The Government works with a range of governments and international organisations to conserve endangered species, including elephants, through various fora, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). I attended the CITES Conference of Parties in 2016 where the UK played a major role in achieving strong outcomes for elephants, that will help ensure their survival in the wild.<\/p>
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Additionally, the Darwin Initiative is a UK Government grant scheme focussed on preserving animal and plant species and their habitats. This has recently funded a project in Mali that aims to protect elephants by halting and reversing degradation, and habitat loss.<\/p>
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Poaching and trafficking pose a major threat to elephants and other species and demand coordinated international action. The UK is leading the global response to tackling the illegal wildlife trade, and last year we supported Vietnam to host a third successful high level conference on the issue, where new actions to deliver on the commitments agreed at the previous London and Botswana conferences in 2014 and 2015 were secured.<\/p>
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At the conference we announced an additional £13million for tackling the illegal wildlife trade, doubling our existing investment. This funding will support a range of initiatives, including British military training for anti-poaching rangers in key African states and financial support for global action by Interpol and other international organisations involved in the fight against wildlife crime.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4098", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Suffolk Coastal"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Dr Thérèse Coffey"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-04-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-04-24T11:53:53.943Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-04-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Elephants: Conservation"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Government intends to secure a long-term future for wild elephants and their natural habitats.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4448", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Corri Wilson"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Corri Wilson"} ], "uin" : "70940"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/720814", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/720814/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Department is actively promoting the employment potential of all disabled people across Britain, including those with autism, to employers via the Disability Confident Scheme. To further support employers, the Hidden Impairments National Group, established by DWP, provides an \u201cUncovering Hidden Impairment toolkit\u201d which is free of charge to employers.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4017", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Penny Mordaunt"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Portsmouth North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Penny Mordaunt"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-04-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-04-24T12:05:10.193Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-04-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment: Autism"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will launch a national programme to promote the employment potential of autistic people to employers.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4448", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Corri Wilson"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Corri Wilson"} ], "uin" : "70516"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/720815", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/720815/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Over a number of years employment data on people with specific long term health conditions has been collected by the Office for National Statistics using the Labour Force Survey. This important survey has allowed the Department to produce useful time series statistics on the employment rates of individuals with long term health conditions, where this information is collected. The Labour Force Survey includes a large range of health conditions that survey respondents can report they experience; however this does not currently include autism as one of the named health conditions and there are no plans to begin collecting this data.<\/p>
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DWP is working with Autism Alliance UK on a national training programme for Jobcentre Plus staff (so that they can better support claimants with autism into work). In addition, the Department has helped to develop a Disability Passport - About Me - to support disabled people, including those with autism, who are seeking jobs and those helping them. Disabled people can share it with their work coach or adviser, to help improve communication and put any reasonable adjustments in place at the earliest opportunity.<\/p>
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Additionally, Improving Lives \u2013 the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper sets out the Government\u2019s proposals for improving work and health outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. We are now considering consultation responses and the next steps for longer term reform.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4017", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Penny Mordaunt"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Portsmouth North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Penny Mordaunt"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-04-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-04-24T12:10:02.683Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-04-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment: Autism"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will record the number of autistic people in employment as part of the Labour Force Survey; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that autistic people are benefitting from increased employment rates.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4448", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Corri Wilson"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Corri Wilson"} ], "uin" : "70517"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }