The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish an analysis of the outcomes and costs of the third badger cull.
George Eustice
The Government has published a summary of badger control monitoring during 2015 on the GOV.UK website. The Government will publish its costs once they have been finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders of each nationality are serving custodial sentences of (a) less than six months, (b) six months to one year, (c) one year to two years, (d) two years to three years, (e) three years to four years, (f) four years to five years, (g) five years to 10 years and (h) more than 10 years.
Andrew Selous
Information on Foreign national offenders is regularly published on gov.uk website on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015
The specific information requested can be found in the attached annex.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conclusions of the report from Open Doors, Freedom of Religion and the Persecution of Christians; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Lidington
The Government is firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world, and to being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right. We value our close working relationship with organisations such as Open Doors and their insights from practical work around the world. We welcomed their recent report, which Baroness Anelay of St Johns, FCO Minister for Human Rights, was pleased to discuss with Open Doors on 13 January.
Our new strategic approach to human rights refocuses our work around three themes: democratic values and the rule of law; strengthening the rules-based international system; and human rights for a stable world. Our work on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is integral to all three of these themes.
We have an active programme of religious literacy training amongst staff from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and across Whitehall, including through our new Diplomatic Academy.
Multilaterally, we are working through the UN General Assembly to establish an internationally agreed set of principles for promoting tolerance through education. We also carry out project work in a range of countries, working with non-governmental organisations on issues such as promoting better understanding between faiths, bridging sectarian divides, promoting dialogue between faith groups and government and offering technical advice on amending discriminatory laws. Earlier in January, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced an uplift to £10.6 million for the 2016/17 programme, named the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. We are encouraging strong bids for projects focused on promoting freedom of religion or belief, and promoting FoRB as one way of tackling the root causes of extremism.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to UK businesses of implementing EU harmonised legislation.
Anna Soubry
The Government produces Impact Assessments that set out the impacts to business of legislation. These are published on the LEGISLATION.GOV.UK website.
The UK has one of the lightest regulatory regimes in the OECD. The Netherlands, also in the EU, has the lightest. The European Commission has already reformed its approach to regulation, reducing the number of new initiatives proposed in its annual work programmes by over 80 per cent since 2014.
As part of the UK’s settlement with the EU, the European Commission is now committed to reviewing the burden of regulation each year, looking in particular at cutting red tape for small businesses. For the first time ever, specific targets to reduce costs for businesses will be introduced in the most burdensome areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the EU ban on neonicotinoids has been renewed; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
EU restrictions prohibiting the use of three neonicotinoids on some crops have been in place since 1 December 2013. Other uses of these neonicotinoids remain approved. The restrictions have been implemented in full in the UK and will remain in place unless and until the European Commission decides to change them. The Commission has mandated the European Food Safety Authority to carry out a scientific review of the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. The UK will participate in that process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to UK firms of implementing Capital Requirement Directive IV.
Harriett Baldwin
The Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) implements, in the EU, the prudential banking standards agreed by the international Basel Committee. The Government supports these global standards to ensure that we do not again face severe economic impacts as a result of inadequate banking regulation and would have implemented these with or without EU legislation.
It is difficult to isolate the costs and benefits from other prudential banking measures introduced since the global financial crisis. And the benefits in particular are hard to capture as they take time to materialize. However, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) stated in its cost-benefit analysis carried out 2013 that ‘the CRDIV package is net beneficial to the UK economy.’
Taking all of the prudential measures together, the PRA has estimated that the net economic benefit is £8.25bn per annum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure freedom of religion or belief are promoted in countries with high levels of persecution on the grounds of religion or belief.
Mr David Lidington
This Government is firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world, and to being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right. Our work on freedom of religion or belief continues to be an integral part of our new strategic approach to human rights, refocusing our work around three themes: democratic values and the rule of law; strengthening the rules-based international system; and human rights for a stable world.
We also carry out project work in a range of countries where the level of persecution is high, working with non-governmental organisations on issues such as promoting better understanding between faiths, bridging sectarian divides, promoting dialogue between faith groups and government and offering technical advice on amending discriminatory laws. In the next financial year, there will be more funding available for such work through the £10.6 million Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. At the multilateral level, we are working through the UN General Assembly to establish an internationally agreed set of principles for promoting religious tolerance through education.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities are required to consider environmental factors when awarding contracts.
Mr Marcus Jones
The over-riding procurement policy requirement is that all public procurement must be based on value for money, defined as the best mix of quality and effectiveness for the least outlay over the period of use of the goods or services bought. This includes taking environmental issues into consideration.
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires all public authorities, to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being in connection with public services contracts; and for connected purposes. In addition under the Duty of Best Value, local authorities should consider overall value, including environmental value when reviewing service provision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the UN Human Rights Council on the persecution of Christians.
Mr David Lidington
The UK has a strong record of supporting freedom of religion or belief, including christianity, at the Human Rights Council. We supported the resolution on freedom of religion or belief in both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in 2015, and will look to do so again in March 2016. The UK also supported the appointment of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, who is tasked with monitoring and reporting these issues worldwide.
In addition, we regularly support language in country specific resolutions about the importance of protecting religious minorities, as evidenced in the Syria resolution of September 2015. We also regularly work with EU partners to ensure a strong EU position on freedom of religion or belief at the Human Rights Council.
When raising persecution faced by one faith group, we endeavour to frame our remarks in the wider context of the rule of law and freedom – making the point that when one faith community is persecuted, the liberty of all is jeopardised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many nationals of other EU member states who were (a) originally born outside of the EU and (b) originally born outside of the EU and became a citizen of that EU member state entered the UK in each of the last five years.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.