Tag: Tom Brake

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on recent discussions on the peace process in Syria between Russia and the US.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

​The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), discusses Syria regularly with US Secretary of State John Kerry. Both the Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State Kerry attended International Syria Support Group meetings on 20 and 23 September in New York. The Foreign Secretary and Secretary Kerry met again, along with their French, German, Italian and EEAS counterparts, to discuss Syria in Boston on 24 September. The conflict in Syria was discussed at the UN Security Council on 17, 21 and 25 September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK plans to provide any assistance or reconnaissance intelligence for airstrikes against Jabhat al-Nusra conducted as part of the Syrian Counter Terror agreement made by the US and Russia on 9 September 2016.

Mike Penning

The UK supported US efforts to reach agreement with Russia to reinstate a cessation of hostilities in Syria and will continue to work for the restoration of a credible cessation of Hostilities. The UK was not, however, a party to the US-Russia arrangement which was a purely bilateral one. While the UK would have considered seriously any requests received, we were not asked for either assistance or reconnaissance intelligence for its implementation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received evidence that Russia has committed war crimes in Syria; under what international treaties or conventions any such crimes committed by that country fall to be (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted; and what discussions he has had with his European and other counterparts on such crimes.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the jurisdiction to judge and prosecute war crimes. However, neither Russia nor Syria are state parties to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. The only way to secure an investigation by the ICC would be for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC. This would require a UNSC resolution. Russia and China vetoed a UNSC resolution which proposed referring all those responsible for war-crimes and crimes against humanity, regardless of affiliation, to the ICC in May 2014. We regularly raise allegations of atrocities being committed in Syria with international counterparts, most recently in the UN Security Council on Saturday 8 October, when Russia vetoed the proposed UNSC resolution calling for an end to the bombardment of Aleppo. Deliberate targeting of civilians or humanitarian personnel would be a war crime. The attack on a UN aid convoy near Aleppo on 19 September was a clear violation of the most basic of humanitarian principles. Russia appears to be partnering with the Syrian regime in the attacks on Aleppo which are causing large numbers of civilian casualties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department plans to publish its Bilateral Aid Review.

Rory Stewart

The Government intends to publish the outcomes of the Bilateral Aid Review shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what consultation took place between the Government and hon. Members prior to the UK disarmament ambassador to the UN speaking against the UN resolution to start negotiations in 2017 on a treaty banning nuclear weapons.

Sir Alan Duncan

There have been no consultations between the Government and Parliament specifically on the UN General Assembly resolution on the nuclear weapons ban treaty. However on 18 July 2016, Parliament debated the successor submarine programme to maintain the UK’s independent, minimum, credible nuclear deterrent, during which the issue of the ban treaty was raised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the welfare budget was spent on child benefit in 2014-15.

Damian Hinds

The latest available estimates of Child Benefit expenditure in 2014-15 can be found in Table 4.19 of the publication ‘Economic and fiscal outlook – July 2015’ available here: http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-july-2015/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department 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.

Anna Soubry

My Department has had discussions with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) about papers, prepared by the LLDC, for the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission. These papers explained the contractual arrangements relating to West Ham United Football Club’s use of the Olympic Stadium.

I can confirm that the Commission considered these papers and reached a preliminary assessment that the contractual arrangements did not involve state aid and decided not to pursue their investigation any further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the conditions in which Kamal Foroughi is being held in Evin Prison, Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have not been able to obtain access to Mr Foroughi since his detention in May 2011. The Iranian Government does not recognise dual nationality for Iranian citizens. Our requests for consular access to detainees have been rejected on these grounds. We regularly express our concerns about all of our consular cases at high level with the Iranian Government.

Prime Minister David Cameron raised these issues in a letter to President Rouhani on 19 October and again in a telephone call on 19 January. Most recently this was raised by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) during Foreign Minister Zarif’s visit to London on 5 February. I am also keeping a close interest in Mr Foroughi’s case, having recently met with his son in London on 1 December and 14 January.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) conducted on the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on (a) relationships between his Department and its counterparts in other EU member states and (b) the effectiveness of pan-European justice mechanisms; and what assessment his Department has made of the results of that research.

Dominic Raab

On 19 February, the Prime Minister set out the Government position on remaining in the European Union.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the response of the government of Saudi Arabia was to his recent representations on (a) the attacks in Yemen on the Médecins Sans Frontières hospitals and mobile clinic, (b) the airstrike on the Oxfam warehouse, (c) the reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch of attacks on civilians and civilian facilities including schools and (d) investigations into the use of cluster munitions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Saudia Arabia have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January. This includes a new investigation team outside of Coalition Command to review all existing procedures and suggest improvements.

Regarding allegations of cluster munition use, we have raised this issue with the Saudi Arabian authorities and, in line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.