Tag: Hilary Benn

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department’s Human Rights and Democracy Report 2015, Cm 9245, what countries his Department is supporting to develop Preventing Violent Extremism action plans to tackle the root causes of extremism and prejudice; and what the support is which his Department is giving in each such case.

Mr Philip Hammond

The UK provides support to multilateral bodies and international organisations such as the UN, the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, the Hedayah Centre and the Commonwealth that work in partnership with countries developing their own national action plans against violent extremism. UK-funded programmes in fragile and conflict-affected states and our Democracy and Human Rights projects in over 40 countries, also support this global effort.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43364, what steps the Government has taken to work with international partners to hold Daesh to account for its crimes since 21 July 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

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 in the Middle East, Europe, on the UN Security Council and more widely, 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, what proportion of employer enquiries to the Employer Checking Service resulted in a response confirming that the subject of the enquiry had the right to work in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The proportion of checks to the Employer Checking Service resulting in a response confirming that the subject of the enquiry had the right to work, by calendar year are as below:

2011 41.2%

2012 43.8%

2013 51.1%

2014 56.6% 56.0%

2015 61.4% 58.2%

2016 (to date) 67.3%

“

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Bank of England to prepare for any fluctuations in the value of the pound during the process of negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Simon Kirby

The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has operational responsibility for monetary policy. In determining monetary policy, the MPC takes account of the impact of the exchange rate on prices, but the UK does not have an exchange rate target. Instead, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly in response to economic conditions and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the effects of the recent fires in Indonesia and neighbouring countries; and what steps he he has taken to ascertain whether any UK companies are responsible for those fires.

Mr Philip Hammond

We maintain a regular dialogue with the government of Indonesia, governments of affected neighbouring countries and environmental experts about the fires and their impact. While experts agree the fires are man-made, we are not aware of the involvement of any UK companies. We are working with Indonesian NGOs and the government to help them monitor, prevent and take action on fires, whether they occur on land owned by Indonesian or foreign entities.

The UK’s Forest Land-use And Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Syrian children in Europe who are (a) vulnerable to trafficking and (b) unaccompanied.

Mr Philip Hammond

As of 2 November the number of people arriving in Europe had reached 745,229 according to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Of these 149,045 are children, including around 79,000 Syrian children. Humanitarian organisations are expecting that, given the rate of arrivals, a total of 225,000 children will need assistance between September and December 2015. All of these are considered to be vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

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 discussed alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen with his Saudi counterpart.

Mr Philip Hammond

The UK government has regularly raised with the Saudi Arabian Government the need to comply with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen. 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.

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 recent reports he has received on fighting in Diyarbakir, Turkey, and surrounding areas.

Mr Philip Hammond

I receive regular reports of developments in Diyarbakir and the whole of south east Turkey. The fighting in the region is extremely concerning. The Sur district in Diyarbakir is currently under curfew as part of the government’s response to terrorist attacks from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The UK condemns these attacks as we condemn all terrorism. PKK violence must end and we support a return to the peace process, in the interests of Turkey and the region. We stand ready to help in any way we can. I passed my condolences for victims of a recent PKK attack in Diyarbakir to the Prime Minister of Turkey during my 14 January visit to Ankara.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of who is responsible for reported airstrikes that have (a) targeted and (b) hit as collateral damage (i) cultural heritage monuments, (ii) ancient heritage sites and (iii) museums in Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond

We remain concerned about the damage to cultural property in Yemen during the current conflict in Yemen. We do not routinely make assessments of responsibility for damage to cultural property in Yemen. 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. A political solution is the best way to achieve long-term stability in Yemen and we remain fully and actively supportive of the UN’s efforts to bring an end to the conflict.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised the alleged breaches of international humanitarian law outlined in the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen with the Saudi Arabian government during his recent visit to Rome.

Mr Philip Hammond

We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) with the Saudi Arabian government and other members of the military coalition. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), raised this issue of IHL compliance on 4 February with the Saudi Ambassador in London. The Saudi Arabian government has its own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January.