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Tag: Lord Roberts of Llandudno

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to offer to those waiting in the immigration and asylum appeal process (1) the right to work after six months, and (2) an automatic right to engage in voluntary work at the beginning of the process.

    Lord Bates

    We have no plans to reduce the time asylum seekers have to wait to take up employment or voluntary work. Volunteering can be undertaken at any stage of the asylum process and we support asylum seekers who engage in this positive contribution to the community, providing such activities do not amount to voluntary work or employment.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to continue enforced removals to Mogadishu, Somalia, pending the publication of an official decision on the country guidance case and an official statement by the Home Secretary; and, if so, why.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    There are no existing court judgments that have found that all removals to Somalia are unsafe or should be suspended. An existing country guidance judgment promulgated in November 2011 recognised that many but not all Somalis returning to the country after a significant time abroad would be at risk on return. However, the determination also recognised that the country situation was improving and each case needed to be considered on its individual merits.

    We are awaiting a country guidance determination on the country situation in Somalia. However, the High Court has previously ruled that automatic stays on removal simply because a country guidance case is pending are not necessary. A stay of removal is at the discretion of the courts in each particular case and on its own facts.

    We will continue to assess each case on its individual merits against the latest country information and existing, relevant caselaw.

    We will only enforce the return of Somali nationals who we, and the courts, are satisfied are not at risk on return and who do not elect to leave voluntarily.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-03-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the recent finding in the Demos report, Introducing Generation Citizen, that 84 per cent of 14- to 17-year-olds intend to vote when they attain the age of 18, how they intend to ensure that such intentions to vote translate into first-time voting behaviour amongst young people; and what steps they are taking to ensure that education establishments are committed to registering all 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The new key stage 4 citizenship programme to be taught from September 2014 requires that pupils should be taught about “the different electoral systems used in and beyond the United Kingdom and actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.”

    The government has also made available £4.2 million funding to all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain and 5 national organisations. Electoral registration officers have been encouraged to support the delivery of Rock Enrol! in their area, a learning resource which not only provides an opportunity for young people to register to vote, but enables them to discuss the importance of doing so.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage (1) attainers, and (2) all eligible voters, to apply to register to vote online; and, whether they have plans to combine (1) electoral registration, and (2) voting, with incentives such as discounted council tax or local prize-draws.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    UK Youth and Scottish Youth Parliament, who both received a share of the £4.2 million funding for maximising registration, are developing and testing approaches to promote engagement of young people with the democratic process. The Government has made available for free the Rock Enrol! learning resource, and is working with the Higher Education sector to promote on-line registration during course enrolment for students. Over the summer the Electoral Commission will be running a nationwide media campaign which will make prominent reference to the new online registration page.

    The Government has no plans to legislate to require Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers to incentivise electoral registration and voting, such as with discounted council tax or prize draws.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether migrants detained in HM Prison The Verne from 24 March will have access to (1) Rule 35 procedures to determine whether their health would be damaged by detention, for example, due to a history of torture, (2) mobile telephones and the internet, (3) the ability to receive telephone calls from solicitors, family and friends, and (4) on-site legal advice surgeries; and if not, why not.

    Lord Faulks

    HM Prison The Verne started taking immigration detainees as scheduled from 24 March 2014. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will retain The Verne as a prison in the short term. Its designation as a prison will be reviewed later this year, with the intention of completing the re-designation to an immigration removal centre by the end of September 2014.

    While The Verne retains its designation as a prison it will be governed by Prison Rules rather than Detention Centre Rules. As The Verne is not governed by Detention Centre Rules, Rule 35 of those rules is not applicable.

    Detainees held at The Verne will be treated in the same way as other detainees held within the prison estate. As such they will not have access to mobile telephones or the internet, nor will they be able to receive telephone calls. They will, however, be able to make telephone calls and will have access to both social and legal visits.

    There is a dedicated Home Office Immigration Enforcement Team on site who will see detainees routinely on induction and upon request. In addition, independent immigration advice will be provided by Migrant Help.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their (1) current estimate, and (2) projected estimate as of 7 May 2015, of the number of (a) 16 to 17 year-olds, and (b) 18 to 24 year-olds, in the United Kingdom; and, of their current estimate, what proportion of (1) 16 to 17 year-olds, and (2) 18 to 24 year-olds, in the United Kingdom are currently registered to vote.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) mid-2013 UK Population Estimate can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/population-estimates-for-uk–england-and-wales–scotland-and-northern-ireland/2013/index.html. The ONS has not made a projected estimate for 7 May 2015.

    Data on the proportion of 16 to 17 year olds and 18 to 24 year olds registered to vote is not held.

    “

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that petrol filling stations are not too far apart.

    Baroness Verma

    DECC published a report from Deloitte LLP in December 2012, which considered long term changes to the retail market for road fuels in the UK, and the implications of these changes to our energy resilience. This market has changed significantly over the last decade. However, the findings of this report do not suggest that the changes to the size and shape of the retail market for road fuels have had significant impacts on the UK’s ability to be able to respond to supply disruptions or that these have significantly reduced the access of UK motorists to a local supply of fuel. The report found that in 2011, 98% of postcode sectors had a petrol filling station within 10 minutes drive, and 92% had more than two within the same travel time.

    Decisions on the location of individual petrol filling stations are for local planning authorities.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 7 April (WA 249), whether they have set a fixed date in September 2014 by which HM Prison The Verne will be re-designated to an immigration removal centre; if not, why not; and what action they will take if the re-designation has not been completed by the agreed date.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    HMP The Verne started taking immigration detainees as scheduled from 24 March 2014.

    Our current plans remain that by the end of September 2014, at the latest, HMP The Verne will be re-designated to an immigration removal centre

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 7 April (WA 249), in the light of HM Prison The Verne being used to take immigration detainees exclusively and the number of persons held under Immigration Act powers within HM Prisons, what plans they have to extend Rule 35 to the prison estate by an amendment to the Prison Rules; and, if there are no such plans, how a prison doctor’s concerns that a prisoner may be a victim of torture may be made known to the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

    Lord Faulks

    Prison Rule 21 provides that a medical practitioner shall report to the governor on the case of any person whose health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued imprisonment or any conditions of imprisonment. The governor is required to send any such reports to the Secretary of State. Although Prison Rule 21 does not replicate Detention Centre Rule 35 it performs a similar function. We therefore have no plans to amend Prison Rules in this case.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the recent medical evaluation by Dr Emily Keram of the British Guantánamo Bay detainee, Shaker Aamer, whether they will make further representations to the government of the United States concerning Mr Aamer’s release; and whether they intend to provide an amicus curiae brief in support of Mr Aamer’s motion for release, as requested by his lawyers.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Mr Aamer’s case remains a high priority for the Government. We take Mr Aamer’s welfare very seriously and continue to make clear to the US at the highest levels that we wish to secure his release, and return to the UK, as a matter of urgency. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Mr Aamer’s case in a meeting with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in February this year. We are currently considering Reprieve’s request for the Government to provide an amicus curiae brief and will respond in due course.