The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department is providing to the Iraqi armed forces to help reclaim the city of Fallujah from Daesh.
Penny Mordaunt
As part of Coalition forces, the RAF is conducting airstrikes against Daesh targets providing Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance in support of Iraqi Security Forces operations in Fallujah.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent British multinational companies avoiding tax in developing countries.
Mr David Gauke
The Government takes tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning extremely seriously, and has taken action both domestically and through working with other countries to prevent this.
The UK has led global efforts to tackle aggressive tax planning by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.
The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to collect the tax they are due. Through the G20 Development Working Group, and with the supporting of international organisations, it is working to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations.
In addition, the UK contributes considerable human and financial resources to help developing countries build robust tax administrations. Earlier this year, the Government committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what preparations the Government is making to provide food and shelter to refugees overseas during the winter.
Mr Desmond Swayne
For many internally displaced Syrians and refugees in the region this will be the fifth winter away from their homes in inadequate shelter. DFID is supporting implementing partners to prepare and respond to the onset of winter across Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. In the FY 2015/16 we have provided £221 million for their emergency programmes. Of this total £12.9 million has been committed for specific winter response activities such as the provision of warm clothing, thermal blankets, fuel and cash to support thousands of vulnerable families across the region. Inside Syria, UN agencies supported by the UK are providing assistance in the form of warm clothes, blankets, supplies to help weatherproof houses, and providing influenza vaccinations for those who are most susceptible. Elsewhere in the region, the UN are complementing the provision of goods with distributions of cash to vulnerable refugees and other vulnerable people, to allow them the choice on how to prioritise their winter needs.
In addition to our bilateral programming, the UK is providing £35m of unearmarked flexible funding in 2015/16 to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) which can be used to support winterisation across its global caseload.
The UK has also responded rapidly to the humanitarian needs of refugees in Europe. For example, the UK has provided in-kind assistance of blankets, sleeping bags and tents through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to ensure refugees and migrants are provided with warmth and comfort during the winter. The UK’s total support for refugees and migrants to address the Mediterranean migration crisis is nearly £25m, of which nearly £16 million is being spent in Europe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce (a) stricter regulations and (b) a ban on the use of snares.
Rory Stewart
In 2012 Defra published research on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales. Following publication of the report, officials worked with stakeholders to explore options in light of the report’s findings. We are considering options and will make an announcement in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to refuse the applications to use neonicotinoid pesticides on British fields this year.
George Eustice
The Government has received two applications for emergency authorisation of neonicotinoid seed treatments for use on oilseed rape during 2016. These applications are currently being assessed according to the normal rules, which allow for limited and controlled use of a pesticide on an exceptional basis in emergency situations to control a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means.
The decision on whether or not to grant the authorisations will be made on the basis of an examination, by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides, the Health and Safety Executive and Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser, of the technical and scientific information submitted by the applicant.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assurances she has received from Natural England that the system of wildlife licences provides adequate protection for red squirrel species.
Rory Stewart
The red squirrel is one of the UK’s most threatened native mammals, predominantly due to the threat posed by non-native grey squirrels, which out-compete red squirrels and spread the squirrel pox virus which is deadly to reds.
It is a priority for Natural England to prevent the release of any such non-native species that might have a negative impact on our native fauna and flora.
Natural England’s policy, therefore, is to not issue licences to release grey squirrels in counties or areas where red squirrels are, or may be, still present. Outside of those areas, licences are currently only issued for the re-release (within 1km of their point of capture) of rehabilitated animals that were originally taken from the wild for tending or treatment, or for immediate release of individuals at the same location from physical entrapment.
A list of species of Union concern, identified under the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation 1143/2014, will be coming into force later this year and will impose restrictions on the keeping, breeding, sale, transporting and release of 37 listed plants and animals, including the grey squirrel. Once this happens there may be a need to consider changes to the way Natural England licenses the keeping and release of these species. As a consequence Natural England is limiting grey squirrel licences to one year only.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the establishment of a UN body to lead the re-writing of tax rules to help prevent multinational companies from avoiding paying tax in developing countries.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is committed to supporting developing countries access sustainable sources of revenue and collect the taxes they are due. However, it has concerns that the establishment of a UN body with responsibility for agreeing international tax rules would lead to duplication with the ongoing work of the G20 and OECD, and would make it more difficult to achieve agreement on international tax reforms.
The UK has been at the forefront of recent international efforts to ensure that taxing rights are closely aligned with economic activity through the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Developing countries have been directly involved at working and decision-making levels in BEPS discussions and all countries will be able to benefit from the changes resulting from this work.
The Government is also working through the G20 Development Working Group and with international organisations to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations. In addition, the Government funds tax capacity building in the vast majority of our priority developing countries bilaterally and multilaterally, as well as through peer-to-peer technical assistance from HM Revenue and Customs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to exempt people with long-term serious conditions from prescription charges for repeated renewals of their medication.
Alistair Burt
A person is entitled to apply for a medical exemption certificate exempting them from the prescription charge if they suffer from:
– a permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy, or ileostomy) requiring continuous surgical dressing or requires an appliance
– forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison’s disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
– diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism
– diabetes mellitus (except where treatment of the diabetes is by diet alone)
– hypoparathyroidism
– myasthenia gravis
– myxoedema
– epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy
– continuing physical disability which prevents the patient from leaving their residence without the help of another person
– they are undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer or the effects of cancer treatment.
There are no plans to change this list.
Other extensive exemption arrangements are in place, in England, including those based on income, which support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. For those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the role is of the five additional UK Royal Naval vessels situated in the Baltic.
Penny Mordaunt
The Royal Navy routinely allocates vessels to NATO’s Standing Maritime Groups and Standing Countermeasures Groups, which are multinational, integrated maritime forces permanently available to NATO to perform tasks ranging from participating in exercises to intervention missions.
This year the UK’s contribution consists of: three Mine Countermeasures Vessels, on four month deployments in rotation; one Frigate for six months, which is the first to be deployed to this task since 2010; and a Destroyer, from October 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the pensions of people enrolled in pooled local government pension schemes are safeguarded in the event of a failed infrastructure project that received investment from that fund.
Mr Marcus Jones
Local government pension scheme benefits are set out in statute and are not linked to the investment performance of funds. However, those responsible for investment decisions should have regard to the need to achieve an appropriate balance between risk and return and act in the best interests of scheme members and local taxpayers.