Tag: Paul Monaghan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the length of time it is taking the British Virgin Island government to respond to its consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership.

James Duddridge

The BVI Government issued a public consultation document in November 2013, seeking public opinion on whether or not the BVI should adopt a central register of beneficial ownership. The consultation process concluded in March 2014 and this was followed by a review and analysis of the submissions. The results were published in February 2015. Since then the BVI Government has been working with the financial services industry to develop proposals which led to the Statement made by the Premier in the House of Assembly on 3 November on changes to the BVI Business Companies Act and Anti Money Laundering legislation. We will continue to work with the BVI authorities so that the changes to their systems meet the three criteria that the Government has set out.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the effect of a written objection being made by a consultation body specified in Regulation 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010 (as amended) for the determination of an application for an oil transfer licence.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is the Competent Authority that assesses applications for an Oil Transfer License (OTL). All written representations made during a public consultation are considered with the application and used to inform the analysis and the decision

The MCA will approve or deny the application, direct the applicant to do additional work to address concerns and/or seek additional stakeholder consultation and engagement where appropriate.

In accordance with the ‘Merchant Shipping (Ship to Ship Transfers) Regulation 2010 (as amended), the MCA will inform the applicant in writing of the decision, with any associated caveats to the License, if granted. Officials will also write to all individuals or consultation bodies who responded to the public consultation informing them of the decision and the justification for it.

Representations and decision correspondence are retained by the MCA and kept on file for a minimum of 20 years. Records of any other stakeholder engagement undertaken during an OTL consultation or subsequent to it are retained by the MCA for a minimum of five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in which countries aspartame has been banned; and for what reason each such ban has been enacted.

Jane Ellison

We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that aspartame is permitted in all European Union Member States. It is also permitted in those countries aligned to EU legislation participating in the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association.

Aspartame has also been evaluated for safety by The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and provisions for its use are included in the international Codex Alimentarius General Standard on Food Additives.

Whilst the FSA is not aware of any countries where aspartame is banned, it is possible there are countries which do not have legislation regulating the use of aspartame or other food additives.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made at the recent UN peace talks in Geneva on Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The latest phase of UN-facilitated peace talks on Syria came to a pause in Geneva on 24 March. UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura intends to reconvene the parties after the Easter break. This latest phase continued in the “proximity talks” format rather than direct talks between the parties. During their discussions with the UN Special Envoy, the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian Opposition presented their plans for political transition. Conversely, we understand that the Syrian regime did not engage on issues of substance during their discussions with the UN Special Envoy. At the conclusion of this round of talks, the UN produced a paper outlining its assessment of the “points of convergence” between the opposition and regime and has invited both sides to consider it before talks resume on or around 10 April.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will intervene to suspend the decision by Capita relating to Mrs Marleen Baldwin; and if she will ensure that Mrs Baldwin is not forcibly removed from the UK until she has reviewed her case.

James Brokenshire

We do not comment publicly on individual cases. UK Visas and Immigration will write to the Honourable Member to provide an update on this case.

There are no plans for a specific review of the administrative handling of immigration applications from Canadian nationals for indefinite leave to remain. UK Visas and Immigration is, however, committed to the principles of continuous improvement and to applying these to ensure processes are efficient and effective.

The administrative requirements, and service standards, to which applicants for indefinite leave to remain are subject, are set out at www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/settle-in-the-uk. This information is reviewed regularly, with a view to ensuring it is as clear as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the 10 Point Plan for a Better Openreach proposed by the industry coalition comprising Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, the Independent Networks Cooperative Association and the Federation of Communication Services in their letter to Ms Sharon White, Ofcom, dated 16 May 2016.

Mr Edward Vaizey

I am pleased to see that the industry is engaging constructively with Ofcom on this issue. The Government’s ambition is to ensure that the UK has the right infrastructure to meet the needs of business and consumers and enable the UK to remain a leading digital nation. We welcome Ofcom’s determination to tackle these issues and agree with the Regulator’s view that the current relationship between BT and Openreach will not deliver the country’s needs for more competition, better innovation and better service. Our belief is that Ofcom should be firmly focused on taking whatever action is needed to correct the competition problems identified, however radical a change that might be.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for UK foreign policy of the President of the European Commission’s State of the Union Address of 14 September 2016.

Sir Alan Duncan

​The UK will continue to share foreign and security interests and common challenges with EU Member States and other partners. We will continue to be an influential international actor, remaining a leading member of NATO, the G7 and G20, and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We do not assess President Juncker’s speech as fundamentally altering this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the steps taken by the British Virgin Islands to meet the Prime Minister’s ambition for a public register of beneficial ownership since June 2013.

James Duddridge

In March the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and I wrote to the Premier of the British Virgin Islands asking him to set out plans and a timetable for the implementation of a central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system, ahead of the Joint Ministerial Council. The letter included three criteria we expect BVI to meet.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to (a) close the trade and sale of ivory and (b) end the importation of ivory from countries such as (i) Tanzania, (ii) Zimbabwe and (iii) other African countries.

Rory Stewart

The Government is deeply concerned by the continued poaching of elephants for their ivory, which is why we are committed to maintaining the current global ban on any international trade in new ivory.

The UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age, from Tanzania, Zimbabwe or any other country. We are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union. In implementing our manifesto commitment to press for a total ban on ivory sales, we will work with our international partners and interested parties at home to take into account their views about how we best achieve this and over what timeframe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Prime Minister, whether he has had discussions with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on the sale of Czech war planes to Iraq.

Mr David Cameron

I met the Czech Prime Minister in Prague on 22 January. We discussed reforming the UK’s relationship with the EU, the migration crisis, the international Syria donors conference, Syria and our shared fight against Daesh, and the sale of second-hand Czech Airforce aircraft to Iraq. I confirmed the UK was content for the sale of the Czech aircraft to proceed and welcomed the contribution this, and the Czechs, are making to the Coalition effort against Daesh.