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  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Resolution of the House of Commons of 10 September calling on them to implement the recommendations of the report of the Inquiry into the Use of Immigration Detention in the United Kingdom, by the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Refugees and Migration.

    Lord Bates

    Detention plays a vital role in maintaining effective immigration control and there are safeguards in place to prevent unnecessary or arbitrary detention.

    Turning to the principal recommendations of the APPG report, though a common misconception, we cannot detain indefinitely under immigration powers. There are significant, long standing and highly effective protections for individuals against indefinite detention in the current system. A statutory limit is therefore not necessary.

    An arbitrary time limit would potentially allow criminals and non-compliant individuals to play the system knowing that if they refuse to cooperate with removal for long enough they will be released.

    The Home Office is conducting detailed analysis of the use of immigration detention including looking at the checks and balances in the systems to ensure that there is a more efficient and more effective process so that people are removed more swiftly.

    The Home Secretary commissioned an independent review of the policies and operating procedures that have an impact on detainee welfare earlier this year. Stephen Shaw CBE, former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, undertook the review and has recently submitted his report. The report will be published by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to its recommendations, before the Lords Committee stage for the Immigration Bill.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the recommendations of the independent reviewer of the overseas domestic worker visa will be implemented.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is considering carefully the recommendations of James Ewins and will announce its response in due course.

  • 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 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 16 December (HL4270 and HL4271), whether they have asked, or will ask, the government of Iraq to end the requirement for religious affiliations to be shown on identity cards.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The current National Identity Law does not require Iraqi citizens to mention their religious or tribal affiliations. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior has removed religious affiliations from new identity cards.

    We will continue to encourage the Government of Iraq to ensure freedom of religion or belief in Iraq.

  • 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 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to help the combatants in Yemen to agree a ceasefire and to remove the external blockade, in particular of supplies.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK welcomes the positive progress made at UN-facilitated talks held between 15 and 20 December 2015 and the ceasefire that commenced on 15 December including the intention to extend this until 28 December. We fully support the UN’s efforts to return to an inclusive political process and strongly encourage all parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire, which will allow urgent medical and humanitarian aid to reach those in need. The engagement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), our Ambassadors, and the UK Special Envoy to Yemen Sir Alan Duncan, with key Yemeni actors has supported this process. We are also providing financial support to the UN Special Envoy’s Office. As Yemenis are highly reliant on food and fuel imports for their basic needs (food, health, water, electricity), one of our top priorities is to help commercial shipping return to pre-conflict levels. We welcomed the Government of Yemen’s commitment in October to allow commercial ships access to Yemen. The number of ships has increased in recent weeks: over 50 ships have berthed in both October and November. However, commercial imports are still far below pre-crisis levels. We will continue to monitor this closely and are funding the new UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism along with the US, EU and Netherlands to speed up clearance processes.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the £275 million offered by the Prime Minister to Turkey to secure its southern border” will be spent; whether that funding is intended to stop refugees entering Turkey in advance of any general ceasefire or peace agreement; and how that expenditure will be verified.”

    Lord Bates

    Turkey is a key partner in the response to the migration crisis and we should commend its generosity in hosting over 2.2m refugees from Syria and Iraq. Acknowledging this pressure, the EU has recently agreed an Action Plan with Turkey. Within this and building on the UK’s existing funding, our contribution of up to £275m (part of a wider European package of €3 billion) will be spent helping Turkey address the consequences of the Syria conflict. This funding will help control the flow of migrants to the EU from Turkey and improve education, health and labour rights for Syrian refugees in Turkey addressing potential push factors for further migration. Implementation of the funding will be jointly overseen by the European Commission and the Turkish government through the establishment of an EU-Turkey high-level working group on migration.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government over what period, and under what headings, the €3 billion offered by the EU to Turkey in respect of refugees and migrants will be spent; and what verification of expenditure there will be.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    At the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November, the EU committed €3 billion of additional support to Turkey to help ease its refugee burden and prevent further irregular migration to the EU. The European Commission has proposed a Refugee Facility for Turkey to coordinate the €3 billion in 2016 and 2017, which will be financed in part by Member State contributions and in part from the EU budget.

