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1224455

registered interest
date	14/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support NGOs that have experienced a significant decline in private funding as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	73830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>We are working flexibly with existing civil society partners to respond to the pandemic, maintain delivery of essential programmes and manage the impacts on organisations and staff.</p><p>DFID is offering support to all suppliers, including civil society, in line with the provisions of the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note and associated guidance for grants. This allows for relief on services and goods provided in the UK, to DFID aid programmes as a last resort and on a case-by-case basis for DFID contracts and grants. UK-based Non-Government Organisations are also eligible for the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 20/07/2020 15:24:32 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1222431

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she had with representatives from (a) NGOs, (b) aid recipients and (c) other stakeholders in advance of the decision to merge her Department with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	71769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>As with any government change like this, the announcement came first to Parliament. Since then, the DFID Permanent Secretary and Baroness Sugg, who is DFID’s NGO lead, have been meeting with NGOs regularly. The Government will continue to engage closely with interested stakeholders in the weeks and months to come as we work to create the new department, which will unite our development expertise and first class diplomatic service to make the UK a force for good in the world.</p> answering member constituency Berwick-upon-Tweed answering member printed Anne-Marie Trevelyan question first answered 16/07/2020 15:50:01 answering member 4531 label Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1222432

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Sustainable Development
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office plans to make the Sustainable Development Goals a priority for that Office.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	71770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>The UK remains committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and to the underpinning pledge to Leave No One Behind as we strive to achieve them. As the Prime Minister said in his statement to the UN Financing for Development High-Level Event on 28 May, following COVID-19 there is every need for us to work together to advance shared international objectives - including the SDGs.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 15/07/2020 15:45:06 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1222483

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid: Religion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to ensure that (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities undertaking the distribution of aid in developing countries do not face discrimination as a result of their faith.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	71771
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government works to ensure that those responsible for the distribution of aid in developing countries, including Christian and other religious minorities, do not face discrimination as a result of their faith. DFID works closely with the FCO to call for rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid workers to those in need and vice versa. We also strongly advocate for compliance with International Humanitarian Law and with the Humanitarian Principles, both of which serve to protect aid workers and those they seek to assist.</p><p>International Humanitarian Law states that parties to a conflict must allow humanitarian relief for civilians in need, which is impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction. They must not withhold consent to relief operations arbitrarily. Parties to a conflict must not discriminate against aid agencies and/or their personnel delivering aid of this nature because of their faith. DFID conducts thorough due diligence assessments of its partners to ensure that they have the ability to work in fragile and conflict afflicted states and to implement appropriate safety and security protocols.</p><p>On 8 June, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, hosted a roundtable to hear from faith leaders and faith-based development organisations about the specific challenges minority faith communities are facing during this COVID-19 pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 15/07/2020 15:53:07 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1221368

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had on the potential merits of tax relief for small business owners that pay their staff above minimum wage.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	70396
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2020 answer text <p>BEIS and HM Treasury Ministers have regular discussions on a number of different topics, including employment and business support. However, in line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not generally disclosed.</p><p> </p><p>The Government keeps all tax policy under review and regularly receives proposals for new tax reliefs. When considering any new relief, HM Treasury must ensure that the relief would be effective at meeting its objectives, would not be subject to abuse, and would represent good value for money for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p>At Spring Budget, the Government supported businesses by making further significant cuts to business rates and also delivered on its commitment to increase the Employment Allowance from £3,000 to £4,000. This allowed businesses and charities to claim up to £4,000 off their National Insurance contributions from April 2020. Businesses can also deduct 100% of staff costs from their corporation tax bill. These measures are on top of having the lowest corporation tax in the G20.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 14/07/2020 13:52:48 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1221369

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Business: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support and incentivise businesses to improve their levels of environmental responsibility.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	70397
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>We have an ambitious range of policies in place to help business and industry to improve energy efficiency, decarbonise and reduce costs.</p><p> </p><p>Our Climate Change Agreement Scheme allows energy intensive participants to pay significantly reduced main rates of the Climate Change Levy in exchange for delivery of energy efficiency or carbon reduction targets.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme is a mandatory energy assessment scheme which requires large businesses to identify cost-effective energy saving measures.</p><p> </p><p>Our Industrial Energy Transformation Fund – a £315 million fund - supports industry to improve energy efficiency, cut energy bills and shift to lower carbon energy and processes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed £170 million in its Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge towards deploying technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen networks in industrial clusters, supporting our Mission to establish the world’s first net zero cluster by 2040.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, we have introduced a new Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework in April 2019 to simplify reporting requirements on energy use and emissions while increasing corporate transparency – further incentivising energy efficiency and reducing emissions.</p> answering member constituency Spelthorne answering member printed Kwasi Kwarteng question first answered 15/07/2020 16:35:30 answering member 4134 label Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1221370

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Babies: Personal Records
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of amending the gestation limit for a baby to be considered for birth and death certificates.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	70398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to amend the gestation limit for a baby to be considered for birth and death certificates.</p><p>The Pregnancy Loss Review, due to be published this year, will consider the impact on families of the current threshold of 24 weeks gestation before being able to formally register a miscarriage if they so wish.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Mid Bedfordshire answering member printed Ms Nadine Dorries question first answered 16/07/2020 18:34:08 answering member 1481 label Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1221371

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has held discussions with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on tackling domestic abuse throughout the UK.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	70399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice, alongside our partners on this agenda at the Home Office, continue to have a regular dialogue with the devolved administrations about the progress of the Domestic Abuse Bill.</p><p>The measures in the Bill relate to devolved matters in Scotland and Northern Ireland, however, with the agreement of the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, the Bill as introduced on 3 March 2020 includes measures extending the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the criminal courts in Scotland and Northern Ireland to certain violent and sexual offences. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly have approved a legislative consent motion in respect of these provisions in the Bill insofar as they apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland on 17 and 23 June respectively.</p><p>The matters to which the provisions of the Bill relate are not within the legislative competence of the National Assembly for Wales. Nonetheless, there has also been extensive engagement with the Welsh Government, particularly over the remit of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner in Wales.</p><p>In addition, the Ministry of Justice recently published the report of its panel of experts looking into how the family courts manage cases involving domestic abuse and other serious offences. This report covered both England and Wales and we continue engagement with the Welsh Government about a proposed implementation plan.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 14/07/2020 11:09:44 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1221372

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Terrorism: Sentencing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of sentences for terrorism offences.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	70400
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that sentences reflect the severity of the crime for all serious offenders. This year the Ministry of Justice conducted an internal policy review relating to sentences for terrorism offences in particular, which led to the development of the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill currently before Parliament. However, the terrorist attack in Streatham in February also highlighted a gap in our current framework which it was essential to address immediately, which we did through the emergency Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/07/2020 15:13:43 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1221373

registered interest
date	07/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Firearms: Prison Sentences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that the offence of possession of a firearm in the context of violent retail crime results in an automatic custodial sentence.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	70401
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government takes the possession of firearms extremely seriously and is determined to tackle the possession of illegal weapons.</p><p>Under the current law in England and Wales, anyone who possesses an illegal firearm can expect to face a custodial sentence. Those convicted of carrying a firearm in a public place, or possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, will face a minimum custodial sentence under the Firearms Act 1968: those aged 16 or 17 face a minimum of 3 years; those aged 18 or over face a minimum of 5 years.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/07/2020 15:20:51 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon