Tag: Mark Pritchard

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of poor player behaviour and discipline by Premier League football players on the field on the reputation of UK sport; and if he will hold talks with the Professional Footballers’ Association and FA to discuss improving that behaviour and discipline.

Tracey Crouch

Government believes that professional footballers have a responsibility to set a good example, especially to children in terms of acceptable behaviour. This is something I have discussed with both the chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association when we met recently, and with the FA as part of our regular discussions on a range of football matters.

More generally The PFA works in partnership with the FA and the professional Leagues to implement key areas within football’s inclusion and anti-discrimination plan. Through the plan, a new code of conduct has being introduced from the start of this season, as part of a series of measures to address on-field behaviour in English football. The new code sets out the standards required and consequences for non-compliance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to introduce legislation to ban the sale of primates as pets.

George Eustice

Primates are wild animals with complex needs and it is already against the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to keep them in a domestic pet environment, particularly if kept alone rather than in a social group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his (a) EU and (b) African Union counterparts the creation of an International Constitutional Court to be used for settling disputes concerning (i) presidential term limits and (ii) constitutional matters that may give rise to civil or military conflicts.

James Duddridge

We are not aware of any discussions with or between African Union or EU counterparts about an International Constitutional Court. The “Africa Court of Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR)” based in Arusha already has a mandate to make judgements on African Union Member States’ compliance with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. It is for national constitutional courts first to make judgements on constitutional affairs in their own countries, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, though the ACHPR will also form judgements where requested by African Union Member States, as recently happened in the case of Burundi.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indian counterpart on (a) the treatment of and (b) the use of bullhooks on Asian elephants in the tourism and logging industry.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are aware of reports that some elephants in use in the tourist industry in India have been captured as calves and then beaten and mistreated. This practice is illegal in India. Officials have had discussions on this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE), an organisation that hopes to stop this cruel procedure.

The United Kingdom is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. The United Kingdom has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, including India, to increase protection for Asian elephants. We secured agreement in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

Although it is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Palestinian Authority on introducing legislation to abolish the death penalty.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Government opposes all use of the death penalty as a matter of principle, including sentences imposed by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. I have asked that my officials in Jerusalem raise the issue of the death penalty with the Palestinian Authority in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what checks his Department carries out on non-governmental organisations and charities before allocating them funding to ensure that they do not have discriminatory policies against individual countries or states.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducts due diligence checks, for example background checks, on non-governmental organisations and charities before any offer of funding is made. However, the checks vary depending on the size, nature and operating environment of the proposed work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote universalisation and implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK encourages States not party to the ATT to accede to it as soon as possible. A first step towards universalisation was enabling full participation by interested states in the ATT First Conference of States Parties (CSP1) in August 2015. To that end, the UK contributed £150,000 towards the sponsoring of developing States to attend CSP1.

We are also funding projects totalling approximately £276,000 which are focused on effective ATT implementation and universalisation. In addition, the UK supports efforts by the UN and EU to provide technical assistance to states looking to accede to or implement the ATT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on reducing the number of attacks on Christian religious sites in Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We condemn all extremist violence, including attacks against religious buildings. We are aware that on 18 June, the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee, was set on fire and vandalised with graffiti. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this at the time with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and National Security Council. On 10 September the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised their concerns for peace in the region with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Georgian countertpart on freedom of expression and freedom of the media in that country.

Mr David Lidington

We raise human rights concerns with Georgian Ministers and officials, including freedom of expression and freedom of the media, at every appropriate opportunity.

We are closely monitoring the recent and ongoing court case involving the Rustavi 2 television company and continue to encourage Georgia to abide by the rule of law and due process in relation to all legal cases. We also impress the importance of creating a positive environment for media and civil society organisations working in Georgia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Japan on the abolition of the death penalty in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

We remain strongly opposed to the death penalty. Together with EU partners, we will continue to express our opposition to the death penalty. We recently co-funded a report on Japanese attitudes to the death penalty and will use this report to influence Japanese policy makers.