The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had discussions with the Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission concerning railway links between London and south-west England.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government has had discussions on a range of topics with the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. The commission will examine all forms of economic infrastructure, including rail transport.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 22 January (HL4917), whether they have plans to ask the Commonwealth authorities to publish compliance tables in respect of Commonwealth members’ adherence to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of religion or belief in their countries.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We currently have no plans to request the Commonwealth authorities to publish compliance tables in respect of Commonwealth members’ adherence to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of religion or belief in their countries. My noble Friend may wish to contact the Commonwealth Secretariat directly for more information about their monitoring processes. Their London address is: The Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5HX.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of nightly rough sleepers within a quarter of a mile of New Scotland Yard.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million.
This will include a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to tackle rough sleeping, and will build on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative, which saw two-thirds of rough sleepers in London come off the streets after a single night.
DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping. While they are not collected at the level requested, they are available by local authority. These are available (the latest figures are attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2015.
The GLA collects more detailed statistics on rough sleeping in London. These are available at: http://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-06-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 26 May (HL137), whether they will place a record of their consultations with the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities in the Library of the House; and if so, by what date.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Explanatory Memorandum to the regulations amending the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 will record the outcome of both the public consultation in 2012 and the Government’s further discussions with the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities.
Extracts of the minutes from the relevant meetings of the Stakeholder Working Group will be placed in the Library of the House when the amendments to the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 are laid before the House for approval.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 21 December 2015 (HL4409), when was the last revision of the Agricultural Land Classification Survey guidelines.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The latest government guidance was published by MAFF in early 1989 and in 2000, a ‘predictive map’ for Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) was created which complemented but did not replace the ALC maps. Research funded by Defra, published on 14 January, looked at the predicted effects of climate change on ALC grading. Whilst the work has shown the ALC system to be robust it highlights that changes to grading may be required post 2030.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 8 February (HL5486), whether they have evidence that the Turkish Air Force has bombed its citizens in the predominantly Kurdish areas of south-east Turkey since the beginning of 2015.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The ongoing violence in the predominantly Kurdish areas of south east Turkey is extremely concerning. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill members of the Turkish police service and security forces in violent terrorist attacks. The Turkish government has responded by striking PKK targets in south-east Turkey, including with the use of air power. We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the PKK, whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. We continue to monitor the situation closely. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and our Ambassador in Ankara have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights, avoid civilian casualties and return to the peace process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the impact on British shipping of the decision by the President of Egypt to give control of the expansion of the Suez Canal to the Egyptian armed forces.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are not aware of any impact on British shipping in relation to the Egyptian armed forces’ involvement with the Suez Canal. The New Suez Canal Project, completed in August 2015, has shortened the transit time and has increased the number of ships which the Canal can handle on a daily basis. The Egyptian armed forces continue to provide security for the Canal and support the activity of the Suez Canal Authority as they did before the expansion of the Canal.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-06-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 25 May (HL39), what discussions they have had with the National Trust about badger culls; what was the outcome of those discussions; and whether they will publish the results of those discussions.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra officials have regular conversations with the National Trust about the Government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) in England. The National Trust has published its view on badgers and TB on its website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to set a maximum limit on the length of time that an individual can be detained in immigration detention centres.
Lord Bates
It is not possible to detain someone indefinitely under immigration powers. In order to detain an individual pending removal there must be a realistic prospect of removal in a reasonable timeframe.
Each case is determined on its own merits. The introduction of an arbitrary time limit could lead to the release of foreign criminals and illegal immigrants even when their removal is imminent.
Home Office guidance is clear that detention should be used sparingly, and for the shortest period reasonably necessary to achieve its purpose. Published statistics show that, in the year to September 2015, over 90 per cent of individuals leaving detention had been detained for no longer than four months.
The Home Secretary commissioned Stephen Shaw CBE, the former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales, to undertake an independent review of welfare in the immigration detention estate. His report and the Government’s response to the report were published on 14 January by means of a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS).
The Government’s response includes the implementation of a new approach to the case management of those who are detained, aligned with a new “adult at risk” policy to ensure more rigorous assessment of those entering detention through a new gate-keeping function, maintaining this rigour through the new removals plans process to maintain a strong focus on, and momentum towards, removal.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on press freedom of the takeover of the Turkish newspaper Zaman.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We continue to monitor specific cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November 2015, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in these areas. These reports reinforce our long-standing concerns about freedom of press in Turkey. Freedom of press and access to a range of views are crucial in a democracy. As a friend and ally, we urge the Turkish government to uphold the right of media to operate without restriction.