Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to prevent counterfeit electrical goods from entering the UK.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Government views the problem of counterfeit electrical goods extremely seriously and a range of work is ongoing that aims to intercept and prevent all types of counterfeit products entering the UK.
The Government is working closely with a number of source countries around the world to prevent counterfeit goods being shipped. When suspected counterfeit items are identified at the UK’s borders, customs legislation enables goods arriving from outside the EU to be detained and destroyed, which prevents them from entering the UK market.
The National Trading Standards ‘Safety at Ports and Borders Teams’ work across 14 local authorities at ports, airports and postal hubs intercepting dangerous and illegal items, including electrical appliances. The UK is also part of the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products.
This range of measures, together with proactive enforcement, is having a very positive preventative impact on the import of counterfeit goods.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress his Department is making on supporting religious leaders to promote community cohesion and reconciliation through its Conflict, Security and Stability Fund; in which countries religious leaders are being supported by that fund; and which religious communities those leaders represent.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) delivers projects to help prevent violent extremism, promote human rights, and support community peace-building in Africa, the Middle East, South and Central Asia and Eastern Europe. This includes working with religious leaders as well as other stakeholders. Separately, through the FCO's Magna Carta Fund, we fund various projects to support community cohesion and freedom of religion or belief across the world. Examples include: supporting human rights defenders in South Asia, promoting legal and social protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief in secondary school curricula in the Middle East and North Africa, and support for de-radicalisation and the re-integration of young people in Nigeria who have been exposed to violent extremist groups. In October 2016, the FCO hosted a groundbreaking conference to consider how protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief can help to combat violent extremism by building more inclusive societies. A range of faith leaders were invited to attend this event.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether there will be any new country programmes established in 2017.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID has no plans to open any new country programmes in 2017. However, in a changing world we remain well-placed to respond to changing circumstances and will continue to lead the global effort in responding to humanitarian crises wherever they arise.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she will publish her Department's Country Operational Plans.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Material from country Business Plans, which have replaced Operational Plans, will be published in the Spring.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department ensures that aid finance is predictable and reliable for recipient countries.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The United Kingdom is the only G7 country to legislate on its promise to provide 0.7% gross national income towards helping the world’s poor. In doing so we have given a very strong commitment to stable and predictable aid finance.
The Government recognises the importance of providing predictable flows to partner countries. To this end DFID has published indicative forward country budgets in its Annual Report and details of approved projects in every country. It is important that Ministers continually review where, how and how much we spend, to ensure that aid is being used to maximum effect in reducing poverty in the national interest, and that our work responds to changing global challenges and volatile country situations.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the availability of bisphosphonates for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
We have had no such discussions with NHS England. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning these drugs for the prevention of secondary breast cancer based upon clinical judgement.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will direct the UK's representatives at the UN to call for an investigation of the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese armed forces in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are very concerned by the allegations of chemical weapons use in Sudan and have raised our concern during UN Security Council consultations and directly with the Government of Sudan. We are aware that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is looking into the allegations and has asked the Government of Sudan to share all relevant information. The UK condemns any use of chemical weapons, by anyone anywhere.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to Scorched Earth, Poisoned Air, published by Amnesty International on 29 September 2016, if he will comment on the alleged destruction of 170 villages in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur by the Sudanese armed forces since January 2016.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are very concerned by the alleged destruction of villages as well as the other allegations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law violations in Jebel Marra. We are deeply troubled about the humanitarian situation in Darfur, which was made more acute by a renewed outbreak of hostilities in January and which has displaced at least 80,000 civilians; adding to the 2.6 million people long term displaced in Darfur. We continue to believe that urgent humanitarian access and a lasting cessation of hostilities leading to a permanent ceasefire are crucial to ending the conflict in Darfur and have made this point directly to the Government of Sudan, most recently during high–level discussions on 10-11 October.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group has had on the use of bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer since July 2015.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
NHS England has advised that the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group (CRG) discussed the use of bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer during a meeting held in September 2015. It was raised in the context of guidance being developed by the Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group and whether, through the Chemotherapy CRG, NHS England could implement any policy to support the use of these drugs. It was confirmed that these drugs would need to be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has provided to (a) the UNHCR and (b) other organisations to support Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Over the past three financial years DFID has disbursed £16,999,196 to UNHCR in Ethiopia (of which £7,010,225 was in 2013/14, £9,896,334 in 2014/15 and £91,637 in 2015/16).
From this total, £1,108,571 was allocated for child protection services for Eritrean refugees (£368,068 in 2013/14 and £740,503 in 2014/15).
A further £1,846,027 from this total was allocated over the three years in question for core relief items (basic household goods) for all refugees in Ethiopia, including Eritreans.
Funding for Eritrean refugees was not provided directly to any other organisation in Ethiopia.