Tag: Patrick Grady

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding support the British (a) Council and (b) Embassy in The Gambia provides to civil society organisations in that country.

James Duddridge

Over the past two financial years, the British Embassy in The Gambia has provided funding support to civil society organisations totalling £81,965. This funding has focused on ten projects relating to human rights, good governance, education, health and disease prevention and environmental conservation. The funding is part of the Embassy’s Bilateral Programme Fund and comes under Overseas Development Assistance. There is no British Council in The Gambia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effects of its spending on the education of disabled children in developing countries in the last 10 years.

Mr Nick Hurd

We made a number of education commitments in our Disability Framework including a commitment to help to strengthen global and national data systems to be able to better capture child functioning in education. An update of progress against the Disability Framework will be published in the coming weeks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-03-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives of the government of Malawi on the content of the new tax treaty with that country in the last 12 months.

Mr David Gauke

Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty began some years ago, and substantive agreement has been reached at official level. We expect that the treaty will be concluded shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 373, Applying Results of Experiments on Animals to Human Patients.

George Freeman

The Government considers that the carefully regulated use of animals in scientific research remains a vital tool in improving the understanding of how biological systems work and in the development of safe new medicines, treatments and technologies.

At the same time, the Government believes that animals should only be used when there is no practicable alternative and it actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), in particular through funding for the National Centre for the Replacement Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), and also through ongoing UK-led efforts to encourage greater global uptake of the 3Rs.

Advances in biomedical science and technologies – including stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques – are all providing new opportunities to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research. As part of this Innovate UK, the NC3Rs, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council have produced a Non-animal Technologies Road map for the UK, which offers an approach for the UK to develop, exploit and deploy new non-animal technologies for long-term economic and societal benefit. Integral to this strategy have been two Innovate UK industry-led competitions which have awarded approximately £7m in grant funding; “Developing non-animal technologies” and “Advancing the development and application of non-animal technologies”.

EU and UK law requires safety testing on animals before human trials for new medicines can begin and animal research still plays an important role in providing vital safety information for potential new medicines.

The Early Day Motion (EDM 373) rightly draws attention to the UK life science sector’s Concordat on openness in animal research which was launched last year, and provides new opportunities for transparency and debate in this area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to publish its (a) Civil Society Review, (b) Multilateral Aid Review and (c) Bilateral Aid Review before the summer recess.

Sir Desmond Swayne

The Government intends to publish the outcome of the Civil Society Review, Multilateral Aid Review and Bilateral Aid Review in the early summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what outcomes the Government expects from the recent and planned strategic dialogue with the government of Sudan.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

In order to maximise our ability to persuade all parties to the conflicts in Sudan to end the fighting and allow the Sudanese people the security and development they deserve, we need to have a greater level of direct engagement with the Government of Sudan. The Strategic Dialogue process provides a necessary platform for us to do this, exploring possibilities for cooperation on a wide range of UK interests where our aims align, as well as an avenue to raise concerns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to eliminate UK Export Finance investments in coal plants and coal mining overseas.

Anna Soubry

There are no plans to ban support for exports of goods and services to coal plants and coal mining overseas. However, applications to UK Export Finance (UKEF) which fall within the ambit of the OECD Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence will require that coal projects meet international, environmental, social, and human rights standards to qualify for support.

UKEF is participating in discussions in the OECD with the aim of achieving a multilateral agreement on limiting the provision of export credits for coal-fired power projects and an agreement is expected to be reached later in November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in The Gambia.

James Duddridge

The UK remains concerned about The Gambia’s human rights record. We are the only EU Member State with a resident Ambassador and have a leading role in pressing the Gambian government for improved respect for human rights. We welcome some recent positive steps taken by President Jammeh, such as banning Female Genital Mutilation and the unconditional release of over 300 prisoners – including 60 high profile political prisoners. However, more needs to be done. Through our bilateral dialogue, and alongside EU partners, we will continue to make clear to the Government of The Gambia the need for further progress on its human rights record.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons different criteria apply in the assessment of risk of self-harm or suicide to men and women in his Department’s guidance on work capability assessments.

Priti Patel

The guidance on work capability assessments no longer makes a distinction between men and women.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) stakeholders involved in poverty reduction in Malawi on the contents of a new tax treaty with Malawi.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Secretary of State for International Development has not had any such discussions. Negotiation of tax treaties with the UK is carried out by officials from HM Revenue and Customs under the direction of HM Treasury ministers.