The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek parliamentary approval before deciding whether to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
It is a matter for the Government, and the new Prime Minister, to decide whether there should be a Parliamentary vote before the UK notifies the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the financial cost of cancelling the contract with Saudi Arabia on justice, security and policing.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Ministry of Justice has not entered into, or withdrawn from, a contract with Saudi Arabia concerning justice, security and policing. Earlier this year Just Solutions international (JSi), the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), submitted a bid to undertake a training needs analysis for the Saudi Arabian prison service. On 13 October 2015, the Secretary of State for Justice announced that this bid would be withdrawn, and so no contract was signed. I refer the honourable member to the Justice Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons which can be found in House of Commons Hansard Debates, 13 Oct 2015: Column 180.
No direct cost was incurred as a result of withdrawing the bid from the competition process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Faulks on 18 November (HL Deb, col 132), whether they have commended the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 to the Northern Ireland Executive; and if not, what are the reasons behind the decision not to do so.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The UK Government has demonstrated its commitment tomarriagefor same sex couples by introducing it for England and Wales, and haswelcomedits introduction in other jurisdictions.
The UK Government recognises and respects the devolution settlement in Northern Ireland. The constitutional arrangements in place mean that any decision to extend marriage to same-sex couples in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they intend to take in response to the Lord Chief Justice’s Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts of 2015, which found that our system of justice has become unaffordable to most” and that “no satisfactory means of funding the provision of our system of justice has yet been achieved”.”
Lord Faulks
The Government has put in place measures to support people in resolving their disputes by means of more informal and less costly remedies, and we have made sure that legal aid remains available for the highest priority cases. There is, however, more to do if we are to achieve our vision of one nation justice.
As the Lord Chief Justice made clear in his annual report, the investment the Government is making to modernise our courts and tribunals is a significant step, and one which will enable us to tackle many of the issues he identified.
We will continue to work closely with the judiciary to make sure that our justice system delivers faster and fairer justice for all.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish their review of the impact of fees on the tribunal system.
Lord Faulks
We will announce the conclusions of our review of fees in the Employment Tribunals in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend the UK to continue to be a member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK continues to be an active member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights. I also refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) in the House of Commons on 14 June 2016 (House of Commons Vol. 611, Column 1615), in which he said that while we cannot rule out forever withdrawal from the Convention, it is not the Government’s policy to withdraw.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 July (HL Deb, col 575), whether they will clarify how the judgment in Tirkey v Chandhok has changed the law on caste discrimination.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The judgment suggests there is an existing legal remedy for claims of caste-associated discrimination, under the ‘ethnic origins’ element of Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for removing the study of feminism and gender equality from the A-level Politics curriculum.
Lord Nash
A public consultation on reformed content for politics AS and A level closed on 15 December. The proposed new content for politics A level will require all students to study core political theories. This is an improvement on the current system which does not require students to study any political ideologies, including feminism.
We are analysing the responses to the consultation and have started work with the exam boards to develop the content in light of the views expressed. We will listen carefully to the views of the sector and the wider public as part of this full consultation process.
Exam boards will continue to set the detailed content of qualifications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make provision to apply fixed recoverable costs across the range of fast-track cases, and in the lower reaches of the multi-track, as recommended by the judiciary and referred to in the Lord Chief Justice’s Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts of 2015.
Lord Faulks
The Government remains supportive of the principle of extending fixed recoverable costs and we continue to consider areas in which implementation might be appropriate and workable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the level of opposition from Scottish stakeholders to any repeal of the Act.
Lord Faulks
This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.