Blog

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they made representations to the UN Human Rights Council in September for the establishment of an international investigation into the conduct of the conflict in Yemen, in the light of the recommendation for such an investigation by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    A resolution on Yemen was adopted by consensus at the last session of the UN Human Rights Council on 2 October. The Human Rights Council has no mandate to call for investigations into breaches of International Humanitarian Law, but the resolution does contain mechanisms for monitoring the human rights situation in Yemen. It calls on the UN to provide technical assistance to the Government of Yemen, assist the Yemeni National Independent Commission of Inquiry, and report back to the next session of the Human Rights Council. We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen and continue to work with all parties to find a political solution to the conflict. This will help create the conditions for the legitimate government to improve its capacity to protect human rights. The UK welcomes Yemen’s commitment to cooperate with the UN on protection of human rights.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Syrian opposition fighters trained by British military personnel have defected or surrendered to Syrian Islamist groups.

    Earl Howe

    We have no evidence to suggest that any Syrian opposition fighters trained by British military personnel have defected to extremist Syrian Islamist groups. Some of the Syrian opposition fighters have been detained by extremist groups.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many Syrian opposition fighters have been trained by British military personnel since January 2015, (2) what military equipment has been supplied to them and by whom, and (3) how many are actively involved in military operations at this time.

    Earl Howe

    Since January 2015, 268 Syrian opposition fighters have been trained at sites where British military personnel are training. Of these 268, 180 have completed their training and the majority of that number have returned to Syria. The 88 who left prior to completing their training were either removed for disciplinary reasons or opted out of the programme. Whilst they might not all have been specifically trained by a British trainer, it is likely that most had interaction with a member of a British training team at some point during their tenure.

    The UK has not supplied military equipment to the Syrian opposition fighters. We do not comment on the provision of equipment by other coalition partners.

    We cannot say with certainty how many of the trained Syrian opposition fighters are actively involved in military operations.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British military personnel (1) have been sent to train Syrian opposition fighters since January 2015, and (2) are currently engaged in training Syrian opposition fighters.

    Earl Howe

    A total of 34 British military personnel have been involved in training Syrian opposition fighters since January 2015. There are currently 21 British military personnel deployed for the purposes of training.

  • Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell-Savours on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons imprisoned for sexual offences have been returned to prison after failing lie detector tests by polygraph; and how many were referred for polygraph tests in the last period for which statistics are available.

    Lord Faulks

    Polygraph tests for certain sexual offenders on licensed supervision in the community first became available in August 2014. As of October 2015, 681 sexual offenders had been made subject to polygraph testing as a license condition and had been referred for testing to the National Offender Management Service. As of the same date, 22 sexual offenders were recalled as a result of disclosures which they had made in connection with their polygraph test, whilst one was recalled for failing to attend a test which had been arranged.

  • Lord Dear – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Dear – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dear on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a Community Land Trust under the proposed Right to Buy scheme is required to sell one of the houses it owns if it is unable to provide an alternative from (1) its existing stock, (2) its newly built stock, (3) the stock it will build in the future or (4) the stock of another housing association.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Under the voluntary agreemment with the National Housing Federation, there would be a presumption that housing associations would sell the tenant the property in which they live, but there would be some broad circumstances where a housing association could exercise discretion to decline a sale. These circumstances include properties held in the Communities Land Trust.

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered a comprehensive mandatory ban on the supply of arms and equipment to all of the combatants in Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We do not consider that a comprehensive mandatory ban on the supply of arms and equipment to all of the combatants in Syria would be advisable. EU-Syria trade embargoes prohibit the exportation of jet fuel, chemical weapons (and precursors) to Syria. EU sanctions have denied many of the regime’s pre-war funding streams, limited its supply of non-conventional arms, reduced its access to key resources and increased pressure on Assad from those close to him. UN Security Council Resolution 2170 prohibits the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of arms and equipment to ISIL, Al Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida. The UK supplies non-lethal goods to the Moderate Opposition to protect civilians and save lives. We assess all export licence applications on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, and have one of the most robust export licensing systems in the world.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of Oxfam’s proposals for the worldwide resettlement of the most vulnerable 10 per cent of the Iraqi and Syrian refugees who are outside their home countries.

    Lord Bates

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever humanitarian response to a single crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US. Approximately half of UK assistance is targeted towards the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. By meeting basic humanitarian needs and helping to create new opportunities we aim to help Syrians to build a life in neighbouring countries.

    The UK’s position is that funding provided to the region is a more sustainable way of dealing with the refugee crisis rather than encouraging dangerous onward migration journeys. For this reason, the UK’s resettlement offer focuses on supporting the most vulnerable Syrians directly from the region who would best be protected in countries like the UK.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the governments of France, Japan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, with respect to their contributions to the budgets of the United Nations agencies which assist refugees and displaced people; and whether those contributions are not as large as those of other countries with comparable gross domestic product.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis. To date, we have committed over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.

    We are concerned that UN appeals for the Syria crisis remain severely underfunded. Donors must do more to support the needs of millions of Syrians across the region. That is why the UK continues to play a leading role in encouraging the international community, including EU member states and Gulf countries, to contribute generously to the UN appeals. We lobbied hard to mobilise funding from other donors ahead of the third Kuwait Pledging Conference on 31 March 2015 which raised $3.6 billion. We are exploring with the UN and major donors how best to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained in the longer term, including in response to the upcoming 2016 Appeals.

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the PKK’s declaration of a unilateral cease-fire, what representations they have made to the government of Turkey following Turkish air attacks in south-east Turkey and northern Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s announcement that they will refrain from attacks is a positive step but they now need to ensure it is respected. The British Government’s position is that: Turkey has the right to defend itself against PKK attacks; PKK violence must end; and, we support a resumption of the peace process. We stand ready to help in any way we can.