The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimates they have made of the impact on levels of both homelessness and destitution of the enactment of the Immigration Bill.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We expect migrants with no lawful basis to remain to leave the UK. The Immigration Bill will provide the means by which accommodation and other support can be made available in appropriate circumstances prior to their departure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek to achieve a local ceasefire around the Yarmouk Camp in south Damascus so that UNWRA can deliver food to the population in the Camp.
Baroness Verma
The UK is extremely concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yarmouk camp in Syria, where intensified fighting between Daesh and Al- Nusra Front in recent weeks has exacerbated the suffering of approximately 6,000 civilians there, who are besieged by Syrian regime forces.
The UK will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. We do not think it would be feasible to broker a local ceasefire in Yarmouk camp, given the parties involved in the fighting there. However, through the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) the UK will continue to support the resumption of a nationwide Cessation of Hostilities as a step towards an inclusive, Syrian-owned political transition.
The UK is committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in need inside Syria wherever they are. As part of the ISSG we agreed with other members on 11 February that humanitarian access should be opened to a number of priority areas, including Yarmouk, as a first step to accelerating full and sustained access across Syria. Since then, UNRWA has delivered 21 convoys with multi-sectoral assistance to 19,000 people in Yalda, Babella, Beit-Sahm, including thousands of residents in and from Yarmouk. We welcome UNRWA’s efforts in protecting and assisting vulnerable Palestinian refugees. To date, the UK has allocated over £59 million to UNRWA to provide assistance for Palestinian refugees affected by the violence in Syria and the region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of action being taken in Greece to (1) increase capacity for processing asylum applications, (2) speed up family reunion cases from Greece to all EU member states, and (3) improve reception and living conditions for refugees and migrants.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We welcome the action that is being taken in Greece to: increase capacity for processing asylum applications; speed up family reunion cases from Greece to all EU member states; and improve reception and living conditions for refugees and migrants.
The UK continues to support Greece and other Member States. As notified in my statement of 21 April, HCWS687, 75 UK expert personnel will be deployed to Greece to support implementation of the EU-Turkey Migration Agreement and will conduct a number of duties. A proportion of the UK expert personnel will work closely with European Asylum Support Officer (EASO) coordinators and the Greek Asylum Service to process cases through the admissibility process and provide expert support to the Greek authorities and other EU partners on overall co-ordination of the response. Supporting the operation of the Greek asylum service is a fundamental part of this Government’s approach to identifying individuals in need of protection at the earliest possible opportunity and ensuring they are identified as eligible for family reunification consideration under the terms of Dublin Regulation.
This deployment is in addition to the support that we are already providing to the Greek asylum service. Two UK experts have already been deployed to the Greek Dublin Unit and have provided valuable assistance. A third was due to be deployed, however, EASO has informed us that support to the Greek Dublin Unit is currently at full complement. We stand ready to deploy further experts as soon as they are required. We are confident that through our cooperation and concerted joint efforts we can identify and facilitate the swift transfers of cases through our national systems and make effective use of the Dublin Regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in co-operation with the government of Lebanon and UN agencies to ensure that all refugee children in Lebanon receive the basic and remedial education that they need.
Baroness Verma
The UK has committed up to £40m per year to support education in Lebanon up to 2019/20 as part of our £2.3bn response to the Syria crisis. We are a key proponent of the regional No Lost Generation Initiative, and endorsed an agreement at the London Supporting Syria and the Region conference in February that all refugee and affected host community children should be in education by the end of the 2016/17 school year.
