Tag: Lord Lester of Herne Hill

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the appropriate level for the BBC licence fee and of the case for that level being recommended by an independent regulator.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The BBC Charter Review Consultation Paper, published in July 2015, set out the issues for consideration in Charter Review, including questions about how the BBC is funded. The Government will set out its proposals in the forthcoming White Paper, but remains clear that the licence fee is a tax and therefore should ultimately be decided by Ministers. The level of the licence fee will be agreed once questions on the BBC’s scope and purposes, have been agreed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 13 June (HL424), whether another country’s failure to recognise dual citizenship impedes the UK from offering consular assistance to an individual whose fundamental rights are being violated.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Dual citizenship is allowed in the UK and we respect the rights of Britons who choose to have dual nationality in the UK or overseas. However we acknowledge that many countries do not accept dual nationality, or allow it in the same way as the UK.

The consular assistance we offer to dual British nationals overseas depends on where they are and their circumstances.

We do not normally offer support to dual nationals who are in the country of their other nationality, however we consider each case on the circumstances and we may make exceptions if there are special humanitarian reasons to do so.

In countries where dual nationality is not recognised we offer assistance and lobby for consular access, but the other country has the right to refuse to grant such access.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they cancelled 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The Ministry of Justice has not entered into, or withdrawn from, a contract with Saudi Arabia concerning justice, security and policing.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 Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 4 December (HL3813), what is their assessment of whether they have the power under section 24 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to give direction to the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland to secure their compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights; and whether the Secretary of State has considered exercising any such power to secure full compliance in Northern Ireland with its obligations under the Convention in relation to equal marriage, blasphemy and defamation.

Lord Dunlop

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland does not have the power under section 24 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to give direction to the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland to secure their compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The UK Government recognises and respects the devolution settlement in Northern Ireland and in any event does not have power under section 24 to secure full compliance in Northern Ireland with its obligations under the Convention in relation to equal marriage, blasphemy and defamation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4704), whether the decisions not to transfer records to the National Archive were in each case in accordance with the advice given by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, and in each case what that advice was.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Yes, all decisions were made in accordance with the advice by the Advisory Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for maintaining the scale and scope of the BBC’s coverage on all platforms.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

These issues are being considered as part of Charter Review. The Government will set out its proposals in the forthcoming White Paper.

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.