Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to participate in the conference about the attacks on Yazidis, Christians and others by ISIS organised by the US State Department in Washington DC on 29 July; if so, who will represent them and whether whilst attending that conference they will explain why they have not supported the genocide declarations passed by the House of Commons and the US Congress.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK will attend the State Department Consultation on Threats to Religious and Ethnic Minorities under Daesh on 28 and 29 July. It will be represented by a senior official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The consultation will be used to discuss what countries are doing to protect minorities under Daesh and what more can be done. As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) made clear during his visit to Washington on 21 July, the Government is fully committed to working with international partners to ensure Daesh is held to account for its crimes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to engage in increased consultation with civil society and UK-based and international human rights NGOs around the UK–China Human Rights Dialogue, including increasing transparency and accountability.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Ministers and officials meet civil society representatives on a regular basis to hear their views and benefit from their expertise on the human rights situation in China. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) met Chinese NGOs during his recent visit to China. He plans to host a round table with UK-based NGOs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the near future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money they have allocated this financial year towards peace-building and reconciliation initiatives and towards the restoration of plurality and diversity in Iraq and post-war Syria; and how much has been allocated for each of the next five years.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

For the 2016/17 financial year the UK Government allocated £3.7 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) towards promoting reconciliation in Iraq. These funds contribute to addressing the long-term factors that led to Daesh’s rise. In Iraq the funding supports efforts to encourage political reform and reconciliation through the passage and implementation of legislation, building the capacity of decision makers to craft a strategic vision for reconciliation, and creating a space for dialogue between the government and all of Iraq’s communities. In Syria, we have committed over £7 million from the CSSF for the 2016/17 financial year towards the promotion of reconciliation, specifically in supporting local councils, moderate voices and civil society groups who work to increase community engagement in local conflicts. We are also supporting Track II political dialogue and peace building work, through education, interfaith coexistence and reconciliation training.

For financial year 2017/18, and subsequent years, the final allocation of funding for promoting reconciliation in both Iraq and Syria is yet to be decided. However, this will remain a critical area for our programme funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the indictment of Omar al Bashir for genocide and human rights abuses in Sudan, what is the current level of engagement with the Sudanese regime and whether that level of engagement has increased, or is planned to increase.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In order to maximise our ability to persuade all parties to the conflicts in Sudan to end the fighting and allow the Sudanese people the security and development they deserve, we need to have a greater level of direct engagement with the government of Sudan. For that reason, we have started a Strategic Dialogue with the government of Sudan, which provides a necessary platform for us to raise issues of concern, including human rights, and at the same time explore possibilities for cooperation on a wide range of UK interests. The Strategic Dialogue process does not change our position of maintaining only‘essential contact’ with President Bashir, given his outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UK remains a firm supporter of the ICC and encourages all States to act on its indictment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the call by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea for the Kim regime in North Korea to be referred to the International Criminal Court, and whether they intend to discuss that recommendation with each of the other members of the UN Security Council.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain concerned by the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We have recently worked with the EU and Japan to co-author a UN resolution on the human rights situation in the DPRK which calls for accountability. We are now working to achieve strong support for this resolution.

We hold regular meetings with other UN Security Council member states to identify ways in which we can improve the DPRK’s human rights record. Our most recent meeting was at the UN in New York during October. We will continue to engage with key partners and allies to ensure the need for accountability remains at the heart of the international community’s work to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports from the Shan Human Rights Foundation that between 9 and 12 November the Burmese Army carried out shelling and aerial bombing of Mong Nawng and that those attacks constitute war crimes.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are concerned by reports of continued fighting in Shan State, including around Mong Nawng and Wanhai, which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates has displaced approximately 6,000 people since 6 October. Our Ambassador in Rangoon raised our concerns about the conflict in Shan with the Burmese military on 20 November. The UK has played a leading role in supporting efforts to broker ceasefire agreements, funding expert advice to both sides in support of dialogue and peacemaking.

We welcomed the signing of a ceasefire agreement on 15 October and we continue to urge armed groups who did not sign the ceasefire and the Burmese government to engage in ceasefire talks to bring the conflict to an end.

The UK has made no assessment of whether these allegations amount to war crimes. Any determination as to whether specific international crimes have occurred is a matter for an international judicial decision rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps will be taken to ensure that individuals with learning disabilities have access to good quality healthcare, in the light of reports by Mencap that there are 1,200 avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability in the NHS annually.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government’s response to the recommendations in the report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry included a wide range of measures aimed at improving safety and quality as well as ensuring compassionate care for everyone who uses National Health Service services, including people with disabilities.

