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  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh about (1) the arrest of Shafik Rehman on 16 April, and (2) the recent harassment of other journalists in Bangladesh; and what was the outcome of those representations.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Consular officials in Dhaka have registered the British Government’s interest in Mr Rehman’s case with the Director, Consular Affairs at the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and requested consular access to Mr Rehman. Our High Commissioner in Dhaka raised this case with the MFA’s Director General EU.

    We have made clear our concerns about freedom of expression in Bangladesh, most recently in a press statement about the murder of Nazimuddin Samad. In that statement the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), restated the Government’s position that the right to freedom of expression and open debate in Bangladesh must be upheld.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that physical activity is an integral part of tackling obesity in the forthcoming childhood obesity strategy, in the light of the correlation between inactivity and childhood obesity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese including inactivity.

  • Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they reconcile printing and delivering their pamphlet Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK to every household in the UK, with the statement by the Minister of State for Europe, Mr David Lidington, on 7 September 2015 that we have no intention of legislating to allow the Government to do things such as mailshots

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As the full excerpt below shows, the statement referred to by the Noble Lord relates to conduct and activity during the final 28 days of the referendum period, which are covered by the provisions of section 125 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The Government will comply fully with these provisions.

    “Instead, new clause 10 provides a power to make regulations to exempt particular categories of publication from section 125. Any such regulation would need to be approved by an affirmative resolution in both Houses. We have also adopted the recommendation of the Political and Constitutional Affairs Committee that the Government should consult the Electoral Commission before any such regulation is made.

    While I understand the constructive intention behind the suggestion made by the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon), I think that at the end of the day the Government must be free to go to Parliament and ask whether it accepts or rejects a particular proposal. The safeguard here is that if Government new clause 10 is accepted tonight, both Houses will have the right to veto anything that the Government might bring forward under this new provision.

    Let me explain the kind of things I have in mind. They include, for example, modernising the press notice exemption, which is already in section 125, to take account of digital media, by making it clear that it is permissible to link to a press notice from a website or a social media site; allowing the publication of a document on government.uk; or clarifying that material passed on to the print or broadcasting media would be acceptable. None of those things is clear at the moment. Let me repeat that we have no intention of legislating to allow the Government to do things such as mailshots, paid advertising or leafleting.”

  • FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with reference to their pamphlet entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK and in the light of their statement that we will keep our own border controls”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The UK is not part of the Schengen border-free zone – we control our own borders which gives us the right to check everyone, including EU nationals, arriving from continental Europe.

    Free movement is not an unrestricted right. Where an EEA national poses a threat, they can and will be refused entry or deported from the UK. The UK’s settlement with the EU will strengthen our ability to protect the UK public from those who pose a threat. We have refused entry to over 6500 EEA nationals at the UK border since 2010.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether EU laws on telecommunications and media protect freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    EU laws on telecommunications (electronic communications services) exclude services that provide, or exercise editorial control over content transmitted using electronic communications networks and services. While printed media (e.g. newspapers) are not within the scope of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the Directive does apply to audio visual media, (television broadcasts and other tv-like content). The Government has considered the impact of the Directive on freedom of expression when responding to the European Commission’s consultation on the future of that Directive. The Government’s response is attached.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the deaths of or injuries to Palestinians caused by Israeli forces, and the demolition of Palestinian houses in each month this year; and what assessment they have made of whether the representations they have made to Israel and Palestine are having any effect.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 8 Palestinians were killed and 758 injured in January, 18 were killed and 491 injured in February, and 20 were killed and 335 injured in March. Some of these deaths and injuries have occurred following attacks on Israeli civilians or security personnel. The British Government remains deeply concerned at the continuation of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We urge all sides to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation. The Government is also extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the OPTs since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the OPTs, 85 structures were demolished in January, 237 in February, and 176 in March. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities. The effect of these representations has not been assessed.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the closure of the Gaza power station in April, what assessment they have made of whether an electricity generating ship is still available as an alternative supplier to Gaza.

    Baroness Verma

    We are concerned by the electricity shortage in Gaza and the serious impact it is having on the humanitarian situation. We are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the European Union and UN, on the extension of the 161 power line and conversion of the Gaza power station to gas. The UK believes these are the immediate steps necessary to improving the situation in Gaza, however a more comprehensive lifting of restrictions as part of a political agreement is the only long-term solution.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the action being taken, and by whom, to prevent life-threatening consequences arising from the closure of the Gaza power plant.

    Baroness Verma

    According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the closure of the Gaza power plant has triggered electricity blackouts of 12-18 hours per day. The electricity shortage, combined with the lack of affordable fuel, has resulted in a further reduction in the water supply to households and reduction in wastewater treatment and quality of sewerage discharged into the sea.

    We are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the EU and UN, on the extension of the 161 power line and conversion of the Gaza power station to gas.

  • Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in discussions with examination boards about retaining accreditation routes for lesser-taught languages at GCSE and A-level.

    Lord Nash

    Government action has resulted in GCSEs and A levels in a range of community languages being continued, to ensure young people can carry on studying a diverse range of foreign languages.

    This follows a Government commitment in 2015 to protect a number of language GCSEs and A levels after the exam boards announced that from 2017 they would be withdrawing several courses.

    Since then the Government has worked with Ofqual and the exam boards and we have been successful in securing most of the less-taught languages at GCSE and A level for future years. In addition to Chinese, Italian and Russian, the languages now secure are Arabic, Bengali, Biblical Hebrew, Modern Greek, Gujarati, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish and Urdu.

  • Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the Language Trends Survey 2015–16, published by the British Council on 18 April.

    Lord Nash

    The Department welcomes the survey; in particular its findings on the steps primary schools are taking to improve the quality of language teaching since it became compulsory in maintained primary schools in September 2014. By introducing the EBacc, we have stopped the decline in modern foreign languages seen in the last decade, where 200,000 fewer GCSE students studied a modern language in 2010 than in 2002.

    Last year’s results showed 20% more pupils are taking languages at GCSE than in 2010 while A level entries in modern languages have increased by nearly 4% since 2014.