Tag: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2016 to Question 20771, how many staff are employed in the Coalition Communications Cell; and what the annual operating budget of that unit is.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There are currently nine full time equivalent members of staff working in the Coalition Communications Cell, including two secondees from Canada and the Netherlands.

The operating budget is the amount the Prime Minister announced at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 which is £10 million; this covers staff costs and all project activity over two financial years. In addition, we are working with Coalition Partners to seek additional resources.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish his Department’s budget for the next four years.

Greg Hands

The newly created Department for International Trade (DIT) has been forged out of the forerunner (non-ministerial) Departments UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Trade Policy Unit responsibilities previously held by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade also has responsibility for UK Export Finance (the Export Credits Guarantee Department), which has its own budget.

The estimated annual budgeted operating costs of the department for the next four years are currently being established and will be submitted to parliament later this financial year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2016 to Question 20769, how many individuals have been subject to sanctions imposed by the UK Government for (a) brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime and (b) other matters covered by UN Security Council Resolution 2253.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK implements the EU’s Syria Sanctions Regime. The EU has listed George Haswani due to his role as a middleman in the purchase of oil from Daesh by the Syrian Regime. In doing so he helps the regime’s military effort against the Syrian people.

There are an additional 26 Daesh related individuals/entities on the UN list that the UK takes action against, five of whom the UK proposed in September, and the majority of whom we have co-sponsored with partners. This was the first time the British Government asked the UN to add Britons associated with Daesh to its ‘Daesh and Al-Qaeda Sanctions list’, which UNSCR 2253 renewed. We will continue to consider whether more individuals should be subjected to the sanctions.

The UK implements all UN Daesh/AQ sanctions fully following the adoptions of UN Security Council Resolution 2253 on 17 December 2015.

Our primary focus remains bringing individuals supporting terrorist organisations to justice; for example the recent conviction of Tareena Shakil who had been a member of Daesh in Syria and encouraged acts of terror.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what targets the Government has set for the growth of UK exports by 2020.

Greg Hands

The Government’s priorities remain to increase the number of businesses exporting, and the value of UK exports. The manifesto set the target for UK export value to be at £1 trillion in 2020 and to have 100k more exporters in 2020 than in 2010. The scale of these targets demonstrate the ambition this Government has for making the UK an exporting nation again.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Government spending on Syria has been spent on (a) military action and (b) the provision of humanitarian aid.

Penny Mordaunt

It is not possible to separately identify the costs of military action in Syria. However, from August 2014, the net additional costs of counter-Daesh activity in Iraq and Syria have been £280 million. Since February 2012, the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2016 to Question 38925, what the planned opening date is for a reading room for hon. Members to scrutinise classified documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Greg Hands

The UK remains committed to supporting an ambitious Transatlantic Trade and Investment deal which cuts regulatory and bureaucratic barriers without lowering standards, removes the remaining tariffs between the EU and US, and opens up opportunities for businesses.

As hon. Members will have read in a letter from my noble Friend the Minister of State (Lord Price CVO) for Trade Policy on 11 October, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership reading room will be open from 19 October. This will allow all hon. Members and Peers to view documents that the European Commission and US have agreed can be shared with national parliamentarians on a confidential basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether (a) legal costs and (b) compensatory payments resulting from investor state dispute settlement claims relating to acts by the Scottish Government would be paid by the Scottish Government; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

If the UK were to lose a claim brought under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism of a trade and investment treaty which relates to an act of a devolved administration, the memorandum of understanding between the UK and the devolved administrations would apply. This provides that the devolved administration would be responsible for the payment of legal costs and awards made by the tribunal to the extent that they arise from the failure of the devolved administration to implement or enforce an obligation or fail to meet their share of an international quota. However, the UK has a good record of creating the right environment for investors and treating them fairly – we have over 90 such agreements in place with other countries and there has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2016 to Question 41468, when he plans to lay the draft text of the EU-Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement before Parliament.

Greg Hands

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 October to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards), UIN 46479.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether (a) legal costs and (b) compensatory payments resulting from investor state dispute settlement claims relating to acts by the Scottish local authorities would be passed onto those local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The Government would typically be responsible for legal costs incurred and compensatory payments awarded by an ISDS tribunal resulting from acts by UK local authorities. There is no specific mechanism in place for the UK Government to pass any such costs or payments to Scottish local authorities. The UK has a good record of creating the right environment for investors and treating them fairly – we have over 90 such agreements in place with other countries and there has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) carried out by his Department in the last three years on the reputation of the UK abroad; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not commissioned any research on the UK’s global reputation.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a network of 268 Posts in 168 countries and territories, including 9 multilateral organisations, who regularly report on the relationship with the UK in their host countries and organisations.