First elected: 6th May 2010
Left House: 30th March 2015 (Defeated)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Anas Sarwar, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Anas Sarwar has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Anas Sarwar has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require certain companies engaged in oil or gas extraction, and other mining activities, to disclose the type and total amount of payments made to any national government, or any company wholly or partly owned by a national government; and for connected purposes
Anas Sarwar has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Details on the UK delegation to the 20th United Nations Annual Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) in Lima are yet to be confirmed, but the delegation will include Ministers and senior officials from the Government. The full list of participants in the conference will be published on the UNFCCC website when the COP has concluded, and this will include details of the UK delegation.
DECC Ministers and officials regularly have discussions with energy companies about a range of market issues.
In a competitive market, pricing decisions are a commercial matter for companies.
Consumers can put pressure on companies to reduce prices by switching to the best deal for them.
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has made no assessment of the effect of funding for medical research in a separate Scotland.
The Scotland Analysis: Science and Research report published in November 2013 examined the current UK framework for funding, infrastructure, coordination and collaboration. It demonstrated that Scottish research has thrived within this system – for example regularly receiving a higher percentage of Research Council funding when compared to UK population share.
The same holds true for research charities. In 2011 Scotland received 13% of all investment made by members of the Association of Medical Research Charities.
The evidence shows that being part of the UK complements and strengthens Scotland's world-class research base.
The UK Government's position is clear: if Scotland left the UK, the current framework for research could not continue. The best way for research to continue to flourish in Scotland is together as part of the UK.
The Government recognises that science and research is vital in driving economic growth. Our ambition is to make the UK the best place in the world to do science and research.
In 2012, Government expenditure on science and research through the Research Councils and the Higher Education funding bodies was £4.9bn, equal to 0.3% of GDP. In the same year total public spending on science was 0.6% of GDP. Total UK spending on Research & Development was 1.7% of GDP.
In the recent Spending Review, Government made a long-term commitment to investment in science and research infrastructure: increasing capital investment in real terms to £1.1bn in 2015-16 and growing this in line with inflation each year to 2020-21. We also continued to protect the science resource ring fence in cash terms for financial year 2015-16. On the basis of existing commitments, the Government's investment in science through the Research Councils and Higher Education funding bodies will be £5.9Bn[1] in 2015-16, an increase in cash terms of 20% since 2012.
[1] Cash terms including additional spending announced in AS13 and Budget 14
In all cases, decisions to investigate are made by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office who acts independently. The Protocol between the Attorney General and the Prosecuting Departments sets out the relationship between the Director, the Law Officers and the Government of the day and safeguards prosecutorial independence. A copy of the protocol can be found at; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protocol-between-the-attorney-general-and-prosecuting-departments
The Attorney General and I meet the Director frequently to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.
The Serious Fraud Office announced in August 2012 that the Director had opened a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however it would not be appropriate to give a running commentary on the progress of current investigations.
The Attorney General and I meet the Director frequently to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.
The Serious Fraud Office announced in August 2012 that the Director had opened a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however it would not be appropriate to give a running commentary on the progress of current investigations.
The Attorney General and I meet the Director frequently to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.
The Serious Fraud Office announced in August 2012 that the Director had opened a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however it would not be appropriate to give a running commentary on the progress of current investigations.
The Attorney General and I meet the Director frequently to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.
The Serious Fraud Office announced in August 2012 that the Director had opened a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however it would not be appropriate to give a running commentary on the progress of current investigations.
As with all outsourcing arrangements, security and information assurance measures are being implemented in line with the Government’s Information Assurance Standards, Good Practice Guides, Government Security Policy Framework and Data Protection Act. These Government security requirements were introduced under the previous Government and applied to outsourcing then. All shared services data will be handled, processed and transmitted in accordance with these security requirements, taking into consideration clients’ security policies.
Syria’s neighbours are taking steps to ensure the safety and security of Syrian refugees, most importantly by continuing to provide protection within their borders to those fleeing violence. The UK is assisting the Lebanese and Jordanian governments with the management of their borders, and is funding the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to provide guidance on best practice and to advocate for the safety and security needs of refugees. The UK also supports a number of specialised partners to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable individuals, including those with urgent medical needs, victims of torture, and sexual and gender-based violence.
