Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting (1) Barnardos, (2) Save the Children, (3) Oxfam, (4) Citizens UK, (5) the Trussell Trust, (6) Magic Breakfast, (7) FareShare, (8) FoodCycle, (9) Baby Basics, (10) The Children’s Society, and (11) any other organisations, about food and fuel poverty and the relationship between benefit sanctions and food and fuel poverty; and if not, why not.

Lord Freud

The Department for Work and Pensions constantly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, interested parties and other organisations across a wide range of issues that affect those receiving benefits.

The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger, and the Church report ‘Time to rethink benefit sanctions’, amongst others, all recognise that the reasons that people use food banks are complex and overlapping. There is no robust evidence that links sanctions and food bank use.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the value of Palestinian universities as a human resource for Palestine and the wider Middle East; and what additional resources and support they plan to provide for their development and contribution to peace-building.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While the British Government has not made any assessment of the value of Palestinian universities, we do continue to encourage links between UK and Palestinian institutions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the number of Palestinian civilians, including children, killed in the Occupied Territories by Israeli Forces and by settlers, whether they will call on the government of Israel to review its policy on the use of lethal force and to eliminate all impunity for the use of excessive force.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has repeatedly raised with the Israeli government our concerns about incidents of settler violence and intimidation, including the importance of the Israeli authorities bringing extremist settlers to justice and providing adequate protection for the Palestinian civilian population. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised our concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, most recently on 19 November with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs and Public Security. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv also raised the issue of force with the Head of the Civil Department of the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Civil Department on 24 November, and the Israeli National Security Council on 18 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last made representations to the government of Turkey about freedom of expression and information, as provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights, and with what result.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We continue to monitor specific cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. Our Ambassador to Turkey highlighted his concerns about the number of journalists detained in Turkey, including Mr Dündar and Mr Gül, in his public blog released on International Human Rights day. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in these and other areas. Freedom of expression must be respected and all media outlets must be allowed to report freely without intimidation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have for achieving access in compliance with UN Resolutions to food and medicines for those Syrians now cut off from external supplies.

Earl of Courtown

The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.

The UK plays a key role in ensuring humanitarian access to Syria. By 30 November 2015, at least 222 shipments of cross-border aid had been delivered as a direct result of the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enables the UN to deliver aid into Syria without the consent of the regime.

The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.

We continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many persons are now officially held in detention without charge in Iraq, and their affiliations, and what steps they are taking to collect accurate data about such detainees.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We do not have accurate figures on the numbers being held without charge or their affiliations. During my visit to Iraq in November, I met the Iraqi Minister of Justice, Haider Al Zamili, and raised a number of issues relating to the justice system, prison system and rehabilitation processes. Our Ambassador in Baghdad has raised detention without charge with the Minister of Justice on several occasions.

Last year, the Iraqi Minister of Justice visited London to gain a better understanding of how the prison system operates in the UK. The Minister has committed to ensuring that the issue of detention without charge is addressed and is investigating how the process of charge and trial can be speeded up, as part of the Government of Iraq’s strategy to combat overcrowding in prisons. We will continue to encourage the Ministry to improve the prison system and offer assistance where we can.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether means have yet been found, through UN agencies or otherwise, for purchasing the large supplies of grain recently available in the Jazira Canton of Syria.

Baroness Verma

At the "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference on 4 February more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict. This is the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

The UN reports that the potential to purchase grain from the Jazira Canton of Syria is unchanged compared with their analysis of June 2015. The Jazira Canton, covering the wheat producing areas of Al Hassakeh and Ar Raqqa, remains under the control of the Syrian regime, the Kurdish authorities and Daesh. Humanitarian access to these areas is therefore, restricted by continued violence, insecurity and wilful obstruction. Control of access routes in the Jazira Canton by armed groups means that the UN are unable to access wheat producing areas, assess the quality of the wheat produced, or transport it to other regions. In addition, the milling capacity within Al Hassakeh governorate is insufficient to meet the operational needs of the UN. According to the UN, bread availability in Al Hasakeh and Ar Raqqa is currently adequate, thus reducing the need for the UN to buy wheat grain for local distribution.

The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the UN World Food Programme , committing £227 million to provide food support in Syria and the region since the start of the crisis. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria had provided over 15.1 million food rations, each of which feeds one person for one month; access to clean water for over 1.6 million people; and more than 4 million relief packages.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the governments of other European countries that riot police should not normally be used to control refugees and migrants in Europe.

Lord Bates

Our consistent focus has been on encouraging a comprehensive solution to the current migratory situation in Europe. This includes strengthening the EU’s external border and enhanced cooperation with Turkey and Western Balkans countries, as well as short and long term work with countries of transit and origin further upstream, and efforts to combat the people smugglers and traffickers who take advantage of the situation to put lives at risk.

Public order is a matter for national governments and we expect all our international partners to ensure that migrants’ human rights are fully respected.

We continue to work closely with our European partners to address all aspects of the current situation as it continues to develop. For those in genuine need, we are clear that protection in the region of origin is often the best solution and that those reaching the EU should claim asylum in the first Member State they enter (as per EU rules) rather than seeking to travel further across Europe to their destination of choice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Prime Minister, on 7 March in Brussels, described those fleeing across the Aegean Sea as illegally crossing, in the light of the fact that Turkey is not a party to the UN Convention on Refugees, which Greece and other EU member states are.

Lord Bates

Migrants travelling across the Aegean Sea may be referred to as illegally crossing if they have no permission (such as a visa) to enter Greece or another Member State. The same would apply if someone applied for asylum in the UK: if they have entered the UK illegally, then they would be treated as an illegal entrant, irrespective of whether they make a claim for asylum or not.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, in cases where foreign national offenders are given sentences of 12 months imprisonment or more, to ensure that deportation processes begin as soon as the offender reaches prison.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The removal of foreign national offenders (FNOs) has been increasing year on year since 2010/11. In 2015, the Home Office removed 5,602 FNOs, with 2,059 FNOs removed within the Early Removal Scheme period.

The Home Office aims to commence deportation proceedings as quickly as possible for all FNOs upon receiving the referral from the National Offenders Management Service, which happens upon sentencing. The timescales for commencing deportation action depend on the length of the custodial sentence a person receives. For example, if an offender receives a short sentence, such as 12 months or less, deportation action is initiated immediately upon referral. Where an offender receives an indeterminate sentence, deportation action will commence closer to their date of release, as cases are prioritised based on sentence length.

(1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. (2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office’s Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases. (3) Total FNO removals figures relate to those cases that have been deported, administratively removed or voluntarily departed from UK.