Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to address the situation of religious minorities in India following the recent elections.
Answered by Lord Swire
Our High Commissioner to New Delhi, Sir James Bevan, met the new Indian Minister for Minorities, Mrs Najma Heptulla, on 16 June and discussed issues facing minority communities in India. Our High Commission in New Delhi also maintains a regular dialogue with officials in India’s national human rights institutions, including the Minorities Commission, and with the relevant State level authorities. We will continue to maintain a dialogue with the new Indian government about minority rights issues.
We also support religious and other minorities in India through the Department for International Development’s programme in India which helps to promote equal treatment and access to services for the most disadvantaged communities.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many British military and NHS personnel are in Sierra Leone to deal with Ebola; and what plans the Government has to increase their numbers.
Answered by Justine Greening
Some 800 military personnel have been deployed to Sierra Leone to aid in the UK effort. These personnel have supported the establishment of a command and control logistical hub that will provide the backbone of infrastructure, commodities, training and management needed to scale up the response in Sierra Leone. They are also supporting the ongoing construction and operation of Ebola treatment centres, and are running and staffing a World Health Organisation-led Ebola training academy. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, RFA Argus, and three Merlin helicopters have now arrived in Sierra Leone to provide crucial logistic and transport support to medical teams and aid experts.
To date the UK has received 2140 applications from British medical staff and initial indications of staffing profiles and needs were received from partners on 20 October. DFID and UKMED are currently matching profiles with staffing requirements. Pre-deployment training has already started in the UK for staff deploying to the Kerry Town facility.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the draft religious conversion law proposed by the government of Burma.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Government has voiced our strong concerns over proposed legislation on religious conversion, both with members of the Burmese government and with Burmese parliamentarians. If enacted, this law would harm religious tolerance and respect for diversity in Burma, and contravene international standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During my visit in January, I delivered a speech in which I called for greater religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. We continue to make clear that respect for freedom of religion and belief must be guaranteed.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Burmese counterparts on ratification of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have had a number of discussions with the Burmese government on the importance of Burma ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). I personally raised the importance of adhering to international human rights standards and encouraged the ratification of key human rights treaties with Burma’s Deputy Foreign Minister when we met in June. At the request of the Burmese government the British Embassy in Rangoon recently funded an experts’ visit to Burma to identify steps that would need to be taken and issues that would need to be considered to ratify the ICCPR.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Sudanese government about lessons to be learnt from the case of Meriam Ibrahim.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Officials at the British Embassy in Khartoum have discussed the issues highlighted by the Meriam Ibrahim case with both the Sudanese Attorney General and senior members of the ruling National Congress Party. In addition, my Hon Friend, the member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), the Minister for Africa highlighted the need for the lessons of this case to be learned in a recent letter to the Sudanese Minister for Foreign Affairs. The UK also ensured that this case was raised with the delegation from the Government of Sudan at the 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which took place between 8-26 September.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees have been settled in the UK during the last six months; and how many such refugees she expects to arrive in the next six months.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Up until the end of June, 50 people have been relocated to the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. Statistics on arrivals are published through our official statistics at quarterly intervals and no further details on the number of arrivals will be available until the next publication on 27 November, which will include numbers to the year ending September 2014. These will be available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
The scheme is based on need, rather than designed to meet set arrival projections. However, we will continue to bring groups here on a regular basis, and envisage that several hundred people will be helped over the next three years.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made in implementing its commitment to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Rt. Hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks), to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse, during the House of Commons debate on 23 October 2014, Official Report column 1062-1063.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the new Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive on implementation of welfare reform.
Answered by Esther McVey
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has had one discussion with the new Minister for Social Development on implementation of welfare reform.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department expects to announce its decision on the future of the Post Office card account.
Answered by Steve Webb
Discussions continue between Her Majesty’s Government and Post Office LTD to consider the needs of our customers beyond the term of the current contract and announcements will be made when these discussions reach a conclusion.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure MONUSCO peace-keepers are implementing their mandate.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has a clear mandate and we are working through the UN Security Council and with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, MONUSCO, the government of DRC and governments of the region to ensure it is fully implemented.
In August, the UK used its Presidency of the UN Security Council to draw attention to the importance of MONUSCO implementing its mandate, with the then Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds MP, chairing a discussion in the UN Security Council which also involved senior Ministers from the region. In September my Hon Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), the Minister for Africa, discussed implementation of MONUSCO’s mandate with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of MONUSCO, Martin Kobler (SRSG). Senior officials in Kinshasa and New York regularly discuss progress and raise issues of concern, including when we believe peacekeepers have fallen short in implementing MONUSCO’s mandate to protect civilians. This has included accompanying the SRSG on visits to peacekeepers on the ground to emphasise what more they need to do to implement the mandate. We have raised the importance of political support for implementing the mandate with governments in the region, including countries which contribute troops to the Force Intervention Brigade. We are also contributing to an ongoing strategic review of MONUSCO which will focus on ways to further deliver the robust and mobile force needed to fully implement the mandate.