Tag: Patrick Grady

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will issue a response to EDM 1011, Fire at Mzuzu University, Malawi.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK recognises the terrible loss for Mzuzu University and academia in Malawi caused by the fire in December 2015 which destroyed the university library and its stock of 45,000 books.

We commend the Scotland Malawi Partnership for coordinating efforts in Scotland to appeal for donations for the restocking and rebuilding of the library. Officials have met with the Scotland Malawi Partnership and the Mzuzu University Vice Chancellor to discuss possible funding opportunities. It is encouraging that Scottish Universities are again demonstrating Scotland’s unique people to people approach to supporting Malawi at a time when the country is also facing a humanitarian crisis and funding priorities are in strong competition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue a response to Early Day Motion 660, Legal recognition for people who do not associate with a particular gender.

James Brokenshire

UK passports currently recognise only male and female genders. To introduce a third category, such a denoted by an ‘X’ in the passport, would require a change in UK primary legislation.

The Government is currently considering this issue as part of its response to the report on Transgender Equality by the Women and Equalities Select Committee.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect on alleged violence against ethnic groups in Gambia.

James Duddridge

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not held recent discussions with the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect on alleged violence against ethnic groups in The Gambia. However, we fully endorse the statement of the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, released on 10 June, in which he condemned inflammatory rhetoric by President Jammeh, and called for the rights of all populations of The Gambia to be respected. We regularly press the government of The Gambia at senior levels to protect the human rights of all its people.

Our Ambassador to The Gambia recently has discussed the situation in the country with the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for West Africa and with UN representatives in Banjul. We and our partners will continue to monitor the situation closely, particularly the protection afforded to different ethnic groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have lost their entitlement to motability cars during their reassessment from disability living allowance to personal independence payment; and how many such claimants have subsequently had their motability cars reinstated following an appeal to the first-tier tribunal in each year since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt

The Department does not routinely collect information on the numbers of people who have had to return a Motability vehicle nor on whether they were successful on appeal. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme, including collating its own management information. Whilst the Department meets regularly with Motability to discuss scheme performance, questions relating to the details of the scheme’s operation should be directed to Motability itself.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the agreements reached at the 2015 Valetta Summit on migration on the flow of refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea.

James Duddridge

At the Valetta Summit, EU and African leaders made clear their shared determination to provide a comprehensive solution to irregular migration. They agreed an Action Plan that sets out a clear strategy to deal with the root causes of irregular migration and respond to its consequences. The UK will now use our chairmanship of the EU-AU “Khartoum Process” on migration to drive forward delivery of that Plan in the Horn of Africa. The EU launched a £1.3billion Trust Fund at Valetta to improve stability in Africa and tackle the drivers of migration. Over £400 million of that funding will be spent in the Horn of Africa, including Eritrea. This, and other EU and bilateral funding, will be used to build the region’s capacity to fight organised immigration crime, and to help create jobs, security, better living standards and better governance. The UK has been clear to the government of Eritrea that poor respect for human rights is also a driver of migration. At the UN Human Rights Council and in bilateral discussions we have set out to the government of Eritrea steps we believe it needs to take to improve its human rights record, including fulfilling its commitment to limit National Service to 18 months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-18.

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

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We last assessed the human rights situation in Mauritania in November 2015 before Mauritania’s Universal Periodic Review ahead of the UN Human Rights Council. Officials continue to monitor human rights in Mauritania and raise our concerns with the Mauritanian authorities at the highest levels.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will issue a response to EDM 1011, Fire at Mzuzu University, Malawi.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK recognises the terrible loss for Mzuzu University and academia in Malawi caused by the fire in December 2015 which destroyed the university library and its stock of 45,000 books.

We commend the Scotland Malawi Partnership for coordinating efforts in Scotland to appeal for donations for the restocking and rebuilding of the library. Officials have met with the Scotland Malawi Partnership and the Mzuzu University Vice Chancellor to discuss possible funding opportunities. It is encouraging that Scottish Universities are again demonstrating Scotland’s unique people to people approach to supporting Malawi at a time when the country is also facing a humanitarian crisis and funding priorities are in strong competition.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 1424, Autism awareness.

Alistair Burt

Since the Early Day Motion was tabled on 26 April, Autism Awareness has been the subject of a full debate on 28 April 2016, Official Report, columns 1574-1630 having been selected for this by the Backbench Business Committee.

The Department has promoted the awareness work of the National Autistic Society since its launch during World Autism Awareness week, alongside that which the Department is funding through the Autism Alliance UK, a network of autism charities. This is encouraging local organisations to become Autism Champions by making public commitments to train their staff in autism awareness. A total of £325,000 has been invested in this work and the next step is to evaluate and take stock of the outcomes and achievements. In the meantime our approach is to focus on work with specific groups on awareness such as general practitioners through the Royal College of General Practitioner’s Autism Initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people granted visitor visas from countries in sub-Saharan Africa did not return to their country of origin following the expiry of their visa in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire

The data requested is not currently available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 400, on applying the results of experiments on animals to human patients, tabled on 5 September 2016.

Joseph Johnson

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 Roadmap for the UK.

The Roadmap 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 400) rightly draws attention to the UK life science sector’s Concordat on openness in animal research which was launched in 2014, and provides new opportunities for transparency and debate in this area.