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805428

registered interest
date	12/12/2017
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Families
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen families.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	119099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2017 answer text <p>Our Armed Forces are among the most extraordinarily talented and hard-working people in our society. We recognise the vital role that their families play, and that operational capability relies on recognising the Service person as part of a wider family unit. This is why we launched the first ever UK Armed Forces Families’ Strategy in 2016, which focuses and coordinates activity to support Service families. Priorities for this work include childcare, partner employment and accommodation, which have consistently remained areas of interest for both the Service Families’ Federations and the Department. In delivering the strategy we work closely with a number of external stakeholders to provide support to spouses and partners, for instance to those who are looking to gain employment, as we recognise that the demands of Service life can impact on the careers of family members.</p><p><br> Welfare support is provided to families via the single Service welfare organisations; additionally there are a significant number of other organisations that can be accessed via welfare referrals. The Covenant Fund has assigned £4 million to projects that support ‘Families in Stress’, enabling specialist organisations such as Relate to provide immediate or local support to families experiencing episodes of significant strain. To date the Fund has awarded eleven grants, totalling almost £2 million, to specialist and expert charities.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to keeping the range of welfare support under continual review and launching the Families’ Strategy, we have expanded the Defence People Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2022 to incorporate all Defence People, including the families of Service personnel. We have also embarked on a partnership with the Royal Foundation to deal with issues of stigma and the treatment of mental health problems across the defence community. We are developing options for the Future Accommodation Model which recognise the 21<sup>st</sup> century family and we are developing flexible engagements for those who wish to vary their deployability to better fit their Service career around family life, all of which aims to contribute to increased family stability.</p><p> </p><p>A key component of the Families’ Strategy is to ensure that Service families are considered in people policy development, supporting the principles outlined in the Family Test. This is achieved through consideration of the Service family as part of each relevant submission or policy discussion, and through regular engagement with the single Services and the three Families’ Federations who represent the needs and views of Service families. The Department also monitors the development and implementation of policy to assess the impact on families. In the period since August 2014 none of the legislation implemented by the Ministry of Defence has required the application of the Family Test.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood grouped question UIN 119131 question first answered 20/12/2017 15:19:18 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

805460

registered interest
date	12/12/2017
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Families
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to which legislation his Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	119131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2017 answer text <p>Our Armed Forces are among the most extraordinarily talented and hard-working people in our society. We recognise the vital role that their families play, and that operational capability relies on recognising the Service person as part of a wider family unit. This is why we launched the first ever UK Armed Forces Families’ Strategy in 2016, which focuses and coordinates activity to support Service families. Priorities for this work include childcare, partner employment and accommodation, which have consistently remained areas of interest for both the Service Families’ Federations and the Department. In delivering the strategy we work closely with a number of external stakeholders to provide support to spouses and partners, for instance to those who are looking to gain employment, as we recognise that the demands of Service life can impact on the careers of family members.</p><p><br> Welfare support is provided to families via the single Service welfare organisations; additionally there are a significant number of other organisations that can be accessed via welfare referrals. The Covenant Fund has assigned £4 million to projects that support ‘Families in Stress’, enabling specialist organisations such as Relate to provide immediate or local support to families experiencing episodes of significant strain. To date the Fund has awarded eleven grants, totalling almost £2 million, to specialist and expert charities.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to keeping the range of welfare support under continual review and launching the Families’ Strategy, we have expanded the Defence People Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2022 to incorporate all Defence People, including the families of Service personnel. We have also embarked on a partnership with the Royal Foundation to deal with issues of stigma and the treatment of mental health problems across the defence community. We are developing options for the Future Accommodation Model which recognise the 21<sup>st</sup> century family and we are developing flexible engagements for those who wish to vary their deployability to better fit their Service career around family life, all of which aims to contribute to increased family stability.</p><p> </p><p>A key component of the Families’ Strategy is to ensure that Service families are considered in people policy development, supporting the principles outlined in the Family Test. This is achieved through consideration of the Service family as part of each relevant submission or policy discussion, and through regular engagement with the single Services and the three Families’ Federations who represent the needs and views of Service families. The Department also monitors the development and implementation of policy to assess the impact on families. In the period since August 2014 none of the legislation implemented by the Ministry of Defence has required the application of the Family Test.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood grouped question UIN 119099 question first answered 20/12/2017 15:19:18 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

517174

registered interest
date	03/05/2016
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	Islamic State: Genocide
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 help create consensus at the UN Security Council for a referral to the International Criminal Court of the acts committed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria as genocide.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	36261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2016 answer text <p>It is not possible to refer Daesh itself to the ICC. Any referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than by a specified organisation or set of actors.</p><p>We judge that a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time. When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China.</p><p>While we continue to draw the attention of the Security Council to the atrocities being committed in Iraq and Syria - on 4 May the Council held a session on the situation in Aleppo at the UK’s request - we expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked. Addition as per PQs 36262 and 35349.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 09/05/2016 15:50:47 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

