Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to strengthen the capacity of the Commonwealth to prevent and resolve conflicts between or within its members; and whether they will seek to provide the Secretary-General with greater resources for that purpose.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are committed to strengthening the capacity of the Commonwealth towards preventing and resolving conflicts between member states, including through the Secretariat and the Good Offices of the Secretary-General. We welcome the work already done by the Secretary-General in this area, most recently her appointment of a Special Envoy to strengthen multi-party democracy towards inclusive presidential elections in the Maldives in 2018.

We will work closely with Patricia Scotland and partners as we build towards the UK hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Spring 2018. We believe she is the right person to drive through reform, strengthen the Commonwealth’s voice and unite members behind the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

A key strand of strengthening the Commonwealth’s focus on democracy, the promotion of the rule of law and preventing conflict is the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work in promoting democratic values, including through election observation missions. We welcome these missions and will work with the Secretary-General to take forward this important programme.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funds or other support they have provided in recent years for the organisation known as White Helmets in Syria; and what assessment they have made of its activities.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has provided support to Syria Civil Defence (also known as the White Helmets) through the cross-departmental Conflict Pool and its successor, the Conflict Stability and Security Fund. Our assistance has been delivered through trusted third party implementers. The total value of funds committed between June 2013 and the end of the last financial year (31 March 2016) was £19.7m. For financial year 2016/17, we have allocated a further £12.5m.

Our support to Syria Civil Defence is part of a coordinated international programme of assistance. It has helped to provide the Syrian-led organisation of over 2800 volunteers with much-needed training and equipment. To date they have saved more than 60,000 lives and were nominated for the Nobel peace prize in both 2015 and 2016 in recognition of their efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to establish an enhanced Modern Slavery Helpline following the Home Secretary’s announcement on 9 December 2015.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

In December 2015, the Government welcomed an announcement by Google and Polaris that they intend to establish an enhanced modern slavery helpline in the UK. Partnerships between business and civil society are vital if we are to eradicate modern slavery, and this project has the potential to make it easier for people to report suspected cases of modern slavery.

Over the past two years, the Government’s modern slavery reforms have resulted in record high numbers of victim referrals and of prosecutions and convictions for slavery-related offences. But there is more to do and projects such as this will help to ensure that even more victims are helped and even more slave- drivers are brought to justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proposals for peace in Syria made by former President Jimmy Carter in the International New York Times on 27 October.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Proposals for achieving peace in Syria will need to be agreed by the key international players and, importantly, the Syrian people. The UK is working closely with international partners to bring about a negotiated end to the crisis in Syria, including through Ministerial participation in high-level international meetings. The ultimate solution to the crisis must be a political transition, which brings legitimate and inclusive governance to Syria. We are flexible about how the process of transition would work but are clear that Assad cannot be part of the future of Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the number of persons brought to justice for trafficking in persons, enslavement, forced prostitution, labour exploitation, and other similar crimes in the last three years, both in the UK and in other jurisdictions.

Lord Bates

The number of perpetrators of ‘slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour’, ‘human trafficking for sexual exploitation’ and ‘human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation’ found guilty and sentenced in each of the last three years is available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

The ‘Outcomes by Offence Tables’ should be selected, and can be filtered for each of the three offences listed above. The UK Government does not hold information on the numbers brought to justice in other jurisdictions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers they have to insist that recipients of British development aid should respect freedom of conscience and religion, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Baroness Verma

The UK attaches great importance to ensuring that people of all faiths can participate fully in society and live without fear of abuse or discrimination. DFID works closely with the FCO to raise concerns about freedom of religion with partner governments to ensure that all citizens can claim their rights. The UK’s development and humanitarian aid is not targeted at specific groups but at the poorest, regardless of race, religion, creed, or nationality.

Before providing aid to a foreign government, DFID assesses the government’s commitment to four partnership principles, one of which concerns human rights. DFID provides aid to governments where we are satisfied that they share our commitments to reduce poverty and to respect human rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussion, if any, they have had with the government of Turkey and the UNHCR about urgent plans for the return home of Yazidi refugees, currently in a camp near Diyarbakir.

Baroness Verma

The UK Government is not aware of plans to return Yezidi refugees to their homes from Diyarbakir. The UK works with the Government of Turkey, the United Nations and the international community to support the rights of all minorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Resolution of the House of Commons of 10 September calling on them to implement the recommendations of the report of the Inquiry into the Use of Immigration Detention in the United Kingdom, by the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Refugees and Migration.

Lord Bates

Detention plays a vital role in maintaining effective immigration control and there are safeguards in place to prevent unnecessary or arbitrary detention.

Turning to the principal recommendations of the APPG report, though a common misconception, we cannot detain indefinitely under immigration powers. There are significant, long standing and highly effective protections for individuals against indefinite detention in the current system. A statutory limit is therefore not necessary.

An arbitrary time limit would potentially allow criminals and non-compliant individuals to play the system knowing that if they refuse to cooperate with removal for long enough they will be released.

The Home Office is conducting detailed analysis of the use of immigration detention including looking at the checks and balances in the systems to ensure that there is a more efficient and more effective process so that people are removed more swiftly.

The Home Secretary commissioned an independent review of the policies and operating procedures that have an impact on detainee welfare earlier this year. Stephen Shaw CBE, former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, undertook the review and has recently submitted his report. The report will be published by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to its recommendations, before the Lords Committee stage for the Immigration Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of EU aid to developing countries.

Baroness Verma

The UK continues to work hard to ensure EU development aid focuses on the poorest and most fragile countries and that the EU becomes more open and transparent about the challenges it faces in implementing aid projects. The EU has taken important steps to improve gender equality; to communicate better what its aid programmes are achieving; and for its aid to be more closely linked to countries’ own development priorities and more in line with other EU policies including trade, investment and the environment.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons or family groups have received exceptional leave to enter or remain in the UK, outside the normal rules, for purposes of family re-union, in each year since 2011; and in each of those years, how many of those individuals given leave were related in ways other than as spouses or children under 18.

Lord Bates

The specific information is not available in the format requested.