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Tag: Lord Patten

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many occasions in each of the last 10 years there have been incursions by Spanish naval or other state vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters; and on how many occasions they have summoned the Spanish Ambassador or made other diplomatic representations over such incursions.

    Baroness Warsi

    The total number of unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW), from 2010 onwards, are as follows:

    2010 – 103
    2011 – 24
    2012 – 229
    2013 – 496
    Jan-May 2014 – 185

    During this period, the Spanish Ambassador has been summoned three times on incursions related matters – 15 November 2012, 19 November 2013 and 2 April 2014. The British Government cannot readily provide statistics for incursions into BGTW by Spanish State vessels before 2010. This could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. The Government upholds British sovereignty over BGTW by challenging and protesting unlawful incursions. We will continue to make representations to the Spanish government at the highest level, making clear the damage they cause to our bilateral relationship.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the standards of design used for new homes in large-scale greenfield developments in England since 2010.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Government is keen to ensure that new homes are well-designed and the National Planning Policy Framework and accompanying Practice Guidance strongly encourages local authorities, working with local partners, to achieve this. However, information about the standard of design for new homes is not collected centrally.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the reasons the government of Spain has given for sending warships and other state vessels into territorial waters around Gibraltar.

    Baroness Warsi

    Our assessment is that unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish State vessels are a futile attempt to assert Spain’s legal position in respect of the waters. Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar, including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of death sentences handed down so far during 2014 in Egypt; and whether they have discussed the issue with the government of Egypt.

    Baroness Warsi

    The British Government is aware of 559 people who have been sentenced to death in Egypt during 2014, including 529 by a court in Minya on 24 March. We are deeply concerned by these sentences. We have raised this issue with the Egyptian government, most recently during the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s meeting with Foreign Minister Fahmy on 2 April. The Foreign Secretary asked the Egyptian government to review these sentences as a matter of urgency and to ensure that the individuals’ human and legal rights were properly upheld. The Foreign Secretary also made a statement on 24 March in which he expressed his concern over the sentences.

    It is the long-standing policy of the British Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of death sentences handed down so far during 2014 in Iran; and whether they have discussed the issue with President Rouhani and the government of Iran.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    We are deeply concerned by reports of more than 100 executions in the first three months of 2014, including for crimes not considered by the international community to be the ‘most serious’ and for which the death penalty can be applied. We have raised our concerns about Iran’s use of the death penalty with the Iranian authorities; and will continue to do so.