Tag: Matthew Offord

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports his Department has received of al Shabaab’s activities in the lower Shabelle region of Somalia.

Grant Shapps

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives a wide range of reporting on Somalia from our Embassy in Mogadishu and other actors on the ground, including the United Nations and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the media and other open sources. Reporting shows that Al Shabaab continues vigorously to contest the lower Shabelle region. Recent Al Shabaab activities have included the re-occupation of Janaale and Kurtenwarey (alongside the continuing occupation of Jilib) following tactical AMISOM withdrawals from these smaller, more isolated positions in order to consolidate forces and focus offensive efforts elsewhere. These attacks and Al Shabaab’s ability to conduct asymmetric attacks elsewhere in the country – targeting the Federal Government of Somalia, Somali security forces, AMISOM and members of the international community – highlight the significant threat that it continues to pose to Somalia’s security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that remittances are delivered to their intended recipients.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Remittances are a vital lifeline for many poor people in developing countries. DFID works through the World Bank Group and a network of Financial Sector Deepening entities across Africa to support the delivery of remittances to poor people and strengthen regulations that govern the operation of secure and legitimate payment channels.

As a member of the Action Group on Cross Border Remittances, we work with regulators and the industry bodies for banking and Money Service Businesses (MSBs) to: increase supervision of MSBs, improve industry guidance and training, clarify regulatory requirements, monitor market risk and support a safer corridor for UK-Somalia remittances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the UK National Screening Committee’s policy on screening people over 65 for atrial fibrillation.

Jane Ellison

In 2014 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommended that screening people aged 65 and over for atrial fibrillation should not be offered. This is because the evidence did not show that those identified by screening would benefit from early diagnosis. Ministers have accepted the UK NSC’s recommendation.

As part of its three yearly recommendation review process, the UK NSC will review this recommendation in 2017/18.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of Govia in operating the Thameslink franchise.

Claire Perry

The Department’s senior officials attend four weekly meetings with the train operators senior management team, where all aspects of performance under the franchise agreement can be scrutinised and challenged. In terms of Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) delivery of services to passengers, while operational performance on its Great Northern route is robust, performance on its Thameslink route has been poor.

Ministers and officials have held a number of meetings with Network Rail, GTR and the Office of Rail Regulation to discuss the poor performance on the Thameslink route. This has resulted in GTR and Network Rail publishing a high level improvement plan on their websites which sets out the actions they are taking to turn things around. They have also committed to updating the plan by the end of February with specific commitments on the outputs that will be delivered. Furthermore, the Department has secured a commitment that Network Rail and GTR shall provide a monthly report on progress towards their committed outputs and publish this on their websites, so that passengers have transparency on what is being delivered.

The Government is determined to hold GTR and Network Rail to account for the delivery of their joint initiatives to improve Thameslink performance and, ultimately, provide the levels of service that passengers deserve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the CITES Management Authority has declared that the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility.

George Eustice

The elected government of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, has devolved constitutional responsibility for animal welfare and conservation including for legislation and policies governing the Cayman Turtle Farm.

An independent investigation in 2002, carried out in support of an application to register the Cayman Turtle Farm as a captive-breeding operation under CITES, a Convention for which Defra is responsible, concluded that the standards of care at the Cayman Turtle Farm were humane.

The UK Government has been in contact with the Cayman Islands Government more recently, expressing the UK’s commitment to raising animal welfare standards and requesting an assurance that the Cayman Islands Government takes the findings of a report by the then World Society for the Protection of Animals seriously and be committed to making appropriate improvements. I am pleased to say that the Deputy Premier of the Cayman Islands, Mr Kirkconnell, gave that assurance in a response to the Secretary of State on 24 October 2013.

The UK CITES Management Authority has not made a recent assessment of whether the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the degree to which the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane captive breeding facility.

Mark Simmonds

The elected government of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, has devolved constitutional responsibility for animal welfare and conservation including for legislation and policies governing the Cayman Turtle Farm. The UK is responsible for the international relations of the Cayman Islands and for their compliance with obligations arising under international law. The UK has extended the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to the Cayman Islands. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is providing technical support and advice to support the Cayman Islands in fully meeting its international environmental and conservation obligations. The UK CITES Management Authority has not made a recent assessment of whether the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility, but did commission an independent investigation in 2002 in support of an application for registration as a captive-breeding operation under CITES, which found it was a humane facility.