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  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the recent arrival at Port Sudan of land cruisers, tanks and heavy artillery to be delivered via the Sudanese authorities to Malian fighters in Western Darfur in camps around al-Geneina and Kutum.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    We have not seen any reports of a recent arrival at Port Sudan of land cruisers, tanks and heavy artillery to be delivered via the Sudanese authorities to Malian fighters in Western Darfur in camps around al-Geneina and Kutum. The UK remains deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in Darfur. We continue to monitor developments in Darfur and call for all sides to immediate cease the violence.

  • Earl Attlee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Earl Attlee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the issue of online third parties acting as middlemen between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and driving licence applicants.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Government is taking decisive steps against such websites.

    Officials are working with various government organisations and search engine providers to raise awareness and ensure appropriate enforcement action is taken. Ministers recently met with Google and as a result, Google has taken down a series of adverts. Similar work will be carried out with other search engine providers.

    The National Trading Standards Board will receive an additional £120,000 to clamp down on misleading websites.

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has issued messages on Twitter and gov.uk to advise customers that gov.uk is the only official website. Officials have worked with the press to inform customers that they may be charged an unnecessary fee if they do not use gov.uk. The DVLA is arranging to amend forms, leaflets and envelopes to make the correct website clearer for customers. Officials will continue to issue appropriate communications to help raise awareness of these sites.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out an assessment of the impact of the Immigration Bill on children, as set out in the Cabinet Office guidelines.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Home Office is committed to considering the impact of all new policies and legislation, including where they might have an impact on children. Careful regard has been had to the best interests of children in the UK in framing the provisions of the Immigration Bill. We are satisfied that the Bill is compatible with our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the children’s duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. The Home Office has published an Impact Assessment of the Immigration Bill and a European Convention on Human Rights Memorandum, so has no plans to conduct any additional child impact assessment.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out an assessment of the number of children likely to be separated from their parents as a result of the provisions of the Immigration Bill.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    Our starting-point is that it is generally in the best interests of the child to remain with their parents, including where the parents are removed from the UK. We have therefore made no assessment of the number of children who might be separated from their parents as a result of the provisions of the Immigration Bill.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children they estimate will be affected by the provisions contained in Clause 18 of the Immigration Bill.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    Clause 18 (which is now Clause 19) of the Immigration Bill will be relevant to all immigration and deportation decisions engaging the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including where a child is the applicant or is a family member of the applicant or of the person facing deportation. Careful regard has been had to the best interests of children in the UK in framing the Clause, in line with the children’s duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, but we have made no broader assessment of the number of children who will be affected.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 25 March (WA 105–6), how many non-operational airfields the Royal Air Force owns in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    This information will take some time to collate. I will write to the Noble Lord as soon as it is available.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 26 March (WA 116), whether Capita has delivered departmental savings and asset realisations.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    Wherever possible, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will look to maximise competition as a way of driving best value for money. The MOD has awarded Capita 43 contracts since 1 April 2009. They may have specific deliverables relating to savings, but these will be dependant on the requirement and will differ in each individual agreement.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incursions into Gibraltarian waters by Spanish government-owned vessels occurred in (1) 2012, (2), 2013, and (3) January and February 2014.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The number of unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish state vessels totalled:

    229 in 2012
    496 in 2013
    75 in January and February 2014

  • Ian Mearns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ian Mearns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to maintain the level of youth services provision.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    We are supporting the voluntary sector in offering new learning opportunities for young people through programmes like NCS.

    In addition, we will be offering practical support to local authorities who want to deliver high quality youth services in an innovative way – for example by access to our £10m support programme for Mutuals.

  • Neil Carmichael – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Neil Carmichael – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to promote digital government.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Online services tend to be faster, cheaper and more convenient, so we want all major Government transactions to be digital by default.

    This is not just about the opportunity to save the taxpayer over £ 1 billion by the end of this parliament, it is about transforming the experience that citizens have of dealing with Government.