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Monday
8 April 2019
P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S
(HANSARD)
HOUSE OF LORDS
WRITTEN STATEMENTS AND
WRITTEN ANSWERS
Written Statements ................................................. 1
Written Answers ..................................................... 6
Session 2017-19
No. 257
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[I] indicates that the member concerned has a relevant registered interest. The full register of interests can be found at
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-interests/register-of-lords-interests/
Members who want a printed copy of Written Answers and Written Statements should notify the Printed Paper Office.
This printed edition is a reproduction of the original text of Answers and Statements, which can be found on the internet
at http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/.
Ministers and others who make Statements or answer Questions are referred to only by name, not their ministerial or
other title. The current list of ministerial and other responsibilities is as follows.
Minister Responsibilities
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Earl Howe Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Agnew of Oulton Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Lord Ashton of Hyde Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Baroness Barran Whip
Lord Bates Minister of State, Department for International Development and Treasury Spokesperson
Baroness Blackwood of North
Oxford
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government and Wales Office
Baroness Buscombe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions
Lord Callanan Minister of State, Department for Exiting the European Union
Earl of Courtown Deputy Chief Whip
Lord Duncan of Springbank Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office and Scotland Office
Baroness Fairhead Minister of State, Department for International Trade
Lord Gardiner of Kimble Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs
Baroness Goldie Whip
Lord Henley Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy
Lord Keen of Elie Advocate-General for Scotland and Ministry of Justice Spokesperson
Baroness Manzoor Whip
Baroness Stedman-Scott Whip
Baroness Sugg Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
Lord Taylor of Holbeach Chief Whip
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Whip
Baroness Williams of Trafford Minister of State, Home Office and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International
Development
Lord Young of Cookham Cabinet Office Spokesperson and Whip
Viscount Younger of Leckie Whip
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2019
This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence,
which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/
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Written Statements 8 April 2019 Page 1
Written Statements Monday, 8 April 2019
Access for All
[HLWS1458]
Baroness Sugg: My Honourable Friend, the
Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport (Nusrat
Ghani) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
Improving access to Great Britain’s railway stations is a
key priority for this Government and we want all
passengers to be able to travel easily and confidently. The
Department’s Access for All programme is critical to
delivering this; the programme has already delivered an
accessible, step free route at more than 200 stations, as
well as smaller scale accessibility improvements at more
than 1,500 others.
The Inclusive Transport Strategy, published on 25 July
2018, included a commitment to extend the Access for All
programme, announcing an additional £300m of funding
from the public purse. Our approach is to work with
transport operators and partners to target investments
where they are needed most and where they can deliver
the greatest impact. This funding will enable us to deliver
accessibility improvements at more stations across the rail
network, and allow us to proceed with the station
enhancements that were deferred from Control Period 5.
In total 73 stations are set to benefit from this funding.
This is in addition to the 24 station projects that are
ongoing. The selected stations will, subject to a feasible
design being possible, receive an accessible route into the
station, as well as to and between every platform.
The new stations due to be upgraded from this funding
are listed below. They have been selected following
nominations from the rail industry, which engaged with
local authorities and other stakeholders. We then assessed
them against annual footfall, weighted by the incidence of
disability in the area, and also took account of local
factors such as nearby hospitals and the availability of
third party funding. Due consideration was also given to
the preferences of the train operating companies and,
finally, a number were chosen to ensure a fair
geographical spread across the country.
• Abergavenny
• Anniesland
• Beaconsfield Station
• Biggleswade
• Birkenhead Park
• Bridlington
• Broad green
• Caerphilly
• Catford
• Chalkwell
• Chorley
• Cricklewood
• Crowborough
• Croy
• Cwmbran
• Daisy Hill
• Dumfries
• Flint
• Hackney Downs
• Handforth
• Herne Bay
• Hertford North
• Hillside
• Hunt’s Cross
• Irlam
• Isleworth
• Johnstone
• Kings Langley
• Leatherhead
• Ludlow
• Menston
• Mill Hill Broadway
• Port Glasgow
• Retford
• Selby
• Shotton
• Smethwick Rolfe Street
• St Erth
• St Michaels
• Stoneleigh
• Stowmarket
• Tenby
• Todmorden
• Uddingston
• Wandsworth Town
• Wellington
The stations deferred from Control Period 5, which will
now be progressed are:
• Alfreton (Parkway)
• Barnes
• Barry (Town)
• Battersea Park
• Cathays
• Chatham
• Garforth
• Grays
• Hither Green
• Liverpool Central
• Llanelli
• Luton
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Page 2 8 April 2019 Written Statements
• Market Harborough
• Northallerton
• Peckham Rye
• Petts Wood
• Queen’s Park
• Seven Sisters
• Southend East
• St Mary Cray
• Streatham
• Theale
• Trefforest
• Walton-on-Thames
• Warwick
• Weston-Super-Mare
• Worcester Shrub Hill
All work at the stations is due to be completed by the
end of March 2024.
In addition to these significant upgrades, we intend to
use £20 million of the funding to re-launch the Mid-Tier
Access for All programme. This will be focused on
stations where accessibility improvements can be
delivered with between £250,000 and £1 million of
government support. We will be seeking nominations for
this funding in due course.
All of the work carried out by Access for All comes in
addition to access improvements that the industry is
required to deliver as part of other projects or renewals of
station infrastructure.
Together these measures will make a real difference to
people’s lives, opening up access to leisure and
employment for disabled rail passengers as well as
making it easier for those with heavy luggage or children
in buggies to use the network.