DFID engages with both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on how to best ensure all poor Malawians can access good quality education and health care.
General budget support to Malawi was suspended in 2011 due to concerns relating to human rights and public financial management. Tightly managed sector budget support for health and education was continued by all donors but following the Cashgate scandal in November 2013 this too was suspended. There can be no consideration of putting UK funding through Malawi government systems until the integrity of the Government’s financial management systems has been restored and independently verified. However, the UK is still committed to poverty reduction and supporting poor people in Malawi, through a large programme of ongoing investments delivered outside of government systems, in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, economic development and governance.
Since November 2013 to date the DFID bilateral programme in Malawi has disbursed £ 70.4 million to NGOs, Multilaterals and other non-state channels outside of government systems. Expected outcomes include:
- An important contribution to meeting contraception needs in a country with a high total fertility rate and increasing population pressure. By 2016, the UK’s Malawi Family Planning Programme is expected to support 800,000 additional women to access and use modern methods of family planning.
- Improved access to Water and Sanitation. 750,000 people will have access to clean drinking water sources by 2016.
- Supporting 15,000 girls to benefit from secondary school bursaries by 2016.
- Supporting improved health outcomes. DFID support is currently supplying the bulk of emergency drugs and medical supplies to Malawi’s hospitals.
- Helping to strengthen civil society in Malawi to hold their government accountable for the provision of basic services.
- Supporting 370,000 people to access relief food supplies; provision of emergency water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for 34,000 people; and assisting 54,000 people with seeds and tools to rebuild their lives after recent floods washed their crops away.
Full details of these outcomes and others are available in DFID’s Operational Plan 2011-2016 accessible online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389289/Malawi.pdf .
General budget support to Malawi was suspended in 2011 due to concerns relating to human rights and public financial management. Tightly managed sector budget support for health and education was continued by all donors but following the Cash-gate scandal in November 2013 this too was suspended. There can be no consideration of putting UK funding through Malawi government systems until the integrity of the Government’s financial management systems has been restored and independently verified. However, the UK is still committed to poverty reduction and supporting poor people in Malawi, through a large programme of ongoing investments delivered, in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, economic development and governance.
In the wake of the Cash-gate corruption scandal in 2013, we have funded a forensic audit as well as technical assistance to the investigation agencies to help bring the culprits to court and continue to support public financial management reforms.
The estimated numbers of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff members are one FTE in 2008/09 and 2009/10, two in 2010/11 and four in 2011/12 and 2013/14. These are staff based in the UK working specifically on tax and do not include the wide range of staff across the Department, including policy, financial, corporate advisers and staff in country offices, who also work on tax. This does not include HMRC staff providing tax capacity technical assistance in DFID partner countries.
DFID is in regular contact with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at country, regional and headquarter levels about all aspects of their mandate, including the protection, safety and security of refugees.
We do not currently record tax programmes under a separate spend code but we have been expanding our work on tax and transparency over the Parliament. This includes the establishment of a specialist Developing Country Capacity Building Unit in HMRC, to deploy HMRC staff to provide technical expertise in support of these efforts.
Statistics on Overseas Development Assistance are published by calendar year in line with international best practice. Information on country of spend is available from the National Statistics publication ‘Statistics on International Development’ https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2014 . Information on spend by specific project is available from the Development Tracker http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/
We do not currently record tax programmes under a separate spend code but we have been expanding our work on tax and transparency over the Parliament. This includes the establishment of a specialist Developing Country Capacity Building Unit in HMRC, to deploy HMRC staff to provide technical expertise in support of these efforts.
Statistics on Overseas Development Assistance are published by calendar year in line with international best practice. Information on country of spend is available from the National Statistics publication ‘Statistics on International Development’ https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2014 . Information on spend by specific project is available from the Development Tracker http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/
The UK is in regular dialogue with the Government of Nigeria about support to victims of Boko Haram. This includes discussing the importance of the Government of Nigeria’s continued support to international aid agencies.
We do not currently record tax programmes under a separate spend code but we have been expanding our work on tax and transparency over the Parliament. This includes the establishment of a specialist Developing Country Capacity Building Unit in HMRC, to deploy HMRC staff to provide technical expertise in support of these efforts.
