Tag: Tom Brake

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of restrictions of water supplies on the humanitarian situation in the West Bank.

Rory Stewart

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs assessed in November 2015 that 400,000 people in the West Bank required humanitarian water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance. UK officials are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the UN, World Bank, EU and other development actors on this issue.

DFID is funding UNICEF to lead on developing and updating the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) WASH Sector Contingency Plan at the national level. This brings together the Palestinian Water Authority and other partners to monitor the water situation in the OPTs and ensure preparedness and effective response in case of an emergency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the London Legacy Development Corporation about EU state aid rules and West Ham United Football Club’s occupancy of the Olympic Stadium.

Tracey Crouch

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any discussions with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) about EU state aid rules and the West Ham United Football Club contract. The contract relating to West Ham United Football Club’s use of the Olympic Stadium is between the West Ham and the LLDC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is planned.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is an annual event which last took place in Beijing in April 2015. We expect to hold the next round in March or April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government’s policies of the recognition of acts constituting genocide in the European Parliament’s Resolution, Systematic mass murder of religious minorities by ISIS, agreed on 4 February 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

European Parliament resolutions are not binding and do not create legal obligations on member states.

It is the long-standing policy of successive governments that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations of International Humanitarian Law, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That’s why the UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of more than 65 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed in England, excluding London, who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.

James Brokenshire

The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in recognised shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

Data of the number of people employed in specific regions of the United Kingdom is not available. The Home Office holds individual records showing the working location of Tier 2 (General) migrants, but centralised records show the registered address of the Tier 2 Sponsor, which is normally that organisation’s Head Office.

The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This includes the impact on the top ten occupations and is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he consulted (a) the National Security Council, (b) the Attorney General, (c) the Foreign Secretary and (d) other Cabinet colleagues on the decision to authorise the US to use RAF Lakenheath to launch airstrikes in Libya; and whether any of those bodies or people were required to give approval for that authorisation.

Michael Fallon

I am responsible for authorising the use of UK bases for operations of this nature. There is a long standing convention that whether the Attorney General has or has not advised on a matter it is not disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29390, what definition of principle of military necessity his Department uses to assess whether an incident counts as violation of international humanitarian law.

Penny Mordaunt

International Humanitarian Law is founded in customary international law but now extensively codified in international agreements, most notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols. The UK’s interpretation of the principles of proportionality, military necessity, humanity and distinction is set out in the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Service Publication (JSP) 383, the Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, which is available online (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jsp-383).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of UK firms based in the East of England that trade with other EU member states; and how many people are employed by each such firm.

Anna Soubry

HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.

HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to provide additional emergency accommodation for homeless people in London.

Mr Marcus Jones

One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We recently provided an additional £5 million for local authorities facing the greatest pressures in moving people out of temporary accommodation and into a settled home. 21 local authorities in London received a share of this funding.

We invested in the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond in London, which aimed to turn around the lives of 830 entrenched rough sleepers. So far, over half have achieved positive outcomes. We have also supported the roll-out of No Second Night Out through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund, which has also helped fund more than 30 London based projects aimed at tackling homelessness. The Greater London Authority No Second Night Out project has helped new rough sleepers in London off the street quickly and prevented them from becoming entrenched.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many export licence applications made since March 2015 related to the supply of equipment to Saudi Arabia have not been approved due to non-compliance with criterion 2 of the National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

Anna Soubry

We rigorously assess each application on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. A licence will not be granted if to do so would breach these Criteria.

Since March 2015 no export licence applications have been refused due to non-compliance with Criterion 2, although seven have been refused under Criterion 7 (risk of diversion to undesirable end users or end use).

Information on military and dual use export licences is published as Official Statistics in the quarterly and annual reports on Strategic Export Controls which are all available to view on GOV.UK. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences.