The UK Government is committed to raising standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. The sale and consumption of dog meat is legal in many countries, including China, and there are no international norms, laws or agreements governing this. We believe that it is necessary to work with Governments around the world to gain agreement on animal welfare standards, and to phase out cruel and inhumane practices. There is no suggestion that the event will break any local or international laws. We have previously raised our concerns on specific animal welfare issues with the Chinese authorities and will continue to do so.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4057", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nigel Adams"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Selby and Ainsty"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nigel Adams"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-06-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-06-30T14:26:30.157Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-06-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "China: Dogs"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese Government on (a) the treatment of dogs and (b) general hygiene practices during that country's Yulin Dog Meat Festival which is taking place from 21 to 30 June 2020.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4589", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Courts"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Witney"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Robert Courts"} ], "uin" : "62547"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/822976", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/822976/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK has some concerns over freedom of religious belief in Turkey and the issue continues to be a priority area for our bilateral projects in Turkey. We have raised our concerns with Turkish interlocutors up to and including at Prime Ministerial level. We will continue to encourage Turkey to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, especially in the areas of minority rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/343", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rutland and Melton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir Alan Duncan"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-01-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-01-23T17:20:49.903Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-01-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Turkey: Religious Freedom"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Turkey; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4589", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Courts"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Witney"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Robert Courts"} ], "uin" : "122659"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/806189", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/806189/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The oceans are vital to support life on earth, and are critical to the United Kingdom. The UK and its Overseas Territories are custodians to the fifth-largest marine estate in the world. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) therefore has an important role in promoting security at sea and improving the conservation and sustainable use of our oceans, and we are looking at how the UK can take this yet further. We already take a leading role on maritime protection and are on track to deliver marine protected areas across nearly 4 million square kilometres of the planet's oceans and seas through our Blue Belt programme by 2020.<\/p>
The FCO works closely with the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and others including agencies such as the UK Hydrographic Office, the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to promote global marine conservation. The FCO and DEFRA in particular have also been closely involved in the negotiations of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) to develop an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.<\/p>
I am committed to combatting the menace of marine plastic pollution. This Government introduced a charge on plastic carrier bags, cutting their use in the UK by 80 per cent, and avoiding the disposal of 9 billion carrier bags, many of which might otherwise have ended up in the oceans. And from 1 January 2018, we will ban the production of plastic microbeads, the strongest legal measure of its kind anywhere in the world.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/343", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rutland and Melton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir Alan Duncan"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-12-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-12-21T17:27:32.703Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-12-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Marine Environment: 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 Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the UK's role in global ocean conservation.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4589", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Courts"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Witney"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Robert Courts"} ], "uin" : "119390"} ], "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"]} }