Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether means have yet been found, through UN agencies or otherwise, for purchasing the large supplies of grain recently available in the Jazira Canton of Syria.

Baroness Verma

At the "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference on 4 February more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict. This is the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

The UN reports that the potential to purchase grain from the Jazira Canton of Syria is unchanged compared with their analysis of June 2015. The Jazira Canton, covering the wheat producing areas of Al Hassakeh and Ar Raqqa, remains under the control of the Syrian regime, the Kurdish authorities and Daesh. Humanitarian access to these areas is therefore, restricted by continued violence, insecurity and wilful obstruction. Control of access routes in the Jazira Canton by armed groups means that the UN are unable to access wheat producing areas, assess the quality of the wheat produced, or transport it to other regions. In addition, the milling capacity within Al Hassakeh governorate is insufficient to meet the operational needs of the UN. According to the UN, bread availability in Al Hasakeh and Ar Raqqa is currently adequate, thus reducing the need for the UN to buy wheat grain for local distribution.

The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the UN World Food Programme , committing £227 million to provide food support in Syria and the region since the start of the crisis. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria had provided over 15.1 million food rations, each of which feeds one person for one month; access to clean water for over 1.6 million people; and more than 4 million relief packages.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the governments of other European countries that riot police should not normally be used to control refugees and migrants in Europe.

Lord Bates

Our consistent focus has been on encouraging a comprehensive solution to the current migratory situation in Europe. This includes strengthening the EU’s external border and enhanced cooperation with Turkey and Western Balkans countries, as well as short and long term work with countries of transit and origin further upstream, and efforts to combat the people smugglers and traffickers who take advantage of the situation to put lives at risk.

Public order is a matter for national governments and we expect all our international partners to ensure that migrants’ human rights are fully respected.

We continue to work closely with our European partners to address all aspects of the current situation as it continues to develop. For those in genuine need, we are clear that protection in the region of origin is often the best solution and that those reaching the EU should claim asylum in the first Member State they enter (as per EU rules) rather than seeking to travel further across Europe to their destination of choice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Prime Minister, on 7 March in Brussels, described those fleeing across the Aegean Sea as illegally crossing, in the light of the fact that Turkey is not a party to the UN Convention on Refugees, which Greece and other EU member states are.

Lord Bates

Migrants travelling across the Aegean Sea may be referred to as illegally crossing if they have no permission (such as a visa) to enter Greece or another Member State. The same would apply if someone applied for asylum in the UK: if they have entered the UK illegally, then they would be treated as an illegal entrant, irrespective of whether they make a claim for asylum or not.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, in cases where foreign national offenders are given sentences of 12 months imprisonment or more, to ensure that deportation processes begin as soon as the offender reaches prison.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The removal of foreign national offenders (FNOs) has been increasing year on year since 2010/11. In 2015, the Home Office removed 5,602 FNOs, with 2,059 FNOs removed within the Early Removal Scheme period.

The Home Office aims to commence deportation proceedings as quickly as possible for all FNOs upon receiving the referral from the National Offenders Management Service, which happens upon sentencing. The timescales for commencing deportation action depend on the length of the custodial sentence a person receives. For example, if an offender receives a short sentence, such as 12 months or less, deportation action is initiated immediately upon referral. Where an offender receives an indeterminate sentence, deportation action will commence closer to their date of release, as cases are prioritised based on sentence length.

(1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. (2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office’s Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases. (3) Total FNO removals figures relate to those cases that have been deported, administratively removed or voluntarily departed from UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Turkey about the proposed expropriation and partial demolition of the Sur neighbourhood and the city of Diyarbakir; and what assessment they have made of whether those actions constitute collective punishment.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We understand that the Turkish government has proposed expropriation in order to facilitate reconstruction of certain areas damaged during security operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. We have not made representations or assessed the question of collective punishment.

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.