The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the use of the UK’s air power against armed forces of the Syrian government has been authorised by Parliament.
Earl Howe
|
The UK does not deliberately use air power against the armed forces of the Syrian government and therefore Parliament has not been asked to authorise such a requirement. |
||||||
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part they played in the 9 September Geneva agreement between the US and Russia for a ceasefire in Syria.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The 9 September Geneva agreement was the product of months of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia. The UK plays an active role on Syria in wider fora including in the International Syria Support Group and through our Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council. We have further been playing our role in the wider political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and on Sunday 16 October the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) convened a meeting of key partners on Syria in London. The meeting discussed various options for responding to the appalling situation in Syria, and particularly the worsening humanitarian situation in Aleppo.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any British forces in either Iraq or Syria are under the command of US officers.
Earl Howe
The coalition’s counter-Daesh military response in Iraq and Syria is directed by the US commander of the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF).
All UK forces in Iraq and Syria remain under national command, apart from UK military personnel embedded into coalition posts in the CJTF. However, embedded personnel are still bound by UK law, policy and guidance on response in an armed conflict.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they advised Baroness Cox and Lord Hylton not to accept the invitation of multi-faith Syrian clerics to visit Damascus, Maaloula, Aleppo and Latakia in September this year; and whether they have studied the draft report produced by the pastoral group which made that visit.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We made clear that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Syria. The situation is extremely volatile and dangerous. We also make clear that we cannot provide any consular services to British nationals in Syria.
In addition, Asad’s regime can use visits by international groups to fuel its obnoxious propaganda. The Asad regime is responsible for atrocities against the Syrian people. More than 400,000 have died in the last five years; 85-90 per cent of civilian deaths are the responsibility of the regime.
We continue to closely monitor the situation in Syria, including the circumstances for minorities. The independent UN Commission of Inquiry and other credible reporting from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have made clear that the Asad regime bears overwhelming responsibility for this crisis. His regime responded with brutal repression to peaceful protests by ordinary Syrians calling for more freedom. The Asad regime and extremist groups, including those allied to the regime, are the main perpetrators of suspected war crimes, and for violations of human rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 October (HL1831), how many arrests of illegal immigrants, and how many arrests for immigration offences, there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those arrested in each year (1) were deported from the UK, (2) remained in custody, and (3) were released within the UK.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
It is not possible to provide information specific to the number of arrests for illegal immigrants because immigration offences cover a wide range of activities and the data specific to arrests for illegal immigration cannot be separated from arrests for other immigration offences. Additionally, an individual may be arrested for committing more than one offence, but as only one offence per arrest is recorded in a format that can be reported on centrally it is not possible to provide complete figures on arrests by individual offences type.
Information on arrests – either by an Immigration Enforcement or Police Officer – for committing an immigration offence is available. For the period 2011/12 to 2015/16, our records indicate that there were 119,730 arrests.
Data on the custody or detention status of those arrested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost because checks of individual records would be required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to respond to the Care Quality Commission’s finding that the adult social care sector is approaching tipping point”.”
Lord Prior of Brampton
We welcome The state of health and adult social care in England in 2015/16 report from the Care Quality Commission. The independent regulator was set up to give a single authoritative account to the Department on issues such as this.
The report shows that 70 per cent of adult social care services are rated good or better and that improvement is taking place all over the country.
Social care is critical in enabling older people to retain their independence and dignity. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances, the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. The Government is giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. This will increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.
Through the Care Act, we have a reformed care system that means local authorities are in a better position to meet the care needs of people who need them most. Councils now have greater flexibility to arrange care, as well as give greater choice and control to individuals.
The Department will continue to work with providers and their trade bodies, who have come together as a taskforce to understand financial challenges in the sector. The Department is also working to support local authorities meet their Care Act duties to improve commissioning and encourage an effective care market.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of the proposed Garden Bridge, whether the Department for Transport met each of the criteria set by the Treasury before funding was committed; if not, what action was taken to override the Treasury criteria; and what changes to procedures are in place to avoid any non-compliance with Treasury criteria.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Government funding for the Garden Bridge project was initially announced by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer in his 2013 Autumn Statement. In a subsequent letter to the then Secretary of State for Transport, the Chancellor said that this funding had been committed on the basis that:
The first criterion was met in full in advance of funding being transferred to Transport for London.
In respect of the second criterion, a business case for the project was produced by Transport for London and assessed by the Department before any funding was transferred. The Department’s analysis suggested that the project had a wide range of possible benefit to cost ratios, and that whilst there were risk factors associated with such a unique project, it had a reasonable chance of delivering value for money. The funding was therefore made available with a number of conditions attached to it, including a cap of £8.25 million on the amount that could be spent before the start of construction. That particular condition was revised, with part of the funding now able to be used to underwrite the cancellation costs that would arise were the project to be cancelled. This followed a Ministerial direction by the previous Secretary of State for Transport in May 2016.
In respect of the third criterion, funding of the ongoing maintenance costs will be a matter for the Garden Bridge Trust, but should the Trust be unable to cover these costs, the previous Mayor issued a Mayoral direction in June 2015 which approved the provision of guarantees by the Greater London Authority in relation to the Garden Bridge, subject to suitable terms and arrangements being agreed.
In terms of the fourth criterion, the Government has made clear that there will be no more public funding for the project beyond what has already been committed.
I receive regular progress reports from the chairman of the Garden Bridge Trust, and Department for Transport officials are in regular contact with their opposite numbers in Transport for London and the Garden Bridge Trust to discuss these and other matters. I do not consider any changes are necessary to these procedures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Royal Parks supports the provision of safer and improved cycleways, even at the expense of reduced space for cars and carriages.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Royal Parks seeks to balance the needs of all visitors while protecting the intrinsic qualities of the parks. It aims to achieve a safe coexistence between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The addition of new cycle provision is one of a number of ways of delivering this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, (a) how many former Civil Servants have taken up employment in roles that directly relate to their work for the Government since May 2015 and (b) how many of those Civil Servants are working in the private sector.
Ben Gummer
Information about appointments taken up by former Senior Civil Servants after leaving government is published either on the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA) website, or on the relevant Department’s gov.uk page.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what formal guidance the Government has issued to departments on equality impact assessments.
Caroline Dinenage
The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010 ensures that public bodies take account of equality and consider the potential impact of decisions on groups with protected characteristics. All bodies exercising public functions are subject to the PSED and need to understand the impact of their policies and services on people with different protected characteristics, and be able to provide evidence that this has been taken into account during the decision-making process. However, the legislation does not prescribe how this information needs to be recorded and it is not a statutory requirement in England to prepare or publish information in a particular form, such as an Equality Impact Assessment.
The Government Equalities Office has published a quick-start guide on the PSED and has circulated PSED guidance across Whitehall. It also provides advice to other departments on their legal obligations by delivering workshops and presentations to staff. A range of guidance on the PSED is also available from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.