Tag: Hilary Benn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of conflict in South Sudan on the availability of medicines in that country.

Mr Nick Hurd

The recurrent shortage of medical supplies in South Sudan is a result of the failure of the South Sudanese Government to take responsibility for the procurement of medicines for their people, against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict.

The UK, along with donor partners, has agreed a staggered strategy (to December 2016) to prevent a major drugs shortage crisis across the country. In addition, the DFID-led Health Pooled Fund will help in the procurement and supply of essential drugs between 2017 and 2018. This programme will also include the establishment of a robust, South Sudan government-led, system for the future procurement, management and distribution of medicines. The UK continues to advocate for the South Sudanese government to allocate sufficient funds to essential medicines for their people, and demands both the government and opposition to work together to urgently implement the August peace agreement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of implications for democracy and the rule of law in Macedonia of the recent presidential pardon for politicians in that country.

Mr Philip Hammond

As the Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) made clear in a public statement on 14 April, we are deeply concerned by President Ivanov’s decision to pardon those individuals currently under investigation in Macedonia over allegations of abuse of power. The decision protects those officials and former Ministers accused of corruption and denies justice to the people of Macedonia. Functioning rule of law means that all people must be held legally accountable for their actions and allegations fully investigated. We, together with international partners, have urged President Ivanov to reverse his decision and we have raised wider concerns about the credibility of forthcoming elections and the level of commitment to the democratic process with former Prime Minister and leader of the governing party VMRO, Nikola Gruevski.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Kenyan government on the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp.

Mr Philip Hammond

The Secretary of State for International Development, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) discussed the announcement about the Dadaab refugee camp with Kenya at the World Humanitarian Summit on 25 May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2016 to Question 31582, whether the Government has offered support to the government of Iraq on collecting forensic evidence of genocide committed against the Yazidis and other religious minority groups.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the appalling crimes that Daesh has committed in Iraq against Christians, Yezidis and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population.

On 21 July, The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), announced that the UK will work with international partners to drive a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes. Over the summer, Ministers and officials have been working with international partners, including the Government of Iraq, to establish the character and scope of this campaign. We will take forward action on it in New York later this month.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls have been made by employers to the Employer Checking Service in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Employer Checking Service deals with checks submitted by employers via the web-based form.

In the calendar year of 2011 the Employer Checking Service processed 33,769 checks.

In the calendar year of 2012 the Employer Checking Service processed 52,868 checks.

In the calendar year of 2013 the Employer Checking Service processed 59,452 checks.

In the calendar year of 2014 the Employer Checking Service processed 67,609 checks.

In the calendar year of 2015 the Employer Checking Service processed 69,606 checks.

From 1st January 2016 to 9th October 2016 the Employer Checking Service processed 33,095.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the UK (a) car, (b) food and (c) drinks industry of the UK leaving the EU without securing any preferential trade agreements and reverting to standard World Trade Organisation tariffs.

Mr Robin Walker

My Department, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of data analyses to inform the UK’s position for the upcoming negotiations with our EU partners. We have been clear that we will not provide a running commentary that might undermine our negotiating position.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been identified for resettlement in the UK as part of the vulnerable Syrian refugee resettlement programme since 20 September 2015.

Richard Harrington

UNHCR identifies and proposes Syrian refugees for the VPR scheme from among the whole of the registered refugee population in the region, over 4 million people. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities. Approximately 430,000 registered refugees meet UNHCR’s vulnerability criteria.

We will not be giving a running commentary on how many people have been identified for resettlement in the UK. Not all referrals translate into arrivals for a variety of reasons. We therefore do not consider it would be appropriate to provide this figure.

Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data on arrivals through the resettlement programme in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 26 November 2015 and will cover the period July-September 2015. These numbers will be updated each quarter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her objectives are for the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The World Humanitarian Summit will provide a major opportunity to set out an ambitious vision for humanitarian and development action to guide our work until 2030.

The Secretary of State for International Development has four priorities for the Summit:

• Strengthen the protection of civilians in a crisis and improve compliance with International Humanitarian Law;
• Deliver a step change in how the humanitarian community approaches resilience to natural disasters, moving from managing crises to managing risk and ensuring Governments and communities have the capacity to do this themselves;
• Address the growing gap between need and available resources through smarter financing that delivers better outcomes at lower cost and is more accountable to people in need;
• Focus on women and girls throughout the summit to ensure existing commitments are translated into action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2016 to Question 15523, when he last reviewed alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond

The UK keeps adherence to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) under constant review. The Ministry of Defence monitors alleged IHL violations, using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. The UK government has regularly raised with the Saudi Government the need to comply with IHL in Yemen and we continue to engage with them on this. I raised the issue of compliance with IHL during my October visit to Saudi Arabia. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL. It is important that open and transparent investigations are conducted into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. We welcome the public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on MSF mobile clinic in Taiz on 2 December.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Pakistan on the case of Flight Lieutenant Gurdev Sing Rai and Captain Kamal Bakshi.

Mr Philip Hammond

Sadly, the fate or whereabouts of a number of Indian and Pakistani combatants in the wars that India and Pakistan have fought since 1947 is not known to their relatives.

The UK works closely with other states and the Red Cross Movement to promote compliance with International Humanitarian Law, including the Third Geneva Convention which governs the treatment of Prisoners of War in situations of armed conflict. We call on states and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and act in accordance with their obligations under it. Within this context, we regard establishing the fate and whereabouts of combatants, and arranging for the release of any surviving combatants as a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve.