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 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.

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 the Government has taken to stop UK funding being used to pay the wages of convicted terrorists from the Palestinian Territories in custody in Israeli prisons.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

No UK money is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The UK’s direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used to pay the salaries of PA public sector workers only. Our support is provided through a World Bank trust fund which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. The whole process is independently audited, which means we know exactly how our money is spent. We also have robust accounting procedures in place which mean we are confident that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups, and we ensure that our partners do the same.

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 the Republic of Congo on the payment of UK companies for infrastructure work undertaken in that country on behalf of the Congolese government.

Grant Shapps

We were recently made aware of a case where a company owned by a British national has found it difficult to secure payment for infrastructure projects carried out on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Congo. In June this year, my officials raised this case with the Congolese authorities, and highlighted the importance to all involved of resolving this case in accordance with the court decisions made in the Republic of Congo and elsewhere.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the FA about the affordability of tickets to Premier League matches for people on the national average wage.

Tracey Crouch

The pricing of tickets is a matter for the clubs to decide on, however we would encourage all clubs, whether in the Premier League or not, to think carefully about affordability for all fans when setting their ticket prices.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the level of trade was between Israel and the UK in 2013-14; and what steps he is taking to increase bilateral trade with Israel.

Anna Soubry

Bilateral trade in goods and services between the UK and Israel was £4.6 billion in 2013 (Source: Pink Book 2014). Figures for 2014 covering trade in both goods and services will be published by the Office for National Statistics on 30 October in the 2015 edition of the Pink Book.

UK Trade and Investment engage in promotion activities which focus on promoting the UK’s financial services, healthcare and food and drink sectors to the Israeli business community.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what collaboration is taking place between universities, space companies and the European Space Agency on developing nuclear engine technology for future spacecraft.

Joseph Johnson

European Space Agency has no active nuclear engine programme and we are not aware of any activities taking place with regards to such technology in the UK.