Tag: Matthew Offord

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to implement the commitments contained in the white paper, The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature published in 2011.

Dan Rogerson

We have made good progress on implementing the ambitious programme of policies set out in the White Paper. Of the 92 commitments made in the White Paper, over three quarters are now assessed as “completed” and action is ongoing to deliver the remaining commitments.

We have published a series of implementation updates on the GOV.UK website, setting out the progress that has been made towards the White Paper’s commitments, most recently in February 2014. This information can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-environment-white-paper-implementation-updates.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on the introduction of an Islamic bond.

Harriett Baldwin

In June last year the UK became the first country outside of the Islamic world to issue sovereign Sukuk, the Islamic equivalent of bonds, cementing Britain’s position as the western hub for Islamic finance.

The £200 million of Sukuk will mature in 2019. They were sold to investors based in the UK and in the major hubs for Islamic finance around the world.

The Sukuk received very strong demand, delivering good value for the taxpayer. Orders for the Sukuk totalled around £2.3 billion.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure remittances flow through secure and accessible channels to Somalia.

Harriett Baldwin

The Treasury has worked closely with industry and regulators to ensure that remittances continue to flow from the UK to Somalia.

The Treasury plays a leading role in the Action Group on Cross-Border Remittances, which brings together participants from industry, Government, regulators and international partners to maintain a continued dialogue on the withdrawal of banking services from the money service business sector, in order to develop a shared understanding of the expectations of all parties and help support remittance flows.

Over the past two years, the Action Group has overseen a number of initiatives to boost compliance in the Money Service Business (MSB) sector, and to give greater confidence to banks offering services to this sector:

• The group has worked closely with the supervisors to develop revised guidance for the MSB sector, and for those offering banking services to the sector, including a statement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2015 clarifying the FCA’s expectations with regards to Banks’ management of money-laundering risk.

• The National Crime Agency has worked collaboratively with the banking and MSB sectors to improve understanding and manage risk.

• Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the supervisor of MSBs, more than doubled the number of compliance visits to MSBs in 2014, and launched an e-learning product to improve MSBs’ understanding of their obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations.

  Alongside this work in the UK, the Government is also supporting targeted capacity building in Somalia, delivered through the World Bank. This includes a specific focus on improving regulation of the Somali remittance sector and supporting the drafting and introduction of necessary financial crime legislation. This goes hand-in-hand with our longer term programme to support the formalisation of the financial sector in Somalia.

  These actions both in the UK and Somalia are intended to safeguard the vital remittances that flow between the two countries. The Action Group continues to monitor UK-Somalia remittance corridor closely and is reassured that there is currently no evidence to date of an interruption in the flow of remittances between the UK and Somalia, or any significant increase in remittance costs. This is a resilient and responsive market and the Government remains committed to supporting it and the diaspora communities that rely on these services.

  Updates on the work of the Action Group can be found on the gov.uk website:

  https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/action-group-on-cross-border-remittances

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 assessment his Department has made of the effect on the security situation in Somalia of al Shabaab’s seizure of Buqda.

Grant Shapps

We assess that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM’s) withdrawal from Buqda, and its consequent re-occupation by Al Shabaab, will have little impact on the security situation in Somalia, given Buqda’s limited strategic importance within the context of the overall AMISOM campaign.

AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) have regained 75% of the territory formerly controlled by Al-Shabaab, forcing it out of many of its traditional strongholds, including major urban centres and its former headquarters in Baraawe. The current AMISOM offensive is designed to remove Al Shabaab from their strong holds in the Gedo, Bakool and Bay regions of Somalia. But Al Shabaab still holds ground in the lower Juba Valley and retains the ability to infiltrate other areas and cause instability.

We continue to support African Union and SNSF efforts to defeat Al Shabaab, including through the provision of stipends, training, equipment and infrastructure enhancements, and capacity-building. We are also supporting stabilisation and countering violent extremism efforts, including working with the Federal Government of Somalia to develop counter-terrorism legislation.

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 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his priorities are for renegotiating UK membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington

The Government’s priorities are to reform the EU so that it is more flexible, competitive and democratically accountable. We want to see further deepening of the Single European Market, especially in services; an ambitious and sustained drive to cut red tape, and successful free trade negotiations with the United States, Japan and other countries. We are also seeking greater powers for groups of national parliaments to block or review EU legislation; an end to benefit tourism, and the development of Economic and Monetary Union in a way that safeguards the interests of countries which have chosen not to join the Euro. The Government has already made progress in delivering reform, including cutting the EU budget for the first time and securing reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy that include a ban on discards and a shift to the regional and local management of fisheries.