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Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report commissioned by the British Pakistan Christian Association, entitled Education, Human Rights Violations in Pakistan and the Scandal Involving UNHRC and Asylum Seekers in Thailand; and whether, in the light of this report, they plan to review the risk of the persecution of Christians in Pakistan and update their guidance document Pakistan: Christians and Christian Converts.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office will be considering the report commissioned by the British Pakistani Christian Association alongside a range of other material to make a full assessment of the situation of Christians in Pakistan, and will revise its country information and guidance if necessary.

    The Home Office considers that the treatment of asylum seekers in Thailand is primarily a matter for the Thai authorities.

  • 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 are the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Responsibility to Protectframework inrelation to the Central African Republic.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK is committed to the concept of the Responsibility to Protect which was endorsed by all UN Member States in 2005. This included a declaration that the international community should encourage and help states to fulfil their responsibilities to their own populations, and be prepared to take action if a state failed to do so. The UK supports international efforts to protect the population of the Central African Republic (CAR), including through the UN Security Council. This was demonstrated by our co-sponsorship of the UN Security Council Resolution to authorise a UN Peacekeeping Mission in CAR (MINUSCA). MINUSCA will assume responsibility for stabilisation and the protection of civilians from the African Union mission (MISCA) in September, and we are supporting ongoing efforts to ensure a timely and effective transition.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will answer the question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 10 June (HL Deb, col 236), and on 11 June (HL Deb, col 418), about whether asylum in the United Kingdom will be offered to Meriam Ibrahim, who has been imprisoned and given a death sentence in Sudan.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The UK has a proud record of offering sanctuary to those who need it. Each claim for asylum is carefully considered and where we find individuals are in need of our protection, asylum is given. However, to be eligible for international protection, a person must be located outside of their country of origin.

  • 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 assessment they have made of the medium-termhumanitarian,securityand protection risksin the Central African Republic.

    Baroness Warsi

    The humanitarian and security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is extremely poor. The UK is playing a strong role as part of the international community’s response, including through significant humanitarian aid, support to the African Union and EU support missions – the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) and the European Union Force (EUFOR), and co-sponsorship of the UN Security Council Resolution that authorised a UN Peacekeeping Operation (PKO). The UN PKO will deploy in September and will have a comprehensive mandate with an initial focus on protecting civilians. However, CAR represents a challenging environment and there is a clear risk insecurity will continue to affect the population of CAR in the medium term. This would continue to affect CAR’s neighbours, including through refugee numbers.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will answer the question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 11 June (HL Deb, col 418) about what action is being taken to ensure the safety of those reported to have fled the city of Mosul following its capture by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.

    Baroness Northover

    As of 17 June, following the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) –led alliance in Northern Iraq, the UK is providing an initial £3 million of emergency humanitarian assistance to help displaced civilians. Following an assessment of needs on the ground by DFID humanitarian experts who deployed to Erbil last Thursday 12 June, this includes:

    (i) – Activation of the UK’s Rapid Response Facility (RRF), which provides emergency support via pre-approved organisations in the event of a humanitarian crisis overseas. This initial package of UK support comprises clean water and sanitation, essential medicine, women-friendly hygiene kits and basic household items, which will be provided from £2 million of RRF funding to NGOs in the region.

    (ii) – Protection for vulnerable girls and women through the deployment of dedicated UN safety and welfare teams in key internally displaced person and refugee camp sites and areas, secured through £1 million of funding to the UNHCR.

    The UK will continue to monitor the situation closely and we are considering urgently what other assistance we could provide.

  • 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 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of the financial settlement paid to the Department for Work and Pensions by Atos upon their withdrawal from the Work Capability Assessment Scheme.

    Lord Freud

    Information regarding the financial settlement between the Department and Atos Healthcare for early exit from the contract to deliver Work Capability Assessments is commercial in confidence.

  • 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 further to support the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic.

    Baroness Warsi

    The International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) has been crucial in protecting Central African Republic (CAR)’s citizens, and will continue to play a vital role ahead of the deployment of the UN Peacekeeping Operation in September 2014. The UK is providing a strategic communications expert to the African Union (AU) to support the efforts of MISCA, in January contributed £2 million to cover some of MISCA’s basic costs, and works closely with the AU more broadly to build its capacity. We will consider any further requests for support.

  • 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.