Companies House Public Targets
[HLWS1457]
Lord Henley: I have set Companies House the
following targets for the year 2019/20:
Public Targets
• Ensure that our digital services are available 99.9% of
the time
• Ensure that 97% of companies have an up-to-date
confirmation statement
• Achieve a customer satisfaction rate of 83%
• Provide a digital service to enable someone at risk to
apply for their personal data to be protected
• Deliver digital services that transform the end to end
accounts filing journey
• Increase job applications from underrepresented
groups by 10%
• Ensure that our people understand, and are engaged
with, our purpose and vision, achieving a score in this
area in the Civil Service People Survey in the upper
quartile
• Reduce the cost of our business activities by 3.5%
Counter-Daesh Operations
[HLWS1460]
Earl Howe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State
for Defence (Gavin Williamson) has made the following
Written Ministerial Statement.
The House may welcome an update on the military
campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Forces in Iraq
and Syria now say that, with the support of the global
Coalition, they have liberated all the towns and cities that
were once occupied by Daesh. This is a huge
achievement, and one in which UK forces should take
great pride for the part they played in this success. The
Global Coalition assesses there are currently not enough
Daesh fighters remaining in Iraq and Syria to make any
further significant territorial gains. Nonetheless, it is
important to note that this is not the defeat of Daesh as an
organisation. Daesh has dispersed into a cellular structure
in order to maintain insurgency activity, planting
improvised explosive devices, conducting extortion,
kidnapping and mounting terrorist attacks. The UK, as a
partner in the coalition, is committed to defeating this
ongoing threat, in order to guarantee the lasting defeat of
Daesh’s ambitions, to build on the stability of the region
and protect our interests and our national security.
The UK has contributed sophisticated intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to find,
identify and enable the Coalition to degrade Daesh’s
military capabilities, which is as crucial to the air
campaign now as it was at Daesh’s territory height. ISR
alone does not make a successful campaign, however;
since the beginning of operations over Iraq and Syria, the
UK’s Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper aircraft have
released over 4,300 weapons against Daesh targets to
reduce their military capabilities.
In 2015, the then-Secretary of State for Defence, Sir
Michael Fallon, committed to providing Parliament with
UK airstrike numbers from the Coalition’s datasets to
allow us to compare our contribution with other Coalition
partners. This was a move away from using a UK dataset
and methodology to calculate our airstrike contribution to
the Counter-Daesh fight. Following the House of
Commons Defence Committee’s request to provide a
biannual breakdown of our air contribution to the
Counter-Daesh campaign in Iraq and Syria, I have
reviewed the method with which our contribution to the
Coalition’s air campaign are calculated and from this
decided to discontinue reporting on airstrikes, which can
be interpreted differently each time they are viewed, to
focus on reporting the number of actual weapon release
events.
Under doctrine, an airstrike is one or more weapon
releases against the same target by one or more aircraft.
With this definition, two aircraft dropping weapons on the
same target could be seen by one person as one airstrike,
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Written Statements 8 April 2019 Page 3
whilst being two airstrikes to another; we do not consider
this a reliable method to report our contribution. Whereas,
a weapon release event is the employment of a single
weapon system, by a single airframe, at one time, against
a single target. As such, a weapon release event will
always be calculated and reported in the same way and
cannot be misinterpreted.
Serious Youth Violence
[HLWS1459]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the
Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid)
has today made the following Written Ministerial
Statement:
The Government is deeply concerned about the recent
rise in serious violence, particularly knife crime, which is
robbing too many children and young people of their
futures. This is a challenge that affects all of society, and
agencies must come together in a co-ordinated, wide-
reaching and long-term effort. In order to ensure the
strongest possible response, the Prime Minister hosted a
Serious Youth Violence Summit at 10 Downing Street,
with the support of the Home Secretary, from 1 to 4 April.
The central aim of the Summit was to ensure a shared
understanding and commitment to a multi-agency, ‘public
health’ approach to tackling knife crime and serious
violence more generally. This approach involves partners
across different sectors – such as education, health, social
services, offender management services, housing, youth
and victim services, working closely with community and
faith leaders, and the voluntary and charitable sectors –
taking joint action to address the underlying risk factors
that increase the likelihood that an individual will become
a victim or a perpetrator of violence. The Prime Minister
opened the Summit by chairing a roundtable meeting with
a range of experts, representatives and practitioners from
key sectors, community leaders, young people, and cross-
party politicians. Alongside the Prime Minister, both I
and other senior Ministers discussed with these experts
what more can be done to tackle recent rises in serious
violence. This was followed by a series of themed
sessions chaired by Secretaries of State and Ministers
during the week, aimed at harnessing expert knowledge
and creating the conditions to boost joint working across
sectors and organisations. I will place a full list of the
attendees – of whom there were well over 100 over the
course of the week – in the Libraries of the House. The
full programme of thematic sessions, which took place
over the course of the Summit, included: • Best practice in
law enforcement, chaired by the Minister for Policing and
the Fire Service;
• The role of education, chaired by the Secretary of
State for Education;
• Investing in Communities, chaired by the Secretary of
State for Housing, Communities and Local Government;
• Positive activities for young people, by chaired by the
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport;
• Creating opportunities for young people, chaired by
the Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability;
• The role of the Health Sector, chaired by the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care;
• Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System, chaired
by the Secretary of State for Justice.
