Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps he is taking to tackle marine pollution.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Our Resources and Waste Strategy sets out actions we are taking, including a ban on the sale and/or supply of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds by April 2020. We are leading global efforts through the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, which we support with a package worth up to £70m. We also work with the International Maritime Organisation to tackle litter from ships and are helping shape a new international action plan on shipping litter.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to increase education and awareness of female genital mutilation in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. The Government is clear that we will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office’s FGM unit delivers nationwide outreach on FGM. The Unit is providing outreach support to local areas and working to raise awareness of resources available to professionals, including training, best practice examples and information on legislation and policy. Resources include an e-learning package, various communication materials such as leaflets and posters highlighting the legislation and health impacts of FGM, and an online resource pack for local areas.
We ran a communications campaign between October 2018 and February 2019 to tackle FGM. The campaign sought to prevent FGM by changing attitudes among affected communities through raising awareness of the negative long-term health consequences of FGM. The campaign also raised awareness that FGM is a crime and encouraged communities to report via the NSPCC’s FGM helpline. The campaign supported the objectives of the cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.
Earlier this year, the Home Office trained around 1,300 professionals across the country on FGM and forced marriage protection orders. The events raised awareness of the scope and effectiveness of the orders, along with a practical guide to applying, with the aim of encouraging professionals to always consider them in any safeguarding plans.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the UK's plastic waste has been shipped to other countries since 2010.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Since 2010 the amount of plastic waste exported to other countries for reprocessing has fallen from 850,000 tonnes a year in 2010 to 600,000 tonnes in 2018. In total over this period around 7 million tonnes have been shipped. This is based on HM Revenue and Customs trade data.
The UK is recycling more than ever, achieving a 46% plastic packaging recycling rate in 2017 and exceeding the EU target of 22.5%.The Government is clear we must export less waste and that any waste we do need to export is properly handled.
The recently published Resources and Waste Strategy is focused on increasing the supply and demand for secondary materials to be recycled in the UK, thereby reducing exports of plastic waste. Any waste that will be managed abroad must be subject to strict controls and the government is committed to strengthening these controls.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what meetings she held with the Chancellor of Germany between 1 and 6 July 2018.
Answered by Baroness May of Maidenhead
I hold meetings with other leaders regularly in order to further the UK’s foreign policy interests. Information about these meetings is in the public domain and can be found on the gov.uk website and in Hansard.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what records were kept of meetings she held with European heads of state in the 12 months to 6 July 2018.
Answered by Baroness May of Maidenhead
I hold meetings with other leaders regularly in order to further the UK’s foreign policy interests. Information about these meetings is in the public domain and can be found on the gov.uk website and in Hansard.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian effect of the situation in Sudan; and what steps his Department is taking to support those at risk in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in Sudan with concern. Close to two million people live as Internally Displaced People inside Sudan, with around 600,000 living precarious lives as refugees beyond its borders. Sudan also hosts close to a million refugees.
In early 2018 Sudan’s economy entered a phase of widespread crisis resulting in real incomes collapsing and prices of commodities increasing. The United Nations states that 5.7 million people, including all of those displaced, are in need of humanitarian support, although they estimate the number at risk is 8 million people due to the current economic crisis.
The United Nations has developed a response to meet the needs of 4.4 million people that would cost $1.2bn, and relies on the governing authorities in Sudan to facilitate safe passage of these supplies and aid workers to reach those in need of assistance. The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) in Sudan is prioritising the humanitarian response and has already contributed £30 million this fiscal year. In addition, the UK has raised the humanitarian situation in multilateral fora, including at the European Union on 7 June calling for all to respect International Humanitarian Law and enhance the environment for protection of civilians.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle human trafficking in developing countries.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
DFID is at the forefront of the UK’s efforts to tackle modern slavery, one of the biggest human rights challenges of our time. The UK launched the Call to Action to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking in 2017 and it has now been endorsed by close to 90 countries. The UK will continue to take a leading role driving change through the multilateral system to help achieve sustainable development goal (SDG) 8.7 and other relevant goals to end modern slavery in all its forms.
Using UK Aid which now totals over £200m, our programmes work to reduce vulnerability to exploitation and address the permissive environments that allow modern slavery and human trafficking to thrive. We are supporting countries’ efforts to tackle the root causes of trafficking by: creating jobs and livelihoods; changing business and recruitment practices to eradicate exploitation in supply chains; helping build law enforcement capacity increase detection and prosecution of perpetrators; and improving services to protect victims.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle alleged sexual harassment in the Armed Forces.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
No one should have to work in an environment where they are sexually harassed or experience other forms of inappropriate behaviour which are clearly incompatible with the high values and standards we expect of our people. The Armed Forces are committed to addressing this issue through a range of activities, including surveys and climate assessments, awareness campaigns, and training around equality, diversity, inclusion and values. Addressing this type of behaviour is also a leadership issue and covered in leadership training modules. In addition, each unit in the Armed Forces has at least one trained Equality and Diversity Inclusion Adviser, who has a key role in advising the Commanding Officer on Equality Legislation and, where incidents occur, providing advice to those involved on the option of informal resolution of the matter or submission of a Service complaint.
We recognise the great courage it takes to come forward and report sexual harassment. Personnel who come forward can have full confidence that all allegations are thoroughly investigated.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners given a custodial sentence for domestic violence have reoffended within a year of their release since 2015.
Answered by Robert Buckland
There is no specific offence of domestic violence. Conduct amounting to domestic violence can be present in a wide range of offences and is not readily identifiable from court sentencing outcomes.
Information on how many prisoners who received a custodial sentence for offences involving domestic violence reoffended within a year of their release since 2015 may be held on court records, but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as a manual search of court records would be required.
Asked by: Ross Thomson (Conservative - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been deported to countries with which the UK holds a Memorandum of Understanding since 2013.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office does not separately record returns by the arrangements that support them including Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), with foreign countries and as such the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost
The UK has a range of returns arrangements with receiving countries including bilateral MOU, EU Readmission Agreements, formal readmission agreements and informal operational arrangements which provide the basis for administrative removal and deportation. There are also formal returns arrangements for third-country nationals to other European countries through the Dublin Regulations.
The latest published statistics for the number of returns to individual countries is available from the GOV.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803187/returns5-mar-2019-tables.ods