Tag: Stephen Phillips

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 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 9 October 2015 to Question 11183, if he will estimate the market value of the freehold buildings used by Grantham Magistrates’ Court.

Caroline Dinenage

There is no estimate of the market value of Grantham Magistrates’ Court. No decision has been taken to close the court.

Disposal strategies will be developed once a decision is made on individual courts following the outcome of consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospitals balance their budgets.

George Freeman

We are investing the additional £8 billion the National Health Service has said it needs to implement its own future plan, on top of the extra £2 billion we have given the service. However, additional spending is not the only answer to these financial challenges. The NHS must now put in place cost-control measures we have introduced, like clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies, while we continue to work with hospitals on ways to improve productivity and reduce waste.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent illegal trade in ivory products.

Rory Stewart

The UK has played a leading role in galvanising international action to combat the illegal wildlife trade, including the illegal trade in ivory. We hosted the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 and actively supported the Government of Botswana in its hosting of a follow-up Conference in Kasane in March 2015. The UK has also supported the Elephant Protection Initiative, of which nine African elephant range states are now members and which is designed to help them to secure and maintain healthy elephant populations.

The UK is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in ivory, established under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.

We have committed £13 million to support projects around the world to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. These projects seek to reduce demand, strengthen law enforcement and develop sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by illegal wildlife trade, principally through Defra’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. A second round of the Challenge Fund was launched on 5 August.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to work with counterparts in other EU Member States to encourage tourism to the UK from Europe.

Mrs Helen Grant

VisitEngland works closely with a network of National Tourism Organisations through the National Tourism Board Forum. Members include Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Malta, Denmark, Austria, Montenegro and Belgium. Activities of the forum include: regular meetings, sharing insights and best practice and marketing development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of EUCAP Nestor in tackling insecurity in the Horn of Africa.

Hugh Robertson

EUCAP Nestor can play an important role in building stability in Somalia and the region but further work needs to be done to enhance delivery and realise its potential.

The UK has focused on addressing issues to ensure that Nestor increases operations inside Somalia, and delivers against measurable and meaningful objectives.

These measures should increase the prospects of Nestor performing more effectively in the future. Good progress has been made in recent months towards establishing a presence in Somalia, which will increase the efficacy of the mission by providing a base for capacity building activities and by enhancing access to local actors. Nestor now has an office in Hargeisa (Somaliland), and also operates in Bosaso on the northern coast of Somalia. We will continue to track progress closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the South Caucasus.

Mr David Lidington

The South Caucasus region, while currently relatively stable, is home to three unresolved conflicts and continued internal and external political tensions. As a result, the risk of renewed instability remains real.

In Georgia, the UK supports the work of the EU Monitoring Mission; it continues to play a valuable role in helping to reduce tensions along the boundary lines of the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. However we remain concerned about “borderisation” along the administrative boundary lines of the breakaway regions which only serves to exacerbate tensions in the area. The recent change of power in Abkhazia is concerning, but we are relieved that events have unfolded peacefully. We hope the acting de facto authorities respect the rights of all people in Abkhazia, in particular ethnic Georgians living in the Gali region.

The UK is also concerned by on-going ceasefire breaches between forces along both the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenia-Azerbaijan borders. It is disappointing that as we pass the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 cease-fire agreement between the conflicting parties, a sustainable, agreed settlement is still not within reach. The UK supports the work of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chairs in their attempts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict and introduce confidence building measures which will help de-escalate tensions.

The UK remains committed to conflict resolution work in the South Caucasus. This financial year, the Conflict Pool has allocated £3m to projects in the South Caucasus that will build capacity of local communities to prevent and resolve conflicts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems into UK civil airspace.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport leads on policy for the operation of civil remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in the UK. We are working with international Governments, regulators and the industry – including the European Commission and International Civil Aviation Organization – on the development of regulation for the safe integration of RPAS into UK and European airspace.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency have a statutory responsibility to deal with the detailed Regulation.

In addition, the Department for Transport currently chairs the cross-Government Working Group on RPAS and sits on the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment Steering Board, which both seek to enable the safe and routine use of RPAS in all classes of airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised conditions of operation. This will be achieved through the coordinated development and demonstration of key technologies and operating procedures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-06-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to work with his international counterparts on ensuring that the Afghanistan government continues to maintain security in sparsely populated areas of that country following the withdrawal of international troops.

Mr Mark Francois

The International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) combat mission will end this year and the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) will assume full responsibility for security across Afghanistan. The UK and our international partners have committed to providing long-term support to the Afghan Government, including continued development of the ANSF, as part of the follow-on Resolute Support Mission. This is subject to the necessary legal permissions being in place before the end of this year. The UK is also contributing an additional £70 million per year until 2017 towards ANSF sustainment.