Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what expertise in the design and supervision of aid and development projects, if any, is available within EU diplomatic posts outside the EU; and if none, whether they will call for a halt to further projects.

Baroness Verma

The EU Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) is responsible for designing European international cooperation and development policy and delivering aid throughout the world.

As of 1 January 2015 DG DEVCO had approximately 3600 Staff (officials, contractual agents, local agents and other categories of external staff) both in Headquarters (35%) and in EU Delegations (65%). DG DEVCO has the greatest number of Commission staff in EU Delegations (2350 – approximately 44%). The Commission also draws on Member State contributions to complement and supplement its own expertise. For example, as well drawing on expertise in policy technical experts meetings and management committees, there are a significant number of specialists drawn from Member States under the Seconded National Experts arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will reinstate legal aid for qualifying UK residents seeking to re-unite with their immediate family members from overseas; and if not, why not.

Lord Keen of Elie

Our limited legal aid resources should be available for the highest priority cases and to the most financially vulnerable. There are no plans to change the legal aid arrangements for family reunion. As with all cases outside the scope of legal aid, exceptional funding may be available where required under ECHR or EU law.

Guidance to support applications for family reunion is available from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). UKVI issue guidance to help applicants, and the types of evidence requested to accompany an application – such as marriage and birth certificates – will usually be straightforward to collate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of France about their plans for the refugee camp at Calais, known as The Jungle; in particular (1) whether the site will be forcibly reduced to 500 women and children in the Jules Ferry Centre, and 1500 others in container units; (2) what facilities for cooking and education there will be for the latter; and (3) what is to happen to current residents who are not willing to move to the semi-permanent units or to go to centres d’accueil.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The management of the migrant camp in Calais is the responsibility of the French government. The French authorities plan to reduce the size of the Calais camp and improve humanitarian conditions, and are encouraging migrants to move into the heated containers or to one of the reflection centres (centres d’accueil) across France. We do not have details of how many people will remain at the site nor further information of the facilities in the camp. We have however cooperated closely with the French in their efforts to improve conditions in Calais by: providing support and facilities elsewhere in the country; carrying out joint visits to the camps to inform migrants about their rights and responsibilities; putting in place a joint programme to identify the most vulnerable migrants and moving them to a place of safety; increasing the number of places in the French asylum system and encouraging those in Calais to claim asylum. Migration issues were discussed at the UK-France Summit on 3 March. The summit communiqué provides details of the further cooperation agreed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make further supplies of British arms and ammunition to Saudi Arabia conditional on the ending of attacks on civilians in Yemen.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country, including Saudi Arabia, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria.

The conflict in Yemen is being monitored closely, and relevant information gathered from that monitoring is taken into account as part of the careful risk assessment for the licensing of exports to Saudi Arabia. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the present conditions of (1) the Gaza Strip, and (2) the Mosul Dam in Iraq, are suitable candidates for examinations under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reductions; and if so, what action they plan to take.

Baroness Verma

The UK is deeply concerned by the conditions in Gaza and the risk of the Mosul Dam failing in Iraq. The Sendai Framework is a non-binding framework that covers natural disasters and therefore is not the most appropriate tool for Gaza and Mosul. The UK is a strong advocate for the framework’s aims. We remain committed to supporting the most vulnerable countries and communities to better withstand and recover from the impact of disasters. The framework reflects fully a number of longstanding priorities and areas of expertise which are already being taken forward by DFID to support developing countries to help them to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks and build resilience, through its support to multilaterals and through its country programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will propose that the three billion euros offered to Turkey from the EU be transferred to the UNHCR World Food Programme for work in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan for refugees and displaced people, in particular for continuing child and adult education.

Baroness Verma

The purpose of the EU-Turkey Refugee Facility is to provide support to refugees and host communities in Turkey. We expect that the Facility will provide immediate humanitarian support, as well as help meet longer-term development needs, such as education.

The first projects funded through the Facility are starting to be implemented, for example through the World Food Programme and UNICEF.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy regarding Somali refugees in Kenya and the presence of Kenyan armed forces in Somalia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government recognises the significant burden that the Government of Kenya faces in housing a large number of Somali refugees. We encourage the Government of Kenya to maintain its global leadership role on this issue as well as its international obligations. We, and the international community, support the continued dialogue with the Government of Somalia and the Tripartite agreement which provides a legal framework for the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees.

We strongly support Kenyan troops deployed to Somalia as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). AMISOM has made important progress against Al Shabaab since 2007, who continue to pose a significant terrorist threat in Somali and the region. We greatly value the contribution made by Kenya and the other troop contributing countries, and recognise the sacrifices that the Kenyan Defence Forces are making.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the events surrounding the murder in August 2008 of the Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and the convictions of seven men for that crime.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

India’s constitution provides for an independent judiciary. The court case and conviction are a matter for the Indian courts.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the use of torture by Israeli Security Forces and Israeli authorities in the West Bank and Gaza; and whether they plan to prosecute alleged torturers who reach the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Whilst we have not made any assessment on this issue, the UK is firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as compliance with international humanitarian law. We regularly discuss implementation of those obligations with the Israeli authorities. We have confirmed with the Israeli authorities that Israel is in the process of incorporating the crime of torture into national legislation. The appropriate authorities in the UK for the investigation and prosecution of crimes are the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, which function independently of Government in these matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why fees in the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal are to be increased, and what percentage of requests for a waiver of such fees were refused in each quarter since the beginning of 2015 to date.

Lord Keen of Elie

The financial challenges faced by the Government means taking tough decisions on reducing public spending across a wide range of services.

That is why the Government consulted on proposals to increase fees in asylum and immigration proceedings.

Breaking down the data requested by quarter would incur disproportionate costs.