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  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have received, if any, about Turkish and Greek coastguards attacking boats of refugees near the Greek islands, thus endangering life.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of news stories about boats of refugees being attacked near Greek islands, but have seen no evidence to substantiate these reports.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they were represented as observers or otherwise at the conference in al-Hassakeh on 8–9 December that formed the Council of Democratic Syria; and what assessment they have made of that conference’s final statement.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK was not an observer or participant at the Democratic Syria Conference for Opposition Forces. The UK does not have any diplomatic presence in Syria and staff are unable to travel to Syria due to significant security threats. This conference brought together Syrian Kurdish and Arab parties that reside in Northern Syria. They discussed the future of the country after four years of war and agreed on the creation of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political branch of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Their final statement says that the Syrian crisis must be solved through negotiation, the fight against terrorism and political change through a transition, followed by free and fair elections and a new constitution. The UK continues to work towards transition in Syria on the basis of the Geneva Communiqué.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that women and civil society groups are included in proceedings at the Syria Donors’ Conference in February 2016.

    Baroness Verma

    On 16 November, the Prime Minister announced that the UK, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations would co-host a conference on the Syria crisis in London on 4 February 2016. The Conference on “Supporting Syria and the Region” will address immediate and longer-term needs of those affected by the conflict. It will include a strong focus on the situation inside Syria, the very human impact on women, girls and youth and ways we can protect them from harm.

    On the day before the event we are supporting a large gathering of civil society, from which a cross-section, including representation of women and girls, will contribute to discussions in the conference.

  • Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hay of Ballyore on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to promote equal pay for women in the workplace.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Unequal pay for equal work is unlawful, and it has been for over 40 years. We have made changes that require employment tribunals to order any employer who loses an equal pay case to carry out an equal pay audit.

  • Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hay of Ballyore on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans, if any, they have for reducing the rate of VAT on the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Normal EU VAT rules do not permit the variation of rates within a Member State. The Government currently has no plans to introduce a reduced rate of VAT for the UK hospitality sector.

  • Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hay of Ballyore on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for a new round of talks with the political parties in Northern Ireland, in order to break the deadlock over legacy issues in Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    The UK Government remains committed to establishing the legacy bodies. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met a number of interested stakeholders in recent days, including the Victims Commissioner and the Victims and Survivors Forum. It is her intention to meet with the political parties early in the New Year, along with further engagement with victims groups.

  • Lord Condon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what new arrangements have been made in 2015, nationally, regionally, or locally, for police forces formally to share operational or support functions.

    Lord Bates

    Chief Constables and PCCs are best placed to consider whether and how their forces’ operational or support functions should be shared. The number of collaborations continues to increase, with at least 4 new alliances involving 9 forces announced in 2015.

    Regional Organised Crime Units, the National Crime Agency and local law enforcement continue to develop specialist capabilities to tackle a range of threats, including serious and organised crime, child sexual abuse and cyber crime. The Government supports the current review by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners into where specialist policing capabilities best sit, and how they should be delivered, to provide a common basis for future collaboration decisions.

    To continue to strengthen and improve mutual aid arrangements, the National Police Coordination Centre is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing to develop consistent national standards.

  • Lord Condon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Condon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the full-time employment of adults with special learning needs, and what assessment they have made of how successful those measures have been in 2015.

    Baroness Altmann

    Increasing disability employment is a key part of the government’s aim to achieve full employment. That is why this Government has an ambition to halve the disability employment gap by creating the opportunity for a million more disabled people to work.

    The Government has a variety of initiatives and programmes in place to support and encourage people with special learning needs to find and retain work. Performance statistics are published for a number of these.

    For example:

    • Access to Work provides on-going personalised in-work support for disabled people who are in work or about to start work on a full or part-time basis. Access to Work has had a Hidden Impairments Specialist Advisory team since September. We are also considering whether the Mental Health Support Service model of support could benefit those with hidden impairments other than mental health conditions. Last year Access to Work supported record numbers of people with a Learning Disability or Dyslexia recorded as their Primary Health Condition (6,580 people supported – 520 more people than in 2013/14).

    • The most recent Access to Work statistics are attached at Annex A.

    • Work Choice is a specialist disability employment programme which provides tailored support for disabled people who face the most complex employment barriers to find and stay in work. DWP has improved the referral process for Work Choice to ensure that information about candidates’ hidden impairments is shared with Work Choice providers. In 2014/15, 5,670 people with a Mild or Moderate to Severe Learning Disability recorded as their Primary Disability were referred to Work Choice. Since 2010, 19,410 people with a Mild or Moderate to Severe Learning Disability recorded as their Primary Disability have started Work Choice, of whom 8,600 have started work – giving a job outcome rate of around 44% for this group.

    • The most recent Work Choice statistics are attached at Annex B.

    • The Government’s Disability Confident campaign works with employers at a national and local level to help them to understand the benefits of employing disabled people, and promote good practice in recruitment and employment of disabled people, including people with special learning needs.

    • DWP also works in close partnership with the Hidden Impairment National Group (HING), a national network of disabled people, medical professionals/ academics and disability specific organisations. This collaboration has produced an ‘Uncovering Hidden Impairments’ toolkit, which supports organisations in both the private and public sectors to confidently recruit and retain talented individuals with hidden impairment conditions, such as special learning needs.

    • Jobcentre Plus continues to offer a range of support, including a free helpline for claimants who have difficulty making claims for benefit online because of dyslexia or similar conditions. DWP is working in partnership with Autism Alliance UK to build an autism network across Jobcentre Plus by training nominated autism leads, including Work Coaches and DEAs.

    • We have worked with Community Service Volunteers to introduce the Job-Shadowing Work Placement Initiative for young disabled people, including those with special learning needs. The first tranche had a 65% participation rate for young people having autistic spectrum conditions
  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what licences and permissions have been granted for the dumping of dredged material in the sea off Lantic Bay, east of Fowey in Cornwall.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) licences the disposal of dredged material at sea under the Marine and Coastal access Act 2009.

    Lantic Bay (PL060) is an approved disposal site that has been in use for a number of years. Since vesting the MMO has issued three licences for disposing dredged material at the Lantic Bay disposal site:

    • Licence L/2011/00050 to Fowey Harbour Commissioners for the disposal of 45,000 tonnes of sediment per year. The licence was for a period of three years starting on 27th May 2011 and expired on 26th May 2014;
    • Licence L/2014/00146 to Fowey Harbour Commissioners for the disposal of 80,000 tonnes of sediment per year. This licence commenced on 1st May 2014 and is valid for 10 years;
    • Finally, licence L/2013/00396/4 to the Victoria Wharf Group Ltd for the disposal of 10,000 tonnes of sediment from Corporation Wharf, Plymouth valid from 1st November 2015 to 28th February 2016.

  • Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 14 December (HL4095), why the occupations of those appointed as lay magistrates are no longer recorded.

    Lord Faulks

    The information is no longer recorded because it does not form part of published statistics on the magistracy. Additionally, the enduring accuracy of the recorded information could not be guaranteed subsequent to appointment.