Coinciding with this Summit:
• I announced that Impetus, in partnership with the
Early Intervention Foundation and Social Investment
Business, will run the new Youth Endowment Fund,
which will support interventions with children and young
people at risk of involvement in crime and violence, based
on £200 million of new Government funding;
• The Government announced £100 million additional
funding in 2019/20 to tackle serious violence, including
£80m of new funding from the Treasury. This will allow
police to swiftly crack-down on knife crime on the areas
of the country most affected by knife crime and will also
allow for investment in Violence Reduction Units;
• That I will be making it simpler for the police in the
seven forces particularly affected by violent crime, to use
section 60 (area-wide) stop and search powers where they
reasonably believe that an incident involving serious
violence may occur. This pilot will be for up to a year,
with a review after six months – after which we will make
decisions on next steps. The College of Policing will also
work alongside forces to create new guidelines on how
best the police can engage with communities on the use of
stop and search;
• I launched a public consultation on a new legal duty
to ensure that public bodies work together to protect
young people at risk of becoming involved in knife crime.
This would underpin the multi-agency approach already
being driven by the Serious Violence Strategy, which
stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the
root causes of violent crime. Similar approaches have
been used in Scotland and Wales, and are designed to
ensure that every part of the system is supporting young
people with targeted interventions before they commit
violence or are groomed by gangs.
These announcements build on the significant progress
we have made in delivering the commitments set out in
the Serious Violence Strategy published in April 2018.
These include: the Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22
million, through which the Home Office is already
supporting 29 projects in England and Wales; the new
National County Lines Co-ordination Centre; an anti-
knife crime Community Fund which provided £1.5
million in 2018/19 to support 68 local projects to tackle
knife crime; and a national knife crime media campaign –
#knifefree – to raise young people’s awareness of the
consequences of knife crime; and the establishment of the
Serious Violence Taskforce, which I chair and which is
attended by Members of Parliament, Ministers, senior
police officers, representatives of agencies in the public
and voluntary sectors and others, to drive action across a
number of fronts
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Page 4 8 April 2019 Written Statements
The Summit has reinforced my view, shared across
Government that there is not one single solution to rising
levels of serious violence, and that coordinated action is
needed across a number of fronts. Attendees agreed on the
need to understand the causes and consequences of
serious violence, focused on prevention and early
intervention, and informed by evidence and rigorous
evaluation of interventions. To do this, we must bring
together information, data and intelligence and encourage
organisations and individuals to work in concert rather
than in isolation, focusing on those identified as being
most vulnerable to involvement in serious violent crime.
Attendees identified many examples of good practice
taking place in local areas and communities, and there
was consensus on the importance of a shared approach to
preventing and tackling serious violence
In particular, the Summit has already enabled the
following outcomes:
• The creation of a new Ministerial Taskforce, chaired
by the Prime Minister, to drive cross-government action.
This will be supported by a new, dedicated, serious
violence team in the Cabinet Office to support cross-
departmental coordination. • A commitment to better data
collection and sharing of appropriate data between the
healthcare sector and other key organisations in order to
protect children, and to make it easier for health
professionals to play an enhanced role in reducing
violence. This will be accompanied by the roll-out of
mental health support teams based in and around schools
and education settings, to help vulnerable children within
their community, some of which will be in areas most
affected by knife crime. The teams will be available to
support children directly or indirectly affected by knife
crime as part of the school or college response
• An expansion of the partnership with the Premier
League to increase one of its flagship community
programmes, Premier League Kicks, which uses football
to inspire young people to develop their potential and
build stronger, safer communities. Sport England, which
invests more than £10 million in projects that use sport to
support crime reduction, has also pledged to increase
investment in sport and physical activity for children in
hot spot areas
• An extension of the support provided by the National
Homicide Service to witnesses, as part of a raft of new
measures, which will focus on supporting victims and
witnesses of violent crime and directing youth offenders
away from further violence. These include: extending
emotional, practical, trauma and counselling support
beyond victims to now include those who witness murder
or manslaughter in London; specialist training for staff at
youth offender institutions to spot signs of past abuse,
exploitation or serious violence experienced by the youths
in custody and help direct them to support services; and
reviewing the Victims’ Code, which sets out what
services victims are entitled to receive, to make it clearer
what support witnesses of serious violent crime can
access
These deliverables represent the first step of an
increased programme of work across Government – and
beyond – to tackle serious youth violence. Once the
Ministerial Taskforce has been established, it will agree a
plan of action and then oversee its implementation going
forward. We will continue to keep Parliament updated.
The Summit demonstrates the commitment from the
Prime Minister, myself and Ministers across Government,
setting a clear direction and galvanising action to tackle
serious violence. Working together, this new approach
will ensure we meet the scourge of youth violence head
on, so that more families are spared the unimaginable
suffering that has already been endured by so many.
Windrush Compensation Scheme
[HLWS1461]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the
Minister of State for Immigration (Caroline Nokes) has
today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
Last Wednesday my rt hon Friend the Home Secretary
announced the launch of the Windrush Compensation
Scheme. The Government deeply regrets what has
happened to some members of the Windrush generation
and the launch of the compensation scheme marks a key
milestone in righting the wrongs they have experienced.
Detailed information about the compensation scheme,
including the rules that govern the scheme, with the forms
and guidance that people need to make a claim, are
available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/windrush-compensation-
scheme. Our helpline is also open now on 0800 678 1925
for those wishing to receive printed copies of the claim
form or for any other queries, this is free if calling from
within the UK. Those calling from outside the UK will be
called back.
I would like to clarify, further to questions raised with
the Home Secretary on the floor of the House, three issues
in relation to eligibility to apply for compensation. The
first is in relation to those who are not resident in the UK.
A Commonwealth citizen outside the UK, who was
settled in the UK before 1 January 1973, who has settled
status, right of abode or is now a British Citizen, or whose
settled status has lapsed due to being absent from the UK
for a period of 2 or more years is eligible to apply for
compensation.
