Tag: Tom Brake

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 Midlands 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 Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to encourage voter registration amongst students before the EU referendum.

John Penrose

The Government has made it easier and more flexible for students to register to vote than ever before with the introduction of online registration. Students are now able to register at both term time and home addresses in just three minutes. Since June 2014, 3.8 million people aged 16-24 have applied to register to vote with 2.8 million of these applications made online. The Government is also working with Higher Education and Further Education bodies including the Association of Colleges and Universities UK to explore voter registration among students further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Egyptian authorities ahead of the planned asset freeze trial in Egypt which could affect the activities of non-governmental organisations working in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, including a proposed asset freeze against investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat and human rights defender Gamal Eid. After issuing a statement on 22 March, I raised this with the Egyptian Ambassador on 23 March and on 11 April. I encourage the Government of Egypt to work with civil society organisations to implement the rights guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution and allow non-government organisations to operate freely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to Ministers: quarterly return October to December 2015, published on 24 March 2016, whom he met during the visit to Kuwait that began on 26 November 2015; and what the agenda was at those meetings.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

I travelled to Kuwait on 26 November 2015 to co-chair the seventh UK-Kuwait Joint Steering Group meeting with my Kuwaiti counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah. This six-monthly discussion covers a range of bilateral issues, including migration, healthcare, defence, security, education, energy and trade. In addition to the Steering Group, I also had bilateral meetings with the Deputy Foreign Minister and the Minister for Cabinet Affairs, which focussed on Gulf Strategy, Typhoon, COP21 and regional and humanitarian issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential consequences for native Tibetans of the planned railway expansion from China into Tibet.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made an assessment of the expansion of China’s railway network in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. We collect information about developments in Tibet from a wide range of reports, such as those made by the Chinese authorities and by Non-Governmental Organisations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility of air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria; and what her Department’s strategy is for ensuring humanitarian aid is delivered to Syria after the passing of the UN deadline on 1 June 2016.

Sir Desmond Swayne

The UK continues to press for sustained access to all besieged and hard to reach areas. We are also pressing for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations.

Since the passing of the ISSG’s 1^st June deadline, there has been some progress, including regime approval in principle for land access to all of the areas requested in the UN’s access plan for June. The Syrian regime must now deliver on its commitment to allow land access to all besieged areas.

The international community will be watching progress closely. If the regime continues to block access, the UK and other ISSG members will consider further action to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what targets her Department has in place to ensure criminal records check disclosures are processed efficiently.

Sarah Newton

The Disclosure and Barring service works directly with each police force to agree a budget annually based on the expected numbers of local checks and considers any requests for additional resources as part of these discussions.

In 2015/16 the Disclosure and Barring Service had a target of processing 85% of all applications within 21 days. Some of the over four million applications received each year need to be referred to one or more police forces for further checks and the Disclosure and Barring Service funds Police disclosure units.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to (a) help strengthen and lengthen the recently announced ceasefire in Syria and (b) ensure that humanitarian access in that area remains practicable.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson),welcomed the restored Cessation of Hostilities which began on 12 September. The key components of this Cessation were an end to attacks on civilians and moderate groups, and full humanitarian access across Syria.

However, the Cessation of Hostilities was eroded and discredited by regime violations and has now broken down. We are seeing some of the worst violence of the conflict in the appalling, indiscriminate bombardment of Aleppo.

The UK will continue to work with our partners to keep the focus on what is happening, to call for the Cessation of Hostilities to be restored – with full humanitarian access – to allow the resumption of a political process. Political transition away from Asad is the only long-term solution.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40083, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of the British military conducting and supporting air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria.

Mike Penning

The Ministry of Defence shares the view of the Department for International Development that aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help to affected populations. The UK has been clear that the use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and if it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Air drops require certain conditions to be met for successful delivery that are unlikely to be present on the ground in most of Syria including clear drop zones, safe access for the intended recipients, and co-ordination with authorities on the ground to oversee distribution.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the report by Amnesty International, published on 29 September 2016, on the use of chemical weapon attacks against civilians in Darfur.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

​We monitor all allegations of chemical weapons use in close cooperation with international partners and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). We are aware that the OPCW is looking into the allegations contained in the Amnesty International report. We unreservedly condemn chemical weapons use by anyone, anywhere.