Tag: Lord Hylton

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many people were on zero-hours contracts in each year since 2010.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to minimise the restrictions and difficulties experienced by Palestinians both inside the Occupied Territories and in adjoining countries.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.