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Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the safety of embryos created using the DNA of three individuals.

    Earl Howe

    An expert panel, convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, has conducted three reviews of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease through assisted conception. The reports of the reviews were published in April 2011, March 2013 and, most recently, on 3 June 2014.

    All three reviews have found no evidence to suggest any of the techniques evaluated are unsafe. In its most recent report, the expert panel recommended that additional experiments should be completed before the techniques were used in clinical practice. The Government is considering the report and will announce its plans as soon as possible.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to the Howard League for Penal Reform’s request to the Ministry of Justice to reverse their ban on family and friends sending books to prisoners.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    There are important reasons why we have restricted the sending in of parcels by families and friends of prisoners and we do not intend to withdraw those restrictions. The changes we introduced last year in relation to parcels were to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.

    We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners’ welfare. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Prisoners may hold up to 12 books in their cell at any one time, and additional books can be stored locally at the prison. The National Offender Management Service also works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as ‘Toe by Toe’, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to commit troops to the European Union mission to the Central African Republic.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK will not be contributing combat troops to the European Union’s security operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR). However, the UK has helped EUFOR planning and has provided one Ministry of Defence officer to the Operational Headquarters in Larissa. The UK has also provided airlifts to help with its deployment, and is providing a share of EUFOR’s common costs.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of people (1) displaced, and (2) facing a humanitarian crisis, in the northern Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa as a result of the insurgency by Boko Haram; and what assessment they have made of the needs of those people for aid.

    Baroness Northover

    The UK Government supports the assessment of humanitarian needs in Northern Nigeria through OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Although figures are difficult to quantify, OCHA estimate 5.9 million people have been affected by the insurgency in northeast Nigeria and an estimated 350,000 people have been displacedsince May 2013, both within Nigeria and across the borders into Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Most displaced people are living in host communities, although around 5,000 are in camps. OCHA has assessed the priority needs of affected people as food, water, health and shelter.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the crisis in the Central African Republic on the Building StabilityOverseas Strategy.

    Baroness Northover

    The crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) has highlighted the importance of the cross-government approach set out in the Building Stability Overseas Strategy (BSOS), including rapid response, upstream prevention, and working in partnership with others in the international system. BSOS remains a core strategy for HMG’s work in fragile and conflict-affected states.

    In alignment with this, the UK continues to support international efforts to restore peace and security to CAR, some of which is funded by the Conflict Pool’s Early Action Facility, which was created to support BSOS. We have provided logistical support to the French Operation Sangaris and £2m in non-lethal support to the African-led International Support Mission to the CAR (MISCA). The UK has committed £23m in humanitarian support to CAR since July 2013, funding a range of NGOs and UN agencies to provide access to protection, food, water, shelter, health and sanitation.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the recovery of benefits through the Mesothelioma Support Scheme will yield; and what assurances they can give that some of this money will be spent on research for a cure for mesothelioma.

    Lord Freud

    Benefit and lump sum payments that were made in respect of mesothelioma will be recovered from the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) payment in the same way as they would be recovered from other compensation payments. The latest Impact Assessment for the DMPS dated 10 March 2014 estimates that the recovery of benefits in the first 10 years of the Scheme, to 31 March 2024, will be £72m.

    The issue of research is not directly a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions; however we have worked closely with the Department of Health to make progress in this area. This work has included setting up a partnership to identify mesothelioma research priorities which will lead to the National Institute for Health Research turning priorities into fundable research questions and to encourage applications from the research community. In addition the National Cancer Research Institute has a workshop planned on 02 May 2014 to discuss and develop new proposals for mesothelioma studies. The Government has established robust systems to ensure that funding is provided to the highest quality research bids. The work that the Department of Health is taking forward will support researchers in producing these bids and ensure that funding is allocated in a way that best supports sufferers of this terrible condition.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that Brunei’s proposal to introduce Sharia law executions violates the human rights principles of the Commonwealth Charter; and what representations they have made to Brunei about the matter.

    Baroness Warsi

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of an attack on 21 March on Kessab in northern Syria; whether they have made any estimate of the number of those killed in the attack and of those who have fled the town as a result; whether they have received any reports about the desecration of churches in the town; and what assessment they have made of the possible involvement of the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham in the attack.

    Baroness Warsi

    We are concerned by the reports of violence in Kessab, although it is impossible to establish an accurate figure of the numbers of people who have been killed or displaced. We believe that the majority of the ethnic Armenian population of the town has left, along with many other Syrians, because of the fighting in the area. We have not received any confirmed reports of churches being desecrated and we call for all places of worship to be respected. We understand that a range of groups has been involved in the fighting, including the Al-Nusrah Front. We urge all sides to the conflict in Syria to respect international humanitarian law and the rights of all Syrians. Both the Syrian National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army have repeatedly made clear their commitment to protecting all civilians, regardless of religious, ethnic and political affiliation.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the threat of a military campaign by Malian Jihadists in Chad; and of military action in Jebel Marra and Abyei in Sudan.

    Baroness Warsi

    We have not seen any reports of threatened military action by Malian fighters in Chad, Jebel Marra or Abyei. However, the UK is concerned about the vulnerability of fragile states across the region. For this reason, the UK supports efforts to increase regional co-operation on cross border threats such as those of the EU and UN. This approach is reflected for example in our integrated North and West Africa strategy.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report Marching to Genocide in Burma; and what, if any, action they intend to take in response.

    Baroness Warsi

    We share many of the concerns that United to End Genocide raise in their recent report on the plight of the Rohingya. We continue to press the Burmese government to find a long term solution to bring peace and reconciliation to the communities in Rakhine State. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), summoned the Burmese Ambassador on 7 April and called on the Burmese government urgently to restore humanitarian access to all communities in need, and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State. Mr Swire raised our wider concerns about the situation in Rakhine State with senior Burmese Ministers during his visit in January. I personally discussed the situation with Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, Dr Kan Zaw, during his visit to the UK in March.

    We remain in close contact with Médecins Sans Frontières and have made clear to the Burmese government their responsibility to ensure services are adequately delivered. We continue to maintain that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with immediately through a clear and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards.