Tag: Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Mexico following the publication in December 2014 of the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain concerned by reports of the use of torture in Mexico. Ministers have raised human rights with their Mexican counterparts on several occasions, including at the highest level during the President’s State Visit in March 2015. Officials at our Embassy in Mexico City also regularly raise our concerns in meetings with the Mexican government. In support of this ongoing dialogue, this year, the UK is working with the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute to train judges to deal with torture and enforced disappearance cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of El Salvador concerning women who miscarry and find themselves imprisoned.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain concerned by reports that women in El Salvador have been imprisoned under anti-abortion laws after suffering a miscarriage. Officials have raised concerns about the restrictive and sometimes punitive approach to sexual and reproductive healthcare at both a bilateral and multilateral level with the Salvadoran government. During El Salvador’s most recent Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in October 2014, the UK encouraged El Salvador to review its strict anti-abortion laws and urged the Salvadoran government to improve the treatment of women who have had abortions or suffered miscarriages.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Uzbekistan concerning Mr Muhammad Bekzhanou.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Embassy in Tashkent raised Mr Begjanov’s case with the Government of Uzbekistan last year and, together with our EU colleagues, we have called for his release as part of an annual amnesty granted by the Uzbek authorities. We plan to raise Mr Begjanov’s case again with the Uzbek authorities in the coming weeks. More broadly we have raised with the Uzbek authorities our concerns about the use of a provision of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code to impose additional sentences for violation of prison rules such as in the case of Mr Begjanov and various other prisoners.

We have longstanding concerns about the overall human rights situation in Uzbekistan. Our Embassy in Tashkent raises these issues at every appropriate opportunity with the Uzbek authorities and funds projects that support good governance and human rights. We also continue to encourage further progress towards full implementation of Uzbekistan’s international human rights commitments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the authorities in Eritrea regarding the detention of Aster Fissehatsion.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

I refer the Noble Lord to my response of 24 June 2015 (HL533). We continue to press the Government of Eritrea to fulfil its international human rights obligations. The UK made clear in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 23 June that this must include the release of all those arbitrarily detained, including Aster Fissehasion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the authorities in Egypt regarding the detention of Mahmoud Hussein.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of the case of Mahmoud Hussein, who has been detained in Egypt since 25 January 2014. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have asked the Egyptian authorities to take action to release journalists and political detainees who remain imprisoned, to review mass judicial decisions, and to remove restrictions on civil society.

In January this year, I personally raised concerns over reports of mistreatment of detainees and the importance of due process with the Egyptian Deputy Assistant Minister for Human Rights, Dr Mahy Abdel Latif. Our Ambassador and officials in Cairo, regularly raise these issues with the Egyptian authorities, most recently in September 2015.

During the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in November 2014, we expressed our concern on a number of issues relating to detainees, including the number of detainees in pre-trial detention and reports of mistreatment or torture. The UK also raised the issue of torture and inhumane treatment in detention in Egypt at the UN Human Rights Council in June 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many council homes have been built each year since 2010 in each of the 32 London boroughs.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The numbers of local authority dwellings built ineach London borough from 2010/11 are shown in the attached table. For context I have also provided figures going back to 2001/2. These figures show that under Labour, from 2001/02-2009/10, there were 170 council homes built across the 32 London boroughs, whereas from 2010/11 to 2014/15 we have built 1,510 council homes across London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that all evidence, and not just scientific studies, is presented to the inquiry into the safety of hormone pregnancy tests.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The terms of reference for the inquiry into the safety of Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs) state that the Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Commission on Human Medicines will consider all available evidence on the possible association between exposure in pregnancy to HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy (in particular congenital anomalies, miscarriage and stillbirth). This will include scientific studies as well as wider sources of evidence.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is providing the secretariat to the review and is compiling all the available information. To date, the MHRA has requested relevant published and unpublished information from all companies whose predecessors marketed HPTs and has conducted a search of the National Archives with a view to obtaining a complete set of historical documents relevant to this issue. The MHRA will also search for all relevant published literature and review all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been submitted in association with HPTs in the United Kingdom. All of this information will be made available to the EWG.

