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Written Question
Meat: Smuggling
Monday 2nd March 2015

Asked by: Roger Williams (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force sniffer dogs operate at (a) Heathrow Airport and (b) other airports and seaports in the UK to detect illegally imported meat.

Answered by James Brokenshire

Border Force currently has four detector dogs in use at ports and airports in Great Britain trained to detect meat and other animal products illegally imported from non EU countries. This number can fluctuate as dogs are replaced through ill health or retirement and new dogs and handlers are trained.

The dogs are deployed on a mobile and flexible basis according to risk and where they will have the most impact. They are deployed at key border locations such as Heathrow Airport and can be utilised at any port, airport or other point of entry into Great Britain.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland is responsible for detecting illegal imports of meat and other animal products at ports and airports in Northern Ireland.

Written Question
Mediterranean Sea
Tuesday 6th January 2015

Asked by: Roger Williams (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to seek a reduction in the incidence of deaths among refugees crossing the Mediterranean by boat.

Answered by James Brokenshire

The Government is working with EU partners to prevent the deaths of people crossing the Mediterranean through joint efforts under the EU’s Task Force Mediterranean, established following the Lampedusa tragedy inOctober 2013.

While the UK is providing support for the new Frontex (EU External Border Agency) Operation ‘Triton’, an enhanced maritime border management operation that intercepts migrants in the Mediterranean, we believe that the only
sustainable means of addressing this issue is to take action to dissuade migrants from making these perilous and illegal journeys in the first place, enhance protection in refugees’ region of origin, and combat the criminal facilitators who place migrants’ lives at risk. This is why we support the EU’s focus on action ‘upstream’ in third countries of origin and transit.

For instance, we are playing a leading role in the new ‘Khartoum Process’ under which the EU countries and countries in the Horn of Africa will work together to combat people smuggling and human trafficking in that region. We also
support the EU’s proposals for Regional Development and Protection Programmes (RDPPs) to provide sustainable protection for refugees in North and East Africa. The UK also continues to work with EU partners and international organisations to develop information campaigns in North and East Africa, aimed at dissuading migrants from risking dangerous Mediterranean and Saharan crossings and countering the work of criminal facilitators.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 17 Jul 2014
Child Abuse

"The Home Secretary has rightly emphasised the importance of multi-agency work in safeguarding and protecting children. Some of those agencies operate under devolved legislation. Will she ensure that her Department and the United Kingdom Government as a whole co-operate fully with the devolved nations of the UK, so that children …..."
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 24 Jun 2014
Student Visas

"I am sure that everyone will welcome the identification of the abuse and the plans to eliminate it. The Minister has already said that some genuine students following genuine courses will be caught up in the process. Does he agree that the reputation of this country and our universities and …..."
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 14 Feb 2013
Oral Answers to Questions

"I pay tribute to the Government’s determination to roll out broadband, particularly in rural areas, including national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. However, some of the provisions in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill would remove protections that such areas have enjoyed for 60 years. Is it necessary to …..."
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 05 Feb 2013
Animal Experiments

"I thank the hon. Lady for giving way before coming to the end of her contribution. She is absolutely right about duplication, but one problem is that not all scientific work is published, because sometimes no journal is willing to publish it. Would it not be a good idea to …..."
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 05 Feb 2013
Animal Experiments

"While animal welfare considerations must always be paramount, the use of animals in scientific procedures is extraordinarily expensive, so there is pressure in that sense to ensure that other forms of experimentation are used where appropriate...."
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 05 Feb 2013
Animal Experiments

"The Minister makes a good point. I put a question to the Home Office about the number of animals used for experimentation in Wales, and was surprised that the figure had gone up; but after I visited Cardiff university, I understood that its success in attracting research funds, and its …..."
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Dec 2011
Animal Experimentation

"The hon. Gentleman makes a compelling argument. Indeed, no one doubts his sincerity. However, if these human-based tests were more effective and cheaper than the animal tests, why are the commercially sensitive companies not taking that route? Why do they persist with animal testing?..."
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Dec 2011
Animal Experimentation

"I, too, am greatly concerned about animal welfare and the Minister will know that I have asked a number a questions on the issue. I recently visited Cardiff university to see how the animals kept for scientific experimentation were looked after. The key thing for me was that the relevant …..."
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