Tag: Lord Pearson of Rannoch

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of child refugees to the UK from Syria and elsewhere who are from Muslim families, and whether the families of such refugees will be able to follow them in due course.

Lord Bates

The Home Office does not record the religion of those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection for statistical purposes.

There is no provision in the Immigration Rules for children granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to sponsor family members to join them. The policy is designed to avoid creating incentives for children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their country and risk hazardous journeys to the UK, which would play right into the hands of people smugglers and traffickers.

Where a family reunion application fails under the Immigration Rules, there is provision in the policy to consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting a visa outside the Rules in individual cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Price on 1 June (HL107), (1) why HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoicing for trade with non-EU countries but not for EU countries, and (2) how they and the Bank of England manage sterling interest and exchange rates in the absence of such data.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoicing for trade with non-EU countries as a basis for calculating customs duty under customs and statistical law. It is published in the UK on a dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com) and available to all. This data is also used by the European Institutions (e.g. the European Central Bank) to monitor the share of the Euro in international trade. There is no legislative requirement for this information to be collected for trade with EU countries.

The UK’s monetary framework is clear, the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England sets Bank Rate to target 2% inflation. The UK does not have an exchange rate target, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly, and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the risk that their policy of further localism might lead to local authorities with high Muslim populations adopting Sharia law, if current trends in birth rate continue.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

This is not viewed as a risk by the Government. Localism does not mean that national law can be contravened, nor does it allow the creation of local court systems. Legislation remains the responsibility of Parliament, not local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 1 June (HL345), whether they can veto any proposed EU army, or whether this could go ahead under enhanced co-operation” between other EU member states.”

Earl Howe

The Prime Minister has been clear that the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces will never be part of a European army. In the Treaty on the European Union there is special provision for any decision within the EU that has military or defence implications. Such decisions must be made unanimously, meaning that the UK has a veto. This also applies to enhanced co-operation, which requires agreement by all member states before it can be undertaken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 10 February (HL5883), why the incorrect reference to the 20 November 2014 answer has been repeated, and whether they will now state what is the annual cost of paying in-work benefits to non-UK citizens from other EU countries in each of the last five years.

Lord Freud

The November 2014 answer (HL 5012) incorrectly referred to question number 211618 as having been responded to by Priti Patel, when in fact the answer was provided by Esther McVey.

I would like to apologise again for this, but would like to be clear that the mistake was to incorrectly state the name of the Minister providing the original response (211618)) and did not relate to the question number. Both responses HL 5012 and 5883 correctly referred the Honourable Lord to question number 211618.

The original reference to question 211618 was provided because the information has not changed; information on benefit receipt by nationality is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many EU proposals and initiatives, of which they are aware, are being delayed for publication until after 23 June, and what are those initiatives.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Decisions on the timing of proposals for EU Laws and Directives are solely the responsibility of the European Commission. The European Parliament publishes details of current legislation under negotiation on its website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are employed by the EU, including the European Court of Justice; and at what annual cost.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In 2015, the EU and its institutions including the European Court of Justice employed 40,106 permanent members of staff. Further information on staff levels and administrative expenditure is available on the European Commission’s website.

In 2013, the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), delivered a real-terms cut to the seven year EU budget framework for the first time in history and this deal continues to bring discipline to annual EU spending. As part of this deal, the UK secured some important reforms to administrative expenditure, including: a cash freeze to EU institutions staff salaries in 2013 and 2014, an increase in the retirement age for EU officials and a commitment by all EU institutions to reduce headcounts by 5% by the end of 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 June (HL344), which countries participate in the EU Gendarmerie Force; what is its purpose; and whether it could operate on British soil.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The European Gendarmerie Force comprises police forces with military status from Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Poland. Its work relates to crisis management operations and it’s purpose is set out in the Treaty of Velsen and the Declaration of intent, both of which are available at: http://www.eurogendfor.org/organisation/what-is-eurogendfor.

The European Gendarmerie Force’s insignia differs from the EU’s flag or branding. The UK does not participate in the European Gendarmerie Force and in the event that it ever sought permission to operate in the UK that would require the agreement of the appropriate authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of grooming and sexual exploitation in Rotherham and elsewhere which has been carried out by (1) Muslims, and (2) those of other faiths or no faith.

Lord Keen of Elie

The Government does not hold information on the faith of those accused or convicted of child sexual exploitation (CSE) offences.

CSE is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion, and anyone who abuses children must be stopped. It happens in all areas of the country and can take many different forms. However, the previous Government’s ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’ report of March 2015 makes it very clear that the issue of race, regardless of ethnic group, should be tackled as a priority if it is known to be a significant factor in the criminal activity of organised abuse in any local community.

The College of Policing (CoP) has issued clear guidance on how police forces should respond to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation. This is available on the CoP website at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/child-abuse/ .

In addition the National Policing Lead for child protection has taken action to revise the national policing CSE action plan to take account of the learning from the Professor Alexis Jay report and other recent publications. All Chief Constables have committed to this action plan that aims to raise standards in tackling CSE so that the police are providing a consistently strong approach to protecting vulnerable young people. The action plan is available on the CoP website at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/child-sexual-exploitation/cse-action-plan/

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 June (HL344), whether they gave their consent for the EU Gendarmerie Force to wear the EU emblem on their uniforms; if so, whether they plan to withdraw their consent; and if not, what representations they have made to the relevant authorities about the use of that emblem.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The European Gendarmerie Force comprises police forces with military status from Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Poland. Its work relates to crisis management operations and it’s purpose is set out in the Treaty of Velsen and the Declaration of intent, both of which are available at: http://www.eurogendfor.org/organisation/what-is-eurogendfor.

The European Gendarmerie Force’s insignia differs from the EU’s flag or branding. The UK does not participate in the European Gendarmerie Force and in the event that it ever sought permission to operate in the UK that would require the agreement of the appropriate authorities.