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  • Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to announce plans before 2020 to replace the single track railway lines between Salisbury and Exeter with double track railway lines in order to further promote economic growth in that region.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In August 2015 Network Rail published the outcome of the Wessex and Western Route Studies undertaken by the rail industry. This includes a review of the future demand on the line between London, Salisbury and Exeter.

    The Government expects to set out in July 2017 its investment plan for the railways during 2019 to 2024 and will take account of the industry proposals in developing this plan.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations either directly or via Commonwealth mechanisms to the government of Malaysia concerning the current prosecution of the cartoonist professionally known as Zunar.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have repeatedly lobbied for the repeal of this act at the highest levels, including by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), when he visited Malaysia in July. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and our High Commission in Malaysia have met Zunar a number of times, most recently in October. We continue to follow his case closely.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government with which countries they have raised human rights since May.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government frequently raises issues with international partners. In addition to bilateral dialogues where we raise our concerns in person, we also set out our approach and priorities in the Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. The next report, due to be published in April 2016, will describe our work to tackle human rights challenges in approximately 30 priority countries. These countries will provide a focus for our human rights and democracy project funding in the next financial year. We also regularly raise human rights issues in multilateral fora, for example the UN Human Rights Council and at the Council of Europe.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a policy about the number of children a family or individual should have; and if so, what it is.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Government does not have a policy on the number of children a family or individual should have.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have suspended or revoked any extant arms licences to Saudi Arabia, or refused any new requests for licences for bombs, missiles, or other military arms and equipment, in the light of repeated UN statements regarding breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    Since 2014 there have been no suspensions, no revocations and no refusals for licences for bombs, missiles, or other military arms and equipment”.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the statements made by representatives of the UN about breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition, and other parties to the fighting, have been reflected in risk assessments for licences for military aircraft, bombs and other equipment issued for sales to Saudi Arabia since their operations began in Yemen in March.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition. We have received assurances from the Saudi Arabian authorities that they are complying with IHL and we continue to engage with them on those assurances. The Saudi Arabian authorities have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to be open and transparent in this. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law.

    The UK takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. We rigorously examine every application on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

    The Ministry of Defence monitors the reports of alleged IHL violations which informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of evidence from Government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. We are also offering advice and training to Saudi Arabia to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements funding was spent by recipients on environmental and climate-related projects.

    Baroness Verma

    DFID does not hold details of the proportion of funding spent through the Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs) on environmental and climate-related projects.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the overall cost was of the 2014–16 extension to the 2011–14 round of DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements.

    Baroness Verma

    The total cost of the 2014-16 extension to DFID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements was £240,000,074.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average proportion of spending on DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements was on salaries for UK staff and advocacy work in the UK, broken down by the charities receiving that funding.

    Baroness Verma

    DFID does not hold details of the average proportion of spending through the Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs) on salaries for UK staff.

    PPAs are not used for any campaigning or advocacy efforts in the UK.

    The PPAs are strategic level arrangements with Civil Society Organisations based around mutually agreed outcomes. Organisations have individual performance frameworks against which they formally report against on an annual basis. Funding is flexible and not tied to specific interventions or initiatives.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the £361,446,114 spent on DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements in the 2011–14 round was spent: (1) overseas, and (2) on UK staff and advocacy efforts in the UK

    Baroness Verma

    DFID does not hold details of the proportion of funding spent through the Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs) overseas and on UK staff. PPAs are not used for any campaigning or advocacy efforts in the UK.

    The PPAs are strategic level arrangements with Civil Society Organisations based around mutually agreed outcomes. Organisations have individual performance frameworks against which they formally report against on an annual basis. Funding is flexible and not tied to specific interventions or initiatives.