Statistics on Overseas Development Assistance are published by calendar year in line with international best practice. Information on country of spend is available from the National Statistics publication ‘Statistics on International Development’ https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2014 . Information on spend by specific project is available from the Development Tracker http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/
The humanitarian response needs to be led by the Government of Nigeria and supported by the UN. DFID is working closely with the UN and other international partners both in Nigeria and in the region to ensure that humanitarian needs are met.
The UK Government is clear that Lebanon must meet its international obligations to permit humanitarian entry to refugees fleeing conflict in Syria.
The UK is a strong supporter of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The International Development Secretary recently confirmed the UK commitment of up to £1 billion to Gavi for 2016 to 2020, two months ahead of the pledging conference, to encourage other donors to step up and support Gavi to save over 5 million lives. I am, along with Ministerial colleagues, actively approaching Ministers in other governments to encourage them to commit further funding to ensure the full $7.5 billion is achieved.
This work was taken forward under the auspices of the MENA-OECD project “Supporting women as economic actors during the transition period”, which analyses to what extent legal provisions influence women’s economic participation. The project is expected to complete in May 2015, providing concrete recommendations to improve legal frameworks.
The Department for International Development did not utilise any future year budget to deliver its contribution to Officials Development Assistance in 2013.
2 UK accountancy institutes have completed deployments in Zambia and Ethiopia since April 2014. A further 3 deployments are scheduled to take place in the first quarter of next year, with future deployments thereafter.
The standard terms of contract for DFID are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/about/procurement .
DFID Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives from Medecins sans Frontieres, ActionAid, CARE, Concern, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, UNICEF and World Vision to discuss Ebola.
The roots of the conflict in Central African Republic (CAR) are complex and whilst the recent inter-communal violence is primarily targeting Muslim inhabitants, Christian communities have also fallen victim to sectarian killings. Much of the Muslim population of CAR has fled, including traders who were overwhelmingly Muslim.
DFID is funding agencies such as UNHCR, Mercy Corps and the ICRC to implement protection programmes in CAR, including conflict resolution and social cohesion activities. DFID has contributed £18 million in 2014 towards the crisis. The UK is also supporting the international efforts to restore peace and security and has welcomed the adoption of UNSCR 2149 authorising the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission (MISCA).
Food security assessments in Central African Republic (CAR) have shown that 1.7 million people are in need of food assistance. Food security has been affected by lack of access to agricultural land in 2013, attacks on crop reserves, poor rainfall, non-payment of civil servants and the collapse of trading networks.
DFID is funding the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Solidarites International and the ICRC for seeds and tools distribution to improve food security in the medium to long-term, as well as supporting cash and food distribution to address the short-term food security situation. DFID has contributed £18 million in 2014 to the crisis in CAR.
DFID is supporting a number of agencies in the Central African Republic to provide services for survivors of sexual violence, including Save the Children, International Medical Corps, Mercy Corps, ICRC and UNHCR. DFID funds are supporting health projects where the clinical needs of survivors of sexual violence can be met, and women's listening centres in order to address some of the psychological needs of survivors of gender-based violence.
Women in the Central African Republic have been particularly affected by the ongoing conflict. DFID programmes aim to address these vulnerabilities, for instance by catering for the specific needs of mothers, pregnant and breastfeeding women, supporting women's associations in resuming income-generating activities or by mobilizing communities to reduce the risks of gender-based violence.
DFID has contributed a total of £23m in humanitarian aid to the crisis in the Central African Republic since mid-2013, with £700,000 remaining to be distributed according to humanitarian priorities in the coming months.
DFID allocated £5m to support NGOs in CAR in November 2013 which was increased in February 2014 to £7 million in light of growing needs. The bulk of funding was awarded to five NGOs: Mentor, Save the Children, Solidarites, Mercy Corps and International Medical Corps. Since DFID makes quarterly payments to NGOs, not all funds have been disbursed.
In addition, DFID allocated humanitarian funds to the ICRC, Common Humanitarian Fund, UNHAS, UNHCR and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
My Department is committed to working closely with the ILF and other Government Departments to support the work required to enable an effective transfer for ILF users by 30 June 2015.
The ILF has undertaken a dedicated programme of engagement with local authorities and the devolved administrations; and continues to engage directly with all of those authorities who will be involved in the transfer of user care and support in 2015. This includes a commitment to the Codes of Practice agreed between the ILF and English local authorities, and between the ILF and the devolved administrations.
