Tag: Baroness Tonge

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the decision was taken not to grant entry to Britain to a group of medical experts from Gaza and a psychologist from Bethlehem who had been invited to contribute to a conference at Kingston University.

Lord Bates

In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to cut off oil supplies to ISIL, and the revenue obtained from them, before they engage in military action in Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has led efforts at the UN to make it illegal for any state, company or individual to trade in oil and oil products with Daesh, including co-sponsoring UN Security Council Resolution 2199 in February 2015. This resolution requires all states to prevent the transfer of economic resources to Daesh. We have worked to ensure that individuals involved in brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime have been sanctioned by the EU. We work closely, and continually, with allies particularly in the region, to ensure Resolution 2199 is implemented, sanctions are enforced and all smuggling is stopped. We are also working with the private sector to ensure it takes seriously its responsibilities to ensure Daesh cannot access the spare parts and fuel additives it needs for its oil industry to function. On Wednesday 2 December, the democratically-elected House of Commons voted to support UK military action against Daesh in Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the demolitions in the Bedouin community of Abu Nuwar that are reported to have rendered 25 people, including 17 children, homeless.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

An official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns on this issue with the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories on 13 January. The UK is deeply concerned by Israeli proposals to relocate Bedouin population from E1 area, which the UN have said could constitute forcible transfer. These plans could have a devastating impact on the communities concerned and will likely open the way for further settlement expansion – endangering the viability of a two-state solution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel with regard to the two Bedouin villages, Umm al-Ḥīrān and Atir, due to be destroyed by Israel in order to establish a new Jewish settlement and to plant a forest.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this situation closely. We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to work together to identify a satisfactory solution to the issue. We believe any solution must respect the equality of all Israel’s citizens, avoid forced relocations and be consistent with Israel’s commitments under international law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel on the suspension of three Arab-Israeli members from speaking in the Knesset.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the safety of aircraft flying over heavily populated areas of West London, in the light of the laser attacks on aircraft pilots and the possible expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The UK aviation industry has an excellent safety record and safety is monitored continuously by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as safety regulator. The safety of the public is the first consideration in any decision-making process.

The CAA has conducted extensive assessments of the risks to aircraft of laser attacks. The CAA Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MORs) provide statistical data on the frequency and geographical location of attacks on UK aircraft. In addition, the data provides details of the rate of reported attacks in relation to the number of aircraft movements at all UK airports including London Heathrow.

The assessments are supplemented with further enhanced statistical analysis of the MORs by Imperial College London.

The Government is actively working to draw together a plan to tackle the issues around the sale and misuse of lasers, and to ensure the safety of consumers and aircraft.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support countries in combating breast ironing.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is concerned about the harmful practice of breast ironing in some Commonwealth and other African countries. Whilst there is little data on the number of girls suffering from this abuse, we have, for example, worked with the government and religious leaders in Cameroon on campaigns to raise awareness and to support community-led efforts to end breast ironing.

The Government condemns violence against women and girls in all its forms and places gender equality at the heart of our bilateral development programming. In Nigeria we are investing over £40 million to change harmful social norms towards women and girls, and to protect women and girls against violence. I raised these issues with the Government of Nigeria during my visit to the country in February. Baroness Verma, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for International Development (DfID), discussed gender-based violence in South Africa in October 2015, including DfID’s support to the re-establishment of South Africa’s Sexual Offences Courts and its work with the African Prosecutor’s Association on research into preventing violence against women.

The manifestations of violence against women and girls may change but it is critical to address the structural causes of violence, including harmful beliefs and attitudes. We shall continue to work through diplomatic and development channels to engage with governments and local communities in Africa and beyond, to support the rights of women and girls, including ending harmful practices which constitute violence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Israeli government organisations have been given charitable status in the UK.

Lord Bridges of Headley

In England and Wales the law requires charities to be independent in the way they operate and they must be set up with exclusively charitable purposes for the public benefit. This precludes from charitable status any organisations that are established to further the purposes of any non-charity, which would include a national government.

Charity law is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the requirements there are similar.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 18 April (HL7718), what action they will now take to protect land designated as a future Palestinian state.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We continue to robustly raise our concerns over Israel’s expropriation of land in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Such steps damage the prospects for a two state solution. The UK has consistently called for an end to settlement expansion, which is illegal under international law. If the Israeli government is committed to a two-state solution then it will reverse its policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the firing of live bullets at Palestinians protesting against the Israeli incursion in al-Azza refugee camp, which wounded one protester.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israel Defence Forces’ use of live fire.