Tag: Lord Wallace of Saltaire

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims of diplomatic immunity were advanced in UK courts, or other legal procedures, between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2016; how many of those were successful; and of which states those successful and unsuccessful claimants were citizens.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

A number of claims of diplomatic immunity have been advanced through the UK courts. However, statistics and details are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures are followed when a citizen of a foreign state claims diplomatic immunity as the representative of a third state.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Article 8(3) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 permits third country diplomats to be appointed to a diplomatic mission with the consent of the receiving State. Such appointments are rare, but the UK does accept them. If a third country national resident in the UK claimed to be a diplomat, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) would first check that the person’s name was on its database of foreign diplomats and their families. As necessary, the FCO would also confirm with the relevant diplomatic mission that the individual was a member of the mission’s staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2016 requests for diplomatic status or immunity were refused, and on what grounds.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

A small number of requests for diplomatic status or immunity from members of the public have been received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and subsequently refused. However, statistics and details are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is incumbent on the sending State to inform the FCO of the appointment of staff, including diplomats, to any of its missions in the UK. The FCO is not required to give explicit consent to such appointments, except in the case of heads of mission and military, naval and air attaches.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will refer to any non-commercial criteria in calculating the economic rent to be charged to HM Treasury, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Cabinet Office, for their occupation of historic buildings in Whitehall.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Treasury does not pay an economic rent for its occupation of 1 Horse Guards Road and therefore non-commercial criteria are not applied. HM Treasury’s occupation of the building is financed via a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, let on the commercial market, essentially a commercial leaseback arrangement ‎for 35 years.

No information is held by HM Treasury regarding the occupation of historic buildings in Whitehall by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Cabinet Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to mark the centenary of the independence of the Baltic states, and in particular the role played by the Royal Navy in protecting Estonia and its neighbours from the Soviet Navy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Preparations are underway for the centenary celebrations in the Baltic States. The Royal Navy played a significant role in the war for independence in Estonia and Latvia and we hope the Senior Service will be able to feature in the 2018 and 2019 celebrations. The British Army and Royal Air Force will also be involved in marking these celebrations. The UK Government will be represented at centenary events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have chosen to consolidate HMRC offices across Yorkshire in Leeds, in the light of property costs and levels of competition for skilled workforce in that city, compared with other cities in the region.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, these include quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation.

HMRC is committing to Yorkshire and the Humber by creating a new Regional Centre in Leeds. HMRC’s assessment is that Leeds is a better choice in terms of the location principles, particularly the quality of transport links and the ability of its staff to commute to a future site.

Overall, the regional transformation programme will reduce HMRC’s estate’s costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of (1) how many British citizens are serving prison sentences in other European Union member states, and (2) the distribution of those prisoners across member states.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We collect global detainee statistics twice a year. On 2 March 2015 we were aware of 807 British nationals detained (either pre- or post- sentencing) across EU member states. The distribution of British national detainees across Europe was:

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for maritime and air border controls between the Schengen area and the Channel Islands.

Lord Bates

The Bailiwicks of the Channel Islands are responsible for their own border controls. The Government takes protecting our border security very seriously, and there is a high level of collaboration on work to strengthen the Common Travel Area’s external border.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of surveillance the UK Border Force practices with regard to maritime and air travel between the United Kingdom mainland and the Channel Islands.

Lord Bates

The Channel Islands are a part of the Common Travel Area. As such, Border Force is not permitted to conduct routine immigration checks on people travelling between the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom either by air or maritime routes. However, Border Force carries out a wide range of intelligence-led activity, which can include different forms of surveillance, to intervene against vessels which are a potential threat to UK border security in the English Channel. Where necessary, this includes mounting interventions against vessels which have sailed from the Channel Islands.