Second, the definition of a close family member for the
purpose of the compensation scheme is a spouse or civil
partner living with the claimant, cohabitee for continuous
period of two years or more, a parent, a child or a sibling.
Close family members are entitled to claim regardless of
whether a primary claimant chooses to make an
application and whether said claimant is deceased.
Thirdly, the definition of serious criminality for the
purposes of the compensation scheme is defined as a
conviction that received a sentence of imprisonment of
four years or more, and that the offending was of such a
nature that makes it inappropriate to make an award in
whole or part. This provision does not apply to a
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Written Statements 8 April 2019 Page 5
conviction and sentence outside of the UK for conduct
which on the date of the conviction was not an offence in
the UK.
The Home Office is committed to raising awareness of
the scheme, and to encouraging eligible people of all
nationalities to submit a claim. Eligibility for
compensation goes beyond members of the Caribbean
Commonwealth, and we are putting in place a programme
of events with key stakeholders, faith and community
organisations to promote both the scheme and the wider
work of the Commonwealth Citizens Taskforce. The first
of such events is scheduled for Lambeth Town Hall on
Friday 5 April and full details are available via the
Gov.uk page.
Regrettably, in promoting the scheme via email to
interested parties, an administrative error was made which
has meant data protection requirements have not been
met, for which the Home Office apologises unreservedly.
This occurred in emails sent to some of the individuals
and organisations who had registered an interest in being
kept informed about the launch of the compensation
scheme, which included other recipients’ email addresses.
Five batches of emails, each with 100 recipients, were
affected. No other personal data was included.
A recall was commenced as soon as the problem had
been identified. The Departmental Data Protection Officer
has been informed and an internal review will be
conducted to ensure this cannot happen again. The
Department has voluntarily notified the Information
Commissioner’s Office of the incident.
I am firmly committed to doing right by the Windrush
generation. The compensation scheme is an important
step towards that and I will ensure that action is taken to
ensure the highest standards are met not only in the
processing of cases, but also in continued efforts to
publicise the scheme and ensure those entitled to redress
receive it.
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Page 6 8 April 2019 Written Answers
Written Answers Monday, 8 April 2019
Agriculture: Degrees
Asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many
agriculture degrees in England offer modules on
agroecology. [HL14869]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Higher Education
Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on
UK higher education (HE).
Analysis of HESA’s ‘Student Record 2017/18’ shows
that there were 2 HE institutions in England with one or
more participants in agroecology[1] modules in the
academic year 2017/18. These agroecology modules were
all at postgraduate level at either Harper Adams
University or Coventry University.
Module data for HE provided by further education
colleges and alternative providers is not held centrally.
[1] Relevant module titles identified in the HESA Student Record were ‘Fundamentals of Agroecology’, ‘Agroecological Techniques and
Practices’ and ‘Agroecological Production Systems’.
Autism
Asked by Lord Touhig
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 25
March (HL Deb, col 1611), whether the review of
autism services will examine the questions of autistic
people without a learning disability being placed in
mental health hospitals. [HL14844]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: In Building
the right support we have a plan to build capacity and
services in the community in order to reduce reliance on
inpatient care for people with a learning disability, and for
autistic people and so that they can be appropriately
supported to live in the community. A copy of the report
is attached.
Supporting people on the autism spectrum or with
learning disabilities is one of the four clinical priority
areas in the NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January
2019. This commits to implementing the Building the
right support plan in full, achieving at least a 50%
reduction in the number of people with a learning
disability or autism who are inpatients (compared to the
figure in 2015) by the end of 2023/24. The National
Health Service national planning guidance requires a 35%
reduction in inpatients no later than the end of 2019/20.
The Long Term Plan also commits to ensuring that every
local economy has specialist community provision. Every
local health system will be expected to use some of its
growing community health services investment to have a
seven-day specialist multidisciplinary service and crisis
care to prevent people with learning disability and autistic
people from needing hospital inpatient care.
On 5 December 2018, the Department of Health and
Social Care announced that we will be launching a
comprehensive review of Think Autism, the national
autism strategy. We want an autism strategy that works
for all autistic people, and that is why, working very
closely with the Department for Education, we will be
extending the strategy to include children.
The review is expected to consider the support offered
to autistic people who require inpatient care and the
support required to enable autistic people to live well in
their communities.
The Answer includes the following attached material:
Building the Right Support [Building the right support.pdf]
The material can be viewed online at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-
answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-03-26/HL14844
Brunei: Capital Punishment
Asked by Viscount Waverley
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
representations they intend to make to the government
of Brunei about its decision to impose death by stoning
as a punishment for adultery and gay sex; and whether
they intend to ban hydrocarbon imports from that
country until it alters that policy. [HL14989]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary
spoke to Brunei’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Dato Erywan, on 4 April in order to express the UK’s
deep concern over Brunei’s decision to implement the
final phases of the Sharia Penal Code.
The Minister for Asia-Pacific delivered a statement to
the House of Commons on 4 April addressing the UK
position on the implications of Brunei’s decision.
We have repeatedly lobbied Brunei about their plans to
introduce hudud punishments. The Minister for Asia-
Pacific raised this with the Sultan and Bruneian ministers
during his visit to Brunei Darussalam in August 2018.
Commonwealth Heads of Government most recently
met in the UK in April 2018. His Majesty The Sultan of
Brunei Darussalam was present. A communique issued by
the leaders included the most progressive language yet on
LGBT rights, complimented by an historic speech from
the Prime Minister. The UK strongly supports and
defends the rights of the LGBT+ community globally.
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances
and all its forms. The UK upholds international human
rights laws relating to torture, or cruel, inhumane or
degrading treatment.
