Tag: Lord Patten

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

“

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 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by the Syrian Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart on the BBC Radio Four programme Sunday that European countries taking in Syrian refugees are harming Syria.

Lord Bates

The Government has been leading the way for a comprehensive and sustainable response to the conflict in Syria. The Government believes that the best way to help the majority of the many displaced Syrians across the globe is through practical and political action within affected regions. That is why the Government has prioritised humanitarian assistance in crisis regions and supports regional protection programmes which will improve the conditions for refugees seeking protection in their region of origin until they are able to return to their homes.

The Government recognises, however, that not all displaced Syrians can be supported effectively in the region and that is why we have committed to granting protection to 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees under our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme over the course of this Parliament.

The Government shares Archbishop Jean-Clement’s view that we must actively seek an end to the conflict as it is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for Syrian refugees, as opposed to larger scale relocation or resettlement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when ministers last met representatives of the Investment Association to discuss fund management industry matters.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Ministers’ Quarterly Transparency Returns provide details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business and are published on a quarterly basis and can be found on the Government’s website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Turkey’s application to accede to the European Union, what assessment they have made of (1) freedom of the press and media, and (2) freedom of the judiciary, in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As part of their EU accession process, we encourage Turkey to continue to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, including the principles of freedom of expression, the separation of powers and an impartial judiciary. We welcome progress made thus far, and as the EU Commission has highlighted, further sustained work is needed to meet EU standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the welfare of Iraqi Christians fleeing that country; and how many have been granted refugee status in the United Kingdom in each year since 2010.

Lord Bates

Our country information and guidance recognises that, in general, religious minorities including Christians, are particularly vulnerable and are likely to be at risk of persecution in parts of Iraq. Each claim is considered on its individual merits, taking into account up to date country information.

In the 5 years since 2010, we have granted refugee status to 20 Iraqi’s with a claimed Christian religion however we are unable to confirm that the reason for the grant of status was on the basis of their Christianity.

Religion	Granted in Year					Grand Total
2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Christian	5	4	2	2	6	19
Christian – Coptic/Orthodox		1				1
Grand Total	5	5	2	2	6	20

“