attended the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in June 2014 at our invitation, and the UK assisted with the cost of that visit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to her Department’s summary of its work in Indonesia 2011-15, published in June 2013, how many hectares of natural forest have been saved since the programme to protect forests in that country started.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Our programme with Indonesia helps it to achieve low carbon growth and reduce poverty by managing its forests, land and natural resources in a sustainable way, and assists the country to meet its emissions targets. As part of this the UK supported the development of a Provincial Spatial Plan in Papua which was agreed in 2013. The spatial plan commits to preserving 90% of forest cover by 2100. The UK is providing support to the Papua Provincial Government to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the Spatial Plan. If this target of 90% is realised, the spatial plan will preserve around 28 million hectares of natural forest. As with all projects, performance against indicators is published on an annual basis. Multilateral forest programmes, which the UK supports through the World Bank, and a centrally-managed programme, which assists the Indonesian government to tackleillegal logging, also contribute towards efforts to halt deforestation in Indonesia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether there have been any changes to the Government’s policy on arms export licences since the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2014, 9WS.

Anna Soubry

The framework for arms export licensing remains as set out in the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, known as the Consolidated Criteria. This was last updated by the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of whether (a) cluster munitions have been used in the Yemen conflict and (b) there is a clear risk that such munitions were dropped from British-made aircraft.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of reports of the alleged use of Cluster Munitions by the Coalition in Yemen and we have raised this with the Saudi Arabian authorities. The UK does not supply cluster munitions to any members of the coalition in Yemen. In line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions we continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24122, what damage to cultural property in Yemen he remains most concerned about.

Mr Philip Hammond

We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether Russian airstrikes in Syria have breached international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Syria. The UK supports the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law including those that may constitute crimes against humanity in Syria with a view to ensuring perpetrators are held to account. In addition, the UK co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution to refer all those who are alleged to be responsible for war-crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, regardless of affiliation, to the International Criminal Court. Russia and China chose to veto this resolution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for a decision on a naturalisation application in (a) the UK and (b) Leeds.

James Brokenshire

The average length of time taken to consider naturalisation applications in the UK is 135.12 days. In Leeds postal code area the average length of time is 167 days. Both of these figures relate to the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, which is the most recent period for which statistics on the number of applications considered have been published.

For straightforward applications where the customer has met all their obligations, the service standard is that 98.5% of cases will be processed within 6 months (183 calendar days).

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 the oral Answer of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, what assessment he has made of whether evidence of the reported airstrike in Yemen on a market place in the Hajjah Governorate provides grounds for determining that international humanitarian law has been broken.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of allegations regarding a strike on a market on north-western Yemen in Hajjah Governate on 15 March. The MoD monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations, including this incident, using all available information. The UK has encouraged Saudi Arabia to investigate allegations of breaches of IHL. 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.