Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the new draft EU Resettlement Scheme to be made public; and what progress, if any, has been made in re-opening EU frontiers.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We understand the Commission are going to bring out a legislative proposal on resettlement with a Title V legal base shortly. We will consider the detail of the proposal once published.

The Schengen States agreed on 12 May that certain Schengen internal border controls in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway can remain raised until November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they made on 19 May to the government of Saudi Arabia about the case of Mr Waleed Abu Al-Khair; what response they received; and whether there has been any progress on that case since then.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are not aware of progress in the case of Walid Abu Al-Khair since last raised with the Saudi Arabian authorities on the 19 May. We believe that we will be more successful in discussing cases privately with Saudi Arabia and we will continue to follow this case closely and will raise when appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of the Philippines following reports that many hundreds of people have been killed by police and vigilantes on suspicion of involvement in drugs; and what assessment they have made of whether the courts and prisons in that country are capable of dealing with the large numbers of newly arrested suspects.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government’s view on the importance of the rule of law is clear, consistent and well known in the Philippines. Our Ambassador has repeatedly raised the Government’s concerns over drug-related killings with the Philippine Administration, including the Foreign Minister, Interior Secretary and Defence Secretary. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma), spoke of the importance of democratic accountability, human rights and the rule of law at a UK-Philippines trade and business event in London on 7 September.

Members of the Philippine Administration and Supreme Court have highlighted a lack of capacity within the courts and prisons to handle those newly arrested on suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs. We share this concern. The British Government supports the right to a fair trial and the humane treatment of detainees. The Government of the Philippines is taking some steps to increase the functionality of the justice system, including by increasing the number of specialist drug courts. Our Ambassador has conveyed the Government’s willingness to share its own experience of delivering a proportionate criminal justice response to illegal drug use and trafficking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning reports about recent arrests by Israeli police of members of the Balad Party and failures to disclose the nature of the charges made against several of those arrested.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, we understand that the members of the Balad Party were detained as part of an investigation into fraud in connection with illegally obtained funds used to finance party activities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked, or will ask, the government of Turkey to hold an independent inquiry into the closures and curfews imposed on the districts of Cizre and Sur by the security forces in September; whether they plan to ask the government to ensure that full compensation is paid for civilians killed or wounded, and that responsibility be established for deaths and injuries; and if not, why not.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We welcome the visit on 15-16 October of Turkey’s national human rights body to Cizre and Sirnak to conduct analysis and research on the recent events there. We continue to monitor the human rights situation in Turkey closely and raise concerns regularly with the Turkish authorities. At the same time, we recognise Turkey has a right to act proportionately in response to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) violence. PKK attacks must stop and peace talks resume soon, in the interests of Turkey and the wider region. The UK stands ready to help in any way it can.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that contract staff in all government departments receive the Living Wage at the appropriate rate.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Every employer in the country will pay the National Living Wage, including all Government contractors, from April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what influence they and the EU will exert to secure the lifting of restrictions imposed on Palestinians in and near Hebron.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in and near Hebron as well as elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Through our Embassy in Tel Aviv, we continue to lobby the Israeli authorities on the issue of movement and access, most recently on 24 November when our Deputy Head of Mission discussed with the Head of the relevant unit at Israel’s Ministry of Defence. We continue to work closely with EU partners to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they were represented as observers or otherwise at the conference in al-Hassakeh on 8–9 December that formed the Council of Democratic Syria; and what assessment they have made of that conference’s final statement.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK was not an observer or participant at the Democratic Syria Conference for Opposition Forces. The UK does not have any diplomatic presence in Syria and staff are unable to travel to Syria due to significant security threats. This conference brought together Syrian Kurdish and Arab parties that reside in Northern Syria. They discussed the future of the country after four years of war and agreed on the creation of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political branch of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Their final statement says that the Syrian crisis must be solved through negotiation, the fight against terrorism and political change through a transition, followed by free and fair elections and a new constitution. The UK continues to work towards transition in Syria on the basis of the Geneva Communiqué.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting the governments of Iraq, the United States and Italy about the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River, and in particular about the case for downstream flood warnings and preparations, and repairs and maintenance work, to prevent collapse.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are in close touch with the Governments of Iraq, the US and our European partners, as well as the UN, about the Mosul Dam.

The Government of Iraq has begun to take measures to improve the structural integrity of the Mosul Dam as there is a risk the dam could fail. It is currently impossible to accurately predict if or when this might occur. A failure could lead to major flooding in the Tigris river valley, from Mosul to Baghdad.

Alongside the US, we are working with the Government of Iraq, the UN and other partners to ensure Iraq has effective contingency planning in place, including early warning and humanitarian planning, to enable ordinary Iraqis and the international community to respond in the event of failure. Our Embassy has plans to ensure staff are safe and we have updated our travel advice to highlight the risk to the general public.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for new or additional housing to which single and other occupants of existing hostels could move; what assessment they have made of the plans of London boroughs, and others, to provide such housing; and when they expect that additional housing to be completed.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

This Government is committed to increasing the supply of housing. We have doubled our plans for affordable housing delivery from 2018-19 to £8 billion, to deliver 400,000 affordable housing starts.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to plan and assess the likely housing needs for their areas as part of the process for bringing forward a Local Development Plan. Our planning guidance asks local planning authorities to factor in market signals such as household affordability and land prices, as well as forecast employment trends when calculating their overall housing need. The primary objective of identifying need is to identify the future quantity of housing needed, including a breakdown by type, tenure and size.