Tag: Stephen Gethins

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Maldives government on the unconditional release of former President Nasheed.

Mr Hugo Swire

During my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January I met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen, and reiterated our call for the release of all political prisoners. The UK welcomed the Maldivian government’s decision on 18 January to allow former President Nasheed to travel to the UK for medical treatment. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) said to the House during PMQs on 27 January, we now want to see further steps taken by the Maldives government including the release of political prisoners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Egyptian government on recent actions taken against Egyptian non-governmental organisations.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, including a proposed asset freeze against investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat and human rights defender Gamal Eid. After issuing a statement on 22 March, I raised this with the Egyptian Ambassador on 23 March, and again on 11 April. Our Ambassador to Cairo raised our concerns over restrictions on civil society with the Minister of Health and with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2016.

I encourage the Government of Egypt to work with civil society organisations to implement the rights guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution and allow non-government organisations to operate freely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans he has to engage with Scottish businesses and civic society on the negotiations to exit the EU.

Mr David Davis

The Government will fully involve all parts of the UK, including Scotland, as we prepare for negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU. We are working towards securing the best possible deal for the whole UK, and to achieve this we will work closely with businesses and other interest groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to ensure the quality labelling of Scottish produce will remain protected after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice

We fully support the UK’s iconic, world-class traditional products such as Scottish Farmed Salmon, Scotch Beef and Scotch Whisky, which provide and support thousands of jobs across Scotland and the UK and accounts for a large proportion of UK exports.

We fully recognise the importance of ensuring that the protection for products such as those currently registered under the Protected Food Name and Geographical Indication schemes continues after the UK has left the EU. We are looking at how best to do this and we will continue to work with producers to ensure protections are in place in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much revenue his Department has received from private aircraft landing at the RAF base at Leuchars.

Mark Lancaster

For financial year 2016-17 to date, landing fees and associated charges to the value of some £14,000 have been raised from civil aviation visiting the airfield at Leuchars Station.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department’s policy is on aid graduation when a country transitions from low to middle income status.

Justine Greening

DFID’s allocation of aid to countries is based on a range of criteria, including for example whether a country is classified as low income by the World Bank, current and future poverty levels, the opportunities available to us to reduce these levels through aid spending, and the country’s ability to finance its own development needs. Ministers regularly review which countries receive DFID funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times the UK has voted against an EU proposal at final adoption since 8 May 2015.

Mr David Lidington

Voting records on EU proposals are available on the Council of the European Union website. This includes the legislation, the voting rules and how Member States voted.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is planned that officials of his Department will attend the trial of Egyptian non-governmental organisations scheduled for 20 April 2016 in Cairo.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Representatives of the Embassy attended the previous hearing on 24 March, and plan to attend the next hearing on 20 April. We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt. I encourage the government of Egypt to work with civil society organisations to implement the rights guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution and allow non-government organisations to operate freely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with Ministers from the devolved administrations since he took office.

Mr David Davis

The Government will fully involve the devolved administrations, including Scotland, as we prepare for negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU. We are working towards securing the best possible deal for the whole UK, and we will work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations. Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to seek to uphold the principle of relative stability in fish stock allocation in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice

We are considering a range of options on how best fish stocks should be allocated between countries when we leave the EU. There are clear principles set out in UNCLOS regarding the importance of cooperation on the allocation of stocks and on sharing access.