Tag: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-11-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 November (HL3457), what specific steps they are taking to help Syrian refugees in the Jungle” camp at Calais who wish to claim asylum in the UK.”

Lord Bates

Migrants in Calais in need of protection, including Syrians, should claim asylum in France. Other than in very limited circumstances under the Dublin Regulation, where a migrant who has lodged an asylum application in another Member State has close family ties to the UK, the UK has no responsibility to help refugees who are in other EU Member States to come here to claim asylum. Consequently, there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for them to do so. However, Border Force officers and representatives from the French Government carry out regular joint communications visits to the camps, informing all nationalities of migrants of their options to seek support, including claiming asylum, in France.

The UK Government is spending £1.1 billion in and around Syria on humanitarian aid, caring for refugees and helping the Governments of Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey to cope with the huge numbers of refugees they have received. After the United States, Britain is the biggest donor country in the region. The Government has also expanded the Syrian Resettlement Scheme. This scheme is helping the most vulnerable people in the region by offering them protection in the UK. The Government intends to resettle 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the future of the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Access to Elected Office Fund was a pilot established in 2012 to test this type of support for disabled candidates. We are now reviewing the findings of the assessment of the pilot and anticipate making an announcement in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the reasons for the increase in the contract target costs of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

No assessment was made by the Department for Transport of the reasons for the increase in the contract target costs of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road. Norfolk County Council officials provided the Department with information on this and with the papers provided to their Councillors prior to the meeting on 6 November where the revised cost of the scheme was approved.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pregnant women are currently held in detention under the Immigration Act 2014.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Home Office will not necessarily be aware that a woman is pregnant unless she chooses to make this known to us and a woman may not know herself that she is pregnant when she is detained. It may not always be appropriate for healthcare professionals to disclose information that the patient has asked not to be disclosed.

As of 19 May 2016 there were no pregnant women detained under Immigration Act powers in an immigration removal centre or residential short-term holding facility, subject to these conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process was used to assess the value-for-money that would be achieved from the additional Department for Transport funding provided to Norfolk County Council in relation to the Norwich Northern Distributor Road project.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

A value for money assessment was undertaken on the full revised cost of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road which showed that it remained very high value for money under the Department’s value for money assessment with an adjusted Benefit Cost Ratio of 6.07.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their stated intention to require both ministerial and judicial authorisation for warrants under the Investigatory Powers Bill, why they consider it necessary to include a provision limiting judicial scrutiny to judicial review principles.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Investigatory Powers Bill creates a “double lock” for the use of the most intrusive in-vestigatory powers such that a decision to issue a warrant must be approved by a Judicial Commissioner.

As the Secretary of State for the Home Department set out last November, this system balances Parliamentary accountability with independent consideration by a judicial authority. The application of judicial review principles is a robust, yet flexible, approach that the judiciary have significant experience in applying as the framework for independent scrutiny of Executive decision making. The ‘double-lock’, including the use of judicial review principles, was considered in detail by the Joint Committee that scrutinised the draft Bill. The Committee concluded that they were satisfied with the use of judicial review principles and that they would afford the Judicial Commissioners considerable flexibility in reviewing decisions to authorise the use of investigatory powers.

In response to concerns expressed during Commons Committee Stage, the Government tabled an amendment to the test at report. That amendment makes it clear that when carrying out their review of the decision to issue the warrant, the Judicial Commissioner must do so with a sufficient degree of care so as to ensure that the Commissioner complies with their duties under clause 5 (General duties in relation to privacy). There was strong support from across the House for this amendment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since 2010 they have provided additional funding to local authority road building schemes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Since 2010 additional funding, above that allocated at the initial approval stage, has been provided to five local authority road schemes as follows:

Norwich Northern Distributor Road – £10m

Fletton Parkway Widening (Peterborough) – £0.9m

Hartford Bridge Roundabout (Hampshire) – £0.4m

A4600 University Hospital Junction (Coventry) – £0.1m

Stafferton Way (Windsor and Maidenhead) – £0.8m

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total cost of Trident renewal over the lifespan of the Successor-class submarines, including in-service costs and decommissioning.

Earl Howe

As stated in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, our latest cost estimate for manufacturing the four submarines of the Successor submarine programme is £31 billion, plus a contingency of £10 billion. This includes an assessment of the likely inflation over the lifetime of the programme and the risks appropriate for a project at this stage.

Once the new fleet of ballistic missile submarines comes into service, we expect that the in-service costs of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, which include the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, basing and disposals, will be similar to the current system, at around six per cent of the defence budget.

While we have no plans to replace the current Trident D5 missile, we are participating with our US partners in a programme to extend their lifespan to the 2060s. The estimated cost is around £250 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the scientific evidence regarding the incidence of cancer in those living near nuclear reactors and large spikes in radioactive gaseous emissions during the refuelling of those reactors.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) are reviewing the scientific evidence of certain cancer incidences around specific nuclear sites based on the recommendations from the 4th and 11th COMARE reports. This report will review all recent evidence that has been published since the previous reports, as judged relevant by COMARE. COMARE is a Departmental expert advisory committee that provides independent advice to government on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Highways England plan to investigate using (1) a tunnel which avoids visual and physical damage to the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site and its setting, and (2) traffic management measures to discourage travel at peak times, for the A303 at Stonehenge.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Highways England are considering a number of options for improving the section of the A303 close to Stonehenge, which include a variety of tunnel options. The results will be available for consideration at a public consultation to be held in 2017. However, they do not have any plans for the historic site at Avebury, as the A4361 is the responsibility of Wiltshire Council.

Highways England are committed to encourage the public to plan their journeys in advance and to consider using England’s motorways and major trunk roads of peak hours.