NHS organisations should comply with existing legislation, frameworks and guidance aimed at ensuring they identify and meet the needs of people with learning disabilities in commissioning and delivering safe, high quality care to all individuals, groups and communities of their populations.

From June 2016, the Department will publish independently assured, ratings of the quality of healthcare offered to people with learning disabilities in all clinical commissioning group areas, to highlight variations and to allow rapid action to be taken when improvement is needed.

NHS England continues to work to improve access to good quality healthcare for people with learning disabilities, including:

‒ improving identification of people with learning disabilities in health care records to ensure that reasonable adjustments can be made, communication needs addressed and crisis plans developed;

‒ encouraging the use of health passports when people access services so that professionals and staff are aware of their needs;

‒ improving identification on cancer screening information systems;

‒ ensuring that people with learning disabilities are identified as a priority group to receive flu vaccinations;

‒ improving access to NHS 111, Accident and Emergency and other services; and

‒ increasing the number of people who are eligible getting an annual learning disability health check from their general practitioner.

NHS England has also commissioned a learning disabilities Premature Mortality Review programme led by the University of Bristol from June 2015 to review and learn from deaths of people with a learning disability with the aim of improving services, care and support nationally.

These initiatives will help to raise awareness and to tackle the inequalities experienced by those with learning disability, including where associated with Down’s syndrome.

In addition, the Care Certificate, which was introduced in April 2015, is helping NHS service providers to ensure that their new healthcare assistants have the right fundamental skills and knowledge, including in communication and awareness of learning disability.

Health Education England will work with healthcare providers to ensure that the continuing personal and professional development of staff continues beyond the end of formal training to enable staff to deliver safe and high quality healthcare and public health services both now and in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Home Office has received any applications from researchers at the Francis Crick Institute to study the impact on implantation or miscarriage of genetic alterations introduced by genome editing in non-human primates, and if so, when.

Lord Bates

The use of non-human primates in scientific procedures is highly regulated and non-human primates can only be used where there is no other suitable animal and where a full harm-benefit analysis has been carried out. In 2014, the last year for which we have data, there was no use of genetically altered non-human primates.

The release of information on specific licence applications is restricted in order to protect the identities of people and places and to avoid the release of valuable intellectual property.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has made of recent research suggesting that the eggs of older women can be rejuvenated through injections of mitochondria from other cells; what data collected from clinics the HFEA holds regarding the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, and what evidence it has received from (1) OvaScience, (2) Professor Simon Fishel, and (3) other sources, that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related exponential increases in oocyte aneuploidy; what published randomised trials the HFEA has been made aware of regarding the Augment technique, and what assessment it has made of those trials; and what assessment the HFEA has made of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advises that it does not hold data from clinics on the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, nor has it received evidence from OvaScience, Professor Simon Fishel or other sources that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related increases in oocyte chromosomal aneuploidy.

The HFEA also advises that it has not been made aware of any published randomised trials regarding the Augment technique and has not made an assessment of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals. It is currently considering whether techniques, which involve addition of autologous mitochondria to eggs, would be legal in the United Kingdom (under the framework of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended). Part of this consideration involves considering the claims made for Augment by Ovascience.

The HFEA has not received any formal applications for clinical use of the Augment technique, and has not made an assessment of the ruling by the US Food and Drugs Administration to which the Noble Lord refers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bates on 8 February (HL Deb, col 1980), what steps they are taking to persuade the government of Turkey to open the border at Oncupinar to enable Syrian refugees fleeing Russian aerial bombardment of the Aleppo Province to reach safety; what assessment they have made of how many refugees are at that border; and how many of those are estimated to be women and children.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We condemn the recent actions of the Syrian regime, driving civilians from their homes in and around Aleppo, and question the role of Russia in supporting this offensive. We are appalled by the humanitarian impact of these developments and the ongoing war in Syria. We assess that there are over 30,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of this action. On 8 February 2016, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released an initial assessment which estimated 80 per cent of IDPs to be women and children. We welcome Turkey’s generosity in hosting over 2.5m Syrian refugees in Turkey, a commitment reaffirmed by Prime Minister Davutoğlu at the 4 February London Syria Conference. The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have made clear that Turkey will continue to allow refugees to enter Turkey. The UK continues to work closely with the Turkish government, including through implementation of the EU-Turkey Action Plan, to ensure refugees continue to receive support and protection.