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  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the undercover raid by Israeli armed forces on a hospital in Hebron, resulting in the death of a relative of the suspect.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we are clear that medical staff should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv met Physicians for Human Rights on 9 November to discuss trends in human rights violations against medical staff. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions.

  • Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the elections in Tanzania, particularly with respect to the devolved assembly in Zanzibar, and what representations they have made to the government of Tanzania or the Commonwealth Secretariat regarding the elections.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Despite some problems, the national elections in Tanzania were peaceful and generally well organised. We have extended our congratulations to President Magufuli on his victory. We are however deeply concerned at the decision to nullify the elections for the Zanzibar Presidency and Parliament. We have conveyed our concerns to the Government of Tanzania on a number of occasions including at senior levels, most recently during a meeting last week between the Tanzanian High Commissioner to London and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge).

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they use to process requests for the disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government is committed to transparency and the Freedom of Information Act. Requests for information are examined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their plans to release files from their Special Collections archive during this Parliament.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Files outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) standard corporate file plan are now known as non-standard files.

    Estimated at around 600,000, the non-standard files are generally older than the standard departmental files.

    We have divided most of the non-standard material into four main categories in order to prioritise the preparation of these files for transfer to The National Archives (TNA): High Priority (around 60,000 files), Medium and Low priority (around 290,000 files across both categories) and a separate category for the Hong Kong government records (around 270,000 files). The Hong Kong records require further assessment before we can prioritise them for release (most are on microform).

    Our prioritisation of the non-standard files has taken into account feedback from a wide variety of sources and interested parties including Professor Tony Badger, Professor of History at Northumbria University, the Independent Reviewer of the non-standard files.

    We aim to prepare for transfer to TNA all high priority non-standard files (10% of the total) by 2019.

    The first of the high priority records have now been released at TNA. They include 445 Colonial Reports, which are bound volumes of reports submitted annually to the Colonial Office by colonial governors. In October 2015, 254 files relating to the defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean were released to the public.

    Our current estimate is that we will be able to prepare the medium and low priority records for transfer to TNA by 2027.

    The FCO is committed to complying with the Public Records Act and to full transparency with respect to our record holdings.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what files they hold at Her Majesty’s Government Communications Centre, and what are their plans to make the files held there available to the public during this Parliament.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) archive records are held by the FCO rather than Her Majesty’s Government Communications Centre (HMGCC). Most of these archive records are held in the FCO main archive at Hanslope Park in Buckinghamshire, which houses approximately 1.2 million files. The FCO has published its archive file inventory and the review programme for its files. The FCO is committed to complying with the Public Records Act and to full transparency with respect to our record holdings.

    HMGCC, which is also at Hanslope Park, is one of the Government’s science and technology establishments, responsible for ensuring that the Government’s communications systems in the UK and around the globe are effective, reliable and secure.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which instruments have been used to grant exemptions from deposit in the National Archives under the Public Records Act 1958 since the introduction of the rule that closed records should be deposited after 20 years.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Departments that wish to physically retain custody of records for an administrative or other reason (such as national security) for longer than the prescribed period require a retention instrument.

    Since 2013, when the Government began its move towards transferring records to the National Archives when they are 20 years old, rather than 30, retention instrument numbers 111 to 119 have been approved.

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy to suspend existing arms export licences, and to refuse new ones, if a country is believed to be committing violations of international law during an armed conflict.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria

    We keep all licences under review in the light of changing circumstances in countries of destination for UK arms exports.

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Human Rights Watch report that some Saudi Arabian air strikes in Yemen violated international humanitarian law.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition. We take any report of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen by all sides to the conflict very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian government and have received repeated assurances of International Humanitarian Law compliance. 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 International Humanitarian Law and international human rights law.

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what systems they have in place to monitor the use of military equipment licensed for export to Saudi Arabia to establish whether or not that equipment has been used to violate international humanitarian law in Yemen.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government monitors the situation in Yemen closely, including reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We take these reports very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities, who have provided assurances to us that they are complying with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances, and we urge all sides to investigate such incidents fully. The Ministry of Defence continues to monitor alleged incidents internally, using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We are offering Saudi Arabia advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with International Humanitarian Law.

    With respect to UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia, all applications for strategic export control licences for military and dual-use goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the Criteria), in a manner consistent with the UK’s international obligations. A licence will not be issued for export of items to any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any mandatory provision of the Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of IHL.

    The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the Criteria. Our export licensing system allows us to respond to changed circumstances and new information as and when necessary. The principle of responsible export controls is fundamental for the Government.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of research on the links between the risk of cancer and radiation spikes during the refuelling of nuclear power plants, whether they plan to carry out a meta-analysis of European epidemiology studies about incidences of leukaemia in children under five living within five kilometres of nuclear power plants.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) has advised that it considers the conclusions reached by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) in their 14th report published in 2011 remain robust, that there was no evidence that living near a nuclear power station in the United Kingdom is associated with an increased risk of childhood cancer. PHE is not aware at this time of any plans for a meta-analysis of European epidemiology studies about incidences of leukaemia in children under five living within five kilometres of nuclear power plants.

    COMARE is a Departmental expert advisory committee that provides independent advice to Government on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation. A copy of their 14th report is attached.