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The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why journalists from some Commonwealth countries were denied visas to attend the recent Commonwealth Journalists Association conference in London, and what assessment they have made of whether those decisions are compatible with the Foreign Office’s commitment to promote human rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the Commonwealth.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Her Majesty’s Government is committed to promoting efforts to supporting human rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the Commonwealth and beyond. We believe that it is important for all Commonwealth members to live up to the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance.

The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules. Decision makers will take account of an applicant’s personal and financial circumstances as well as the prevailing country situation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to Tripoli, whether they are considering the deployment of ground troops to Libya as part of UK efforts to support the Government of National Accord, and what practical assistance they plan to provide, if any, in terms of training Libya’s police, coastguard and military.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), was clear in his oral Statement to the House of Commons on 19 April that the British Government has no plans to deploy troops to Libya in a combat role. The security agenda must be owned and led by the new Libyan government. The UK, along with international partners, stands ready to respond to requests from the Libyan government for assistance in training the Libyan armed forces, to improve their effectiveness in providing security, and in the fight against Daesh. But any support the UK provides would be in response to a clear request made by the Libyan government. During his visit to Tripoli, the Foreign Secretary agreed with Prime Minister Serraj that we should continue to work closely to establish what those training and technical support requirements are; and what, if any, role the international community can play in helping to meet them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in response to the Taliban’s recent announcement of a spring offensive and warnings of large-scale attacks in Afghanistan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Taliban’s announcement of a spring offensive is consistent with the insurgency’s pattern of activity and was anticipated by the Afghan authorities. The UK is an integral part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s Resolute Support Mission (RSM), which is working to train, assist and advise the Afghan National Security and Defence Forces to meet the challenge posed by an enduring insurgency. Working in close cooperation with the Afghan authorities and RSM, the UK keeps its security under constant review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to protect the UK’s rivers, lakes and wetlands from agricultural pollution, and what assessment they have made of whether the water protection zones are being used effectively in this regard.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Given that environmental protection is a devolved matter, I am replying in regard to the position in England.

This Government is committed to protecting and improving our water environment and supporting competitive agriculture. The recently published river basin management plans set out the actions that we will take over the next six years to improve water quality. The plans promote integrated catchment management and local decision making.

We have a wide range of actions to tackle water pollution from agriculture ranging from advice, voluntary and incentivised rules to regulation. For example, there are regulations to reduce the risk of nitrate pollution in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones.

Building on these regulations, Countryside Stewardship supports farmers who want to do more than the legal requirements and good practice by providing £400 million in funding to helping improve water quality and to manage flood risk.

We are also working towards better targeting of farm inspections with risk based enforcement that recognises good performance.

In addition to Government action, the agricultural industry is playing its part by developing an offer, explaining how it will help farmers to better protect the water environment.

All of this is underpinned by advice to farmers which is delivered through the Farming Advice Service and Catchment Sensitive Farming, £106 million has been invested through Catchment Sensitive Farming over the past 8 years to mitigate the impact of agricultural activities on the water environment

Further actions at national and local level are planned. Defra recently consulted on new rules to address sediment and phosphate pollution from agriculture. The consultation proposed some clear, simple and basic rules for all farmers, which would make a contribution to further protecting the water environment. Ministers are considering how to proceed in light of this consultation.

We are using a wide variety of measures to protect and improve our water environment. Water Protection Zones (WPZs) are a further tool. The Government is currently considering what further action will be required to meet the conservation objectives for our most precious protected sites. This will consider the full range of mechanisms, including WPZs.