Tag: The Marquess of Lothian

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what criteria, following negotiations, they will assess whether the European Union has been reformed.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has been clear on the four areas where we seek to address the concerns of the British public: sovereignty, economic governance, competitiveness and welfare and immigration. He has written to the President of the European Council to set out the changes that the UK wants to see. We will work together with other countries to discuss and agree reforms before holding a referendum to ensure that the British people have the final and decisive say on the UK’s membership of the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority the FCO gives to the promotion and protection of human rights globally.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights globally and views the upholding of universal rights as intrinsic to all our bilateral work overseas and our support for the rules based international order. The UK’s decision to stand for re-election to the UN’s Human Rights Council in 2017 reflects the importance we attach to this issue. The UK views the promotion and protection of human rights as inalienable rights in themselves, and as a precondition to security and global economic growth.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of their support for the Syrian moderate opposition in each year since 2011.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has delivered over £100m in non-humanitarian support to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon since the start of the crisis from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and its predecessor, the Conflict Pool. This has focussed on strengthening the moderate opposition, including the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian Opposition, the Syrian National Coalition, civil society, civil defenders, local councils, human rights and media activists. We have also provided some non-lethal support to elements of the Syrian armed opposition

The UK’s support is building resilience against extremists, fostering civil society in besieged areas, providing search and rescue training, medical support, promoting human rights, delivering basic governance and laying the foundations for a more peaceful and inclusive future for Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to protect the UK’s rivers, lakes and wetlands from agricultural pollution, and what assessment they have made of whether the water protection zones are being used effectively in this regard.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Given that environmental protection is a devolved matter, I am replying in regard to the position in England.

This Government is committed to protecting and improving our water environment and supporting competitive agriculture. The recently published river basin management plans set out the actions that we will take over the next six years to improve water quality. The plans promote integrated catchment management and local decision making.

We have a wide range of actions to tackle water pollution from agriculture ranging from advice, voluntary and incentivised rules to regulation. For example, there are regulations to reduce the risk of nitrate pollution in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones.

Building on these regulations, Countryside Stewardship supports farmers who want to do more than the legal requirements and good practice by providing £400 million in funding to helping improve water quality and to manage flood risk.

We are also working towards better targeting of farm inspections with risk based enforcement that recognises good performance.

In addition to Government action, the agricultural industry is playing its part by developing an offer, explaining how it will help farmers to better protect the water environment.

All of this is underpinned by advice to farmers which is delivered through the Farming Advice Service and Catchment Sensitive Farming, £106 million has been invested through Catchment Sensitive Farming over the past 8 years to mitigate the impact of agricultural activities on the water environment

Further actions at national and local level are planned. Defra recently consulted on new rules to address sediment and phosphate pollution from agriculture. The consultation proposed some clear, simple and basic rules for all farmers, which would make a contribution to further protecting the water environment. Ministers are considering how to proceed in light of this consultation.

We are using a wide variety of measures to protect and improve our water environment. Water Protection Zones (WPZs) are a further tool. The Government is currently considering what further action will be required to meet the conservation objectives for our most precious protected sites. This will consider the full range of mechanisms, including WPZs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Border Force vessels patrol UK territorial waters at any one time; and how many are needed to ensure the required levels of surveillance and security of the UK’s coastline.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Border Force is committed to operating three cutters in UK waters at any given time. We currently have a total of four available for use in UK waters, with one rotated into use where required. These figures only include the number of cutters currently deployed in UK territorial waters and do not include the additional military and law enforcement vessels available. Border Force takes a multi-layered approach to maritime security; using a combination of cutters, radar and aerial surveillance to detect efforts to smuggle guns and drugs or facilitate illegal entry into the country. They also work closely with domestic and international partners on an intelligence-led approach, allowing us to tackle the criminals involved before they leave for the UK. Border Force is also investing in a new fleet of rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBS) as part of a new maritime security strategy. The vessels will patrol the UK coast, helping to intercept attempts to smuggle migrants, drugs and dangerous weapons into the country.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contact, if any, they have had with the Assad regime in Syria over the last two months.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Since the closure of the Syrian Embassy in London in August 2012, the British Government has had only limited contact with the Assad regime in relation to consular matters. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), last wrote to the Syrian Foreign Minister in August 2015 about a consular case.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the condition and capacity of naturally occurring underground aquifers in the light of the high levels of rainfall in the UK over the last six weeks.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Environment Agency routinely monitors groundwater levels in England’s principal aquifers and publishes these monthly in a national water situation report.

Rainfall totals for December were above average across England at 165% of the long term average. For a second consecutive month north-east and north-west England had exceptionally high rainfall totals for the time of year. Groundwater levels increased at approximately two-thirds of indicator sites during December and two thirds of sites were classed as normal or higher for the time of year.

The Environment Agency undertakes monitoring and assessment of different aquifers locally, based upon the potential risk of groundwater flooding. A system of groundwater flood alerts and warnings is provided through our incident response procedures for those communities most vulnerable to potential groundwater flooding.

The groundwater situation currently varies widely across the country, with higher than average and exceptionally high groundwater levels in parts of Cumbria, Yorkshire, Wessex, East Hampshire and Sussex whilst across the rest of southern England groundwater levels are around average or below average for the time of year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last raised the issue of human rights with the governments of (1) Saudi Arabia, and (2) Iran.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We regularly raise our concerns over human rights in Saudi Arabia with the Saudi Arabian government, and did so most recently on 22 February. We repeatedly call on the Iranian government to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians and will continue to do so. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), most recently raised the issue with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif when he visited the UK on 5 February.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to address the rise in levels of homelessness and rough sleeping in England.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative. We are also developing a new national £10 million Social Impact Bond fund to help to help homeless people with the most complex needs such as mental health difficulties or addiction.

At Budget we went one step further and announced we will launch a new £100 million programme for low-cost move on accommodation, including for rough sleepers leaving hostels. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

We are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal maritime arrivals have reached the UK in each year since 2010.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Specific details on numbers or locations of suspected illegal maritime arrivals are not disclosed for security reasons.