Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military training the UK has provided to the armed forces of Ecuador since 2014; and what plans his Department has to provide military training to the armed forces of Ecuador in the future.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
According to our records, the Ministry of Defence has not provided any military training to the armed forces of Ecuador since 2014 and currently has no plans to do so.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the terms of reference are for the High Court's judicial review into the implementation of the Pension Act 1995 and Pension Act 2011.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Several people have brought a challenge in the High Court in relation to changes to State Pension age on a number of different grounds. On 30th November 2018, the High Court ruled that a case on these matters would go to a full hearing on all grounds. The case is listed to be heard in the Divisional Court on 5th and 6th June 2019. The basis of the claim is available from the High Court. The DWP are unable to comment on live litigation. This approach is consistent with all previous governments approach to live litigation.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) RAF and (b) Government-funded subcontracted personnel work in Saudi Arabia to provide technical and maintenance support to the Saudi Arabian air force.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There are currently nine RAF personnel seconded to BAE Systems who provide engineering support for UK-supplied aircraft and systems operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force.
There are no Government-funded subcontracted personnel.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion 28/2016 adopted in August 2016 calling for the immediate release by Iran of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is legally binding.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is not a judicial body, and its opinions are not legally binding. However, I would encourage the Iranian authorities to co-operate and engage fully with the UN regarding the conclusions and recommedations of this report.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which UK-supplied military equipment has been used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen since March 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Defence (Sir Michael Fallon) said on the 19 December 2016 (Official Report 618, column 1216), the Royal Saudi Air Force has operated UK-supplied Typhoon and Tornado aircraft in Yemen and used Paveway, Dual Mode Brimstone, Storm Shadow and ALARM munitions.
The Saudi-led Coalition confirmed that a limited number of UK-manufactured BL-755 munitions were dropped in Yemen but that these UK manufactured munitions would be no longer used.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Ecuadorian officials on the matter of Julian Assange since November 2018; and on what dates those discussions were held.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I met the new Ecuadorean Ambassador, Jaime Marchan on 18 December following the presentation of his diplomatic papers. We discussed a range of bilateral topics.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that Turkey has trained and recruited former Islamic State militants to aid its operations in Afrin.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
We are not aware of any specific reports that Turkey has trained and recruited former Islamic State militants to aid its operations in Afrin. However, affiliations and allegiances between opposition and extremist groups within Syria are known to be fluid and we would not discount the possibility that former members of Daesh have taken part in Turkish-led operations in Afrin.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value was of bilateral aid provided to (a) Bolivia, (b) Colombia, (c) Ecuador and (d) Peru in each year since 2015; and what plans he has for such spending in each of the next three years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID provided no direct bilateral aid to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador or Peru in the years 2015 - 2017, the latest year for which ODA spend has been published. DFID has no plans to allocate bilateral aid to those countries in each of the next three years.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the extent to which Saudi Arabian-supplied arms are reaching Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups in Yemen.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence has not undertaken any such formal assessment.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British ground forces are operating in Syria; and with which countries those forces are embedded.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
We do not provide details of the locations of our embedded personnel as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. Details of UK Armed Forces embedded in other countries' forces are published annually in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts.