Tag: Lord Lester of Herne Hill

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the research on maternity discrimination, Pregnancy and Maternity – Related Discrimination and Disadvantage: First Findings, whether they will consider extending the time limit for bringing maternity discrimination claims before an employment tribunal from three to six months.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The government will await the final report on pregnancy and maternity discrimination and carefully consider any recommendations from the Equality and Human Rights Commission before deciding on next steps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will implement the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Joint Committee on Human Rights to raise the minimum age of armed forces’ recruitment to 18; and if not, why not.

Earl Howe

All recruitment into the UK military is voluntary and no young person under the age of 18 years may join our Armed Forces unless their application is accompanied by the formal written consent of their parent or guardian. We take the duty of care towards all recruits seriously, in particular those under 18 years of age. We have robust, effective and independently verified safeguards in place to ensure that under-18s are cared for properly.

The Armed Forces do not intend to phase out the recruitment of personnel under the age of 18. Our policies on under-18s in Service are robust and comply with national and international law. In addition to the comprehensive welfare system that is in place for all Service personnel we remain fully committed to meeting our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and have taken steps to bestow special safeguards on young people under the age of 18.

The provision of education and training for 16-year-old school leavers provides a route into the Armed Forces that complies with Government education policy and offers a significant foundation for emotional, physical and educational development throughout an individual’s career.

All recruits aged under 18 receive key skills education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it, and all are enrolled onto apprenticeships. The Armed Forces remain the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. Over 95% of all recruits, no matter what their age or prior qualifications, enrol in an apprenticeship each year. The Armed Forces offer courses in a wide range of skills, such as engineering, information and communications technology, construction, driving, and animal care. Ofsted regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve.

Our policy on under-18s is published in Part 2 of Joint Service Publication 898, "Defence Direction and Guidance on Training, Education and Skills", available at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433762/20141126-JSP_898_Part2_Guidance_v1_1.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 3 February (HL4852), whether they aim to release the official records from 1987 relating to the ban on the publication of Spycatcher that year; and if not, when they expect those records will be released to the National Archives under the 20-year rule.

Lord Bridges of Headley

As set out in my answer to the noble Lord on 3 February, the Cabinet Office is actively reviewing its remaining 1987 and 1988 files and is seeking to complete this work as quickly as possible. It would be premature to comment about what will be released until this work is complete.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish the report by Ian Acheson into the role of Muslim clerics in prisons in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Justice is currently considering the recommendations of the review of Extremism. As the Secretary of State told the House on 26 April, a summary document will be published in due course. The full report cannot be published due to sensitive security issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with negotiating parties in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement to ensure that the provisions relating to copyright, trade secrets and intellectual property do not harm freedom of expression.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK is not a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and as such we have not had discussions with negotiating parties on provisions relating
to copyright, trade secrets and intellectual property and their impact on freedom of expression.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 17 December (HL4279), whether they plan to collect information about overseas funding of the preaching and teaching of Wahhabism in mosques and Muslim education bodies.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

HM Government’s Counter Extremism Strategy and counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, set out our approach to tackling the full range of factors that allow extremist and terrorist groups to grow and flourish. These include directly challenging ideologies, including those which have a theological basis. The review into funding of extremism in the UK will include funding that comes from overseas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take, if any, in response to the Court of Appeal’s declaration, in relation to the case of David Miranda and the safeguarding of journalistic material, that Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 is incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Bates

The Court of Appeal’s judgment in the Miranda litigation dealt with Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 as in force at the time of David Miranda’s examination, which took place in August 2013. In March 2015, the Home Office updated the Code of Practice for Schedule 7 Examining and Review Officers to direct that examining officers may not examine material they reasonably believe to be journalistic using Schedule 7. Given this amendment, the government considers that Schedule 7 as currently in force is compatible with Article 10 of the Convention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for the appointment of prison imams.

Lord Faulks

Prison Governors are responsible for appointing all Chaplains into prison based roles.

In order to ensure our current practice is as robust and effective as possible in dealing with extremism in prison, the Justice Secretary commissioned a review, supported by external expertise, of the overall approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and the youth justice system and is currently considering the recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the feasibility study of 2014 on caste discrimination.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We are currently considering the conclusions and recommendations of the caste feasibility study as part of our wider consideration of the implications of the Tirkey v Chandok tribunal judgments. We will keep the House informed of further developments on this matter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any correlation between Wahhabism and extremism and terrorism in the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

HM Government’s Counter Extremism Strategy and counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, set out our approach to tackling the full range of factors that allow extremist and terrorist groups to grow and flourish. These include directly challenging ideologies, including those which have a theological basis. The review into funding of extremism in the UK will include funding that comes from overseas.