Tag: Lord Hylton

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have received, if any, about Turkish and Greek coastguards attacking boats of refugees near the Greek islands, thus endangering life.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of news stories about boats of refugees being attacked near Greek islands, but have seen no evidence to substantiate these reports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals, if any, they have made, and what further action they will take, to ensure that the voices of women are heard in all future negotiations about Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have consistently urged the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, as well as representatives of the moderate Syrian opposition to ensure that women are fully represented in negotiations with the Syrian regime. This was the case at the Geneva peace talks two years ago where women were represented on the opposition negotiating team. Further UN-brokered talks between the Syrian regime and opposition are planned for late January; we and our partners will continue to encourage the opposition and organisers to involve women fully in the process.

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.