Tag: Nigel Dodds

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress there has been on delivering support to NATO aspirant countries since the NATO summit in Wales in 2014.

Mr David Lidington

There is no formal list of NATO aspirant countries. However, this term is presently understood within the Alliance to refer to Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s open door policy for any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. We therefore support the membership aspirations of all countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

At the NATO Summit in Wales, the Alliance agreed a ‘Substantial Package’ of support for Georgia to strengthen defence capabilities and interoperability with the Alliance, and provide a new “enhanced partnership” status. Separately, Allies agreed to establish Defence Capacity Building (DCB) Missions in Georgia. The initial infrastructure for the first DCB project, the Joint Training & Evaluation Centre, was inaugurated by the NATO Secretary General at the end of August. The UK has provided a Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert to the NATO Core Team in Georgia, while other Allies have offered similar secondments. The UK has also contributed £1,750,000 to a new Trust Fund to help facilitate these.

Following the Wales Summit, NATO intensified talks with Montenegro to help them further prepare for future membership. The UK has supported Montenegro’s aim to increase public support for NATO membership and has initiated a number of Defence Engagement activities focussed upon changing public perceptions and putting Montenegro’s international credentials and capabilities into the public eye. The UK has supported a NATO Trust Fund set up to decommission surplus arms and ammunition in the country, and has provided financial and managerial support for the provision of English Language training in Montenegro, underpinning the ability to deploy officers on international operations including NATO. Foreign Ministers are due to take a decision in December on whether to invite Montenegro to open accession talks.

Since January 2015, the UK has been the NATO Contact Point Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Embassy organised its first outreach event in Bijelijina in June, with the new NATO Commander and a representative of the Bosnian Armed Forces on the panel. Complementing its role as Contact Point, the British Embassy continues to run its officer Selection and Training project, which provides a framework and support for the Bosnian Armed Forces to recruit and train a new cadre of officers.

NATO Allies, including the UK, continue to support the conditional invitation granted to Macedonia in 2008, subject to stipulated conditions. Macedonia completed its latest Annual National Plan process in September. The UK has continued to underline to Macedonia the importance of reforms in areas such as democratic dialogue, media freedom and judicial independence in order to meet the standards expected of a future NATO Ally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Pet Travel Scheme in tackling pet smuggling.

George Eustice

The carriers which carry out checks to ensure pets animals are compliant with Pet Travel Scheme rules are audited by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the results show that they are performing satisfactorily. In 2014, APHA audited close to 6,000 pets. Of these only 0.9% of the pets were found not to comply with the entry rules. These pets were either detained until their compliance could be established, re-exported or placed into quarantine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland in advance of the EU Fisheries Council in December 2015.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

I had no direct discussions with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in advance of the EU Fisheries Council in December as these matters fall within the remit of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Preparation of the UK negotiating position in the lead up to the December Fisheries Council included discussions at both Ministerial and official level across all UK fisheries administrations, including DARD. This process also included discussion with representatives of the Northern Ireland fishing industry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussion she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the possible extension of the Warm Home Discount Scheme to Northern Ireland.

Andrea Leadsom

The extension of the Warm Home Discount Scheme to Northern Ireland was debated in Parliament on 2 March 2015. A transcript of the debate is at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm150302/debtext/150302-0004.htm

DECC officials continue to discuss fuel poverty issues with officials in the Northern Ireland Executive.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270 (2016) on North Korea.

Alok Sharma

Since the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2270 in March 2016, which the UK strongly supported, the Government has been focused on ensuring that the Resolution is implemented fully and effectively by all UN Member States. We continue to have discussions with partners in the region to ensure that UNSCR 2270 and all previous sanctions measures are enforced in order to limit the ability of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The UK operates one of the toughest export control and counter-proliferation systems in the world and looks to share British expertise on sanctions wherever possible. Following the DPRK’s fifth nuclear test on 9 September, the UK is working with the UN Security Council and key partners to ensure there is a robust multilateral response to this violation of successive UN resolutions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on extending the list of NATO aspirant countries.

Mr David Lidington

There is no formal list of NATO aspirant countries. However, this term is presently understood within the Alliance to refer to Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s open door policy for any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. We therefore support the membership aspirations of all countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animals have entered the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme since that scheme’s introduction.

George Eustice

Since 1 January 2012, when the United Kingdom harmonised with European Union rules for the non-commercial movement of pet animals the number that entered Great Britain under the EU Pet Travel Scheme on approved routes was 170,659 in 2014, 147,117 in 2013 and 134,655 in 2012.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times and in which locations the British Irish council has met since 2010.

Mr Oliver Letwin

Details of all Summits and Ministerial Meetings of the British-Irish Council since 2010 can be found at: http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the security arrangements under the Common Travel Agreement in preventing illegal immigration into the UK.

James Brokenshire

The Government is working with all members of the Common Travel Area (CTA) to prevent illegal immigration and maintain the security of the external CTA border. Home Office Ministers and Officials have regular contact with all CTA members and there continues to be excellent government and operational level co-operation on a joint programme of work which includes: investment in border procedures; increased data sharing to inform immigration and border security decisions; interoperable passenger data systems, including the collection and processing of Advance Passenger Information (API) on intra and extra CTA routes, and; harmonised visa policy and processes. In addition to this, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force conduct intelligence-led operations to identify and take action against individuals who are seeking to or have abused this travel arrangement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s compliance with its obligations under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

As a member of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a member of the Joint Commission established under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), the UK continues to be in a close and continuous dialogue with the IAEA, Iran and our E3+3 partners concerning implementation of the JCPoA. The IAEA reports regularly on Iran’s implementation of its commitments under the JCPoA. The next meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors will take place from 19 September 2016.