Tag: Lord Roberts of Llandudno

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have received government funding to assist their efforts to compile a complete electoral register.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government provided £14 million across 2013/14 and 2014/15 to support the costs of activities at a local and national level to maximise the number of people on the electoral register. This includes allocating funding to local authorities and national organisations.

The following organisations received funding to target under registered groups:

Active Citizens FE

Bite the Ballot

British Youth Council

Citizens Advice

Citizens UK

Gingerbread

Operation Black Vote

The Hansard Society

Homeless Link

National Association of Managers of Student Service

National Union of Students

Scottish Youth Parliament

Sixth Form Colleges Association

The Royal Mencap Society

The Student Room

The Tab

UK Youth

UpRising

vInspired

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether diabetes is defined as a disability, and if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on diabetics in the UK.

Lord Freud

Under the Equality Act 2010 a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Diabetes is a long term health condition and how disabling it is for people will vary depending on, amongst other things, severity and how well it is managed. The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they give to voluntary organisations engaged in the refugee crisis.

Earl of Courtown

The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion to date to help alleviate the Syria Crisis, our largest ever humanitarian response. The UK is supporting a range of implementing partners working in Syria and neighbouring countries, including United Nations agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the Red Cross/Crescent and other international organisations.

In relation to the Mediterranean migration crisis, the UK is supporting host government capacity and organisations such as the Red Cross, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s fund (UNICEF), the International Organisation for Migration, and NGOs to provide basic care, assistance, protection, and informationto vulnerable people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the 20,000 refugees promised to be accepted in the UK will have arrived by May.

Lord Bates

The Government is working closely with local authorities, international delivery partners and the voluntary sector, putting in place the plans and structures to deliver this and ensuring the system is scaled up in a way that protects the interests of all concerned. The number resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors. This includes the number of referrals we have received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the number of confirmed places we have received from local authorities that are suitable for the specific needs of those who have been accepted for resettlement. Progress on resettlement will be indicated in quarterly immigration statistics – the last set were published in February 2016 and showed 1,085 people resettled between October and December 2015.

The Government remains on track to resettle 20,000 refugees by the end of the Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long it takes on average for the UK to take charge of asylum claims made under the Dublin III Regulations.

Lord Keen of Elie

Data on cases progressed under the Dublin III Regulation is recorded on the main immigration database.

However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically and is therefore not currently available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to encourage Gulf States to allocate asylum spaces for Syrian refugees.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We recognise and welcome the substantial contribution made by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to the humanitarian aid response for Syria and the numbers of Syrians already in the Gulf. The Gulf states are now home to almost one million Syrians, and have pledged more than $3 billion in humanitarian assistance. Kuwait co-hosted the London Donor Conference in February 2016 where Gulf states pledged $739 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that their pledge to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020 is honoured.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We continue to work closely with local authorities to manage the arrival of the Syrian refugees in to the resettlement places they have pledged. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have received monies from the £1.12 billion that the UK has allocated to responding to the Syrian crisis since 2012, according to their 29 October Syria crisis response summary, and in what proportion.

Baroness Verma

As part of the Syria Crisis Response the UK is supporting a range of implementing partners working in Syria and neighbouring countries, including United Nations agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations, the Red Cross and other international organisations. For security reasons, some of our INGO partners working in Syria remain undisclosed. The table attached provides details of the £1.12 billion allocated by the UK to date, broken down by implementing partner and country.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Ministry of Justice has made of whether there is a correlation between alcohol consumption and criminal activity.

Lord Bates

Alcohol is a contributory factor in crime and disorder. The Home Office has estimated that alcohol-related crime costs society around £11.4 billion per year.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales data from 2013/14 showed that around half (53%) of all violent crimes are alcohol-related, with two-thirds (64%) of all violent crimes involving strangers attributable to alcohol-consumption. Alcohol is also associated with over a third (36%) of domestic violence incidents.

There is also a link between non-violent crime and alcohol. 36% of penalty notices for disorder in 2014/15 were issued for being drunk and disorderly. Alcohol is closely associated with anti-social behaviour with nearly one fifth of adults (18%) perceiving people being drunk or rowdy as a problem in their local area in 2014/15.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider using airdrops to carry food to relieve the hunger of Syrian communities.

Earl of Courtown

The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria and in the surrounding region had, for example, delivered almost 20 million food rations that feed one person for a month; over 2.5 million medical consultations; and relief items for 4.6 million people. We have provided ongoing support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria.

The UK will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. We rule nothing out. However, the use of air drops is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed.

Attempting air drops without the consent of the parties to the conflict may risk undermining ongoing negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.5 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria. Even in uncontested space air drops poise significant challenges. There is a requirement to identify clear drop zones, ensure safe access for the intended recipients and to co-ordinate with authorities on the ground. Instead, the UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to vulnerable people in besieged and hard to reach areas.

The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.