Tag: Lord Patten

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effect on relations between the UK and Turkey of the closure of media outlets in Turkey following the attempted coup of 15 July.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Following the failed coup on 15 July the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan), travelled to Ankara on 20 and 21 July to express the Government’s support for Turkey’s democratically elected government. He also emphasised to senior politicians the need for Turkey to adhere to international human rights obligations in the aftermath of the coup and during the imposition of a state of emergency, including press freedom and the rule of law. The Government continues to follow events there closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to announce plans before 2020 to replace the single track railway lines between Salisbury and Exeter with double track railway lines in order to further promote economic growth in that region.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

In August 2015 Network Rail published the outcome of the Wessex and Western Route Studies undertaken by the rail industry. This includes a review of the future demand on the line between London, Salisbury and Exeter.

The Government expects to set out in July 2017 its investment plan for the railways during 2019 to 2024 and will take account of the industry proposals in developing this plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their representatives in any UK embassies are banned from making representations concerning capital punishment in any country or countries.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

No such bans exist. On the contrary, the pursuit of the abolition of the death penalty is part of what the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has called the “every day work” of our missions in countries which continue to implement the death penalty.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which areas of Turkey are safe for British travellers.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The areas of Turkey to which we advise against travel are clearly set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s travel advice. The FCO advise against all travel to within 10 km of the border with Syria and to the city of Diyarbakir. The FCO advise against all but essential travel to the remaining areas of Sirnak, Mardin, Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Kilis and Hatay provinces; and to Siirt, Tunceli and Hakkari.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11 May (HL8205), whether they hold information on the number of single line tracks on passenger lines in their records; and if not, why not.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Department for Transport does not hold detailed records of track layouts. These records are held by the Infrastructure Operators. The information is provided to the Department on request and is also available in commercial map publications at specialist railway bookshops.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effect on UK–Turkish financial services transactions of the reported collection by the Turkish government of client research carried out by Turkish brokerage houses following the attempted coup of 15 July.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is aware of news reporting of Turkish brokerage houses’ research being sought by the Turkish authorities, but the impact on UK-Turkish financial services transactions is as yet unclear. It is not unusual for governments to refer to research undertaken by independent researchers and analysts. We have and continue to emphasise that the Turkish Government’s response to the coup attempt must be demonstrably lawful and proportionate. We will continue to engage with the Turkish Government on its response to the coup attempt and monitor the situation closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they next intend to revise or update the Agricultural Land Classification Survey guidelines.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government currently has no plan to revise or update the Agricultural Land Classification Survey guidelines, but will keep their suitability under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 29 December 2015 (HL4764), whether they will list the social and environmental influences that they take into account when defining character or the propensity to commit crime.

Lord Bates

An individual’s character and propensity to offend are influenced by a range of factors, but could include social aspects of a person’s upbringing or their environment.

As the Home Secretary has set out, there is nothing inevitable about criminality, however, and most people do not go on to become criminals whatever circumstances they grow up in. And it is important to remember that the only cause of a crime is, in the end, the criminal. The government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy will focus on tackling the six key drivers of crime, including character, and will be published in the spring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of damage caused to the gardens of urban and rural householders by badgers in England.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra is not aware of any studies that quantify the extent of garden damage by badgers. Where serious damage is, or is likely to be, caused by badgers or their setts, there is provision within the legislation for action to be taken under licence. Garden damage due to foraging alone is not normally considered sufficiently serious to warrant the issue of a licence.

Natural England receives around 800 licence applications per year to interfere with badger setts. Of these, just over 50% relate to damage caused by badgers but not all involve residential properties or gardens. With regard to gardens, the usual action is to exclude badgers from the sett and proof the area against further damage. There is a presumption against licensing trapping and relocating badgers on disease and animal welfare grounds.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 29 April (HL7747), whether the regulations regarding rights of way provisions that will be subject to affirmative resolution will also be subject to any further public consultation.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The changes to the public path order regime that the Government is introducing were part of a full public consultation carried out in May 2012. We are now implementing those changes through amendments to the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993. We are consulting further with both the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities on the detail of the amendments.