Tag: Stephen Doughty

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has discussed the declaration of an ‘Islamic State’ by the government of the Gambia with that government; and what assurances he has received from that government on the protection of religious freedoms in that country.

James Duddridge

The British Embassy in Banjul has regular contact with the Gambian government but has not yet discussed the recent declaration of an Islamic State in The Gambia with President Jammeh. However, President Jammeh has publicly stated that this decision will have no impact on other religions in the country. The Gambia has a proud history of religious and ethnic tolerance, which we expect to continue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what development and humanitarian support the Government has provided (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to Burkina Faso in each of the last six years.

Mr Nick Hurd

Since 2010 DFID has provided over £16m of bilateral humanitarian and development funding to Burkina Faso. This includes humanitarian assistance to prevent and treat malnutrition and provide support to refugees from Mali, work with communities to end female genital mutilation, and support to improve regional trade in West Africa.

Whilst DFID does not require multilateral organisations to give a breakdown of where they spent core funding from DFID, the imputed share of DFID’s core funding to multilaterals that went to Burkina Faso between 2010 and 2014 (the latest year for which we have data) was £159m in total, ranging from between £34m to £47m each year. This was spent by multilaterals including the EU, the UN organisations, and the World Bank on providing a range of humanitarian and development support to meet priority needs in Burkina Faso.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of steel used in the manufacture of (a) Scout, (b) the Type 26 Frigate, (c) the new Tide Class Tankers and (d) the new Offshore Patrol vessels is manufactured in the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne

Steel is sourced by our contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers. UK suppliers have provided significant quantities of steel for major defence procurement programmes whenever they have been able to meet specified standards.

The steel requirement for the AJAX (formerly Scout) Armoured Fighting Vehicle is specialist in nature which UK manufacturers were not able to provide and has been sourced to date from a overseas supplier. There is a small quantity of steel yet to be committed to contract and UK manufacturers will have every opportunity to bid for this.

For the Type 26 Frigates, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 January 2016 to Questions 22739 and 22740 to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr Farron). The steel suppliers for the Type 26 Frigates have not yet been selected.

For the Tide Class Tankers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 January 2016 to Questions 23932 and 23934 to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Farron). It is estimated that UK customisation work will require around 80 tonnes of steel, although design work is ongoing and no orders have yet been placed.

For the Offshore Patrol Vessels currently under construction no UK steel manufacturer responded to the invitation to tender within the timeframe, but the contract to source the steel required was placed with a UK steel stockist. Around 20% of the overall requirement was sourced from UK steel mills and a further 10% from existing stock of unknown origin. The remainder was sourced from overseas suppliers, reflecting the need to ensure a competitive price and delivery at the required time and quality.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much and what proportion of her Department’s overseas development assistance budget her Department spent was subject to the International Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has spent the following amounts of Official Development Assistance (ODA) over the past three years

Year	2013	2014	2015
Total ODA	£408.4m	£192.4m	£336m
Amount under the International Development Act 2002	£402.8m	£187.7m	£328.2m
% under the International Development Act 2002	98.6%	97.5%	97.6%

The spend that is under the International Development Act 2002 comes from the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF) and the ODA-eligible proportion of the annual subscription to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The remaining DECC ODA spend is the ODA-eligible proportion of the annual subscriptions relating to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This spend is governed by the Supply and Appropriation Act; we seek to ensure this expenditure is consistent with the aims of the International Development Act.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Prime Minister, what value and proportion of cross-departmental spending on official development assistance overseen by the National Security Council was subject to the Independent Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

Mr David Cameron

Individual NSC departments are responsible and accountable for their own spending on Official Development Assistance through cross-Government funds. The National Security Council provides strategic oversight and direction.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants there were in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson

Information on the number of claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment, by month and a range of geographic breakdowns, including parliamentary constituency, is available from Stat-Xplore. https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of origin was of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa who were intercepted by (a) NATO (b) EU and (c) UK maritime operations in each of the last two years.

Penny Mordaunt

NATO is not conducting any operations in the South Central Mediterranean and has therefore not rescued any people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa.

The main countries of origin of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa and rescued by EU and UK maritime operations are the following:

Algeria

Cameroon

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Ghana

Gambia

Guinea

Ivory Coast

Mali

Morocco

Nigeria

Senegal

Somalia

Sudan

The only UK maritime operation over the last two years in the Central Mediterranean was conducted in May and June 2015, where HMS BULWARK rescued 4,747 persons from the following nationalities:

Benin

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chad

Ethiopia

Eretria

The Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Libya

Mali

Morocco

Nigeria

Pakistan

Senegal

Sudan

We do not centrally hold information on the nationalities of persons rescued by NATO or EU operations in the Central Mediterranean. The FRONTEX website does have information about numbers and nationalities of migrants attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean from North Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what meetings at official level her Department has had with the Department for Exiting the EU in which her Department’s budget was discussed.

Rory Stewart

We hold regular meetings with colleagues across Whitehall including with the Department for Exiting the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what meetings her officials have had with non-governmental organisations which receive funding from her Department since she took up office.

Rory Stewart

As a matter of course, DFID officials meet regularly in the UK and overseas with a wide range of non-governmental organisations who receive funding from DFID.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) ECOWAS and (b) the African Union on ensuring free and fair elections in the Gambia in 2016.

James Duddridge

The UK has not yet had discussions with either ECOWAS or the African Union about the December 2016 Presidential elections in The Gambia. The 2011 Presidential elections in The Gambia were overseen by both EU funded election observers and the African Union, and recognised by the international community as reflecting the will of the people. We will work with our EU and regional partners to encourage the Gambian authorities to ensure the next Presidential election also meets accepted standards.