The UK does not import hydrocarbons from Brunei. We
believe that open and honest discussions, rather than
boycotts, is the best way to encourage Brunei to uphold
their international human rights obligations and to respect
individual freedoms.
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 7
Brunei: Legal Systems
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they
are taking following Brunei’s decision to introduce
Sharia law, and the consequential use of amputation,
whipping and stoning, along with other penalties, for
non-compliant religious minorities, people in same sex
relationships, or for adultery, theft or alcohol
consumption. [HL14929]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary
spoke to Brunei’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Dato Erywan, on 4 April in order to express the UK’s
deep concern over Brunei’s decision to implement the
final phases of the Sharia Penal Code.
The Minister for Asia-Pacific delivered a statement to
the House of Commons on 4 April addressing the UK
position on the implications of Brunei’s decision.
We have repeatedly lobbied Brunei about their plans to
introduce hudud punishments. The Minister for Asia-
Pacific raised this with the Sultan and Bruneian ministers
during his visit to Brunei Darussalam in August 2018.
Commonwealth Heads of Government most recently
met in the UK in April 2018. His Majesty The Sultan of
Brunei Darussalam was present. A communique issued by
the leaders included the most progressive language yet on
LGBT rights, complimented by an historic speech from
the Prime Minister. The UK strongly supports and
defends the rights of the LGBT+ community globally.
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances
and all its forms. The UK upholds international human
rights laws relating to torture, or cruel, inhumane or
degrading treatment.
China: Transplant Surgery
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19
March (HL14297), whether they will ask the World
Health Organisation to (1) assess the report Bloody
Harvest/the Slaughter: An update, published on 22 June
2016, and (2) publish a statement on the evidence
presented in that report. [HL14905]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of reports
that allege that organ harvesting may be taking place in
China, including suggestions that minority and religious
groups are being specifically targeted. The British
Government continues to take these reports extremely
seriously.
This includes the 2016 update to the Kilgour, Matas and
Gutmann report and other information provided so far to
the ongoing tribunal organised by the International
Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China and chaired
by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC. We continue to scrutinise the
situation carefully and review new information as it
becomes available.
We will update the WHO via our Embassy in Beijing
on the issues raised in the recent debate in Parliament,
which included references to the 2016 update to the report
‘Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter’. When doing so, my
officials will ask the WHO to expand upon its assessment
of China’s organ transplant system. It would not be
appropriate for us to ask the WHO to publish a statement
on the evidence presented in the report ‘Bloody
Harvest/the Slaughter’, although this does not preclude
the authors of the report from doing so.
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19
March (HL14297), whether they will ask the World
Health Organisation to explain the basis for its view
that China is implementing an ethical, voluntary organ
transplant system in accordance with international
standards. [HL14906]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of reports
that allege that organ harvesting may be taking place in
China, including suggestions that minority and religious
groups are being specifically targeted. The British
Government continues to take these reports extremely
seriously.
This includes the 2016 update to the Kilgour, Matas and
Gutmann report and other information provided so far to
the ongoing tribunal organised by the International
Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China and chaired
by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC. We continue to scrutinise the
situation carefully and review new information as it
becomes available. At present, however, our assessment is
that there is not a strong enough evidential base to
substantiate the claim that systematic state-sponsored or
sanctioned organ harvesting is taking place in China. We
will continue to review any new evidence that is
presented to us.
We will update the WHO via our Embassy in Beijing
on the issues raised in the recent debate in Parliament,
which included references to the 2016 update to the report
‘Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter’. When doing so, my
officials will ask the WHO to expand upon its assessment
of China’s organ transplant system. It would not be
appropriate for us to ask the WHO to publish a statement
on the evidence presented in the report ‘Bloody
Harvest/the Slaughter’, although this does not preclude
the authors of the report from doing so.
Civil Servants: Conditions of Employment
Asked by Lord Goodlad
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
representations they have received about parity of
conditions between employees of the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence.
[HL14944]
Lord Young of Cookham: The Cabinet Office has not
assessed or received any representations on the parity of
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Page 8 8 April 2019 Written Answers
conditions between employees of the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Further to my response to the Noble Lord Goodlad on
the 21 March (HL14735), the Government can confirm
that terms and conditions for civil servants below the
Senior Civil Service have been to a great extent, and
within certain central parameters, in particular those set
out in the Civil Service Management Code, formally
‘delegated’ to departments. Accordingly, inter-
departmental differences in relation to terms and
conditions exist.
The Diplomatic Service is a separate Civil Service from
the main (UK) Civil Service and is managed by the
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs.
Claudia Jones and George Padmore
Asked by Lord Boateng
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11
March (HL13972), whether any departments, other than
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, hold archive
material on (1) George Padmore, and (2) Claudia Jones.
[HL14820]
Lord Ashton of Hyde: A search of the files held on
The National Archives’ online catalogue, Discovery, has
revealed no files relating to Claudia Vera Cumberbatch
alias ‘Claudia Jones’ and three files relating to Malcolm
Ivan Meredith Nurse alias ‘George Padmore’ These can
be found here: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1255063;
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14206480;
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6097450
It should be noted however, that Discovery only
searches catalogue descriptions, and does not search the
contents of the records in our repositories. This means
that these individuals may appear within other records
held at The National Archives, for example passenger
lists, but this would not be picked up by a Discovery
search if their names do not feature prominently enough
to be included in the catalogue description provided by
the department on transfer.
Commission for Countering Extremism
Asked by Baroness Warsi
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on
15 March 2018 (HLWS527), when the first annual
report of the Commission for Countering Extremism is
expected to be published. [HL14808]
Asked by Baroness Warsi
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on
15 March 2018 (HLWS527), what assessment the Lead
Commissioner for Countering Extremism has made of
the threat of, and response to, extremism in the UK.
