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  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current level of immigration into the United Kingdom across the land border with the Republic of Ireland.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office does not hold the information requested. Routine immigration controls are not conducted on the land border between the UK and Republic of Ireland. However, the Government takes protecting our border security very seriously, and there is a high level of collaboration on work with Ireland to strengthen the Common Travel Area’s external border.

  • Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell-Savours on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of whether denying a member of the House of Lords who is a Special Adviser the right to speak is in breach of the letters patent, which refer to seat” and “voice”.”

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    A member of the House of Lords who is eligible to take part in the work of the House, and who is also a serving special adviser, is not denied the right to speak. It has, however, been an accepted practice under successive administrations that members in that position vote but refrain from speaking.

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of steps taken by Saudi Arabia to revise textbooks, curricula, and teaching methods to remove content disparaging religions other than Islam.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Freedom of religion or belief is severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. Public expression of any religion other than Islam is forbidden, non-Muslims are not permitted to worship openly or establish places of worship in Saudi Arabia although private worship is permitted.

    We are aware that the Saudi Arabian authorities have introduced programmes focussed on removing material from text books that might be considered hateful or inciteful. We continue to support dialogue and opportunities for reform.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether ministerial approval was given to HM Revenue and Customs to conduct a pilot programme of the tobacco industry’s Codentify trading and tracing system.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is not conducting a pilot programme of the Codentify tracking and tracing system.

    HM Revenue and Customs is piloting Codentify as a tool for product authentication only.

    As this is a trial only, no ministerial approval was required or has been sought.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the pilot programme by HM Revenue and Customs of the tobacco industry’s Codentify trading and tracing system in the light of the United Kingdom’s obligations under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its protocol.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs has made no assessment of the effectiveness of the Codentify tracking and tracing system.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Revenue and Customs are undertaking any pilot programmes for tobacco control other than with the tobacco industry’s Codentify trading and tracing system.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs are not piloting any tracking and tracing systems for tobacco control.

    HM Revenue and Customs are currently trialling Codentify as a product authentication system only.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment (1) HM Revenue and Customs, and (2) the Department of Health, have made of the accuracy of the Codentify trading and tracing system as a means of product authentication.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs has made no assessment of the accuracy of the Codentify tracking and tracing system as a means of product authentication.

    The Department of Health is not responsible for product authentication and it has made no assessment of the accuracy of the Codentify tracking and tracing system as a means of product authentication.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether companies carrying out hydraulic fracturing operations in the United Kingdom must provide full details of the chemicals that they use including all the ingredients of proprietary products, and whether this information will be made available to the public.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Operators are required to disclose fully the composition of fracturing fluid additives as part of their application for environmental permits. The Environment Agency (EA) assesses the hazards presented by fracturing fluid additives or drilling muds on a case-by-case basis and will not permit the use of chemicals hazardous to groundwater where they may enter groundwater and cause pollution. The EA has the power to restrict or prohibit the use of any substances where they would pose an environmental risk.

    Information on chemical substances and their maximum concentrations is included within the environmental permit. The permit is placed on the public register.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the proposed new police forces funding formula is weighted to reflect the importance of (1) historic crime levels, (2) historic clear-up levels, and (3) preventative and educative work; and in what ways it reflects policy relating to the maintenance of a network of neighbourhood policing.

    Lord Bates

    Our proposed funding model is based on a set of four indicators which correlate well with long term patterns of crime. The indicators cover population, population characteristics and environmental characteristics. They are used as proxies for police demand and are based on objective, robust and reliable data that can be compared across all force areas.

    Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner.

    We continue to strongly support neighbourhood policing, and are committed to the principle that tackling local crime and anti-social behaviour should be a priority for the whole force – not just neighbourhood policing teams – working collaboratively with other local agencies, businesses and residents to respond to the problems they face.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and to what extent, they are (1) engaged in diplomatic contacts with, and (2) providing support to, the Kurdish authorities and groups involved in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has a strong and well-established relationship with the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq. We maintain a Consulate General in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and have regular contact with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government. As part of our wider support to Iraq, we are providing significant military assistance to the Kurdish Peshmerga to help them degrade and defeat ISIL. In addition to air support, we have trained over 2,100 Peshmerga fighters in infantry fighting skills, weapons handling and Counter-Improvised Explosive Device procedures. We have also gifted weapons, non-lethal equipment and airlifted support provided by other partners in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.

    In Syria the situation is more difficult. Kurdish groups are effective against ISIL, and have benefited from US airstrikes against ISIL. But we remain concerned that the Syrian Kurdish authorities maintain links with the Assad regime and the proscribed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), so we are not able to provide material support. UKofficials have discussed our concerns with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the ruling Kurdish authority in Northern Syria and continue to do so.