We are aligning our support behind the Government of Lebanon’s second Reaching All Children with Education Programme (RACE II), working with a range of partners to scale up quality formal and non-formal education. We have already helped expand the Lebanese education system to reach 200,000 Syrian children and are also supporting the expansion of high-quality, standardised non-formal education and training. This includes basic numeracy and literacy and catch-up learning programmes to reach the most vulnerable out of school Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children and youth. We are also tackling barriers to school entry, protection issues and pyscho-social problems that prevent children accessing education. We also support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to ensure Palestinian refugees have access to education and training in Lebanon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve the quality of initial interviews and decisions in asylum cases in order to reduce the need for appeals.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on their individual merits and grants protection for those who genuinely need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. In every asylum case the particular circumstances of the individual is considered in light of published country information.
All asylum decision-makers receive extensive training on how to consider asylum claims and are expected to follow published Home Office policy guidance. The 5-week Foundation Training Programme (FTP) for new decision makers trains staff on all aspects of the asylum decision making process. All decision makers are currently receiving credibility training. This course trains decision makers on how to assess the evidential value of their interview questions, the various reasons why someone may not come across as credible in an asylum interview and discusses issues such as speculation and implausibility. Asylum decision-makers carefully assess the protection needs of each asylum claimant following an interview by assessing all available evidence provided by the claimant in light of published country information and policy guidance. The Home Office systematically assesses the quality of asylum decisions against a detailed quality audit framework drawn up and agreed with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
We expect asylum claimants to disclose all relevant evidence to support their claim at the earliest opportunity so that we can properly consider their claim. We aim to reduce the appeal rate by analysing the reasons why appeals are allowed and using this to further improve guidance and training. We are committed to continuous improvement.
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 Russian Federation about the medical condition and official treatment of Mr Ilmi Umerov and his family; and what response, if any, they have received.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have made very clear – both publicly and in representations to the Russian Government – our grave concern over the treatment of Mr Ilmi Umerov. This particular case is one example of the way in which the overall human rights situation in Crimea has deteriorated significantly since Russia’s illegal annexation. The UK Government will continue to press the Russian Government to allow immediate, unfettered access to Crimea for all international human rights monitoring bodies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure fair trials in Bahrain for Mr Ali Isa Al-Tajer and others accused of similar offences.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We continue to monitor Ali Isa Al Tajer’s case closely and encourage the Bahraini authorities to ensure due process is followed and international standards of justice are upheld. British Embassy officials regularly attend hearings of high profile cases and will continue to do so. As part of our programme of work, the Government continues to provide assistance to the Ombudsman and the Special Investigation Unit and encourage them to deal with any complaints seriously and in a professional and independent manner conforming to international standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the rebuilding of the town of Kobane in Syria; and if so by what means they envisage this being brought about, and whether they will ask the government of Turkey to allow full access for materials and experts.
Baroness Verma
The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region and has pledged over £1.1 billion to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.
The majority of UK assistance to Syria is humanitarian. UK aid, delivered by UN and NGO partners, is guided by humanitarian principles and therefore prioritises the most vulnerable people across Syria based on their needs.
We continue to encourage the Government of Turkey to facilitate delivery of cross-border humanitarian assistance and reconstruction materials into Syria. We also advocate for the full reopening of border crossings, and we continue to call on all sides of the conflict to respect International Law and protect civilians.
With respect to Kobane specifically, as people return, key priorities are to ensure that habitable areas and farmland are de-mined to make them safe for return as well as ensuring that residents are educated in mine risk awareness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many directly employed government staff currently receive less than the Living Wage.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Every employer in the country will pay the National Living Wage, including all Government departments and their contractors.
The latest data available suggests that 867 current Civil Servants will benefit directly from the National Living Wage from April 2016 as announced by the Chancellor. We estimate that over 20,000 employees will benefit by the end of this parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support the World Bank programme for the registration of Palestinian land titles in the West Bank.
Earl of Courtown
Land registration is a key enabler for investments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories especially for construction and housing sector development. Only 30% of land in the West Bank is currently registered compared to 98% of land in Gaza.
DFID is part of the collective donor effort led by the World Bank and Finland to support the Palestinian Authority on land registration. The UK continues to urge the Palestinian Authority to speed up the land registration processes.