Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the arrest in Diyarbakir on 10 May of Mr Kamuran Yüksek of the Democratic Region Party and make appropriate representations to the government of Turkey.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK as well as in Turkey, continues to mount deadly terrorist attacks in Turkey, particularly in the country’s south-east. In the course of security operations in that region, a number of Democratic Regions Party officials have been detained, including Kamuran Yüksek. We regularly urge the Turkish authorities to respect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, in the course of anti-terror operations, and to support the rule of law. We will continue to monitor these issues closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of Turkey about (1) violence in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and (2) the disproportionate targeting of members of that chamber from specific parties in the proposed removal of parliamentary immunity as a result of prosecution requests.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is aware of disturbances in the Turkish parliament which took place in the context of its decision to lift parliamentary immunities for MPs. We continue to stress that, as a modern democracy, we would expect Turkey, following the lifting of immunity, to undertake any subsequent legal processes transparently and fully respect the rule of law.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan (1) urgently to meet with the government of France and the UNHCR to set up systems for providing reliable information for refugees and migrants in Calais and Dunkirk; and (2) to take steps to ensure that the Dublin III Regulations work for family reunion.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

As stated in Written Answer HL649 on 27 June under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015 the UK and France have committed to ensur-ing that provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and a UK asylum expert was seconded to the French administration earlier this year to facilitate the improvement of all stages of the process.

We continue to work closely so that both the UK and France can fulfil our re-spective obligations under the Dublin Regulation to family members, including unaccompanied children, who qualify for transfer to the UK under the Regula-tion’s family unity provisions.

The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which inform unaccompanied children and others of their right to claim asylum in France and the family reunion process. Whilst the management of migrants in Calais is the responsibility of the French Govern-ment, the UK recognises that vulnerable people in the camps are at risk from exploitation and trafficking. This is why the UK Government funds a project, run by a French NGO, to identify and direct vulnerable people to protection, support and advice within France.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the four points for urgent action in the International Rescue Committee situational brief of 5 September.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The IRC report outlines four areas for action. The Government response to each is as follows.

On point one in the report, the Government has been clear that the UK will not be part of the European Union relocation scheme. We remain of the view that relocation schemes within Europe risk creating perverse incentives for people to put their lives into the hands of traffickers. The Government is supporting efforts at hotspots through the deployment of resources to Italy and Greece through the European Asylum Support Office. We are fully committed to the efficient and timely operation of the Dublin Regulation and we are working closely with the Greek authorities, to identify, assess and transfer those with family connections to the UK under the Dublin family reunion process.

On point two, through our £70 million contribution to the Mediterranean Migration Crisis response, we are funding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration, and other agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations, and have strongly encouraged them to ensure close coordination with the authorities, to together achieve improved accommodation for refugees and migrants. Our funds are also helping to provide alternative shelter options for vulnerable migrants.

On point three, DFID is delivering a £10 million Refugee Children’s Fund for Europe which prioritises unaccompanied and separated children. The fund provides safe places for at risk children, data management to trace children to their families, and services such as counselling and legal advice. A new Women and Girls’ Fund for Europe will provide specialised protection services, responding to the risk of exploitation, violence and trafficking, including for children.

On point four, the Government believes that resettlement programmes are best operated at the national level. Under the Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme, we have committed to resettle 20,000 Syrians by the end of this Parliament. In addition to this through the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement scheme we will resettle 3,000 individuals from the Middle East and North Africa region over the same period, focusing on children at risk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will examine the results of the former Educational Priority Areas to explore whether similar measures could be combined with the continuing Troubled Families Programme, to improve results for disadvantaged children and young people.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

We want the UK to be a country that works for everyone – and that includes those we intend to keep on helping through this programme. We are looking widely at all the evidence available to see how things could be done differently, to learn from it and see if there is even more we can do to improve the lives of troubled families. We will first consider the evidence of the first programme’s independent evaluation, but we are always open to learning from other programmes and reports.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many people were on zero-hours contracts in each year since 2010.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to minimise the restrictions and difficulties experienced by Palestinians both inside the Occupied Territories and in adjoining countries.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Palestinian refugees who were, or still are, in Syria are eligible for resettlement as being among the most vulnerable.

Lord Bates

Only United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) registered Syrian refugees are eligible under the Syrian Resettlement Scheme, which has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 during this Parliament. We work closely with UNHCR to identify cases that it deems in need of resettlement according to agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme.

The Syrian Resettlement Scheme is operated in addition to our global resettlement schemes: Gateway and Mandate, which are not nationality specific.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call for the release or charging of Can Dündar and Erdem Gul of CNN Turk, arrested in connection with alleged offences in May; and whether they are making representations to the government of Turkey about the recent arrests of seven teachers and three others connected with Gülen schools in Manisa province.

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 representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the repeated bombing of facilities of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are in regular dialogue with the Government of Saudi Arabia regarding the conflict in Yemen. We are very concerned and saddened by an attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) centre in Yemen on 10 January and offer our condolences to the families of those affected. It is important to establish the cause of this incident. We welcome the public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz on 2 December. It is important that Saudi Arabia conducts investigations into incidents which have raised concerns. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law.