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542183

registered interest
date	21/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Turkey: Academic Freedom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has raised with his Turkish counterpart the issue of Turkish academics being banned from international travel.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	43827
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government has strongly condemned the attempted coup on 15 July and stands firmly in support of Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions. I visited Turkey on 20-21 July to reiterate our support for democracy in Turkey. In meetings with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, amongst others, I stressed the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law.</p><p>We have been concerned to hear reports of academics being suspended and investigated. Freedom of expression is vital in a democratic society, and especially in education. That includes the right to express views we might think are mistaken, or one-sided. Public debate should be encouraged –not suppressed. Private travel for most academics remains unimpeded. As with all Special Passport holders, academics with a Special Passport need a letter from their employer stating they have permission to travel. Academics can travel abroad for work with permission from their rectors and a written invitation from the hosts.</p><p>We will continue to monitor the situation closely and to stress to the Turkish government the importance of ensuring that all measures taken are proportionate and justified</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/09/2016 15:02:46 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

542184

registered interest
date	21/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Turkey: Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the Turkish government to protect citizens' rights after the attempted coup in that country.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	43847
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2016 answer text <p>The Government has firmly condemned the attempted coup in Turkey on 15 July. Britain stands firmly in support of Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions.</p><p>We are aware that on 21 July Turkey introduced a state of emergency. It is important that measures under the state of emergency be proportionate, justified and in line with its democratic principles and its international human rights obligations. I emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights including press freedom and the rule of law during my visit to Ankara on 20-21 July. We continue to engage with the Turkish Government at all levels on these issues, and to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 05/09/2016 15:56:15 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

541022

registered interest
date	20/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Living Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	43518
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2016 answer text <p>No member of staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) or its Executive Agencies who is directly employed is paid less than the living wage.</p><p>The FCO defines zero-hours contracts as a contract of employment which does not specify a fixed number of hours per week, and has no guaranteed minimum number of hours. The FCO uses this type of contract to cope with fluctuating demand and/or retain specialist expertise no longer available in the current workforce. For example, we bring back retired FCO officers with relevant skills/experience to act as sensitivity reviewers or VIP visit liaison officers.</p><p>Our centrally held records do not enable us to differentiate between staff on zero-hours contracts and those on contracts with a fixed number of hours. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p>We do not hold a record of contract status for staff employed by companies providing outsourced services to the FCO.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 05/09/2016 16:04:26 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

541025

registered interest
date	20/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Venezuela: Politics and Government
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Central and South America on the economic, social and political situation in Venezuela.
tabling member constituency	West Dunbartonshire
tabling member printed	Martin Docherty-Hughes
uin	43567
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.</p><p>Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.</p><p>We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.</p><p>Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/09/2016 14:46:56 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4374 label Biography information for Martin Docherty-Hughes

541026

registered interest
date	20/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Venezuela: Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the economic situation in Venezuela on human rights in the region.
tabling member constituency	West Dunbartonshire
tabling member printed	Martin Docherty-Hughes
uin	43571
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.</p><p>Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.</p><p>We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.</p><p>Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/09/2016 14:58:00 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4374 label Biography information for Martin Docherty-Hughes

541027

registered interest
date	20/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Venezuela: Humanitarian Situation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Venezuelan counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Venezuela.
tabling member constituency	West Dunbartonshire
tabling member printed	Martin Docherty-Hughes
uin	43570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.</p><p>Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.</p><p>We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.</p><p>Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/09/2016 14:55:02 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4374 label Biography information for Martin Docherty-Hughes

541028

registered interest
date	20/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Venezuela: Politics and Government
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assist those fleeing repression in Venezuela.
tabling member constituency	West Dunbartonshire
tabling member printed	Martin Docherty-Hughes
uin	43569
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.</p><p>Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.</p><p>We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.</p><p>Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/09/2016 14:50:11 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4374 label Biography information for Martin Docherty-Hughes

541263

registered interest
date	20/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Turkey: Politics and Government
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representation he is making to the Turkish government about the suspension of judges, civil servants and education workers and a travel ban on academies following the attempted coup.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
uin	43698
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government has strongly condemned the attempted coup on 15 July. As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on 18 July, Britain stands firmly in support of Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions.</p><p>I visited Turkey on 20-21 July to reiterate our support for democracy in Turkey. In meetings with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, amongst others, I stressed the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law. The Turkish Government have assured us that they recognise the importance of this. We will continue to engage with the Turkish Government at all levels on these issues, and to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/09/2016 14:59:27 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

539980

registered interest
date	19/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Companies: Ownership
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has to force Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to establish public central registers of beneficial ownership.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	43422
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2016 answer text While the Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) are separate jurisdictions, and are responsible for their own fiscal matters, we are working closely with them on their role on company transparency. Our priority has been for them to establish a central register of beneficial ownership information (or a similarly effective system) where they do not already have one, and for UK law enforcement and tax authorities to have full and automatic access to that information. Bilateral arrangements to this effect have now been concluded with all the relevant OTs and with the CDs, and these will enter into effect by June 2017. The registers will, with one exception, not be public, but these measures will place our Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories well ahead of other similar jurisdictions and represent a significant step forward in our ability to counter criminal activity. answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/08/2016 12:41:51 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

540028

registered interest
date	19/07/2016
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Diego Garcia: Aviation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the status is of the monthly log of flights which passed through Diego Garcia between January 2002 and January 2009; and whether those logs are available to be published.
tabling member constituency	Orkney and Shetland
tabling member printed	Mr Alistair Carmichael
uin	43452
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2016 answer text The monthly logs between January 2002 and January 2009 along with all other historic flight records held by the FCO, were released to the ISC in December 2015. answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 02/08/2016 12:49:38 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1442 label Biography information for Mr Alistair Carmichael