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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the direct and indirect negotiations between the government of Turkey, elected representatives, and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK); and whether they will encourage the government of Turkey to maintain the current ceasefire and to conclude the negotiations as soon as possible.
Baroness Warsi
We applaud the continuing efforts of the Turkish government aimed at concluding a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue. We encourage all sides, including members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, to maintain the current ceasefire and continue negotiations until a just and lasting agreement is achieved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that claimants of benefits who are subject to sanctions know that they may apply for hardship payments; and what is the median time between such applications being made and cash payments being received.
Lord Freud
Where a benefit doubt is identified and the case is being referred to a decision maker, claimants are given information (verbally and in writing) about the doubt in question, what happens next, what they can do if a sanction is applied and the availability of hardship provision. Once a decision is made and a sanction applied, a formal notification is issued to the claimant, which includes information about how to apply for hardship.
The Department does not record information about the length of time it takes to make a Hardship payment following receipt of an application.