Tag: Margaret Ritchie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government plans to take, other than by offering support to other countries in the region, to ensure that the UK meets its international obligations to refugees from the conflict in Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis and has committed over £1.1 billion to date. This makes us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We continue to play a leading role in encouraging the international community to contribute generously to the UN appeals. We are exploring with the UN and major donors how best to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained in the longer term, including in response to the upcoming 2016 Appeals.

The conflict raises significant protection concerns for civilians. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect International Law and ensure free, unimpeded access for impartial humanitarian agencies to provide vital assistance to those in need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the outcomes were of her visit to China in November 2015; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

During her visit the Secretary of State met a number of her counterparts, supported the two week long Food is GREAT Campaign in China and took with her the largest ever UK delegation to the Food and Hotel China trade show. She signed agreements to open the markets for UK barley and pigs trotters worth up to £190m over 5 years and discussed the forward plan for opening up the markets for poultry, beef and lamb. She discussed shared priorities with the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Water Resources and agreed programmes of closer collaboration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the implications are of her Department breaching its Resource Annually Managed expenditure for the funding of other policies in her Department.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

There are no implications for the funding of other policies in my Department as a result of this breach of the Resource Annually Managed Expenditure limit. The Department’s operational expenditure is not included in this category of expenditure. Details of the breach were provided in the Northern Ireland Office Annual Report and Account 2014-15 which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447028/NIO_Accounts_2014-2015.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support the efforts to find a cure for the Zika virus.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK is supporting and commissioning research to better understand Zika virus, its epidemiology and impacts, with a particular focus on the risk to developing countries, and research into interventions to address this virus. This includes:

• DFID and Wellcome providing funding to commission Zika research on specific topics including understanding the spread of the disease and variation between Zika strains, the effectiveness of new and existing approaches to vector control.
• A general call for research proposals jointly issued by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the Newton Fund for rapid turnaround projects. These studies will include disease surveillance, epidemiology, Zika transmission, research into Zika virus and clinical outcomes.
• The Department of Health’s UK Vaccine Network funding the University of Glasgow to develop explore a Zika vaccine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the renewables industry in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Jesse Norman

We remain committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to own and grow a business. That includes supporting those businesses that trade with the EU and the wider international markets, as well as continuing to encourage record foreign direct investment which supports business and communities up and down the country. Through our industrial strategy we will continue to put power in the hands of local communities to drive economic growth working in partnership with local business and civic leaders – to deliver an economy that works for all.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase research into the causes and types of rare diseases in England.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has invested significantly in world-class research infrastructure in the National Health Service, to provide the facilities and people to undertake and increase research into rare diseases.This includes significant funding through the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units, the NIHR Bio Resource – Rare Diseases which provides opportunities for patients, their families and health volunteers to take part in early translational research on the basis of their genotype and phenotype, and the dedicated NIHR Rare Diseases Translational Collaboration that brings together the country’s leading researchers in rare diseases and promotes collaboration including with the life sciences industry.

In 2012 the NIHR also launched a call for Applied Clinical Research on Very Rare Diseases as part of the researcher-led funding streams across six of the NIHR Research Programmes. This call was issued in support of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases and in recognition of the need for increased high quality evidence on the organisation of super specialised services or their commissioning and to improve the health outcomes for sufferers of rare diseases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to address the political crisis in Syria before March 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are closely involved in international efforts to facilitate a political solution to the conflict in Syria. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) attended discussions convened by US Secretary Kerry in Vienna on 30 October, which may be the begining of a political process in Syria.

Foreign Ministers agreed to meet again within two weeks. The UK will fully support this process including by hosting ministerial or official-level meetings. We are supporting the moderate Syrian opposition to ensure they are represented in the political process. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the Foreign Office is also providing a broad range of support to Syrians inside Syria on peace building, governance, human rights, and civil society issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 11834 to the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles, on what date he plans to announce the consultation on reform of the scheme for support for people affected by contaminated blood products.

Jane Ellison

The Department is currently awaiting the conclusion of the Spending Review and so we cannot provide a date for the full consultation at this time. However, it remains a priority and will be publicly announced.

The consultation will allow individuals who are affected by this tragedy the opportunity to express their views on what support they would value in a reformed scheme. The details of the consultation will be published on the Government’s website, including details of how those who are interested can respond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the implications are of her Department exceeding its Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit for the funding of other policies in her Department.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

There are no implications for the funding of other policies in my Department as a result of exceeding its Capital Departmental Expenditure limit. The Department’s operational expenditure is not included in this category of expenditure. Details of the breach were provided in the Northern Ireland Office Annual Report and Account 2014-15 which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447028/NIO_Accounts_2014-2015.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides when granted emergency authorisation on the bee population in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

George Eustice

Emergency authorisation was granted in 2015 for the use of two neonicotinoids on up to around 32,000 hectares of oilseed rape crop in high-risk situations in England and used by the applicant in Eastern counties. The expert assessment of the application concluded that this would not pose an unacceptable risk to bees. No authorisations were granted for use in Northern Ireland.