Tag: Lord Ahmed

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to investigate further the allegations of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham as covered by the Jay Report to establish more precisely the number of children involved.

Lord Bates

Professor Alexis Jay’s report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham provided a terrible account of the appalling failures by the Council, the police and other agencies to protect vulnerable children. Following publication of the Jay report the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, David Crompton, asked the National Crime Agency (NCA) to carry out an independent investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham over the period covered by the Jay report (1997-2013). In response the NCA launched Operation Stovewood which has three priorities. They are to deliver a victim-focused investigation, to work to identify and bring all offenders to justice and, thirdly, to work with partners and help to build confidence in local agencies. Operation Stovewood is ongoing and has a number of designated suspects and hundreds more potential suspects still to investigate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that effective pressure is brought to bear on local government organisations in Jammu and Kashmir to expedite arrangements to treat civilians reportedly injured or hospitalised in violence in the state during July and August.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

I was saddened by reports of unrest and violence in Kashmir in July and August and again offer my condolences to the victims and their families. The UK abides by its commitments under international law and expects all countries to comply with their international legal obligations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of  whether pre-planned lynchings, immolations, and attacks on Muslim burial grounds have taken place during the term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and whether they will raise the question of human rights with him.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of recent incidents of sectarian violence. These are being investigated by the Indian authorities, and arrests have been made. We are clear that any allegations of human rights abuses should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will reply to the letter from Lord Ahmed to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May, dated 9 February 2016.

Lord Keen of Elie

I must apologise for the delay in responding to your letter. The response was sent on 29 March.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had discussions with local government organisations in Jammu and Kashmir about the unmarked graves in north Kashmir where civilians or combatants were buried between 2006 and 2009.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has not had discussions with local government organisations about this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many overseas wives have joined their families in the UK between January 2014 and December 2015.

Lord Bates

From January 2014 to September 2015 there were 35,990* spousal visas issued to females. We are not able to provide figures from October to December 2015 as visa figures for this period have not yet been published.

*Figure rounded to the nearest 5.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will reply to the letter from Lord Ahmed to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May, dated 9 February 2016.

Lord Keen of Elie

I must apologise for the delay in responding to your letter. The response was sent on 29 March.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of India encouraging it to (1) ratify the UN Convention against  Torture and its optional protocols; and (2) permit a visit  to India, including Jammu and Kashmir, by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK engages on human rights matters with India, both bilaterally and through the EU-India Human Rights dialogue. We continue to call on the Indian government to expedite the ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol, and adopt robust domestic legislation to this effect. The UK made a specific recommendation on this issue during India’s Universal Periodic Review in May 2012. The EU Delegation in Delhi has also hosted a number of events on the importance of ratifying the Convention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of domestic violence and rape against wives from Asia, and whether in making that assessment they have identified any trend.

Lord Bates

This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls. We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.

The 2014/15 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates that 6.1% of adults aged 16 to 59 experienced any form of domestic abuse in the last year, down from 8.9% in the 2004/05 survey. While the latest estimate is not statistically significantly different from recent years, it is the lowest since these questions were first asked in 2004/05.

The 2014/15 CSEW also estimates that 0.3% of adults aged 16 to 59 had been a victim of rape (including attempts) in the last year. Due to the low number of respondents to the survey that have been a victim of this crime, it is not possible to say whether this estimate differs from surveys conducted in other years. However, prevalence of less serious sexual assault has fallen from 2.3% in the 2004/05 CSEW to 1.5% in the 2014/15 survey.

Data from the CSEW cannot be disaggregated by ethnicity, nor by the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the US regarding the implementation of HR158 under the Visa Waiver Programme Improvement and Terrorist Prevention Act 2015, which prevents British nationals from travelling to the US if they may have visited Iran, Sudan, Iraq or Syria in the last five years; and what assessment they have made of whether that implementation is discriminatory.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While US immigration processes are a matter for the US authorities, we have raised with the US administration the importance of clearly communicating changes to their immigration policy. The US Customs and Border Protection service has stated publicly that “the religion, faith, or spiritual beliefs of an international traveller are not determining factors about his/her admissibility into the US”. We remain in close contact with the US Embassy in order to avoid inconvenience to British nationals travelling to the US.