[HL14809]
Asked by Baroness Warsi
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary
of State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability on
25 June 2018 (152869), what advice they received from
the Lead Commissioner on Countering Extremism on
the Commission for Countering Extremism’s future
structures, work programme and the appointment of
further commissioners; and what was their response to
such advice. [HL14810]
Asked by Baroness Warsi
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which individuals
and organisations met with the Lead Commissioner for
Countering Extremism during her first year in post; and
what are the dates, locations, agenda and meeting
outcomes of all such meetings. [HL14811]
Asked by Baroness Warsi
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research
briefings have been (1) produced for, and (2)
commissioned by the Lead Commissioner for
Countering Extremism; what was the subject of any
such briefing; and if provided by an external party, who
that was. [HL14812]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: The independent
Commission for Countering Extremism’s study into the
threat we face from extremism and the current response,
including advice on new policies to tackle it, will report to
the Home Secretary and be published shortly. The
Government expects the Lead Commissioner’s report to
include advice on the Commission’s future structures,
work programme and, if necessary, the appointment of
further commissioners.
Once the Commission’s has reported to the Home
Secretary on its study and it’s been published, the
Government’s response will be a decision for the Home
Secretary.
The Commission for Countering Extremism’s public
Charter is clear that it’s a transparent body operating
independently of the Government. This independence
extends to its decision about who it engages with and the
methodologies and content of its reports.
Commonwealth: Public Records
Asked by Lord Boateng
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they
are taking to recognise the interests of Commonwealth
countries in historical archives relating to the process of
decolonisation, in particular when making decisions not
to disclose records for the purposes of historical
research. [HL14819]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, like other government
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 9
departments, selects its archive records for permanent
preservation in line with the requirements of the Public
Records Act. This includes any records relating to the
process of decolonisation. Records selected for permanent
preservation are transferred to The National Archives
(TNA) where they are available to historians and
members of the public, subject to any legal exemptions.
TNA holdings can be searched using their online
catalogue which is publicly available on their website.
Company Voluntary Arrangements
Asked by Lord Myners
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will
review the use of Company Voluntary Arrangements
(CVA) and the impact on creditors when company
owners have removed significant equity via dividends
or capital reconstruction ahead of the CVA process.
[HL14969]
Lord Henley: The Government consulted on a wide-
ranging package of reforms to corporate insolvency
generally in 2018 and there are no plans to review the use
of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA’s) at this
time. CVA’s are a valuable part of the restructuring
framework. Following this consultation, Government
announced it will strengthen the powers available to
insolvency practitioners to take recovery action where
value has been extracted from a company prior to its
insolvency, thereby increasing the protections already
available to creditors. These proposals will be introduced
when parliamentary time permits.
Copyright: Internet
Asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the
forthcoming White Paper on the development of digital
technology and the digital economy will include reserve
powers to address economic harm on online platforms
in order to protect the interests of the UK’s creative
industries against piracy and the spread of illegal
content. [HL14795]
Lord Ashton of Hyde: Development of digital
technology and the digital economy is not specifically in
scope of the Online Harms White Paper.
As part of the Digital Charter, the Government’s
overarching strategy to make sure the internet works for
everyone - for citizens, businesses and society as a whole
- we have already introduced a number of measures to
protect the interests of the UK’s Creative Industries,
including facilitating a Code of Practice signed by search
engines and copyright owners. This has reduced the
prominence of websites hosting illegal copyright
infringing content in natural search results.
Debts
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they
are taking to improve measures to support those with
problem debt. [HL14799]
Lord Bates: The government is taking a proactive
approach to support those in problem debt. First, the
government has increased funding for publicly-funded
debt advice to over £56 million in this financial year,
enough to provide support to over 530,000 people. This
advice helps vulnerable consumers to seek expert help
with their debts and get their finances back on track.
Second, the government is also implementing its
manifesto commitment to introduce a breathing space and
statutory debt repayment plan. The polices aim to give
people in problem debt the opportunity to take control of
their finances and put them on a sustainable footing.
Degrees
Asked by Lord Myners
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the number of first class degrees
awarded by the (1) University of Surrey, and (2)
University of Bradford; whether they have had any
discussions with those universities about the number of
such degrees awarded; and if so, what were the
outcomes of any such discussions. [HL14791]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Higher Education
and Research Act 2017 established a new independent
regulator in England, the Office for Students (OfS). The
act gives the OfS powers to assess the quality and
standards applied to higher education by English
providers.
The government has made it clear in guidance to the
OfS that grade inflation must be tackled. In their strategy,
attached, the OfS includes ensuring “qualifications hold
their value over time” as a key objective. In December
2018, the OfS published analysis of changes in degree
classifications between 2010-11 and 2016-17, which is
attached. This includes data on the University of Surrey
and the University of Bradford.
On 24 March, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of
State for Education called for universities to end the steep
rise of “unjustifiable” first class degrees which is a threat
to the world class reputation of the university sector, and
risks undermining the efforts of hard working students.
The government expects the OfS, when it has its full
range of powers, to challenge those institutions that
record an unjustifiable rise in the proportion of top
degrees being awarded.
The OfS’ statutory powers are on course to be
strengthened through new regulations due to be laid in
Parliament later this year, which will allow the OfS to
levy fines of up to £500,000 or 2% of a university’s
income (whichever is higher). The UK Standing
Committee for Quality Assessment is developing sector-
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Page 10 8 April 2019 Written Answers
recognised standards to ensure that all degree awards are
consistent and fair - due to be completed this academic
year. Together, these measures will strengthen the
regulator’s ability to challenge universities with
unwarranted grade inflation and hold them to account.