    The details of the Refugee Facility, including the financing, governance and monitoring arrangements, are currently being discussed by Member States. All contributions from the EU budget will be fully consistent with the spending limits set out in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the latest assessment available to the Department of Health or NHS England of the annual loss of bed days to the NHS owing to the inability to discharge people from acute hospitals who do not need clinically to be occupying a bed in those hospitals; what is the estimated cost of such occupancy; and what assessment has been made of the cost-effectiveness of the NHS purchasing accommodation directly in nursing or residential care homes for such patients when a local authority is unable to do so.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The latest figures show that between April and October 2015, there were 1,041,587 delayed transfer of care. The Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service or of the cost-effectiveness of the NHS purchasing accommodation directly in nursing or residential care homes for such patients when a local authority is unable to do so.

    It is recognised that such delayed discharges do use resource which could be deployed elsewhere, and all parts of the NHS and those with responsibility outside it, are continually looking for ways in which to reduce the number of delays.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Department of Health, NHS England, or the Care Quality Commission, have made of the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulty at the rates that local authorities across England are now able to pay for such accommodation; and what information the Care Quality Commission has on the availability of such accommodation as part of their market oversight function.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Information about the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulties and the fee rates paid by local authorities for these services is not collected centrally. Commissioning adult social care is a matter for local authorities as they are best placed to understand the needs their local people and communities, and how best to meet them.

    The Department has put in place a range of Sector-Led Improvement support to help local authorities to improve their commissioning practice, and to comply with the statutory guidance. For example the Department funds the Local Government Association (LGA) and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) to deliver, through their regional networks, practical risk assessment tools and hands-on improvement support delivered by a cohort of professional experts.

    The Department has also worked with ADASS, LGA and others to co-produce a set of commissioning standards, Commissioning for Better Outcomes that was re-launched in October 2015. These standards amplify the good practice set out in the statutory guidance, and provide a further practical resource on which to base local risk assessment and to guide improvement support and action planning where required. The standards are attached.

    There has been no assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulty at the rates that local authorities across England are now able to pay for such accommodation and the CQC holds no information on the availability of such accommodation as part of its Market Oversight function. This is because these issues fall outside the scope of the Market Oversight Scheme.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Department of Health or NHS England has made of the risk of the wide-scale withdrawal of adult social care providers from publicly-funded social care markets and the implications of such a withdrawal for the NHS; and whether such a possible withdrawal features on the Department of Health risk register.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department monitors a number of risks to the health and social care system through its high level risk register, including the availability of good quality adult social care that is affordable for local authority and National Health Service commissioners.

    The Department is working with local authorities, NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and the provider sector to understand the extent of this risk and its potential drivers, which will include consideration of the extent to which some providers are possibly withdrawing from the publically funded adult social care market.

    The Care Act (2014) places duties on local authorities to step in and ensure people’s needs continue to be met if a provider fails financially and services cease. The Department has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Information Unit to publish guidance to support local authorities develop effective contingency plans for provider failure – Care and Continuity: Contingency planning for provider failure. The guidance is attached. The guidance recommends that contingency plans are co-produced with relevant partners, including NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure these plans are aligned.

    Local authorities routinely manage market exits in their area and discharge their Care Act duties. If a situation arose that local authorities found challenging, for example because of its scale and the lack of spare capacity in the area, the Department would work with partners to support them.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 November (HL3565), what advice they will give to local authorities affected by significant withdrawal of residential care providers in particular areas from publicly-funded adult social care in the event that this prevents those authorities from stepping in to ensure people’s needs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Local Government Information Unit to publish guidance to support local authorities to develop effective contingency plans for provider failure- Care and Continuity: Contingency planning for provider failure. The guidance is attached.

    It is expected that local authorities will keep these plans under review and update them as necessary to reflect current market conditions and risks.

    Should there be a significant withdrawal of residential care providers from the publically funded adult social care market putting pressure on local authorities’ capacity to discharge their statutory functions in the short-term, the Government will work with the sector to develop bespoke contingency plans to support local government to manage the situation. This could include supporting work with neighbouring local authorities and ADASS regional networks.

    More widely, the Government will continue to support local authorities to discharge their functions under the Care Act 2014 which require them to shape a sustainable market that meets the needs of their local population.