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  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the demolitions in the Bedouin community of Abu Nuwar that are reported to have rendered 25 people, including 17 children, homeless.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    An official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns on this issue with the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories on 13 January. The UK is deeply concerned by Israeli proposals to relocate Bedouin population from E1 area, which the UN have said could constitute forcible transfer. These plans could have a devastating impact on the communities concerned and will likely open the way for further settlement expansion – endangering the viability of a two-state solution.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding its plan to strip Jerusalem residency rights from Palestinians in the wake of recent violence.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We make clear our concerns about the situation in East Jerusalem, including on Palestinian residency rights, to the Israeli authorities and the Municipality of Jerusalem, both bilaterally and in co-operation with EU partners. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem raised this issue most recently with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October 2015.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to ensure that the government of Israel complies with the UN General Assembly resolution adopted on 22 December 2015 regarding unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    UN General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding; Article 10 of the Charter of the UN states that the General Assembly “may make recommendations to the Members of the United Nations or to the Security Council”. The UK, and all other EU Member States, abstained on the General Assembly resolution regarding unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries. The UK, the EU and other Member States are of the view that unilateral economic measures should respect the principles of international law, including the international contractual obligations of the State applying them and the rules of the World Trade Organization where applicable. The UK, the EU and other Member States consider that such unilateral economic measures are admissible in certain circumstances in particular when necessary in order to fight terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or to uphold respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance. The UK has no plans to ensure any particular country complies with this resolution.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the 38 herding communities located in West Bank areas that have been designated by the Israeli authorities as closed for military training zones.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made representations on these specific issues to the Israeli authorities. We do, however, regularly raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities over demolitions and settlement-building.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK Athletics report A Manifesto for Clean Athletics.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    I welcome UK Athletics contributing to the debate on anti-doping and underlining its commitment to clean sport.

    It’s important that all sports continue to look at ways they can further promote clean sport and we will continue to work closely with UK Anti-Doping, World Anti-Doping Agency and sports governing bodies on tackling doping.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the terms of appointment of the Chairman of the Environment Agency.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Determining the terms and conditions of any public appointment is routine and will be considered as part of the preparations for recruiting a new Chairman.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to devise a written policy for the development, integration and use of military unmanned systems.

    Earl Howe

    The Ministry of Defence is currently seeking to articulate in one policy document the considerations for future UK capability requirements, development, integration and use of unmanned systems.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting the governments of Iraq, the United States and Italy about the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River, and in particular about the case for downstream flood warnings and preparations, and repairs and maintenance work, to prevent collapse.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are in close touch with the Governments of Iraq, the US and our European partners, as well as the UN, about the Mosul Dam.

    The Government of Iraq has begun to take measures to improve the structural integrity of the Mosul Dam as there is a risk the dam could fail. It is currently impossible to accurately predict if or when this might occur. A failure could lead to major flooding in the Tigris river valley, from Mosul to Baghdad.

    Alongside the US, we are working with the Government of Iraq, the UN and other partners to ensure Iraq has effective contingency planning in place, including early warning and humanitarian planning, to enable ordinary Iraqis and the international community to respond in the event of failure. Our Embassy has plans to ensure staff are safe and we have updated our travel advice to highlight the risk to the general public.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical steps they are taking to achieve the maximum use of vacant residential, commercial, and industrial premises for temporary or interim housing, in particular for homeless people or refugees; and whether they have released government properties for such purposes.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government has taken a range of steps to increase housing supply by providing more homes for rent and ownership, as well as encouraging local authorities to bring empty homes back into use. As a result, the number of homes that stand empty for more than six months is at an all time low. The Government is committed to releasing surplus assets to drive economic growth and release land for housing. The Spending Review announced that departments have committed to release land for more than 160,000 homes.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the pilot programme for Direct Skeletal Fixation is proceeding, and when they expect that pilot to be completed.

    Earl Howe

    Work is currently under way between the Ministry of Defence, NHS England and the UK Departments of Health to put in place a patient referral pathway to enable access for eligible military personnel and Veterans to the Direct Skeletal Fixation programme. This includes the definition of clinical criteria to access the programme as the procedure will not be appropriate for every individual. The programme is expected to begin in spring 2016 for two and a half years and the results will be published following completion.