Any university found to be damaging students’ interests
could be subject to sanctions such as placing additional
conditions on their registration, fines, or in the worst case
scenario removing a university’s powers to award
degrees.
The Answer includes the following attached material:
HL14791_Analysis_of_Degree_Classifications
[HL14791_Analysis_of_Degree_Classifications.pdf]
HL14791_OfS_Strategy_2018_2021
[HL14791_OfS_Strategy_2018_2021.pdf]
The material can be viewed online at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-
answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-03-25/HL14791
Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the spread of Ebola in North Kivu
and of the response to that outbreak by the government
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the World
Health Organisation. [HL14764]
Lord Bates: The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) is the largest in the country’s
history and the second largest on record. The Government
of the DRC and the World Health Organisation (WHO)
are together leading an effective response in an extremely
challenging context with ongoing conflict. Despite some
successes, the outbreak is not yet under control, and DFID
teams continue to actively monitor and assess the
situation.
UK Aid has played a crucial role in supporting the
response since the outbreak was first announced in
August 2018. This support has provided funding and
expertise to the WHO for response activities in the DRC
and for regional preparedness. Preventing the spread of
the disease not only saves lives but also provides the
stability necessary for economic growth and security.
Erasmus+ Programme
Asked by Lord Greaves
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the current position of the Erasmus+
scheme (1) in this year, and (2) in future years; and in
what ways Brexit has affected that scheme. [HL14775]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The government values
international exchange and collaboration in education and
training as part of its vision for a global Britain.
Irrespective of the outcome of Article 50 negotiations
with the EU, the government wants UK and European
countries to continue to give young people and students
the chance to benefit from each other’s world leading
universities post-exit.
Under the terms of the proposed Withdrawal
Agreement, UK organisations and participants will
continue to be able to take part in the Erasmus+
Programme this year and in the future up to the end of the
current Multiannual Financial Framework.
While securing a negotiated deal remains the
government’s top priority, we are committed to ensuring
that organisations, students and participating staff are
prepared in the event of a no deal EU exit. To provide
more clarity, we published a new technical notice at the
end of January, which provides detailed guidance to
organisations and students on the UK’s anticipated
participation in the current Erasmus+ programme (2014-
20) in the event of no deal. The technical notice, attached,
can be found at: https://bit.ly/2GaP28y.
As is set out in this notice, the government’s underwrite
guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK
organisations for all successful (those that are approved
directly by the European Commission or by the National
Agency and ratified by the European Commission)
Erasmus+ bids. This includes projects and participants
that are only informed of their success, or who sign a
grant agreement, after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU,
and commits to underwrite funding for the entire lifetime
of the projects.
The UK is open to participating in the next Erasmus+
programme (2021-27). We have been considering the
draft regulation for the successor scheme carefully and
have been actively participating in discussions on this.
Ultimately, participation in the successor programme is a
matter for negotiations to come about our future
relationship with the EU.
The Answer includes the following attached material:
HL14775_Erasmus+_Technical_Notice
[HL14775_Erasmus_+_Technical_Notice.doc]
The material can be viewed online at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-
answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-03-25/HL14775
Fines: Surcharges
Asked by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which
organisations that provide victim services have been
awarded funding from the revenue of the victim
surcharge in each year since 2013. [HL14792]
Asked by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much
funding each organisation that provides victim services
was awarded from the revenue of the victim surcharge
in each year since 2013. [HL14793]
Lord Keen of Elie: Revenue from the Victim
Surcharge forms a part of the Ministry of Justice’s Victim
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 11
and Witness budget which is used to fund services that
enable victims to cope and recover and support witnesses
to give their best evidence in court. The Victim and
Witness budget funds national support services such as:
the National Homicide Service, Rape Support Centres,
and the Court Based Witness Service. It also funds Police
and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) who commission local
support services for victims. Consequently, it is not
possible to identify which services receive funding from
the Victim Surcharge revenue specifically.
However, information on how much revenue is
generated from the Surcharge and subsequently
contributes to the Victim and Witness budget is available
in the HMCTS Trust Statement, which are published
every year. Below is a table with information taken from
the Trust Statements detailing how much revenue has
been generated from the Victim Surcharge since 2013.
Financial Year Victim Surcharge Collected
2013/14 £19,548,000
2014/15 £24,569,000
2015/16 £28,307,000
2016/17 £31,029,000
2017/18 £35,022,000
Football: Racial Discrimination
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they
are taking to work with relevant authorities, such as
FIFA, and UEFA, to strengthen sanctions against racist
behaviour in international football. [HL14836]
Lord Ashton of Hyde: The racist abuse England
players were subjected to in Montenegro was completely
unacceptable and we supported the Football Association’s
call for UEFA to take strong and swift action. The FA
represents English football’s interests at the international
level of the sport.
Whilst progress has been made here and abroad in
tackling discrimination in football over the years, more
needs to be done, and Government is continuing to work
with the footballing authorities and other organisations to
agree what action must be taken to stamp out all forms of
discrimination at football events in this country.
Fraud
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they
are taking to work with banks to protect UK businesses
against invoice fraud. [HL14801]
Lord Bates: The Government takes fraud extremely
seriously and recognises the devastating impacts these
crimes can have. The Government has created the Joint
Fraud Taskforce, which brings together government, the
banks and law enforcement to develop a collective
response to fraud. The objectives of the Taskforce are to
protect the public and businesses from fraud, reduce the
impact of fraud on victims, and increase the disruption
and prosecution of fraudsters.It has also been made easier
to report fraud to law enforcement. Action Fraud is the
UK’s reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, providing
a central point of contact for information about fraud and
financially motivated internet crime.
