Tag: Lord Hylton

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of assets wrongfully removed from Ukraine that have been recovered or frozen in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, since the meeting of the Ukraine Asset Recovery Forum in London on 28 and 29 April.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The UK led the call for the urgent imposition of EU sanctions, imposing an asset freeze on 22 individuals suspected of misappropriating funds from the Ukrainian state.

    Those assets which are proven to be the proceeds of corruption through criminal investigations, and subsequently confiscated, will be returned to Ukraine.

    We do not release information on the value of assets frozen under financial sanctions in the UK for reasons of confidentiality, and we do not hold information on the value of assets frozen overseas.

    It is our policy to work closely with other governments to assist them to trace and repatriate stolen assets. All appropriate criminal justice and administrative routes to support the Ukrainians are being explored. The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering arising from suspicions of corruption in Ukraine. The Serious Fraud Office has obtained a restraint order freezing approximately $23 million of assets in the UK in connection with this case.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Jordan concerning reports of Palestinian refugees being held under harsh conditions in Cyber City refugee camp in northern Jordan.

    Baroness Northover

    We are in regular contact with the Government of Jordan about refugees in Jordan, including Palestinian refugees.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what value of trade will be covered by the European Union agreement of 23 April to reduce trade barriers with Ukraine.

    Baroness Warsi

    The European Commission estimates the annual value of the Autonomous Support Measures to be nearly €500 million (£413.15 million) in tariff reductions of which almost €400 million (£330.52 million) accrue to the agricultural sector.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to support the proposed European Union regulations on the sale of seeds, plants and plant material.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Government does not support the proposed European Union regulation on the sale of plant reproductive material as currently drafted. The future of the proposals is uncertain following rejection by the European Parliament.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the European Union still maintains Migrants’ Centres in Mali, or elsewhere in Africa, to deal with the needs of people wishing to move to Europe.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The EU established the Centre for Information and Migration Management (CIGEM) in Bamako in 2008 in conjunction with the Malian authorities. The Centre is still operating, but does not currently receive EU funding.

    The Government believes such centres can play a useful role in dissuading migrants from making dangerous and illegal journeys in an attempt to reach the EU.

    We also welcome other EU initiatives to address migratory flows from Africa, including the extension of the EU’s support for the ‘Regional Protection Programmes’ in North Africa and the Horn of Africa which help ensure adequate protection for refugees in their region of origin.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement on 19 March by the President of Turkey that the internal peace process should be completed, by giving democratic rights and equal citizenship to the Kurdish people together with freedom for the press and other media.

    Baroness Warsi

    We welcome the comments made by President Gül regarding the Kurdish population in Turkey, which we assess as an important reaffirmation of the Turkish government’s commitment to finding a sustainable solution to the Kurdish issue.

    We have been encouraged by the efforts on both sides to reach a solution and welcome the continuing ceasefire, as well as the President Gül’s approval of the democratisation package in March.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total annual cost to the European Union institutions of (1) translating documents, speeches and other texts, and (2) simultaneous interpretation in all member languages; and what is their estimate of the saving if that service were limited to the six most used languages.

    Baroness Warsi

    Each European Union Institution is responsible for its own translation and interpretation systems and costs. The Annual Budget 2014 has €388 million payments allocated to “language services” for the European Commission.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will adopt measures similar to those recently taken by the United States Food and Drugs Administration to curb the routine use of antibiotics in the food of healthy animals.

    Lord De Mauley

    Any routine use of antibiotics in the food of healthy animals as growth promoters has been banned in the EU since 2006.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to enforce the National Minimum Wage, and in particular to protect the employees of agencies and those on zero-hours contracts from exploitation.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.

    HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage for all workers. This includes agency workers and those on zero hour contracts. HMRC investigates every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline. In addition, HMRC conducts risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is a higher risk of workers not getting paid the legal minimum wage.

    The Government is taking a tougher approach on employers that break National Minimum Wage law and has already made it simpler to name and shame employers that break NMW law. The Government has also increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, at the latest date, how many immigration detainees were being held in HM prisons; how many foreign national offenders, whose sentences had already expired but who had not been deported were being held; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such persons on the rehabilitation of British prisoners.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    For the week commencing 31 March, there were 720 immigration detainees in prisons.

    Please note that the data includes a small number of individuals who have never served a custodial sentence, but who present specific risk factors that indicate they pose a serious risk of harm to the public or to the good order of an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) including the safety of staff and other detainees, which cannot be managed within the regime applied in IRCs.

    To extract this small number of cases would incur a disproportionate cost.

    Foreign national offenders held in prisons beyond the end of their sentence under immigration powers are normally held in unconvicted conditions. Their presence in these prisons does not affect the rehabilitation of British nationals whose access to accredited interventions and other rehabilitation services is governed by risk of offending and offender-related need.