The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK Heads of Mission in Arabic-speaking countries speak Arabic.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In the Middle East and North Africa region approximately 95 per cent of our Heads of Mission speak Arabic or other local languages (e.g. French or Hebrew).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits to the police and intelligence agencies in combatting terrorism and crime of making it mandatory for purchasers of pay-as-you-go SIM cards to produce appropriate forms of identification.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This issue was considered in detail by an expert group comprising representatives of law enforcement, the security and intelligence agencies and communication service providers following the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005. The experts’ findings remain valid. They concluded that the registration of ownership of mobile telephones would not deliver any significant new benefits to the investigatory process.
Mobile phones are not the only devices capable of making calls or sending messages. Many laptops, computers, popular MP3 players and games consoles also support the sending of messages and phone calls. These devices are increasingly being used for communications. It would be necessary to include these other devices in any mandatory registration scheme.
Separately, the person who buys the device is not necessarily the person who will use it. Mobile phones are often sold or given to family members or friends which would mean that such information would quickly become out of date.
Furthermore, those who were keen to avoid providing details would still find ways to circumvent the scheme, such as purchasing or registering phones under false identities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, UK citizens living in EU member states will retain all of their UK pension rights and will continue to be treated the same as if they were resident in the UK.
Baroness Altmann
The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU.
As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. No country has ever used Article 50 – it is untested. There is a great deal of uncertainty about how it would work. UK citizens living in the EU currently enjoy a range of specific rights to live, to work and access to pensions, health care and public services that are only guaranteed because of EU law. There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contingency preparations they are making across departments for managing the transition of policy in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they are proposing to give Parliament in scrutinising the outcome of the negotiations relating to the UK leaving the EU, prior to the final conclusion of those negotiations.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government will comply with all the constitutional and legal obligations that apply to the deal that we will negotiate with the EU.