Tag: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in hosting Syrian refugees.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The first group of Syrian refugees arrived in the UK on 25 March as part of the Government’s Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) Scheme. The next group of refugees is expected to arrive this month, with further groups to follow on a regular basis. We continue to work with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to establish a steady flow of cases.

Whilst there is no set quota, we predict that the VPR scheme will support several hundred people over the next three years.

A number of local authorities have indicated that they would like to participate in the scheme, and we are in discussions with other local authorities who have expressed an interest.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in complying with the European Union Directive 2008/50/EC on air quality.

Lord De Mauley

The UK reports compliance with the limit values in the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) to the European Commission in September each year. The last report related to concentrations of air pollutants in 2012. This indicated that the UK met both the daily and annual limit values for particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less (PM₁₀)and complied with the EU limit values for sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene and lead.

Meeting the nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) limit values alongside busy roads continues to be a significant challenge for the UK and most other Member States. In 2012, 32 zones exceeded the annual mean limit value (or margin of tolerance for zones with a time extension) and two exceeded the hourly mean limit value. The UK is investing heavily in measures to reduce emissions, in particular from transport, and over £2bn worth of measures have been announced since 2011. These measures will address both particulate matter and NO₂.

Further information is available in the series of reports on ‘Air Pollution in the UK’ available at: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to combat domestic violence.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The Government is determined to do all it can to tackle domestic violence and abuse and bring perpetrators to justice. Our approach is set out in our strategy, ‘Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ published in November 2010, together with a supporting Action Plan. A revised version of the Action Plan was published in March 2014 and contains a hundred and fifty actions across Government departments.

We are committed to ensuring that the police response to victims of domestic violence is as good as it can be. That is why last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to conduct an all force review of domestic violence. HMIC published its findings on 27 March 2014 and highlighted serious failings in the police response. In response to the review, the Home Secretary is leading a series of measures to improve the police response. This includes establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that the police must make significant improvements and that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014 to address HMIC’s findings.

The Coalition Government is also committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. That is why on 8 March 2014, we commenced the national rollout of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme across England and Wales and why we are currently providing funding for 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and 54 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference co-ordinators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in relation to tensions between North and South Korea following North Korea’s artillery shelling and detonation near the border between those countries.

Baroness Warsi

On 31 March 2014, during a pre-planned and pre-advised live-fire exercise, a small number of artillery shells from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea landed in waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea. The Republic of Korea military responded with its own artillery fire into waters on the northern side of the NLL. There were no reported casualties.

We have been monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with international partners. The situation is currently calmer but tensions remain high. In a Written Ministerial Statement on 31 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), urged both sides to exercise restraint and not to retaliate further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the safety of pedestrians.

Baroness Kramer

The Government has already taken a range of steps to improve and promote pedestrian safety, including making it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mile per hour zones and launching a new THINK! resource centre to help teachers educate children and teens on road safety.

We will continue to work with delivery partners, including local authorities, to identify further opportunities for improving pedestrian safety.

We welcome vehicle manufacturers developing autonomous emergency braking systems which can automatically detect pedestrians and, where necessary, apply the brakes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote ethnic minority recruitment to the police.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Improved diversity in policing is absolutely necessary to cut crime in a modern, diverse society, while building the trust and confidence of local
communities. It is important police forces reflect the communities they serve. While progress has been made to increase diversity of the workforce, the Government has said that there is still more for forces to do.

This Government’s reforms have already made improvements, for example we set up the College of Policing which has embarked on a major programme to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers. Locally Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure that the public’s priorities on crime and community safety are acted upon.

The Home Office is actively engaged with the College and forces to ensure that this work is given appropriate priority and that learning, best practice and opportunities are identified and shared.