Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5646), 14 March (HL6504) and 24 March (HL6955), what was the purpose of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) no longer placing lay summaries of human embryo research proposals on the HFEA website prior to consideration by the Licence Committee.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it is unable to provide information about this decision beyond that set out in the response to the Noble Lord on 24 March (HL6955). The HFEA’s Business Plan for 2016/17 commits the organisation to a review of the operational aspects of applications for research licences.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have evidence that the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Peoples Protection Units have rescued some captive Yazidi women; what assessment they have made of whether the Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga have carried out any rescues, and if so, whether they have offered to assist them; and whether the same British technology that is able to identify ISIS commanders has been used to identify and to rescue women captives.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of media reports about organisations that are working to free those being held hostage by Daesh. We do not have any information regarding the rescue of Yezidi captives by either the Kurdistan Workers Party or the Peoples Protection Units. During offensive operations against Daesh, Yezidi hostages have been freed by the Peshmerga. We continue to work in support of Iraqi and Kurdish Regional government forces towards defeating this terrible organisation. The UK has been at the forefront of these efforts and plays a leading role in a Global Coalition of 66 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 22 January 2008 (WA 28), 21 April 2008 (WA 234) and 12 May 2008 (WA 109–10), what assessment the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made of the recently published research in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature17948) and Nature Cell Biology (DOI: 10.1038/ncb3347); and whether in the light of that research it has changed its conclusion that outgrowing human embryos cultured in vitro for more than 14 days could no longer be considered to be live human embryos as a matter of principle.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has not made a formal assessment of the recently published research in Nature (Deglincerti A. et al. 2016 and Shahbazi MN. et al. 2016). The HFEA has also advised that it is not expected that this research will lead to a change in the Authority’s assessment of embryonic masses, which form when embryos outgrow their structure. However, this research will be drawn to the attention of the HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee at its meeting in June.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have raised the recent murder of Khurram Zaki, and his campaign work, with the government of Pakistan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We condemn the murder of Khurram Zaki in Karachi on 7 May. As a journalist and human rights activist, Khurram Zaki campaigned against sectarian violence and religious extremism in Pakistan. His murder is a sad reminder of the hostile climate in which Pakistani campaigners and journalists operate.

Under its National Action Plan, the Government of Pakistan is taking steps to improve security by tackling terrorist and extremist elements. We continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice all its human rights obligations and uphold the rule of law. During his visit to Pakistan in March, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the importance we attach to safeguarding the rights of all Pakistan citizens regardless of ethnicity, faith or political views.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the US Treasury decision to impose sanctions on North Korean senior officials in the light of reported human rights abuses; and whether they plan to impose similar sanctions.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The US decision to designate senior members of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) regime follows its decision to introduce the US North Korea Sanctions Policy Enhancement Act in February 2016. The British Government shares the objective of maintaining pressure on the DPRK to fulfil its international human rights obligations and is deeply concerned by the human rights situation in the DPRK. It regularly consults with partners such as the US, the EU and regional partners on the best way to achieve this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they made of the risks to national security and to service personnel before publishing the names of soldiers and potential recruits online.

Earl Howe

The Armed Forces have a long history of publishing a nominal roll of serving officers, in the form of the ‘The Navy List’, ‘The Army List’ and the ‘The Air Force List’, generically known as the Armed Forces Lists.

The Armed Forces Lists’ information was first published online in 2014, following requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and as part of our overall commitment to transparency. This information was judged to be releasable, having previously been published annually for over 200 years.

In September 2015, the policy on the publication of the Armed Forces Lists was reviewed and a decision was made to significantly reduce the information published, limiting this to information on officers at one star rank (Brigadier and equivalents) and above, except in respect of the Royal Navy. Details of those officers commanding a warship would continue to be published through release of a suitable version of the ‘Fleet Bridge Card’, which provides information on the number of RN Senior officers in command of the Fleet, the Flotillas and the warships. This decision was informed by advice on security risks. The previous Service Lists published on the Gov.uk website have now been removed.

Names of soldiers at Warrant Officer rank and below and potential recruits have never been published online in the Armed Forces Lists.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments of Baroness Goldie on 8 September (HL Deb, col GC173), how much UK aid has been given in total to Pakistan over the past five years, and what percentage of that has been used (1) to assist and protect minorities, and (2) to promote Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Since financial year 2011-12, the UK has provided more than £1.2 billion of Official Development Assistance to Pakistan. A commitment by Pakistan to respect human rights is one of the three principles set out in the Development Partnership Arrangement which provides the basis for regular bilateral assistance talks between the UK and Pakistan.

The UK Government raises human rights issues and the rights of minorities on a regular basis at the highest levels in Pakistan and we ensure our development assistance targets poor women, men and children, regardless of race, religion, social background, or nationality. DFID does not fund programmes that directly promote Article 18, but we do help to foster tolerance and social cohesion between different religious groups through our AAWAZ voice and accountability programme in 4,500 villages across 45 districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It reaches over 3 million poor men, women and minority groups, including religious minorities, to address issues of inequality, discrimination and prevention of violence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the direct costs of the British Embassy in Pyongyang, broken down into (1) locally employed staff, (2) estate expenditure, (3) security, (4) vehicle costs, (5) travel, (6) subsistence and (7) allowances; and what is the cost of Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded activities broken down by individual projects in North Korea for 2016.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The total budget allocation for the British Embassy in Pyongyang this financial year is £203,627, which is used to cover a variety of costs including the estate, local travel, fuel and vehicle maintenance and local staff wages. For operational and security reasons we do not disclose the precise breakdown of the costs of maintaining certain posts. The bilateral programme fund budget for the British Embassy Pyongyang this financial year is approximately £235,000, which includes £200,000 for the British Council English Language Programme, £9,456 for a project to support disabled people in South Hamgyong and North Pyongan province, and £16,691 to provide a secure supply of drinking water to a remote North Korean community.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures have been put in place to ensure that EU funds committed to the Khartoum Process are not embezzled by corrupt officials; and whether they have investigated whether there has been collusion between Sudanese security officials and human traffickers.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

​All EU funds committed to the Khartoum Process are managed by Member States’ Development Agencies or International Organisations. No funding will be channelled through the beneficiary countries’ government structures.

We are deeply concerned by the reports of collusion between Sudanese security officials and human traffickers, and have raised this issue directly with the government of Sudan as part of our wider engagement on migration. The UK is supporting the Sudanese judiciary to implement new anti-trafficking legislation by helping them improve their understanding of both this and the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider imposing travel bans on, and freezing the assets of, senior figures in the Maldives who have been involved in the suspension of constitutional protections in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) made clear in his statement on 4 November, we are deeply worried by recent developments in the Maldives. While we welcomed the lifting of the State of Emergency on 10 November, we now urge the government to fully uphold the commitments it has made – including as a member of the Commonwealth – to democracy and the rule of law. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we are carefully considering our next steps.