Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2015 to Question 1543, on Western Sahara: referendum, whether any referendum would put forward a choice between independence for Western Sahara and integration of that region with Morocco.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The terms and choices of a referendum on the status of Western Sahara are for Morocco and the Polisario Front to agree as the two parties to the dispute. The UK fully supports UN-led efforts to encourage both parties to agree a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to the Eleventh Report from the Treasury Committee, Session 2014-15, Conduct and competition in SME lending, HC204.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government response, which was published on 21 December 2015, is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in negotiations with Lloyd's Bank plc about business banking services being offered through the Post Office.
Answered by George Freeman
The Post Office is negotiating with the major banks, including Lloyds and Barclays, with a view to extending and standardising the services available to the banks’ small business customers. These are commercial negotiations which are still ongoing. The Government is clear that completion of these negotiations should be a priority.
The Government is keen to see continued and wider availability of banking services through Post Office branches. In this context, we welcome the recent agreement between HSBC and the Post Office to provide HSBC’s business customers with services through Post Office branches.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in negotiations with Barclays Bank plc about business banking services being offered through the Post Office.
Answered by George Freeman
The Post Office is negotiating with the major banks, including Lloyds and Barclays, with a view to extending and standardising the services available to the banks’ small business customers. These are commercial negotiations which are still ongoing. The Government is clear that completion of these negotiations should be a priority.
The Government is keen to see continued and wider availability of banking services through Post Office branches. In this context, we welcome the recent agreement between HSBC and the Post Office to provide HSBC’s business customers with services through Post Office branches.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of communities of 5,000 people or more in England where there is no bank branch within a radius of three miles.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government does not hold the information requested.
Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy. Decisions on the opening and closing of individual branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.
The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch, including the preparation of meaningful local impact assessments. There is a commitment to a review of the operation of the protocol after one year, and the Government looks forward to its conclusions.
The availability of alternative locations for accessing basic banking services is also important. The ongoing negotiation between the banks and the Post Office to agree a standard set of services – to be made available to personal and small business banking customers at Post Office counters across the country – remains vital. The Government is clear that completion of these negotiations should be a priority.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with the Moroccan ambassador to the UK Morocco's ban on the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy to the Western Sahara visiting Western Sahara during his visit to that region to facilitate negotiations called for by the UN Security Council.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
With Ambassadors of other members of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, the British Ambassador to Morocco raised this issue with the Moroccan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on 13 November. The Group of Friends welcomed the assurances they received that the Secretary-General's Envoy would not be prevented from visiting Western Sahara.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) discuss with the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK and (b) instruct the British Ambassador to Morocco to investigate the condition and treatment of Ali Aarrass who is on hunger strike in Sale prison.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Non-Government Organisations reported on 10 November that Ali Aarrass suspended his hunger strike after 72 days. We monitor the human rights situation in Morocco closely.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the options that were agreed by the UK, Morocco and the Saharawi under the 1990-91 ceasefire agreement for a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara have changed.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The options for a referendum on the self-determination of Western Sahara, as set out in the UN Secretary General’s 1990 report and the 1991 MINURSO mandate, have not changed. The UK fully supports UN-led efforts to encourage Morocco and the Polisario Front to agree a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of domestic oil purchasing syndicates.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I continue to see domestic oil purchasing syndicates as an important route for consumers to get the best price possible. My priority is keeping bills low for hardworking families and businesses, and with winter on its way it makes sense for consumers to plan ahead. The Department also recommends heating oil users to buy their heating fuel sooner rather than later to avoid longer delivery times as demand increases.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to ensure that GOV.UK is accessible by Welsh speakers in the Welsh language.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is enthusiastically committed to the Welsh language and to providing Government services in the Welsh language where there is demand for them.
The Cabinet Office is improving the quality of service for Welsh speakers through user research, conducted jointly by the Wales Office and the Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as feedback from subject matter experts in governmental Welsh Language Units.
GDS has liaised with government departments on a user needs-based review of current Welsh-language content on GOV.UK. The content in Welsh will be more prominently promoted from the equivalent English-language pages.