517175

registered interest
date	03/05/2016
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	Islamic State: Genocide
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 Government's policy is on voting in favour of referring as genocide the acts committed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria to the International Criminal Court in the event of another member of the UN Security Council proposing such a referral.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	36262
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2016 answer text <p>It is not possible for the UN Security Council to refer Daesh itself to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Any referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than by a specified organisation or set of actors.</p><p>We would consider carefully any suggestion from another member of the Security Council to refer the situation in Iraq and Syria to the ICC.</p><p>However, we judge that a referral to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time.</p><p>When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked.</p><p>We continue to discuss with partners on the UN Security Council further ways to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes committed in Syria and Iraq are held to account and face justice.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 09/05/2016 15:54:10 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

432790

registered interest
date	26/11/2015
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	Yemen: Military Intervention
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 Government is doing to encourage Saudi Arabia and other parties to the conflict in Yemen to refrain from using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas in Yemen.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	17796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2015 answer text <p>International Humanitarian Law (IHL) provides that no weapon should be used indiscriminately, disproportionately, or to deliberately target civilians and civilian objects. These rules are applicable to situations where explosive weapons are used in populated areas.</p><p>We take all reports of alleged violations of IHL in Yemen very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian-led coalition and received assurances that they are complying with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and urge all parties to the conflict to act in compliance with IHL.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 04/12/2015 12:17:24 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

155480

registered interest
date	11/11/2014
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	Iran
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the issues of human rights and religious liberty in Iran were raised by Ministers and officials of his Department in their recent discussions with their counterparts in that country.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	214233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK most recently raised our concerns about the human rights situation in Iran, including the rights of religious minorities, with the Iranian Government during Iran’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on 31 October.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 18/11/2014 14:11:09 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

147547

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
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	Iran
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 officials in his Department have had with the Iranian government on Iran's compliance with Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (a) in general and (b) with reference to the reported comments on 6 October 2014 by Ali Yamesi, the adviser to President Rouhani on religious and ethnic minorities, on the illegality of religious conversion in Iran.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	214045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2014 answer text The right to freedom of religion or belief, including the right to change one’s faith or beliefs, is a right which is enshrined in international human rights law. The UK government has consistently urged the Iranian government to respect the rights of all minority religious groups, in line with their international commitments. The UK last raised our concerns about freedom of religion in Iran during our inputs in Iran’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 31 October. The UK’s non-resident Chargé d’Affaires to Iran also raised the issue of freedom of religion with Iranian human rights officials during a visit to Iran in March 2014. answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 19/11/2014 14:22:17 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

114782

registered interest
date	05/11/2014
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	Iran
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department have raised the cases of Farshid Fathi, Behnam Irani, Shahin Lahouti and other Christians imprisoned for their faith in Iran when in conversations with representatives of the Iranian government.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	213478
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>We have not raised these cases directly with the Iranian Government, however we remain deeply concerned by the detention and ill treatment of all prisoners of conscience in Iran, and the ongoing discrimination against Christians and other minority religious groups. We have called for the Iranian government to protect the rights of all minority groups in Iran and end the persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith, most recently during our representations to the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in Iran on 31 October.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 11/11/2014 14:58:36 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

114784

registered interest
date	05/11/2014
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	Iran
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 has taken to encourage the Iranian government to fulfil its obligations to uphold religious freedoms under Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	213479
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text We remain deeply concerned by the detention and ill treatment of all prisoners of conscience in Iran, and the ongoing discrimination against Christians and other minority religious groups. We have called for the Iranian government to protect the rights of all minority groups in Iran and end the persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith, most recently during our representations to the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in Iran on 31 October. answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 11/11/2014 15:06:00 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

99844

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
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	North Korea
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 he is taking to ensure that UK manufacturing products are not used as components in North Korean produced weapons.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	211097
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <p>North Korea is currently subject to sanctions imposed by the UN and EU. These measures include an asset freeze, travel ban and an extensive embargo which prohibits the export of arms, dual-use goods, and luxury goods and imposes restrictions on the export of other listed items which could contribute to nuclear or ballistic missile programmes. All export licence applications are assessed against the consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, considering the prevailing circumstances at the time of the application, including the capabilities of the equipment, and the end user. A licence would not be granted if to do so would be a breach of our international obligations or we assessed there was an unacceptable risk of diversion to a WMD programme or to a military programme in an embargoed destination. However, it is impossible to completely prevent non-listed items manufactured in the UK being used in North Korean produced weapons, for example if items are legitimately exported from the UK to third countries but are subsequently sold to entities in the DPRK. For this reason the UK is also active in encouraging other countries to enforce DPRK sanctions more effectively. HMRC works together with Border Force to enforce export controls and trade sanctions and they have a range of powers available to prevent illicit exports. Enforcing sanctions is a high priority.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 23/10/2014 14:56:13 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce