Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons for whom the British armed forces had a duty of care have been admitted to the UK for settlement in each year since 2001; and what sums of compensation have been paid for resettlement in other countries in that same period.

Earl Howe

I am responding with figures relating to Iraqi and Afghan civilian personnel employed by HM Armed Forces and admitted for settlement to the UK. Admissions date from 2008 and have taken place under ex gratia arrangements rather than on the basis of a duty of care.

A total of 1,323 Iraqi civilians have been relocated to the UK since the locally engaged staff (LES) assistance scheme was announced in 2007. This total comprises 367 former locally engaged staff and 956 dependants.

	Total
2008	171
2009	627
2010	130
2011	7
2012	125
2013	139
2014	69
2015	37
2016	18
TOTAL	1,323

Nearly 500 Afghan former LES are eligible to apply for relocation to the UK with their immediate families under the Afghan LES Ex Gratia Redundancy scheme, which was announced on 4 June 2013. 573 people, comprising 249 locally engaged staff and 324 dependants, have relocated to the UK up to the end of January 2016.

	Total
2014	55
2015	482
2016	36*
Total	573

*as at 31 January 2016

A number of Iraqi and Afghan former LES will have claimed asylum after entering the UK outside of the ex gratia arrangements; however, the relevant data is not held centrally.

We are not aware that any payments have been made for the resettlement of Iraqi or Afghan civilians to other countries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 18 February (HL5926), whether they intend to propose a system of sharing of expenditure by EU member states whereby those that accept smaller numbers of refugees for settlement proportionate to their own population size pay a higher fraction of national income towards programmes benefitting refugees both in Europe and outside it.

Baroness Verma

The UK encourages other EU member States to support programmes of assistance to refugees, as demonstrated most recently at the February Conference on Syria and the Region.

The UK is at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis, committing over £2.3 billion. We are prioritising our aid in Syria and neighbouring countries, where the scale of displacement is greatest. The Government has no plans to propose a system as suggested by the noble Lord.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take, if any, to get the current ceasefires in Syria enlarged to include the whole of south-east Turkey.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

There are no plans to extend the Syrian Cessation of Hostilities to south-east Turkey. Violence by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) must end and we support a return to peace talks between Turkey and the PKK, in the interests of Turkey and the wider region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the size of the prison population in Tunisia, in particular about alleged over-crowding in Mornaguai Prison near Tunis; and whether they will assist the government of Tunisia in processing cases and in providing defence counsel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In January 2016 the Tunisian authorities said that their prisons and detention centres were holding around 170 per cent of their capacity. The UN reported in March 2014 that Mornaguia prison was 25 per cent over its capacity. We have raised with the Tunisian authorities the importance of introducing reforms to the Penal Code. These would help address prison overcrowding.

We have no current plans to assist the Government of Tunisia in processing cases or providing defence counsel: the focus of our minimum £8 million support in this financial year is on Tunisia’s transition, security capacity building, governance and the economy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will discuss with the government of Turkey the early release of Abdullah Öcalan, in the light of his long solitary imprisonment, so as to assist the resumption of peace negotiations.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have no plans to discuss this particular case with the Government of Turkey. Abdullah Öcalan is the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a terrorist organisation proscribed in the UK that has killed over 350 people in violent attacks since July 2015. We have supported the peace process initiated by the Turkish government and hope the process can be restarted soon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to ask the government of Ethiopia to release Andy Tsege following his alleged torture and sentencing to death without a court hearing, and if not, why not.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government takes the detention and welfare of Mr Andargachew Tsege, who was transferred from Yemen and is imprisoned in Ethiopia, very seriously. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond), has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart over 20 times. The Minister for Africa, my Hon Friend, the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) has also raised the case, most recently on 8 January. Our focus has been on lobbying for Mr Tsege to have access to an independent lawyer who is able to advise him of his legal options. We believe that this is the best way to grant Mr Tsege the opportunity to resolve this case. Ministerial lobbying has already achieved the transfer of Mr Tsege to a normal federal prison and regular consular visits. We will continue to lobby the Ethiopian government until Mr Tsege is given access to a lawyer, and until our concerns about Mr Tsege’s case have been fully addressed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the new draft EU Resettlement Scheme to be made public; and what progress, if any, has been made in re-opening EU frontiers.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We understand the Commission are going to bring out a legislative proposal on resettlement with a Title V legal base shortly. We will consider the detail of the proposal once published.

The Schengen States agreed on 12 May that certain Schengen internal border controls in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway can remain raised until November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they made on 19 May to the government of Saudi Arabia about the case of Mr Waleed Abu Al-Khair; what response they received; and whether there has been any progress on that case since then.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are not aware of progress in the case of Walid Abu Al-Khair since last raised with the Saudi Arabian authorities on the 19 May. We believe that we will be more successful in discussing cases privately with Saudi Arabia and we will continue to follow this case closely and will raise when appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of the Philippines following reports that many hundreds of people have been killed by police and vigilantes on suspicion of involvement in drugs; and what assessment they have made of whether the courts and prisons in that country are capable of dealing with the large numbers of newly arrested suspects.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government’s view on the importance of the rule of law is clear, consistent and well known in the Philippines. Our Ambassador has repeatedly raised the Government’s concerns over drug-related killings with the Philippine Administration, including the Foreign Minister, Interior Secretary and Defence Secretary. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma), spoke of the importance of democratic accountability, human rights and the rule of law at a UK-Philippines trade and business event in London on 7 September.

Members of the Philippine Administration and Supreme Court have highlighted a lack of capacity within the courts and prisons to handle those newly arrested on suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs. We share this concern. The British Government supports the right to a fair trial and the humane treatment of detainees. The Government of the Philippines is taking some steps to increase the functionality of the justice system, including by increasing the number of specialist drug courts. Our Ambassador has conveyed the Government’s willingness to share its own experience of delivering a proportionate criminal justice response to illegal drug use and trafficking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning reports about recent arrests by Israeli police of members of the Balad Party and failures to disclose the nature of the charges made against several of those arrested.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, we understand that the members of the Balad Party were detained as part of an investigation into fraud in connection with illegally obtained funds used to finance party activities.