Tag: Lord Roberts of Llandudno

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are being put in place, in co-operation with the government of France, to support asylum seekers in Calais this winter.

Lord Bates

The French Government is responsible for the care of migrants in Calais, including support over the winter. However, both governments are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. One aspect of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August committed the UK to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to these migratory pressures and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many personal interviews with adults applying for a passport for the first time have been conducted in each year since such interviews were required, and what has been the total cost of conducting those interviews.

Lord Bates

The 2007-08 information below reflects the pilot and roll out of the Interview offices across this period of time. The increase in costs in 2008-09 reflects the final locations and staff starting. The reduction in costs between 2011 and 2012 reflects the reduction in locations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to honour the humanitarian commitments set out in paragraphs 17 and 18 of the 20 August 2015 Anglo-French agreement Managing Migratory Flows in Calais: Joint Ministerial Declaration on UK/French Co-operation.

Lord Bates

The UK Government is not providing funding to support the migrant camps in Dunkirk or Calais. Instead, and in line with the joint approach of the UK and France as set out in the Joint Declaration of 20 August, the UK has committed to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. This is so that migrants can be helped to enter the French asylum system in a safe, systematic and humane manner. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to meet the demands of increasing world-wide migration.

Lord Bates

The Government undertakes extensive engagement on global migration issues with international partners through multilateral and bilateral discussions. The frequency of engagement has increased since the migration crisis in summer 2015 and focuses on the root causes of the crisis and its consequences. UK participation in the Valletta Summit and the Khartoum Process are key parts of this engagement.

In order to tackle the unprecedented levels of illegal migration to the EU, we are prioritising interventions upstream in countries of origin and transit to reduce the need for migrants to leave their country of origin or move on from a safe third country. Action is being taking through regional initiatives, including Regional Development and Protection Programmes and overseas aid, including £1.12 billion of support to Syria. We are supporting work to strengthen the EU’s external border and joint action on human trafficking to crack down on those who profit from this vile trade. The Government recently announced that it will work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to resettle unaccompanied children from conflict regions. We have asked the UNHCR to make an assessment of the numbers and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK and how that process should be managed. This new initiative builds on the Government’s existing commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees during this Parliament. More than 1,000 vulnerable Syrians refugees – around half of them children – have already been resettled through the scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK citizens have been prosecuted for non-payment of taxes in the last 10 years; and how many of these were prosecuted for avoiding paying £1,000 or less.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The information is not held in the form requested.

The smallest amount of revenue loss prevented in respect of individuals prosecuted between 2011/12 and 2014/15 is £162. The person prosecuted was a member of aircrew who attempted to bring 600 cigarettes into the UK without declaring them, thus attempting to evade the correct excise duty on them. Aircrew are deemed to hold privileged positions due to their unrestricted airport access and HM Revenue and Customs has a zero tolerance approach to prosecution should they not declare dutiable goods when entering the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated income from tourists from the EU who visited the UK in each of the last five years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

In 2011, tourists from the EU spent £8.26 billion in the UK. This was £8.28 billion in 2012, £9.19 billion in 2013, £9.55 billion in 2014 and £9.71 billion in 2015. This Government is committed to further growing the tourism industry across the whole of Britain, encouraging more visitors to travel beyond the capital.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why in some areas doctors will not prescribe the blood testing strips for use in devices intended to help control blood glucose levels.

Lord Prior of Brampton

There are no national restrictions on the prescribing of blood glucose testing strips to patients with diabetes. A variety of brands of blood glucose testing strips are listed in the Drug Tariff for general practitioners to prescribe for their patients as required. It is for local commissioners and clinicians to make decisions on how these strips should feature in the provision of diabetes services for their local populations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims made by young asylum seekers in Calais in the past 12 months are still being processed; and how long is the average process time for such cases.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The number of asylum claims made in France over any given period, and their outcome, is a matter for the French authorities.

The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism for determining responsibility for considering an asylum claim. If accepted for transfer to the UK, the asylum claim is considered in the UK after the individual has been transferred.

The Home Office has accepted responsibility to consider the asylum claims of over 80 unaccompanied minors from France under Dublin since the start of the year and many more are in train.

Dublin transfer requests involving children are now generally processed within 10 days by a dedicated team in the Home Office. Children can then be transferred within weeks and are now arriving in the UK on an almost weekly basis. A senior Home Office official has been seconded to the French Interior Ministry to help speed up the process of identifying children who may qualify for transfer to the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 September (HL1909), what assessment they have made of the impact of the large number of migrants camped at Calais on the United Kingdom’s relationship with France.

Lord Bates

The French Government is responsible for the care of migrants in Calais, including support over the winter. However, both governments are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. One aspect of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August committed the UK to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to these migratory pressures and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many adults applying for a passport for the first time have failed the personal interview test in each year since such interviews were required.

Lord Bates

Interview offices were established in 2008 for first time adult applicants. From 2008 to 2010 information on failed interviews was held in each Interview Office and not collated or transformed into centrally held data. A failed interview does not automatically mean the passport application has failed. It indicates that the interviewer was not fully satisfied with the answers given within the allotted interview time and the application requires further investigation.

During this period a number of changes were made to the way in which we conduct our interviews; these changes have led to fewer interviews being failed. Our new interview processes are more flexible and allow us to gather more details from the applicant at the interview stage. This means that interview staff are able to progress the application to a point where they can advise central examining teams that a passport should be issued. Previously, with less freedom in the questions they could put to the applicant they may have had to fail the interview so that these details could be established by another means later on in the process.