Tag: Hilary Benn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the (a) percentage change in GDP and (b) change in the number of jobs in the UK in the event of the UK leaving the EU without securing any preferential trade agreements and reverting to standard World Trade Organisation rules from current trading relationships.

Mr David Gauke

As the Prime Minister has said, we want the best outcome for Britain. That means pursuing a bespoke arrangement which gives British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the single market, and enables us to decide for ourselves how we control immigration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether cluster munitions have been used in Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of recent reports that the Saudi-led coalition, as well as the Houthis, may have used cluster munitions in Yemen. We note that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not yet a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but have encouraged it to accede to the Convention. We have raised these allegations with the Saudi Arabian Government, stressing that all parties to the conflict should act in accordance with international Humanitarian Law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2014 to Question 219424, what financial support the Government has (a) provided since 1 January 2015 and (b) budgeted to provide in the future to support local governance in opposition-controlled areas.

Mr Philip Hammond

We do not have figures for spend since the start of the calendar year, but the UK has delivered over £85m in non-humanitarian support to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon since the start of the crisis in 2011. A significant amount of this has supported work in moderate opposition-controlled areas, helping to save lives, bolster civil society, build resilience against extremists, promote human rights and accountability, deliver basic governance and help lay the foundations for a more peaceful and inclusive future for Syria.

The UK is committed to helping the Syrian people, and will continue its non-humanitarian support next financial year, although a final budget has not yet been allocated.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the death sentence of Abdullah al-Zaher.

Mr Philip Hammond

The British Government is very concerned about the case of Abdullah al-Zaher. The British Government has regularly raised this case, as well as the cases of the other two minors arrested with him, with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow these cases closely and raise our concerns. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn’t deemed “the most serious”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department were employed to work on human rights in 2014-15; and what the cost of these employees was to the public purse.

Mr Philip Hammond

As I said in my published article marking Human Rights Day, human rights work "is the responsibility of all British diplomats". Calculating the proportion of each UK diplomat’s time spent on human rights work, and their associated cost, would incur disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22031, whether he has received any reports from UK personnel working with the Saudi military of (a) negligent and (b) inadvertent potential breaks of international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond

The UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition. British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets. They are also not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. British liaison officers have provided information as part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) monitoring of incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24113, on what occasions the Government has requested the sending state to waive the rights to diplomatic immunity of an individual diplomat in the UK in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Hammond

We do not disclose the missions from which we have sought waivers of immunity. Doing so would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and the States in question. Statistics for the total number of waivers of immunity sought for foreign diplomats in the UK in the last 12 months are not kept centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Statistics for waivers of immunity sought in cases of serious and significant offences allegedly committed by foreign diplomats in the last 12 months have yet to be compiled. Those allegedly committed in the calendar year 2015 will be available in the next annual Written Ministerial Statements on the failure of foreign missions to comply with UK law in 2015.

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 General Secretariat of the European Council; and what proportion of the total number of General Secretariat employees they represent.

Mr Philip Hammond

The General Secretariat of the Council does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. As of April 2015, our records show there were 53 British citizens working at administrator grade level in the General Secretariat of the Council, representing 1.5% of approximately 3500 total staff employed by the General Secretariat 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 recent reports he has received of human rights workers being (a) summoned for questioning, (b) banned from travelling and (c) subject to attempts to freeze their personal funds and family assets by the Egyptian authorities.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt, including for Non Government Organisations (NGOs). Human rights defenders have been subject to measures including questioning, travel bans and judicial applications for asset freezing against individuals and their families. I refer you to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Sate for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) on 22 March. UK officials have raised our concerns with representatives from the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of barriers to humanitarian agencies reaching people in need in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Conflict is making humanitarian access within Yemen extremely difficult. Humanitarian agencies report that they are constrained in reaching areas of greatest humanitarian need and delivering assistance for a number of reasons including bureaucratic requirements imposed by the authorities, access challenges for international staff, insecurity in a number of districts, and a proliferation of checkpoints across the country.

We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. We work with trusted and impartial partners such as UN agencies and NGOs who have good access and a strong track record of delivering and monitoring assistance in difficult and dangerous places.