Tag: Lord Scriven

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in ensuring that management and statistical information concerning asylum claims on grounds of sexuality and gender identity are recorded accurately and comprehensively by the Home Office, and when that data will be published.

Lord Bates

We are still looking into the feasibility of publishing figures on the number of asylum applications by sexual orientation of the applicants. Any plans to publish will be subject to the data being of appropriate quality, in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL4964) on police facial recognition technology, whether the outcome of their review of that report will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny.

Lord Bates

Copies of the Custody Image Review will be provided to The Science and Technology Committee and made available in the Libraries of both Houses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 March (HL6926), on what date the Department of Health was informed that NHS England was going to introduce a sugar tax in NHS premises by 2020.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We have a range of conversations about key issues at Ministerial and official level with NHS England. NHS England is independent and the decision on a sugar levy on the National Health Service estate is a matter for them operationally. We are interested to see the results of their consultation on a sugar levy.

The announcement of a soft drinks industry levy by the Chancellor in the Budget is the first step in our comprehensive Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, and gives companies strong incentives to reformulate their products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work to establish a Digital Powerhouse Contract Portal, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North, and to add central government contracts to that portal once established.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

There are no current plans to do this.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) have published the attached detailed guidance on the new transparency requirements for publishing on Contracts Finder.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what vulnerability criteria are being used by the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.

Lord Bates

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies people most in need of resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme based on the following criteria: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they envisage for British-produced and British-manufactured steel in the Northern Powerhouse.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK steel industry has a key role in generating future economic growth across the country, including the Northern Powerhouse region. The steel sector is a critical element of the supply chain for high technology industries like aerospace, automotive and construction. These all require high value, continually improving steel products in order to remain competitive.

The Government wants to drive up the number of public procurement contracts won by UK steel manufacturers, and have updated procurement rules accordingly. There are more major projects in the pipeline offering opportunities, for example HS2 and Network Rail’s £38bn five-year investment and replacement programme. We have mapped rough estimates of steel that could be needed for major projects including the above: we have shared this with industry and will continue updating them. Steps have also been agreed with industry on how to make better use of the pipelines as they are updated on a six monthly basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost and headcount implications of moving the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London by 2018, as indicated in BIS2020 Finance and Headcount.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government does not comment on leaked documents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about the banning of the Istanbul LGBT Pride march.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not discussed these specific cases with the Government of Turkey. We regularly underline the importance of all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government, including the freedom of assembly and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex persons. We did not fly the rainbow flag over our Embassy in Ankara over the weekend commencing 24 June. British Missions overseas fly the Diplomatic, Union or Consular flag throughout the year, the flags of the constituent countries of the UK on their respective national days and in certain countries the European flag. Missions do not fly any other flags.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether LGBTI people who are at risk are included in the vulnerability criteria of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme; and if so, what steps they are taking to identify vulnerable LGBTI people in refugee camps or places of displacement, and what resources and services will be provided to LGBTI refugees resettled to the UK in order to address their specific needs.

Lord Bates

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR’s) vulnerability criteria for identifying refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and LGBTI refugees are identified through their normal screening procedures.

Local authorities are provided with full case details of all referrals so they can make an assessment of the needs of refugees, before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they are playing in the EU to ensure that the dumping of cut-priced subsidised steel is brought to an end.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. We voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November. We also supported the imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures on reinforcing bar in January, an investigation for which we lobbied the European Commission successfully, and on cold-rolled flat steel products in February. We share the steel industry’s concerns about the level of duties imposed in both cases, and we are pressing the Commission to reconsider this. We also welcomed the opening of three new anti-dumping investigations in February.

The government is also pushing the Commission for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel. This was one of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council on Steel in November, a meeting which my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills was instrumental in convening. In advance of the European Commission’s energy-intensive industry stakeholder’s summit on 15 February – another key action from the Competitiveness Council – the government and several other EU Member States sent a joint letter to the Commission, pressing it to make full and timely use of all trade defence instruments to tackle unfair trade. My Rt Hon Friend the Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise played an active role at this summit. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has also raised these issues in discussions with Trade Commissioner Malmström, most recently on 25 February. I reiterated the need for faster and more effective action on dumping at the Competitiveness Council held on 29^th February and the Presidency conclusions of that Council reflected this message.

The government is also supporting a robust discussion of the issue of overcapacity through the EU’s ongoing dialogue with the Chinese and other governments.