Specific proposals for distributing the funding transferred to them in respect of former users of the Independent Living Fund living in Scotland and Wales are a matter for the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
Achieving earlier diagnosis of cancer is key to our ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives per year by 2014-2015 and improve cancer outcomes and survival, including for breast cancer. Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer, published in January 2011, set out the Government’s ambition to close the gap in survival outcomes by 2014-15 and the strategy is backed with more than £750 million over this spending review period (four years) including more than £450 million to achieve early diagnosis.
Specifically on breast cancer, following successful local and regional pilots, a national breast cancer campaign targeting women aged 70 years plus ran in England only from 3 February to 16 March 2014. The campaign included television, press, direct mail and out-of-home media advertising and the key message was: ‘1 in 3 women who get breast cancer are over 70, so don’t assume you’re past it.’ The campaign was targeted at women over 70 as breast cancer survival is lower in this group than in younger women. In addition, as part of a major trial, we are extending the breast screening programme to women aged 47-49 and 71-73.
The Be Clear on Cancer campaign on breast cancer in women over 70 has been successful in raising awareness of symptoms. Since this time last year, the number of patients seen by a specialist for investigation of unusual breast symptom has risen by almost 20%.
The Cancer Outcomes Strategy set out our ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives per year by 2014-15 and is backed with more than £750 million, including more than £450 million to achieve early diagnosis by improving public awareness of the symptoms of cancer and improving access to key diagnostic tests.
Public Health England, working with the Department and NHS England, ran a national Be Clear on Cancer campaign on breast cancer in women over 70. The campaign aimed to improve awareness of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and urge people with relevant signs and symptoms to visit their general practitioner promptly.
Screening is an important way to detect cancer early and the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (BSP) invites women aged 50 to 70 every three years. We want to expand the NHS BSP so that more women can make the important choice to take part, so the programme is currently being extended to women aged 47-49 and 71-73 as part of a major research trial. Results on the impact of the extension on breast cancer mortality will be known in the early 2020s.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) issued a press release on 23 July stating that:
"Today's UN Human Rights Council resolution will not help achieve a lasting ceasefire. It is fundamentally unbalanced and will complicate the process by introducing unnecessary new mechanisms.
The UK could not support this resolution, but recognising the strength of feeling about the loss of life and the desire by a large number of members of the Council to express that feeling in a resolution, the UK joined other EU nations in abstaining in the vote."
We discuss the importance of respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of law with the Government of Tajikistan at both official and ministerial level whenever opportunity allows.
We remain deeply concerned by the continuing detention in Tajikistan of Alexander Sodiqov, an academic researcher working for the University of Exeter. Senior Minister of State Baroness Warsi discussed a number of issues, including human rights, the rule of law and the case of Mr Sodiqov, when she met Foreign Minister Aslov on 1 July.
The UK remains extremely concerned about the grave humanitarian and security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) and is working closely with international partners and CAR's Transitional Government to bring stability to CAR and ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
We welcome the announcement made by the African Union at the 10-13 June Global Summit to Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict about the deployment of a team of experts to CAR to investigate sexual violence abuses. This will be funded by the UK and Japan.
The decision by Transitional President Samba-Panza to refer CAR to the International Criminal Court is a positive step towards tackling impunity and bringing charges against those most responsible for crimes, including sexual violence.
We are working closely with partners to support UN planning for MINUSCA's deployment as mandated on 15 September, ready to assume immediate responsibility for the protection of civilians. We will continue to provide expertise and resources to ensure a well planned, phased approach that prioritises protection of civilians, and enables a smooth transition of responsibility for security from the African Union led mission, MISCA. We will also continue to support efforts to identify troops and equipment to contribute to MINUSCA's military component.
Internal Government advice is not published and therefore we do not intend to
place a copy of Mr Beloff QC's opinion in the Library. The Government's Serious
and Organised Crime Strategy sets out how we will amend our legal powers to
make it harder for criminals to move, hide and use the proceeds of crime.This
has been informed by legal opinion on, and lessons learned from, the work of
the Arab Spring Asset Recovery Task Force.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 June, Official Report, Column 152W.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 June, Official Report, Column 152W.