Tag: The Marquess of Lothian

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many ground troops they estimate would be required to defeat ISIL, and which countries they expect would provide those forces.

Earl Howe

We have not made such an estimate. We recognise that defeating Daesh will take a combination of military measures and political process. In Iraq we will continue to support government and Kurdish forces already rolling back Daesh. In Syria, this means an end to civil war, allowing all those forces committed to a stable, inclusive and unified Syria – including the army of an internationally-supported Syrian government – to fight Daesh together on the ground.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it remains their policy that the UK does not support the death penalty under any circumstances, and in any country; and if so, what action they have taken to condemn the mass execution of 47 people in Saudi Arabia on 2 January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country. We have expressed these concerns to the Saudi authorities, most recently on 14 January.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the plans announced by the government of Israel in January to appropriate further tracts of agricultural land in the West Bank for illegal settlement building.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), issued a press statement on 22 January to express concern at the Government of Israel’s decision to declare 385 acres of land in the West Bank ‘as state land’.

The UK’s position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and take us further away from a two-state solution. We will continue to raise our objections to settlements with the Israeli government. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), expressed concern in public comments and in the House of Commons at the Government of Israel’s decision of 6 January to approve the extension of the Gush Etzion settlement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of figures released by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau indicating that pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace is rising; and what action they plan to take as a result.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with my noble Friend.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a strategy to combat the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Prevent Strategy sets out the Government’s approach to combatting the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism, focussing on restricting access to terrorist and extremist content online; supporting those who are challenging them online and helping people resist poisonous ideologies.

Through the Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) the Government works with a range of civil society groups to counter extremist ideologies online by providing advice and support to deliver their own online campaigns. 26 RICU supported national campaigns have generated over 29.8 million online engagements since January 2014.

The police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) refers content that they assess as contravening UK terrorism legislation or company terms and conditions to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) for removal. Since February 2010, CTIRU has secured the removal of more than 190,000 pieces of online terrorist-related content.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define moderate” in the context of opposition in Syria.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The moderate opposition in Syria, the majority of whom use the brand of the Free Syrian Army, call for a pluralistic political system in Syria that respects the rights of all Syrians (including minorities) and rejects terrorism and terrorist tactics. They have repeatedly condemned Islamic extremism, and have been fighting, and beating back Daesh in Syria for over two years while also protecting their communities from vicious attack from the Assad regime. They have scored significant victories in Idlib and Aleppo in Northwest Syria and in Dera’a province in the South.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific goals they wish to achieve from the Syria Donors Conference taking place in London in February.

Baroness Verma

The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis.

Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The outcomes of the conference are reflected in the Co-hosts’ statement available on the Conference website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to recent UN figures that, between 1 January and 2 March, Israel has demolished 121 structures in the occupied West Bank funded partly or fully by international donors compared to 108 such demolitions during 2015; and whether they have raised that issue with the government of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is extremely concerned by reports that there has been a large increase in demolitions since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. We are also concerned at the increase in the demolition of structures funded partly or fully by international donors. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy with regard to future deployment of troops in (1) Iraq, and (2) Libya.

Earl Howe

In Iraq, the Government is already making a substantial contribution, with over 250 personnel who have provided training to more than 13,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces in infantry skills and countering improvised explosive devices. We keep the composition and scale of our contribution under close review, to reflect developments in the campaign.

We are discussing with international partners how to best support the new Libyan Government. This might include training Libyan forces to provide their own security, but no decisions have yet been made. There are no UK Government plans for the deployment of troops in a combat role to Libya. Any support the UK provides will be in response to a request made by the Libyan Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many xenophobic and racist hate crimes were reported in England and Wales each month in the past year; what percentage rise, if any, there has been in the number of such crimes reported since 24 June; and what is their assessment of the causes of any rise.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Home Office publishes information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales annually. The most recently published data are for 2014/15 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2014-to-2015

Data for 2015/16 will be published in October 2016. It is planned that this publication will include some information on hate crime following the EU Referendum on the 23 June.

Following increases in the reporting of hate crime and raised community tensions in late June, the National Police Chiefs’ Council requested weekly returns from forces across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These show the number of all monitored hate crime recorded by forces, not just those that were racist or xenophobic.

At its peak, these returns showed a 58 per cent increase in the reporting of hate crime in comparison to 2015. This has since subsided and we have now observed four consecutive weeks of reductions in reporting. The latest returns from 5 to 18 August show 2778 hate crimes and incidents. This is a decrease of 479 offences on the previous fortnight but it is a 14 per cent increase on the equivalent period in 2015. Full information on these statistics can be found here: http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/tackling-hate-crime-remains-a-priority

There is no single factor to which the rise in reporting can be attributed, and there is no current evidence to indicate the rise is due entirely to an increase in occurrence of hate crime. However, multiple factors, including the increased profile of hate crime in the media, greater awareness of hate crime and increased confidence in the police may have had an impact on levels of reporting.