Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether international arrest warrants exist for Saif Gaddafi for (a) war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity, (c) money laundering and (d) other related offences.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The warrant for the arrest of Saif al-Islam Qadhafi, Colonel Qadhafi's son, was issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 27 June 2011 on two counts of crimes against humanity: murder and persecution, allegedly committed in 2011 in Libya. On 10 December 2014 the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court confirmed that the case of Saif al-Islam Qadhafi was still admissible before the ICC, despite his detention in Zintan. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011) requires Libya to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court and to provide any necessary assistance to the ICC and the ICC Prosecutor.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on whether Saif Gaddafi remains in custody in Libya; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We understand that Saif al-Islam Qadhafi, Colonel Qadhafi's son, remains detained in Zintan, outside of the control of the Libyan government authorities. The UK supports the call from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Libyan authorities to do everything possible to ensure transfer to the ICC of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, and to consult with the Court to address any problems that might impede his transfer to The Hague.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the 100,000 Genome Project; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The 100,000 Genomes Project is making good progress. The project is at the leading edge of global science, developing ground breaking new techniques and protocols.
The Northern Ireland Department of Health and Medical Research Council have provided £3.3 million funding for the Northern Ireland Genomic Medicine Centre which received approval to go live in February 2017, becoming the first of the devolved nations to do so. Recruitment of participating patients has commenced and is on schedule to meet project targets. Sequencing will be performed by Genomics England and the results will be passed back to clinical experts at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
Genomics England has developed semi-automated bioinformatics to analyse genomic data to find the cause of disease. To date, over 29,000 whole genomes have been sequenced and reports are already being returned to the National Health Service who are responsible for discussing clinical interpretations and next steps with patients.
The project is already changing the lives of patients with a rare disease – providing many patients with diagnoses for the first time, often after years of uncertainty and distress whilst helping to reduce considerable costs to health and social care budgets.
Genomics England and NHS England are actively developing a fast track pipeline for patients with cancer who are participating in the Project. We are aiming to reduce the time from sample acquisition to the return of a report to four weeks. This will increase the utility of the service to clinicians and patients alike.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the potential (a) medium and (b) long-term cost savings to the NHS of the use of genetic cascade testing to identify and treat familial hypercholesterolaemia.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance recommends genetic cascade testing for familial hypercholesterolaemia as highly cost effective. This guidance is currently under review, due to be issued in May 2017, and will take into account the latest changes to the costs of drugs and genetic tests in its revised economic modelling.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland are serving in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The information is not held in the format requested. Information on the stationed location of UK Regular Service Personnel in Northern Ireland as at 1 January 2017 is given below.
Army | 2,070 |
Royal Air Force | 60 |
Royal Navy | 10 |
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with broadband providers on how they can improve broadband speed in the parliamentary constituencies with the slowest service.
Answered by Matt Hancock
We hold regular discussions with broadband providers about improving broadband speeds and coverage to all parts of the UK. Considerable progress has been made with only 1 per cent of all UK premises unable to access speeds of 2 Megabits per second or better in December 2016 compared to 11 per cent in 2010.
Through the Government’s Better Broadband Scheme, all homes and businesses can now access broadband speeds of at least 2 Megabits per second which is fast enough for everyone to be able to use government services online. These scheme vouchers can be aggregated amongst the community and used collectively as part of a community solution. Further information can be found at: https://basicbroadbandchecker.culture.gov.uk/,
Broadband providers are increasing their commercial investment guaranteeing higher speeds and extended coverage. They are also responding positively to community-led schemes designed to improve broadband speeds and coverage. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-led-broadband-schemes
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
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 progress made in implementing the one country, two systems policy in Hong Kong and the level of co-operation among political parties in Hong Kong on that policy.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The six-monthly report to the House from the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), published on 24 February, sets out the Government's latest assessment on developments in Hong Kong. The report makes clear the Government's view that the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework established by the Sino-British Joint Declaration continues to function well in the vast majority of areas. The report also highlights those areas where challenges have arisen or on which we have had concerns.
The six-monthly report can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2016
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with banks and other ATM providers to ensure customers may continue to access cash free of charge.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK.
To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained, and is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation, and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely, including assessing the potential effect of any development on the provision of ATMs in the UK.
The PSR has the power to act should LINK or any of its members behave in a way that conflicts with any of its statutory objectives.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to establish a contingency bond to cover the costs of environmental clean up in the event of a shale oil or gas company going into administration.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound. In the UK, we have been regulating for gas and oil drilling, both onshore and offshore, for over 50 years and have tough regulations in place to ensure on-site safety, prevent water contamination, and mitigate seismic activity and air pollution.
Projects must be approved by the environmental regulator (in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency) and the Health and Safety Executive. Approval must also be sought from the relevant Mineral Planning Authority (MPA) through the planning system. MPAs are able to set the planning conditions they consider necessary, and some have already chosen to do so for site restoration.
In England, as part of the petroleum licensing process, and prior to awarding a licence, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) assesses whether a company has adequate financial capacity for its planned operations. The OGA also checks at the drilling and, where relevant, production stage that the company has sufficient funding and appropriate insurance. The licensing of oil and gas development is devolved to Northern Ireland.
BEIS officials are working with the industry’s trade body UK Onshore Oil and Gas to ensure that liabilities for shale wells are addressed in the rare circumstance where all of the companies on a licence became insolvent, and where no rescue mechanism for those companies could be found.
Asked by: Tom Elliott (Ulster Unionist Party - Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
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 stability of the official Government in Libya; and what recent progress he has made on developing Government relations with Government leaders in Libya.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Despite the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) in December 2015, the political and security situation in Libya remains fragile. A number of players continue to obstruct full implementation of the LPA. The UK remains committed to the LPA and is supportive of current efforts to amend it in order to secure support from those Libyans who have hitherto opposed it. An inclusive government which brings together Libyans from across the country is the best way to restore unity, rebuild the economy and tackle the threats posed by Daesh and illegal migration. The Government of National Accord (GNA) has made some progress, such as agreeing emergency budget measures with the Central Bank and completing operations against Daesh in Sirte. The UK and US co-hosted a meeting on Libya in London on 31 October 2016, where the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), met with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj. Whilst our Embassy has yet to reopen, our Ambassador to Libya is now making regular visits to Libya to engage the GNA and political leaders from across the country.