Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the use of torture by Israeli Security Forces and Israeli authorities in the West Bank and Gaza; and whether they plan to prosecute alleged torturers who reach the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Whilst we have not made any assessment on this issue, the UK is firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as compliance with international humanitarian law. We regularly discuss implementation of those obligations with the Israeli authorities. We have confirmed with the Israeli authorities that Israel is in the process of incorporating the crime of torture into national legislation. The appropriate authorities in the UK for the investigation and prosecution of crimes are the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, which function independently of Government in these matters.

  • Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the (1) annual revenue, and (2) annual capital expenditure, of the government of St Helena is provided by them.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    For Financial Year 2016/17 the Government has agreed to provide funding to St Helena Government which makes up 62% of their recurrent budget and 57% of their capital programme.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures the Government plans to take to address the concerns expressed by the Independent Monitoring Board in its report, HMP Winchester, Annual Report June 2014 to May 2015, published on 2 November 2015.

    Andrew Selous

    The HMP Winchester IMB Annual Report acknowledges the professionalism and commitment of the Governor and his staff at HMP Winchester, who manage a challenging and diverse population. We are currently recruiting prison officers to fill vacancies at Winchester, and new officers are due to start work in the new year. Should a serious incident occur at Winchester or any other prison, the situation would be constantly risk assessed as it develops to ensure the best and most appropriate response. National resources are available to provide assistance at any time, if additional resources are needed.

    A wide ranging programme of work has been initiated to counteract New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in prisons. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) continues to work hard to source more work for prisoners across the entire prison estate. This includes working with local and national businesses as well as other Government Departments.

    I wrote to Winchester’s Independent Monitoring Board Chair on 3rd November, providing a full response to the concerns raised.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department or NHS England holds on the number and proportion of GP premises that have been refurbished or replaced since May 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The NHS (General Medical Services – Premises Costs) Directions 2013 set out the circumstances under which NHS England may provide funding for general practitioner (GP) premises. NHS England does not provide funding for all refurbishments and replacements, and in some cases such works may be carried out by third party owners. As such neither the Department nor NHS England hold information on the number or proportion of GP premises that have been refurbished or replaced since May 2010.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the legal opinion recently commissioned by Amnesty International and Saferworld, which claims that they are breaking the law by supplying arms to Saudi

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of this legal opinion provided on instructions from certain non-governmental organisations. We are also aware of our legal obligations as regards the licensing of arms for export to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

    The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All arms export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking intoaccountall relevant information, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations, including under international law. A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria. This includes the export of arms to Saudi Arabia. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL5598 and HL5599), whether they intend to reject calls to impose a sugar tax.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched shortly, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese including sugar.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about allowing visits of parliamentarians to Gaza.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We do not make representations on behalf of British nationals, including parliamentarians, wishing to travel to Gaza. Parliamentarians should be aware that at this time the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Gaza. Entry and exit from Gaza is difficult and can, at times, be impossible. Entry is through either Israel, with permission from the Israeli authorities, or Egypt, with permission from the Egyptian authorities (although this border has been closed almost entirely since October 2014).

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish his Department’s policy on the procurement of Autonomous Weapons Systems.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not possess any fully autonomous weapon systems and has no plans to develop, procure or operate them. MOD policy is clear that all weapon systems will be under human control.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government provides local authorities who express an interest in resettling refugee children under the Immigration Act 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.

    It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.

    We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.

    The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the amount of benefits to which people are entitled that go unclaimed.

    Lord Freud

    On 28th June 2016 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income-related benefits: Estimates of take-up in 2014/15”. The full report has been published online.

    For Great Britain, the following estimates are available for 2014/15:

    • Pension Credit: Up to £3.1 billion of available Pension Credit went unclaimed;
    • Housing Benefit: Up to £4.6 billion of available Housing Benefit went unclaimed;
    • Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based): Up to £2.4 billion of available Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based) went unclaimed.
    • Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related): Up to £2.9 billion of available Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related) went unclaimed.