Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Cypriot counterpart on military co-operation between Cyprus and Russia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
The UK has a strong relationship with the Republic of Cyprus, including a security and defence and we have regular discussions at official level. I met the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, 2 weeks ago and we discussed the issue of the Republic of Cyprus’ military agreements with Russia, alongside a number of areas of bilateral interest. It is our understanding that the military aspects of those agreements formalise arrangements already in place. We will continue to discuss security and defence matters with the Republic of Cyprus.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) updated the House on the situation in Ukraine on 23 February. Since the ceasefire agreed in Minsk on 12 February, Russia’s illegal actions in eastern Ukraine have reached a new level, with the separatists’ breach of the ceasefire to take control of the town of Debaltseve made possible only with the supply of Russian fighters and equipment on a very large scale. The Prime Minister underlined that the ceasefire must be respected in full by both sides; heavy weapons need to be drawn back; and all parties must fully implement the agreement they committed to at Minsk. If further destabilisation by Russia occurs then sanctions will be extended and toughened.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart about Eurozone negotiations with the Greek government; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
The UK takes a close interest in this. I discussed the negotiations with Germany’s State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Steffen Kampeter in London on 11 February. In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) attended the Ecofin meeting in Brussels on 17 February that discussed Greece’s negotiations.
It is in Britain’s interest to see a stable euro area and is it vital that all parties continue to act responsibly. Her Majesty’s Government welcomes the decision by the Eurogroup on 24 February that the list of Greek reforms are sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of Greece’s review of its bailout programme. The subsequent completion of national procedures in euro area countries allows the current Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement to be extended by up to four months.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contributions her Department has made to rehabilitating former combatants in the civil war in Sierra Leone; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID support to the re-integration of former combatants from Sierra Leone took place in two ways. In the first phase 1999 to 2001/02, DFID made contributions to the World Bank managed Multi Donor Trust Fund. Along with other donors, DFID funds were specifically targeted at re-integration activities, including vocational and skills training, medical assistance, psychosocial support and a re-integration allowance of US$300 per individual. By the time the DDR Trust Fund had ended, it was estimated that over 70,000 ex-combatants had benefitted from the Trust Fund.
From 2002 to 2006, DFID implemented a Reintegration and Rehabilitation Programme in Sierra Leone that focused specifically on rebuilding communities and re-integrating ex-combatants into society, through a community based approach.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent reports she has received on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Justine Greening
The Department for International Development is leading the Government’s operational response in Sierra Leone. To date, the UK has committed £325 million to eradicating the disease in Sierra Leone. With UK help, Sierra Leone now has enough treatment and isolation beds for Ebola patients, enough laboratories to test for the virus quickly and effectively, enough trained burial teams to make sure bodies are buried quickly, safely and with dignity, and a command and control structure that is making the Ebola response more efficient and effective.
I welcome reporting by the World Health Organisation that the number of new cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. From a peak of 537 cases in late November, most recent reporting was 63 cases at the end of February. It is clear that our strategy is working and we must continue our focus on getting to zero cases as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment he has made of the rate of recycling household waste by (a) Brighton and Hove City Council and (b) other local authorities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Recycling statistics are collected by DEFRA. In 2013-14, Brighton and Hove Council had a recycling rate (percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting) of 26 per cent. This is amongst the lowest 25 councils in England.
To place this in context and to compare with similar, coastal towns, I would note that Bournemouth Borough Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council are recycling roughly half their household waste, and are providing a weekly collection of residual waste. This illustrates the scope for councils to have high recycling rates and still provide a weekly service for local taxpayers.
Brighton and Hove Council has received financial support from my Department to help increase recycling, so we will want to see progress in these rates being improved. If the Council has failed to do so, then the ruling administration on the Council should rightly be held to account.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to improve trade between the UK and emerging markets in Latin America; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Matt Hancock
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has teams throughout Latin America supporting British firms. It has increased resource in Colombia and Mexico, while Government has opened new embassies in El Salvador and Paraguay and a new Consulate General in Recife, Brazil; each of which is working to improve trade links. Additionally, dedicated prosperity officers have been added in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Panama
As Part of the GREAT campaign the Government has supported missions in Brazil (supporting Education, energy, sport and retail), Mexico (Ports) and Peru (Energy). To the end of 2014 UKTI has reported £80 million in business wins related to GREAT campaign activities in the region.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is supporting UK firms in the region through the provision of an International Export Finance Adviser based in Rio de Janeiro. UKEF has provided some £1.5 billion of support for exports over recent years and is considering further projects including municipal infrastructure and education projects in Columbia and Brazil.
The Government continues to strive for greater trade liberalisation between the UK and Latin America through securing EU free trade agreements (FTAs) in the region. The EU-Chile FTA helped UK-Chile bilateral trade increase by 360% between 2003 and 2012. Through the EU the UK has recently concluded trade negotiations with Central American countries and with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The UK continues to make a case for an FTA with Mercosur (South America’s leading trading bloc) countries.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to enforce humane standards in slaughterhouses; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
We have in place legislation which sets down strict animal welfare rules within our slaughterhouses. Enforcement of this legislation is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency; enforcement is carried out by Official Veterinarians in every approved slaughterhouse. We are continuing to work closely with the Food Standards Agency to see how we can further improve the welfare standards in slaughterhouses.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Venezuelan counterpart on the human rights situation in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
Her Majesty's Ambassador in Caracas most recently discussed human rights with the Venezuelan Foreign Minister on 31 January. This follows his discussions with the Vice Foreign Minister on the same subject in December.
I remain concerned about the situation in Venezuela. I have written to the Venezuelan government, and have discussed regional efforts to promote political dialogue in the country with Ministers from across Latin America.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met with his Ecuadorian counterpart; what the content of discussions at that meeting was; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
In the last quarter, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have met the Ecuadorean Ministers of Foreign Trade, of Housing, and of Skills and Human Talent. In these meetings, they discussed a range of bilateral interests such as the EU-Ecuador FTA and education sector cooperation.