Tag: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the P5+1 agreement with Iran, what evidence they have that political prisoners such as Kamal Foroughi and Jason Rezaian have been released, or are being considered for early release, from detention; and what specific evidence they have of any overall progress in respect of such prisoners with UK or US passports.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have no evidence that dual national political prisoners such as Kamal Foroughi and Jason Rezaian have been, or are being considered, for early release from detention. Nor have we received specific evidence of any overall progress in respect of these dual national cases. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and as such we are not granted consular access in these cases. We continue to lobby the Iranian Government at the highest level. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised these issues with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and President Rouhani during his trip to Iran in August. The Foreign Secretary also raised it with Foreign Minister Zarif at the UN General Assembly in September. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised the case with President Rouhani during a telephone call in July, and wrote a further letter on this matter in October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 December 2015 (HL4261) and 2 February (HL5328), how many UK nationals or dual nationals they have succeeded in having repatriated, following incarceration by the Iranians, since 1 January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is not aware of any UK nationals who have been repatriated following incarceration by the Iranians in 2016. Mr Bahman Daroshafaei, a UK/Iranian dual national who was arrested in Iran in February 2016 was released on bail later that month.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the authority of Nottinghamshire Police to categorise wolf-whistling as a hate crime rather than a public nuisance; and whether they consider that such a decision may derogate from the seriousness of classification of hate crime.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The five strands of monitored hate crime (race, religion, sexual orientation transgender identity and disability) are the minimum categories that police officers and staff are ex-pected to record. There are, however, many other groups in society who have been targeted with hostility and crime. Any specific incidents of Hate Crime are an operational matter for the police.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the written answers by Lord Nash on 26 and 27 October 2015 (HL2579 and 2580), and the oral response by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 4 November (HL Deb, col 1635), what is the percentage turnover of (1) teachers who achieved Qualified Teacher Status through an undergraduate qualification, and (2) teachers who trained via the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, within (a) two years, (b) five years, and (c) 10 years, of beginning to teach.

Lord Nash

The latest statistics show that 81 percent of qualified teachers remain in service after 2 years, 72 percent of qualified teachers remain in service after 5 years, and 62 percent of qualified teachers remain in service after 10 years. This information is available in Table C2 of the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’ published in July 2015.

The requested breakdown by under/postgraduate route is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any precedent for an invitation to the leader of a foreign country to visit the UK in order to campaign on an internal national issue such as the forthcoming EU referendum.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The views expressed by the US President during his recent visit to the UK were his own.

I refer the noble Lord to the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron)’s oral response to the Rt Hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw), on Wednesday 27 April, Official Report, Column 1427, which is copied below for ease of reference:

‘Obviously I think we should listen to our friends and our allies, and as I look around the world it’s hard to find the leader of a country that wishes us well that wants us to do anything other than stay inside a reformed European Union.’

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 25 July (HL1110), whether they are at variance with the government of the Republic of Cyprus regarding its unilateral call for an end to current trade and economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU; and what assessment they have made of whether that call casts doubts on the Republic of Cyprus’ sincerity and dependability in other areas of common interest, including the Talks Process.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

On 1 July 2016, the European Council unanimously agreed to prolong economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 January 2017. The EU remains united in its strategy of resolving the Ukraine crisis through diplomacy underpinned by robust sanctions pressure. All EU Member States have agreed that the duration of the sanctions is linked to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements.

The UK has a strong relationship with the Republic of Cyprus. With respect to the Cyprus settlement talks, we commend the courageous leadership of President Anastasiasdes and Mr Akıncı. As The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan) made clear during his visit to Cyprus on 6-8 September, the UK will continue to support the efforts of both communities to reunite Cyprus.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 December 2015 (HL4621), whether they consider the four prisoners, including Jason Rezaian, recently released by Iran to the US each had dual citizenship, and whether they will use those cases as precedents in their approach to the case of Kamal Foroughi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We welcome the release of US prisoners held in Iran. The agreement between the US and Iran was a bilateral one, and has not changed Iran’s policy of not recognising dual nationality. We continue to raise our own consular cases, including Mr Foroughi, with the Iranians at the highest levels and to urge for their release.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to invite any leaders of foreign countries to come to the UK ostensibly on a courtesy visit but with the intention that they should canvass directly on any internal national issue.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The views expressed by the US President during his recent visit to the UK were his own.

I refer the noble Lord to the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron)’s oral response to the Rt Hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw), on Wednesday 27 April, Official Report, Column 1427, which is copied below for ease of reference:

‘Obviously I think we should listen to our friends and our allies, and as I look around the world it’s hard to find the leader of a country that wishes us well that wants us to do anything other than stay inside a reformed European Union.’

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time (1) from GP referral to initial specialist surgeon appointment, and (2) from initial specialist surgeon appointment to operation, for a hip replacement in the English regions of (a) London, (b) the South, (c) the Midlands and East, and (d) the North.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The information is not available in the format requested. The information which is available is from hospital episode statistics (HES), which give a detailed breakdown of individual episodes of care by procedure, including hip replacements. Within HES, it is not possible to link the outpatient and admitted patient datasets to determine if an outpatient appointment is linked to a subsequent hip replacement. It is therefore only possible to show time waited between decision to admit and admission to hospital. A table of this data is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how and when they intend to introduce and implement a comprehensive plan in relation to the Zika virus to (1) inform fully the British public about that virus, (2) advise on travel to Central and South America in the light of that virus’ prevalence in that region, and (3) clarify all known means of transmission of that virus.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre have issued travel advice to people who may be travelling to the affected countries, particularly pregnant women and provided information for the general public through the NHS Choices website.

PHE has been working with appropriate professional groups to develop information and guidance on Zika for clinicians. They have worked in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop specifically targeted at primary care which is available on the PHE website and has been cascaded by the RCGP. A copy of this guidance is attached.

PHE have also issued a Central Alerting System update alert letter to clinicians, which includes specific information and guidance about Zika virus and pregnancy and general guidance on Zika virus and travel. A copy of this is attached.

Although some evidence of sexual transmission exists and there is the possibility that blood transfusions may be able to transmit the virus this will be very rare. Transmission from mother to fetus via the placenta is also possible. If a person acquires Zika abroad and becomes ill on their return to the United Kingdom, mosquito-borne transmission will not occur as the mosquito is not present in the UK.

Information on these issues is available on the PHE website. The Government continues to monitor this situation very closely and will continue to take action as appropriate.