Tag: Stephen Phillips

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia on the ending the restrictions on imports of fuel, food and medical supplies to Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

During a visit to Saudi Arabia on 28 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met his counterpart, Minister Al Jubeir. They discussed humanitarian issues, including humanitarian access to Yemeni ports, as well as the need for accelerating the political process in Yemen. We welcome the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister’s and President Hadi’s statements that all of Yemen’s ports are open and the initial indications of progress on maritime access, but more needs to be done.

To have real impact, commercial and humanitarian access must be sustained and systematic. The UN verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) is the best way to ensure this. We are working closely with the UN to establish it as soon as possible. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) has also expressed the UK’s readiness to support to the UNVIM and DfID has just committed £1.4 million to the UN to support its establishment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

Mark Lancaster

In the calendar year 2014 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was notified of 142 breaches involving document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials by external consultants or other third parties respectively.

In the calendar year 2015 the MOD was notified of 144 breaches involving document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials by external consultants or other third parties.

The MOD treats the security of its information very seriously and requires all breaches – however minor – to be reported. All such incidents are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-02-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of successful prosecutions for tax evasion.

Mr David Gauke

At Summer Budget 2015, the Government announced an investment of £800 million to tackle non‑compliance and tax evasion.

This investment includes £266 million and 670 new HMRC staff to tackle tax fraud, which will lead to a tripling of the number of criminal investigations into the most serious and complex tax crimes.

The Government is also consulting on new criminal powers to tackle offshore tax evasion and corporate facilitation of tax evasion.

This all builds on the Government’s earlier investment into HMRC, which enabled the Department to achieve a seven-fold increase in the number of prosecutions over the course of the last parliament and contributed to the protection over £2 billion of vital public revenue last year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the establishment of an independent international body to investigate violations of international law in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation and alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen. The UK fully and actively supports the UN’s efforts to achieve a political solution to bring an end to the conflict. This will help create the conditions for the legitimate Government to improve its capacity to protect human rights. The UK has previously engaged the Yemeni Government – both bilaterally and through the UN Human Rights Council – on a wide range of human rights issues. We continue to raise the importance of compliance international human rights law with all sides to the conflict.

We welcome the September UN Human Rights Council resolution which contains mechanisms for monitoring the human rights situation in Yemen. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been tasked to help Yemen investigate human rights abuses and violations, but it will be up to Yemen to decide on how it sets up its own domestic mechanism. We welcome Yemen’s commitment to cooperate with the UN on protection of human rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any vessels of the Royal Navy or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have exercised or sought to exercise freedom of navigation or passage rights in disputed areas of the South China Sea claimed by the government of the People’s Republic of China since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt

No Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have exercised Freedom of Navigation in disputed areas of the South China Sea since 2010.

The UK strongly asserts its right, and supports the right of all States, to exercise Freedom of Navigation in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-02-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of successful prosecutions for tax evasion.

Mr David Gauke

At Summer Budget 2015, the Government announced an investment of £800 million to tackle non‑compliance and tax evasion.

This investment includes £266 million and 670 new HMRC staff to tackle tax fraud, which will lead to a tripling of the number of criminal investigations into the most serious and complex tax crimes.

The Government is also consulting on new criminal powers to tackle offshore tax evasion and corporate facilitation of tax evasion.

This all builds on the Government’s earlier investment into HMRC, which enabled the Department to achieve a seven-fold increase in the number of prosecutions over the course of the last parliament and contributed to the protection over £2 billion of vital public revenue last year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has formed a view on the legality of the maritime claims made by the People’s Republic of China in the South China Sea as set out in the nine-dotted line map annexed to the Notes Verbales communicated to the UN Secretary-General in May 2009.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK takes no position on the underlying and conflicting claims in the South China Sea. We encourage all parties to resolve all their maritime disputes peacefully, in accordance with international law, for example the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any aircraft of the Royal Air Force have exercised or sought to exercise freedom of navigation or passage rights over disputed areas of the South China Sea claimed by the government of the People’s Republic of China since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt

The RAF regularly flies in the vicinity of the South China Sea on transit to countries such as Brunei and Australia. Information on the exact route of every such flight area since 2010 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The UK strongly asserts its right, and supports that of all States, to exercise Freedom of Navigation in accordance with the International Rules Based System.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-05-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the effect of the Government’s steps to tackle aggressive tax avoidance on the revenues derived from general taxation.

Mr David Gauke

During this Parliament, we have already announced that we will legislate for more than 25 measures to tackle avoidance and evasion, which are forecast to raise £16 billion by 2021.

During the last Parliament, we made over 40 changes to tax law, closing down loopholes and introducing major reforms to the UK tax system. These were forecast to have raised £12 billion by 2016.

During the last Parliament, as a result of actions to tackle tax evasion, tax avoidance, aggressive tax planning and non-compliance, HM Revenue and Customs secured around £100 billion in additional compliance revenue. This includes over £38 billion from big businesses and £1.2 billion extra from the UK’s richest people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK is entitled to be represented before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Philippines v. China.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK is not party to the case of Philippines v China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is therefore not entitled to be formally represented before the PCA in this case.