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  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are discussing unemployment in Kasserine and other parts of Tunisia with the government of that country; and whether any steps are being taken to mobilise investment from the Arab Partnership Fund and other institutions to improve employment rates in those areas.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have regular dialogue with the Tunisian government on a range of issues, including their economic development, particularly in marginalised areas like Kasserine.

    UK support to Tunisia has doubled in the last year to nearly £6 million, and we will continue this high level of support in the next financial year. Since 2011, working with international partners and using funds including the Arab Partnership, Arab Partnership Economic Facility and Conflict Security and Stability Fund, the UK has supported private sector development, vocational training, job creation, economic governance and transparency, including in marginalised areas. Partners such as Germany, the US, France, the EU, the European Reconstruction and Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank are also involved in similar initiatives. It is also important that the Tunisian government sets out and implements its vision for economic and social development. This will help ensure that international support is sustainable.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of France about their plans for the refugee camp at Calais, known as The Jungle; in particular (1) whether the site will be forcibly reduced to 500 women and children in the Jules Ferry Centre, and 1500 others in container units; (2) what facilities for cooking and education there will be for the latter; and (3) what is to happen to current residents who are not willing to move to the semi-permanent units or to go to centres d’accueil.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The management of the migrant camp in Calais is the responsibility of the French government. The French authorities plan to reduce the size of the Calais camp and improve humanitarian conditions, and are encouraging migrants to move into the heated containers or to one of the reflection centres (centres d’accueil) across France. We do not have details of how many people will remain at the site nor further information of the facilities in the camp. We have however cooperated closely with the French in their efforts to improve conditions in Calais by: providing support and facilities elsewhere in the country; carrying out joint visits to the camps to inform migrants about their rights and responsibilities; putting in place a joint programme to identify the most vulnerable migrants and moving them to a place of safety; increasing the number of places in the French asylum system and encouraging those in Calais to claim asylum. Migration issues were discussed at the UK-France Summit on 3 March. The summit communiqué provides details of the further cooperation agreed.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of France about their plans for the refugees now in the Grande Synthe site near Dunkirk; what improvements are in progress; and whether voluntary organisations will be involved.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The management of the migrant situation in Dunkirk is the responsibility of the French government. We share the French government’s concerns about the difficult living conditions in the region and continue to assist their efforts to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Migration issues were discussed at the UK-France Summit on 3 March. The summit communiqué provides details of the further cooperation agreed.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when and where they will establish application procedures for the new funds they are providing to assist the education of the children of refugees and displaced people from Iraq and Syria.

    Baroness Verma

    At the Supporting Syria and the Region conference, the UK committed to more than double our total pledge to the Syria crisis to over £2.3 billion. Within this allocation, we committed to double education funding for Lebanon to £40 million per year and increase funding in Jordan to £20 million a year to support the conference goal of getting all refugee children from Syria and vulnerable children in host communities in quality education by the end of the 2016/17 school year. We also committed to increasing access to learning for the 2.1 million children out of school in Syria itself.

    Implementation plans to deliver the Conference goals on education are currently being discussed with partner governments, UN agencies, NGOs and donors. New UK funding will be aligned with these plans, and will be implemented through partners who can deliver increases in access to quality education, quickly, efficiently and at scale. Implementing partners will be identified selected in accordance with normal DFID procedures.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 12 February (HL5642), how they describe the recent settlement of the payment of tax by Google if not as a special arrangement”.”

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collects the tax due under the law. It does not enter into special arrangements with taxpayers. In accordance with its published guidelines on resolving disputes, HMRC has taxed all of Google’s profits chargeable to tax in the UK for the period in question at the full statutory rate of tax.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timescale for reviewing the formula that assesses a local authority’s needs against the costs that it incurs in addressing such needs.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    By the end of this Parliament, local authorities will fund local services from local taxes, including £26 billion raised from business rates. This is a real opportunity to reshape the role of local government and a major step forward in our plans to boost growth and give local people more control over how their money is spent.

    We have announced that we will conduct a review of what the needs assessment formula should be in a world in which all local government spending is funded by local resources not central grant, and use it to determine the transition to 100 per cent business rates retention. We will develop this approach in partnership with local government.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take, if any, in response to the Court of Appeal’s declaration, in relation to the case of David Miranda and the safeguarding of journalistic material, that Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 is incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Lord Bates

    The Court of Appeal’s judgment in the Miranda litigation dealt with Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 as in force at the time of David Miranda’s examination, which took place in August 2013. In March 2015, the Home Office updated the Code of Practice for Schedule 7 Examining and Review Officers to direct that examining officers may not examine material they reasonably believe to be journalistic using Schedule 7. Given this amendment, the government considers that Schedule 7 as currently in force is compatible with Article 10 of the Convention.

  • Lord Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Southern Rail does not close ticket offices until it installs ticket machines that make it possible for customers to buy the best-value ticket combinations.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which operates Southern services is developing proposals to improve the passenger experience at stations. This will include changes to the way staff work at stations and how tickets are retailed and incorporates a plan to install additional ticket vending machines.

    Where the changes involve changes to ticket office opening hours there is an industry process which GTR must follow, starting with their public consultation which commenced on 22 February. We recognise that passengers can feel very strongly about ticket office opening hours and we expect GTR to take on board the views of stakeholders before taking the proposal forward.

  • Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for healthcare services provided within police custody being considered healthcare facilities, and being funded, inspected, and regulated accordingly, in the light of the number of vulnerable individuals with complex health-related issues who are brought into police custody.

    Lord Bates

    The primary function of a police custody suite is to provide safe detention whilst investigating officers gather evidence, statements and conduct necessary interviews relating to any alleged offence. The provision of custody facilities, including healthcare services within police custody suites is the responsibility of individual police forces, and Police and Crime Commissioners have flexibility to prioritise resources according to local need.

    Both College of Policing and NHS guidance is available to Police and Crime Commissioners to inform their commissioning of healthcare services. Regulation and inspection of police custody including healthcare provision is performed jointly by the three appropriate inspectorate bodies; Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, and the Care Quality Commission.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of medical and diagnostic staff working (1) Monday to Friday, and (2) Saturdays and Sundays.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department has not made an assessment of the number of medical and diagnostic staff working Monday to Friday; and Saturdays and Sundays. Information on numbers of staff by day of the week is held by individual trusts.