Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the action they and their allies can take to enable the UN agencies in Syria to carry out their mandates fully and freely.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has played, and will continue to play, a leading role in ensuring that UN agencies are able to carry out their mandates in Syria. Through our membership of the UN Security Council and as part of the International Syria Support Group we helped generate a mandate for the UN Special Envoy for Syria to launch intra-Syrian peace negotiations this month. We have also co-sponsored a series of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) on humanitarian issues, including most recently UNSCR 2258 on cross-border humanitarian access. These resolutions provide a mandate for the delivery of aid into Syria.

We are deeply concerned about the restrictions placed on UN agencies to deliver these mandates, particularly the obstructionism and lack of response from the Syrian Regime to repeated requests from the UN for humanitarian access to towns and regions across Syria. We regularly raise these issues in the UN Security Council.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is under way to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and previous resolutions on Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

On 11 February, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), took part in the latest round of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Munich to discuss with his counterparts how to best support the political process and necessary supporting steps, including a ceasefire and confidence building measures, called for in UN Security Council resolution 2254.

The ISSG agreed the need to implement a cessation of hostilities within a week, to delivering humanitarian assistance to named besieged communities by this weekend and to facilitate rapid progress in negotiations aimed at political transition. If implemented fully and properly by every ISSG member this will be an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria. But it will only succeed if there is a major change of behaviour by the Syrian regime and its supporters. Russia, in particular, claims to be attacking terrorist groups and yet consistently bombs non-extremist groups including civilians. If this agreement is to work, this bombing will have to stop: no cessation of hostilities will last if moderate opposition groups continue to be targeted.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many miles of public road in central London for which they are responsible are (1) completely closed, and (2) only partially open, to vehicles due to roadworks; on whose authority those roadworks are being conducted; what is the estimated total cost of those roadworks; and when they expect those roadworks to be completed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is not directly responsible for any roads in central London, and does not therefore hold this information. London’s roads fall into three main categories; the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), known as red routes, which are managed by Transport for London (TfL); the Borough Principal Road Network (BPRN) managed by the individual London boroughs; and a small number of motorways forming part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) managed by Highways England. All of the above are subject to the London Permit Scheme (LoPS) which was brought in to minimise the disruption caused by roadworks and streetworks across London. Each borough and TfL have their own schemes, ensuring local control of conditions on local roads. The Transport for London Lane Rental Scheme (TLRS) also helps manage works on the TLRN at traffic-sensitive locations. A daily charge of £800 or £2500 per day is applied, depending upon the sensitivity of the location. This scheme has helped to reduce traffic disruption by changing the behaviour of utility companies and other contractors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Royal Navy vessels, and (2) vessels from other NATO members, are being deployed for search and rescue operations in the Aegean Sea; whether the orders given to those vessels include arresting traffickers; and what assessment they have made of whether the available forces are sufficient.

Earl Howe

I refer the noble Lord to the statement I made to this House on Monday 7 March (Official Report, column 1079). The Royal Navy has deployed Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay and a Wildcat helicopter to support NATO activity in the Aegean Sea. These will work alongside three Home Office vessels: VOS Grace, which has been deployed since November; the cutter Protector, which is en route to the region; and a further cutter that is expected to start operations later this month.

In addition to RFA Mounts Bay, there are five NATO ships on station at the moment. Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Turkey have each deployed a ship.

NATO ships will provide information to enable Greek and Turkish civilian authorities to intercept migrant vessels and arrest traffickers. It is not an interdiction or search and rescue operation, but RFA Mounts Bay would give assistance to any vessel it found in distress, in accordance with international obligations.

With regards to sufficiency, we note the substantial contribution being made by the UK and other members of NATO, but we always look to see what further contributions members of the Alliance can make.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they agree with the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) call for Europe to resettle 108,000 refugees each year for the next five years; and whether they accept the arguments in the IRC’s situation briefing dated 24 March.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government considers the resettlement of targeted groups of refugees, particularly the most vulnerable, to be a vital part of the international response to the current migration crisis. However, we do not support the setting of binding quotas or targets by any organisation, either at European or international level. In our view national resettlement schemes, run and co-ordinated with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other partners, is the best way for each country to make its own contribution.

We have committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable Syrians over the lifetime of this Parliament and we saw the first 1,000 arrive before Christmas 2015. This is in addition to the other resettlement schemes that we operate, including Gateway, under which 750 refugees from all over the world are resettled each year.

Resettlement is only one strand of the Government’s efforts. It complements our significant humanitarian aid programme, including £2.3 billion to the Syria region, and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Syria. The Government is clear that this approach is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of refugees who remain in the region and their host countries surrounding Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are analysing the criticisms by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Christian Political Movement of the EU–Turkey agreement on refugees, in particular regarding the risks of asylum applicants being deported to Iran and Afghanistan, of illegal detention, and of sex trafficking; and whether they will publish their conclusions.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of these reports, but do not plan to publish any conclusions. We are closely monitoring the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees, including its compliance with human rights standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the remit of the National Infrastructure Commission includes the provision of sufficient social and affordable housing.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The National Infrastructure Commission will have a mandate to examine all sectors of economic infrastructure – including flood defences, energy, transport, water and sewage, waste and digital communications. While the Commission’s remit will not include housing supply directly, the Commission will consider the potential interactions between its infrastructure recommendations and housing supply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK funding available to support refugee children in state schools in Jordan and Lebanon can also be made available to voluntary organisations for the same purpose.

Baroness Verma

The UK is supporting the Governments of Jordan and Lebanon to deliver the landmark commitments made at the London Syria Conference to enable every refugee and vulnerable host community child to access education by the end of the 2016/2017 school year. UK funding will be aligned with the plans of partner governments and a range of delivery mechanisms are being considered. Our approach is not exclusive: programmes will be implemented through partners who can deliver increases in access to quality education, quickly, efficiently and at scale.

The UK has worked with NGOs and voluntary organisations to provide support in both Jordan and Lebanon and will consider partnering with those that can demonstrate the ability to deliver effective results in line with Government strategies, progress towards the London Conference goals and offer value for money.

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 enable child refugees and migrants who are now in France but who have close relatives in the UK to make take-charge requests.

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 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what reply they intend to give to the petition of Ms Jennifer Chim Pik Yee of Hong Kong addressed to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Ms Chim Pik petitioned Parliament for a debate on human rights relating to assistance that was provided to her in 2004 following a civil dispute in Pakistan. We have explained that there is nothing further that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can do to assist her.