Interested individuals and organisations were invited to provide any information relevant to a possible association between the use of oral HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy through a public call for evidence between 25 March and 30 June 2015. In addition, the EWG will hear evidence from a number of individuals who feel their lives have been adversely affected by HPTs.

The report of the review and all documents will be made public subject to the usual legal requirements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how people and organisations can make representations to the inquiry into the safety of hormone pregnancy tests.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The terms of reference for the inquiry into the safety of Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs) state that the Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Commission on Human Medicines will consider all available evidence on the possible association between exposure in pregnancy to HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy (in particular congenital anomalies, miscarriage and stillbirth). This will include scientific studies as well as wider sources of evidence.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is providing the secretariat to the review and is compiling all the available information. To date, the MHRA has requested relevant published and unpublished information from all companies whose predecessors marketed HPTs and has conducted a search of the National Archives with a view to obtaining a complete set of historical documents relevant to this issue. The MHRA will also search for all relevant published literature and review all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been submitted in association with HPTs in the United Kingdom. All of this information will be made available to the EWG.

Interested individuals and organisations were invited to provide any information relevant to a possible association between the use of oral HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy through a public call for evidence between 25 March and 30 June 2015. In addition, the EWG will hear evidence from a number of individuals who feel their lives have been adversely affected by HPTs.

The report of the review and all documents will be made public subject to the usual legal requirements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-01-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are proposing in relation to banks that have missold business loans to customers.

Lord Deighton

Business lending is not, and never has been, within the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) conduct rules. The position that has traditionally been taken in the UK is that the terms and conditions of contracts between businesses (e.g. loans) are not generally prescribed by government. The government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so, in order to avoid putting additional costs on lenders that would ultimately lead to higher costs for businesses customer.

However, the smaller end of the business community does receive regulatory protection. In the UK, loans to the smallest businesses (sole traders, partnerships consisting of 2 or 3 partners and unincorporated businesses) of less than £25,000 are treated as regulated consumer credit agreements (CCAs).

This protects consumers, typically in their dealings with banks where there is the potential for consumer detriment. Around three quarters of the 4.8 million UK SMEs are sole traders, partnerships consisting of 2 or 3 partners and unincorporated businesses.

For those loans which are not treated as CCA loans, there is also a clear route of recourse for businesses that feel they have been mis-sold a business loan to pursue. A business’ first recourse should be to its bank’s customer complaints department. This is a route that has been taken by a number of customers. The FCA’s rules require the banks to properly investigate all complaints and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor the banks’ complaint handling process.

Furthermore, micro businesses with a turnover of less than 2 million Euros and fewer than 10 employees have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS is an independent, non-governmental body, established under statute to provide for the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of complaints against financial services firms. It provides a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers and has a special team looking at this issue. Its decisions are binding on the firm concerned.

Beyond this, businesses are expected to be responsible for ensuring that contracts they make with other businesses are in their interest. However, if a business believes a bank has acted unlawfully, they can seek to take action through the courts

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-01-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the situation of human rights in Turkey.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We and our EU partners monitor closely the human rights situation in Turkey. The UK supports the EU Commission’s assessment of human rights in Turkey, given in its 2014 Annual Progress Report on Turkey’s EU accession. In 2014, Turkey made progress on its human rights reform agenda and adopted an Action Plan for the Prevention of Human Rights Violations. Turkey also continued to build the capacity of its human rights institutions. We welcome this progress and the continuing efforts of the Turkish government aimed at resolving the Kurdish issue.

However, as the EU’s report has underlined, there is still much to do to implement action plans, strengthen further the human rights institutional framework, and bring Turkish human rights legislation in line with European and international standards, including on rights for minority religious and ethnic groups.

The report also highlighted areas of concern over the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, the rule of law, and restrictions on the freedom of expression, including temporary bans on social media imposed by the Turkish government. We will continue to work with our EU partners and international institutions, such as the EU and Council of Europe, to support Turkey in its continuing reform agenda.