Tag: Lord Patten

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 June (HL758) about the recognition of genocide, which judicial bodies could take such a decision.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We continue to believe that recognition of genocide should be a matter for competent courts, decided by judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a policy about the number of children a family or individual should have; and if so, what it is.

Baroness Altmann

The Government does not have a policy on the number of children a family or individual should have.

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 Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 December 2015 (HL4413), whether passengers are involved in developing schemes for the railway between Salisbury and Exeter to meet their needs and support economic growth; and if so, how.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Network Rail’s Route Studies are part of the rail industry’s Long Term Planning Process. They look at the period from 2019 to 2043. They interpret the outputs from the previous market studies to determine the specific aspirations in terms of capacity and connectivity for the geographical area based on detailed demand analysis to forecast growth tailored to create specific forecasts for geographical areas.

The analysis identifies where forecast demand is likely to be mismatched with anticipated capacity and indicates where interventions such as train lengthening or additional services may be required.

Network Rail set up regional and wider stakeholder groups for both the Wessex and the Western Route Studies. Passenger representatives were involved in all these groups and the 90 day public consultations on the draft route studies received responses from a wide range of parties including individual members of public, campaign and user groups, MPs and local authorities which are summarised in the final Route Study documents . Copies of both Route Studies have been placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the EU about its public response to the takeover of the Turkish newspaper Zaman.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

EU leaders discussed the issue of press freedom with the Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, at the EU-Turkey summit on Monday 7 March. As a friend and ally, we urge the Turkish government to uphold the right of media to operate without restriction. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), did so when he met Turkey’s Prime Minister at the summit and underlined the importance of protections for a free press and human rights in Turkey. 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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 21 April (HL7530), what is their assessment of the state of trade relations between the UK and Poland.

Lord Price

The UK-Poland trade relationship is strong and is set to get stronger. In 2014, the value of UK exports to Poland amounted to £3.84billion and UK imports from Poland £7.84 billion.

The Government’s focus on trade and investment with Poland is on 6 strategic sectors which we believe offer most opportunity for UK exporters. These are defence and security, energy, infrastructure, financial services, healthcare & life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

Our Embassy in Warsaw works in close collaboration with a recently established Overseas Business Network (OBN) partner to identify business opportunities for British firms and then to help them make the most of them. In 2015-2016, they were directly involved in winning contracts worth almost £450 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 June (HL759), in which areas of reform in Turkey they believe there has been significant backsliding”.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government has stressed to the Government of Turkey the importance of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the independence of the judiciary. In meetings with the Turkish Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and others during a recent visit to Turkey the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan) emphasised the UK’s unequivocal condemnation of the coup attempt and our support for Turkey’s democratic institutions. The Minister of State also emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law and urged continued focus on the Daesh threat, emphasising the need to protect British tourists.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government with which countries they have raised human rights since May.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government frequently raises issues with international partners. In addition to bilateral dialogues where we raise our concerns in person, we also set out our approach and priorities in the Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. The next report, due to be published in April 2016, will describe our work to tackle human rights challenges in approximately 30 priority countries. These countries will provide a focus for our human rights and democracy project funding in the next financial year. We also regularly raise human rights issues in multilateral fora, for example the UN Human Rights Council and at the Council of Europe.

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 Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 9 December 2015 (HL4410), whether any other Commonwealth countries prohibit the public observance of any religion other than Islam; and what discussions they have held with the Commonwealth authorities over freedom of religion.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Further to my previous answer there are no other Commonwealth countries where the public observance of any religion other than Islam is prohibited. We continue to believe that all Commonwealth members should abide by the Commonwealth Charter which emphasises the need to promote tolerance, respect, understanding, moderation and religious freedom as critical steps in promoting peace and prosperity.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in November 2015, Heads reaffirmed the importance of human rights. They recognised that freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of religion or belief are cornerstones of democratic societies, and important for the enjoyment of all human rights, including the right to development, and are fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. They also emphasised the need to protect individuals from all forms of violence and discrimination.

We will continue to raise individual cases and highlight practices and laws that discriminate against people on the basis of their religion or belief with those countries concerned. We will also continue to encourage Commonwealth partners to embrace the values set out in the Commonwealth Charter, including the freedom of religion or belief. We also look forward to discussing freedom of religion and other issues with the new Commonwealth Secretary General when she takes up office in April.

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 the definition of the term Commonwealth values” when used by that organisation.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We believe that Commonwealth values are those set out clearly in the Commonwealth Charter which was adopted by Heads of Government on 14 December 2012. These include democracy, human rights, international peace and security, through to gender equality and the role of civil society. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth Secretariat to ensure that commitments in the Charter are upheld, adhered to and kept under review by member governments, parliaments and civil society organisations. Hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018 will give us the opportunity to build on the excellent progress made in Malta and reinforce the need for all members to observe the values outlined in the Charter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many single line tracks there are on passenger lines within a 120 mile radius of all London rail stations; and what they are.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

This is an operational matter for Network Rail and London Underground.