Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timescale is for provision of total mobile network coverage in Bishop Auckland constituency; and which operator will provide the network in that constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
On 25 October 2019, the Government announced in-principle support for a Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, which is a proposal from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to collectively increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the United Kingdom to 95% by 2025, underpinned by a legally binding coverage commitment from each operator to have reached more than 92% by 2026. The Government’s in-principle support remains subject to detailed negotiations with the MNOs, but our ambition is to reach a formal agreement on the SRN in the coming months.
The exact site deployment plans and timescales will be managed by the MNOs themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. So until the operators’ final radio planning exercise is complete, neither the Government nor the operators will know the precise location or number of new or upgraded masts. However, the operators will be consulting with local communities as they do so. The MNOs’ intention is to deliver this programme by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Ecuador.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We welcome the return to greater calm in Ecuador and the ongoing UN-supported dialogue between the government and protest groups there. Our Embassy in Quito is in close contact with the Ecuadorean authorities and will continue to monitor the situation closely, including with regards to the safety of British Nationals in Ecuador.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Chile.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The British Government is concerned at events that have occurred in Chile in recent days. We condemn the violence that has taken place and welcome the efforts of everyone involved in restoring the situation in the country to normality and in reconciling differing views. Our Embassy in Santiago has talked with representatives of the Chilean Government about the protests and has expressed concern about the violence. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in Indonesia on the human rights situation in West Papua.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
I met with the Indonesian Ambassador, Dr Rizal Sukma, on 29 October and raised the issue of human rights in Papua, pointing to the level of interest in the issue from MPs and the British public.
The Foreign Secretary discussed Papua with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on 31 July, in the margins of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok. Earlier, on 18 June, the former Foreign Secretary had discussed Papua with Foreign Minister Retno during the UK-Indonesia Partnership Forum in London.
Following the most recent protests, our Ambassador released a press statement on 26 September urging all sides to refrain from violence and welcoming the Indonesian Government's announcement of a full and comprehensive investigation.
Embassy officials in Jakarta visit Papua and West Papua provinces and regularly press the Indonesian authorities to address legitimate human rights concerns, including upholding the right of all citizens to protest peacefully, and promote the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including Papua.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps is he taking to help mitigate the environmental impact of UK mining companies operating in Colombia.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government does not specifically undertake work with UK mining companies in Colombia to mitigate their environmental impact. We expect them to comply fully with local environmental standards.
More broadly, the United Kingdom remains steadfast in its support to the Colombian Government in its efforts to safeguard the country's environmental assets.
We are committed to helping Colombia protect its unique ecosystem, reduce emissions and adapt to climate change risks. During President Duque's visit in June this year, the United Kingdom and Colombia launched a new Partnership for Sustainable Growth, with the United Kingdom committing a further £8.5 million to climate-related projects in Colombia. Through the International Climate Fund, the United Kingdom has invested US$165 million since 2010 to support Colombia's efforts in the agendas of climate change and green growth.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what preparations her Department are undertaking to celebrate the opening of the first public railway in Stockton and Darlington in 1825.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Through the Heritage Action Zone initiative, Historic England, Government’s adviser on the historic environment, is helping to breathe new life into old places that are rich in heritage and full of promise. The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) has been established to help rejuvenate and restore the historic railway and to help realise its potential to become a major heritage attraction in the build-up to its 2025 bicentenary. The aim is to provide the impetus for long term economic growth and regeneration in the area.
The preparations for celebrating the bicentenary are central to the HAZ. The HAZ is part of a much wider initiative around celebrating the anniversary, led by Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), and there are extensive plans in place to mark the anniversary. A lot of well-developed planning on the S&DR HAZ has taken place involving all the key partners including local government partners as well as industry partners, such as National Rail and others. The partners are working together not just on the overall management of the project, but also on the planning of a highly ambitious cultural programme for 2025. Extensive groundwork has taken place to develop the corridor of the S&DR HAZ into a coherent attraction with all key partners working on plans to celebrate 2025 as the anniversary of a great moment in our shared history. The partners’ intention is to create a permanently enhanced cultural attraction across the S&DR HAZ area in order to leave a lasting legacy.
The National Railway Museum, part of the DCMS-Sponsored Science Museum Group, will also be celebrating this monumental anniversary. The Railway Museum in York and its sister site, Locomotion in Shildon, are being transformed in order to reimagine the way they share the inspirational story of Britain’s railways with future generations, and visitors from around the world. These redevelopments, supported by £18.6m of government funding, will culminate in significant celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
If he will take steps to ensure that veterans who served before 1975 for less than 22 years are granted a service pension.
Answered by Johnny Mercer
I understand and sympathise with the veterans affected. However, the issue of pre-1975 pensions is common to all contemporary public service schemes. Given the likely number of former employees, the financial impact of resolving legacy pension issues is expected to be very significant. There would also be potentially overwhelming practical and administrative difficulties in recreating precise service and pay records and calculating pension awards for people who served about half a century ago, or for their surviving dependants.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish his Departments papers in relation to the release of political prisoners from Chile in 1975.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We do not have any plans to publish papers in relation to the release of political prisoners from Chile in 1975.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her policy to lay before Parliament the statutory instruments required to give legal effect to the regulations on age verification for commercial pornography sites by 3 October 2019.
Answered by Matt Warman
The British Board of Film Classification Guidance on Age Verification Arrangements is still in the standard three month standstill period under the EU Technical Standards and Regulatory Directive and the earliest it will complete is 2nd October 2019. We will provide further details once the standstill period has finished.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the effect on international student numbers by country of the decision to extend UK work visas for foreign graduates to two years after completion of their studies.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The launch of the Graduate immigration route demonstrates our support for the UK’s world-leading education sector and ensures that it remains competitive internationally. No estimate has been made of the number of students by country who will take advantage of it.
The International Education Strategy sets out our ambition to increase the number of international higher education students to 600,000 by 2030 and this change will contribute to that goal.