Tag: Mike Kane

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken through the Commonwealth to promote abolition of the death penalty in all Commonwealth States.

Mr David Lidington

The Government supports a moratorium on use of the death penalty across the Commonwealth and works diplomatically and by means of projects to promote abolition in individual Commonwealth countries. Some Commonwealth member states are steadily moving towards abolition. Relatively few persist with carrying out executions and several are contemplating legislative reform. Fiji abolished the death penalty altogether in 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase investment in decentralised renewable energy to benefit the world’s poorest people.

James Wharton

The UK Government is already playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods.

DFID’s Energy Africa campaign is one way that we are helping increase access to energy. Energy Africa aims to accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, and is about making the market work for the poor. It helps remove the barriers to household solar market expansion, including policy and regulatory obstacles, and supports businesses to innovate in energy services and technologies. DFID also supports numerous other initiatives to increase people’s access to energy through decentralised renewable energy. For example, the Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Technologies (REACT) Challenge Fund has supported businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda to provide clean energy for households, communities and businesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will prioritise funding to multilateral agencies that focus their aid programmes and investments in Least Developed Countries.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We prioritise funding to multilateral agencies depending on how well they meet UK and international development objectives. The agencies that we fund are currently being assessed by our Multilateral Aid Review which will report in the spring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of a 50 per cent reduction in air passenger duty in Scotland on Manchester Airport.

Damian Hinds

The government is currently undertaking a consultation into options to support regional airports from the impacts of air passenger duty devolution. We are carefully considering the evidence we have received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made representations to the EU on its funding of aid and development projects in Eritrea.

Mr Nick Hurd

Between 2013 and 2015 DFID provided UNICEF in Eritrea with £10 million for child and maternal health and the provision of clean water and sanitation.

In December 2015 DFID provided a further £3 million for nutrition support activities and water and sanitation in areas affected by El Nino in the Horn of Africa through UNICEF’s regional programme, which covers Eritrea.

Over the past 2 years funding to support primarily Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia totalled £1.6 million and focussed on child protection and related work on anti-smuggling and trafficking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what projects his Department has funded in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to promote abolition of the death penalty.

Mr David Lidington

With regard to projects funded in 2015/16, I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 14 January 2016 to the Rt Hon. Member for Hendon (Dr Matthew Offord). (21301).

https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/27418

Decisions on the allocation of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy in 2016/17 have not yet been taken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Healthier Together programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

No assessment has been made. These are matters for the local National Health Service.

We are advised by NHS England that effectiveness of the Healthier Together programme will be continually monitored throughout the implementation phase. The aim of the programme is to improve standards and quality of care for all patients across Greater Manchester. To support this, a “Healthier Together Dashboard” has been developed and is now operational. The Dashboard allows real time tracking of compliance with the Healthier Together standards.

This began with the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit standards for emergency general surgery. These are being monitored and improved within and across sectors, to demonstrate how compliance with standards will be improved. The next stage will add National Cardiac Arrest Audit information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Foreign Office Ministers on the implementation by UK Overseas Territories of public registers of beneficial ownership.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK continues to lead the way on beneficial ownership disclosure and to encourage others to do the same. We are having discussions at both Ministerial and official level with the Overseas Territories to emphasise the importance of this agenda. Any system should meet the following criteria: UK and domestic law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; these competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in, without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is under way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for trends in the levels of extremism in Pakistan.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK and Pakistan share a commitment to defeating extremism. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has said, this is one of the greatest threats that we face. Extremist narratives underpin all acts of terrorism, whether the tragic events that took place in Paris last month, or the murder of 132 innocent children in Peshawar in 2014. That is why we strongly support Pakistan’s efforts to tackle terrorism and the extremism that sustains it. As in the UK, this requires effort in a number of areas, including investment in education, tackling poverty and confronting the extremist narrative.

The Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy sets out our approach to tackling all forms of extremism in the UK. It recognises that the problem is a global one. We are therefore working with international partners, including Pakistan, to reinforce our efforts at home and to build a more robust international response to extremism. As part of this, we continuously assess the threat to the UK and our partners to inform our efforts to combat extremism wherever it emerges. We are also working with Pakistan to deepen our shared understanding of the issue and to develop and implement effective responses.

Extremism is a complex and multi-faceted issue. In assessing the nature of extremism, Her Majesty’s Government captures a broad spectrum of internal and external source material, including working closely with academics, civil society groups and other governments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to projects which are primarily aimed at Eritrean nationals in the last three years; and in which countries such projects are based.

Mr Nick Hurd

As a member of the European Development Fund Committee (EDF) my Department scrutinises all EDF programming. The National Indicative Programme (NIP) for Eritrea under EDF 11 was considered at the Committee on the 17^th of November 2015 and received a positive opinion. Prior to that DFID officials worked with other member states to secure a joint EU and member state approach to linking implementation of the NIP with successful dialogue on human rights.

We continue to monitor this, both in country and in Brussels, alongside other member states.