Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the risk that President Joseph Kabila may attempt to change the constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to remain in power and not hold the elections scheduled for November.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is clear: a President may serve two terms of five years. In 2015 President Kabila made a tentative attempt to change the Constitution to enable him to stay on beyond the end of his current, final term of office but was rebuffed by the Congolese Parliament. The risk that he will attempt to do so again remains, but the UK position is clear: we do not believe that constitutions should be amended for the benefit of incumbent leaders. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), has repeatedly urged Foreign Minister Tshibanda to do all in his power to ensure the DRC government enables elections to take place in line with the Constitution.

    We remain concerned by the lack of progress towards elections in the DRC. Primary responsibility for organising the elections rests with the government and institutions of the state of the DRC. The UK stands ready to support elections. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for International Development, my Hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), announced in March that the UK would make up to £11.4million available to support the election process, provided certain conditions were met. But we have also been clear that individuals responsible for repression and human rights violations in the run-up to the election period will have to face the consequences of their actions.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has had discussions with her European counterparts on the letter signed in July 2016 by eight European Ambassadors to Israeli officials on the confiscation of EU-funded structures in Jabal al Baba; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    I have not had discussions with my European counterparts about the letter regarding EU-funded structures, and the UK Ambassador to Israel was not asked to sign this letter. I understand that a group of international donors to the Occupied Palestinian Territories UN Humanitarian Pooled Fund wrote to the Israeli authorities to note their concerns about confiscation of several humanitarian assistance projects. The UK is not part of this fund.

    The UK remains extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions and confiscations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015, and continues to raise this with the Israeli authorities. Demolitions and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering, are harmful to the peace process, and in all but the most exceptional of cases are contrary to international humanitarian law.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on invoking UN Resolution 337A, Uniting for Peace, in order to convene an emergency Special Session of the General Assembly on Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK regularly discusses with UN partners the appropriate forums to discuss this appalling and deteriorating situation in Syria. The UK has requested and co-sponsored a number of Emergency Sessions in the Security Council on different events in Syria, to ensure the Council is fully appraised of the intensity of violence and indiscriminate attacks in Aleppo and across Syria, as well as the consequences of Asad’s ‘starve and surrender’ tactics and use of chemical weapons. We will continue to consider UN General Assembly action, including an Emergency Session.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimates her Department has made of the amount of carbon dioxide displaced as a result of the introduction of the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has made projections of carbon dioxide savings (MtCO2) from the domestic and non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in the Updated Energy & Emissions Projections (EEP), last updated Sept 2014. In the absence of funding arrangements after 2015/16, these carbon savings assume an extrapolation of RHI deployment to 2020.

    The projected savings will be updated if required for any RHI scheme changes following the Spending Review outcome.

    The EEP, which include the relevant carbon saving projections from the RHI, are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406805/Copy_of_Annex_D__corrected_17-Feb-2015_.xls.

    “

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what modifications his Department is making to the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth to allow the safe landing of F35 aircraft.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The ability of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier to support F-35B vertical landings has been incorporated into the design from the outset. The cost of preparing the flight deck was included in the revised cost of £6.2 billion announced by the previous Defence Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond), on 6 November 2013, (Official Report, column 251-254).

    For information on the modifications being made to the flight deck of the QEC Aircraft Carrier, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2014 (Official Report, column 237W) to the right hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson).

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the timetable is for developing the business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund.

    Joseph Johnson

    The business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund is currently being developed with science stakeholders, and is expected to go through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Investment Gateway process within the next two months. No funding can be confirmed until the business case is agreed.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the most commonly recorded item in the Incident Report System was in each prison; and how many times each such item was recorded in the prison concerned in the 12 months for which figures are available.

    Andrew Selous

    Other than for a few specific items such as firearms, finds of illicit items within prisons are recorded under the miscellaneous category on the NOMS Incident Reporting System. To extract the information requested could only be achieved at disproportionate cost by examining some 10,000 individual records in this category.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was their bilateral spending on technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the financial years from 2010–11 to 2014–15 in addition to their commitment of up to £1 billion for the Global Fund.

    Baroness Verma

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a critically important part of the international architecture for fighting the three diseases. The UK provides technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund through the following organisations: the Stop-TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation’s Global Malaria Programme. The table (below) shows DFID’s spend to these organisations over the last five financial years.

    (£ Millions)

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    WHOs Global Malaria Programme

    –

    1.50

    3.50

    1.50

    3.50

    Roll Back Malaria

    0.52

    1.00

    1.63

    0.63

    1.23

    Stop TB Partnership

    1.00

    1.90

    1.50

    0.50

    1.00

    UNAIDS

    10.00

    10.00

    15.00

    15.00

    15.00

    Total (£ Millions)

    11.52

    14.40

    21.63

    17.63

    20.73

    The UK is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2030. Our future contributions to the Global Fund will be determined following the completion of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33647, whether he plans to continue the Fit for Work programme for the full length of the contract.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In England and Wales, the Fit fir Work contract was awarded on the 25th July 2014 for a period of 5 years. DWP continues to undertake contract management with the supplier. In Scotland, the service is delivered via an agency agreement with the Scottish Government, made in November 2015 and reviewed annually.