Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Ministry of Defence expenditure her Department considered to be spending on international development in each year from 2006 to 2014.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Ministry of Defence did not spend any Official Development Assistance during the years 2006-2010. Figures for 2011-2014 are shown in the table below.
MoD Spend on ODA (£m) | |||
2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
5 | 5 | 3 | 3* |
*2014 data is provisional. Final figures for 2014 will be published on the DFID website on Thursday 3rd December 2015.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the estimated annual operating costs of (a) Lincoln Magistrates' Court, (b) Skegness Magistrates' Court and (c) Boston Magistrates' Court are when calculated using the same methodology as for his Department's consultation on the court and tribunal estate.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The annual operating costs were approximately:
Name | Operating Costs 2014/15 |
BOSTON MAGISTRATES' AND COUNTY COURT | £195,000 |
LINCOLN MAGISTRATES' COURT | £300,000 |
SKEGNESS MAGISTRATES' COURT | £198,000 |
The consultation closed on 8 October and no final decisions will be made until all consultation responses have been carefully considered.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 9 October 2015 to Question 11183, if he will estimate the market value of the freehold buildings used by Grantham Magistrates' Court.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
There is no estimate of the market value of Grantham Magistrates’ Court. No decision has been taken to close the court.
Disposal strategies will be developed once a decision is made on individual courts following the outcome of consultation.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the estimated market value is of the freehold buildings used by Grantham Magistrates' Court.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
No decision will be taken on the future of Grantham Magistrates' Court until the responses to the consultation have been considered.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospitals balance their budgets.
Answered by George Freeman
We are investing the additional £8 billion the National Health Service has said it needs to implement its own future plan, on top of the extra £2 billion we have given the service. However, additional spending is not the only answer to these financial challenges. The NHS must now put in place cost-control measures we have introduced, like clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies, while we continue to work with hospitals on ways to improve productivity and reduce waste.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent illegal trade in ivory products.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK has played a leading role in galvanising international action to combat the illegal wildlife trade, including the illegal trade in ivory. We hosted the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 and actively supported the Government of Botswana in its hosting of a follow-up Conference in Kasane in March 2015. The UK has also supported the Elephant Protection Initiative, of which nine African elephant range states are now members and which is designed to help them to secure and maintain healthy elephant populations.
The UK is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in ivory, established under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.
We have committed £13 million to support projects around the world to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. These projects seek to reduce demand, strengthen law enforcement and develop sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by illegal wildlife trade, principally through Defra’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. A second round of the Challenge Fund was launched on 5 August.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the situation along the Colombia-Venezuela border.
Answered by Lord Swire
On 19 August, Venezuelan authorities closed part of the border with Colombia and declared a State of Exception (SoE) in some municipalities. The SoE now includes municipalities in the states of Zulia, Apure and Táchira and the border is now closed in five out of six of Colombia’s departments. The Colombian Ministry of Defence reported that, on 13 September, unauthorised Venezuelan military aircraft entered Colombian airspace. Our Embassies in Bogotá and Caracas are monitoring the situation closely.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian affairs reported that over 20,000 Colombians have left Venezuela in four weeks, over 1,500 of whom were deported. There are ongoing reports of humanitarian concerns, that many of those deported have had their houses destroyed and there have been other complaints of serious mistreatment.
I welcome the talks between the two governments’ respective Foreign Ministers, sponsored by Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), on 12 September, and the announcement that President Santos and President Maduro have agreed to hold bilateral talks. I hope that a diplomatic solution can be found to end the current crisis.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage international cooperation on the enforcement of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK has taken a lead in establishing a compliance mechanism, and is attending the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture’s sixth Governing Body in October 2015 which will consider further work to support implementation of, and compliance with, the Plant Treaty. This includes the development of online reporting tools. The UK is prepared to nominate an expert for the Plant Treaty’s Compliance Committee for the 2016-19 term.
The UK’s Darwin initiative is aimed at funding projects to help developing countries implement biodiversity conventions. Supporting the implementation of the Plant Treaty by developing countries is identified as a priority area for Darwin funding and we are now funding such projects, including one on the “Mutually supportive implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and Plant Treaty”.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage environmentally sustainable tourism in rural area.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
My department is encouraging sustainable tourism in England through its Arms length body, VisitEngland. VisitEngland champions the independent Green Tourism Business Scheme and provides a range of toolkits and guidance notes to support tourism businesses, including their Good Practice Sustainability Guides, which provide businesses with easy and practical tips on how to reduce waste, save energy and engage customers.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to assist in the brokering of peace in Yemen.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
A political solution is the best way to achieve long-term stability in Yemen, and we remain fully and actively supportive of the UN’s efforts to bring an end to the conflict and resumption of an inclusive political process. The humanitarian situation remains dire, with eighty per cent of the population in need of assistance. The Department for International Development has allocated £55 million, through UN agencies and humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisations, to support Yemenis affected by the crisis.