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  • Lord Trefgarne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Trefgarne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average time taken by general practitioners to complete the medical forms required by candidates for the Territorial Army and Army Reserve; and what is the number presently outstanding.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    The average time taken by General Practitioners to complete medical forms for Army Reserve applicants is 29 days. This includes the time taken by the candidate to provide the documents to their General Practitioner as well as the time taken by General Practitioners to process the forms. This has reduced from 37 days which was the average prior to the implementation of the improved medical process for recruits in February 2014.

    As at 6 June 2014, 1,315 sets of Army Reserve medical declaration documents were outstanding.

  • Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka; and what recent discussions they have had with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka of 27 March.

    Baroness Warsi

    We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka especially in the North. Our concerns include the continued intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders (HRDs) and activists, attacks on religious minorities, and the protection of the right to freedom of expression and opinion.

    Through our Mission in Geneva, we maintain regular contact with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Following the adoption of the resolution, we are engaging with international partners to ensure the implementation of the resolution’s international investigation into violations of international law by both sides during Sri Lanka’s conflict. We believe that progress on accountability, human rights and reconciliation is important in establishing enduring peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Such progress will ensure Sri Lanka can reach its full potential as a strong and prosperous nation.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 6 May (WA 356), whether they intend to ensure that the word Europe” is used with qualification to make clear what meaning is attached to it in the context of that particular use.”

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government has no plans to start ensuring that the word "Europe" is always used with qualification.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 May (WA 359), whether they intend to make it an offence for a British subject to be taken from the United Kingdom to be forced into marriage outside their jurisdiction.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Coalition Government has passed legislation to make the act of forcing someone to marry a criminal offence, by means of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. The legislation comes into force on 16 June 2014.

    The extra-territorial provision in this legislation means that if the prohibited acts take place outside the UK by, or to, a UK national, or a person habitually resident in England or Wales, it will be an offence under domestic law and triable in the courts of England and Wales.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their total expenditure on financial support for organisations which lobby them on government policy.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested is not held centrally. Government Departments fund and contract with various organisations. It would be a matter for the relevant Department to determine whether any of these organisations lobby the government inappropriately.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been killed in the United Kingdom since 1984 by persons previously convicted of homicide.

    Lord Faulks

    A life sentence is mandatory on conviction for murder and a whole life order starting point applies to a murder by an offender previously convicted of murder. Discretionary life sentences or long determinate sentences are available for other very serious offences. This Government has introduced an automatic life sentence for a second very serious violent or sexual offence.

    The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) holds information on those persons convicted of homicide offences having previously been convicted of a homicide offence. However, the MOJ does not hold information centrally on the number of homicide victims associated with these crimes.

    The table shows the number of offenders with previous convictions for homicide by offenders convicted of homicide in each year from 2001 to 2013. Homicide includes among others, the offences of murder, manslaughter, infanticide, corporate manslaughter and causing death by dangerous and careless driving. See footnote 3 for all types of homicides.

    The MoJ’s extract of the Police National Computer only holds the complete criminal records of offenders who have been sentenced or cautioned since the beginning of 2000, Therefore it is not possible to provide criminal history time series information all the way back to 1984.

    The figures given in the table have been drawn from the extract of Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Ministry of Justice. As with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they have spent the 69 million euros, as reported in Appendix 5 of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Status Report of 2013, earmarked for the implementation of the Roma Strategy.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The United Kingdom is advancing Roma integration within broader social inclusion and integration policies. This is fully in line with commitments we have made at European Union level, and is the best approach in a diverse and decentralised country like the UK.

    On Page 32, the Status Report highlights that the Government is providing “approximately 72 million euros” for new and refurbished authorised traveller pitches in England, through the £60 million Traveller Pitch Funding programme.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their report on pilots of a virtual head teacher system expressly aimed at redressing the inequalities in education experienced by Gypsies and Travellers.

    Lord Nash

    Two local authorities, Kent and Cambridgeshire, have been involved in piloting the role of a virtual head teacher who helped schools to engage with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) pupils to improve their school attendance and attainment. These local authorities are currently finalising their summaries of the projects. The Department for Education will work with these authorities and the GRT education stakeholder group, chaired by the noble Lady, to determine the most appropriate way to disseminate the outcomes of this work.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have called in the approval of planning permission for a site for Travellers in Brighton, granted by the South Downs National Park; and if so, when they will make a decision.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    This application remains under consideration by the Secretary of State in response to a request by the hon. Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley) for the application to be called in. The consideration is being made against the Secretary of State’s policy, as set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 26 October 2012, Official Report, Column 72W. The Secretary of State is very selective about calling in applications and will generally only do so if they raise issues of more than local importance. I will arrange for departmental officials to let the noble Lady know the outcome in due course.

  • Lord Patel of Blackburn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patel of Blackburn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patel of Blackburn on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the proportion of Muslims in senior positions in British diplomatic missions abroad.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion for all its employees. The FCO’s management information system shows that, out of the 246 Senior Management positions overseas, 80 members of staff have declared their religion. Of these, three are Muslim, which corresponds to 3.75% of those who declared and 1.22% of the overall total.

    All FCO UK based staff are asked to provide diversity information about their ethnicity, disability status, sexual orientation and religion or belief. Supplying this data is voluntary. The FCO is working to improve diversity declaration rates by staff, including for religion and belief, and as part of this effort a three month campaign titled “Why Should I Tell You” was run between November 2013 and January 2014 to encourage staff to provide their diversity information. Over this period declaration rates for religion and belief increased from 31 to 35%.

    The FCO launched the Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) Campaign in Summer 2013 aimed at the recruitment, progression and development of BME staff. The campaign aims to improve young people’s understanding of the organisation and to encourage more applications to our fast stream, particularly from BME communities. It also includes a leadership programme for high performing BME staff to prepare them for senior management and other targeted career development courses, mentoring and coaching. The initial results have been very encouraging.

    The FCO publishes an annual Equality Report which provides information about the diversity and makeup of our staff, as required by the Equality Act 2010. The 2014 report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-and-equality-report-2014.

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