Genito-urinary Medicine: Finance
Asked by Baroness Tonge
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 25
March (HL Deb, col 1618), whether the £3 billion
funding a year ring-fenced around public health
services in local authorities is specifically for sexual
health services; and if not, what proportion of that
funding is specifically for sexual health services.
[HL14988]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: The public
health grant funding allocated to local authorities is ring-
fenced for public health functions. It is not specifically for
sexual health services.
It is for individual local authorities to decide their
spending priorities based on an assessment of local need,
including the need for sexual health services taking
account of their statutory duties. They are required by
regulations to provide services for sexually transmitted
infection testing and treatment and contraception.
High Rise Flats: Fires
Asked by Lord Porter of Spalding
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many high
rise buildings retrofitted with combinations of
composite or other forms of cladding which are not
formed from solid metal along with phenolic foam
insulation have had fires that resulted in fatalities in the
last 10 years in the UK; and what estimate they have
made of the number of such buildings internationally
that have had fires resulting in fatalities in the last 10
years. [HL14794]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office
does not hold this information.
Home Office: Fees and Charges
Asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on
14 February (HL13370), why they have not laid before
Parliament the report by the Independent Chief
Inspector of Borders and Immigration on an inspection
of the Home Office Borders, Immigration and
Citizenship System’s policies and practices relating to
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Page 12 8 April 2019 Written Answers
charging and fees within eight weeks of having
received it; and when they expect to do so. [HL14782]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Independent
Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI)
report on an inspection of the Home Office Borders,
Immigration and Citizenship System’s policies and
practices relating to charging and fees was received on 24
January 2019.
The report will be laid before Parliament as soon as
possible. It is important that the Department and Ministers
give full consideration of the serious recommendations
made in ICIBI reports. In some circumstances, this will
take longer than 8 weeks due to the complexity or
importance of the recommendations.
Homelessness
Asked by Lord Greaves
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the use of public spaces
protection orders and other anti-social behaviour
measures to prevent homeless people from sleeping in
public open spaces, or to fine and criminalise them; and
whether they consider the use of those measures
appropriate. [HL14776]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government is
committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping.
No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last
summer we published the cross-government Rough
Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100
million package to help people who sleep rough now, but
also puts in place the structures that will end rough
sleeping once and for all. The Government has now
committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and
rough sleeping over the spending review period.
Public Spaces Protection Orders and other anti-social
behaviour measures should be used proportionately to
tackle anti-social behaviour, and not to target specific
groups such as homeless people. We refreshed the
statutory guidance for frontline professionals on use of the
powers in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2014 in
December 2017 to make absolutely clear that these orders
should not be used to target people based solely on the
fact that they are homeless or sleeping in public open
spaces.
Hospitals: Human Remains
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of data from the Human Tissue
Authority that over the past three years there were 253
"serious incidents" in hospital morgues where corpses
were accidentally damaged, bereaved relatives shown
the wrong body, or the remains of unborn babies
incinerated against the wishes of the family. [HL14927]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: The
Government assesses data from the Human Tissue
Authority (HTA) on serious incidents at quarterly
accountability meetings.
When these incidents occur they are upsetting for the
families of those involved; although they are rare, when
they do happen we are assured that the HTA work with
establishments to ensure that a thorough investigation
takes place, and that improvements are made to reduce the
risk of similar incidents happening again.
Housing Market
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the impact of Brexit uncertainty on
the UK housing market. [HL14837]
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Department is
working closely with industry and all levels of
government to monitor and support the housing market.
At Spring Statement, we announced measures to support
the market, such as guaranteeing (through the Affordable
Homes Guarantee Scheme) up to £3 billion of borrowing
by Housing Associations in England, to support the
delivery of around 30,000 affordable homes.
We remain committed to delivering safe, secure and
affordable housing to people across the country, and our
exit from the EU will not change this. A key pillar of
realising this commitment is our ambition to deliver
300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
To further ensure a smooth transition, we have
implemented legislation which will mean that on Day 1
after exit, the UK’s regulatory requirements on
construction products will be the same as the EU’s
requirements. In the event of a no-deal scenario, we will
continue to recognise EU product requirements as valid
for sale on the UK market for a time limited period after
we leave the EU.
Human Remains: Imports
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North
Oxford on 19 March (HL14296), what was the outcome
of their discussions with the Human Tissues Authority
about concerns around bodies imported for display.
[HL14956]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: The
Government has had discussions with the Human Tissue
Authority (HTA) about concerns around bodies imported
for public display. We are assured by the HTA that it
seeks every assurance that the use of imported bodies for
public display is compliant with the legal requirements of
their country of origin.
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North
Oxford on 19 March (HL14296), what concerns were
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 13
raised in their discussions with the Human Tissue
Authority; and whether they plan to seek to amend the
Human Tissue Act 2004 as a result of those discussions.
[HL14958]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: The
Government discussed with the Human Tissue Authority
(HTA) the provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004,
which requires that people who wish to be displayed in
public after their death must give their written consent.
These provisions do not apply to bodies imported from
abroad. The Government is in further discussions with the
HTA about any non-legislative activity which the
Authority could pursue.
There are no current plans to review the Human Tissue
Act 2004.
Human Trafficking
Asked by Baroness Hamwee
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether potential
victims of trafficking who have been released from
immigration detention and are awaiting a conclusive
grounds decision are required to report to the Home
Office. [HL14850]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: Potential victims of
trafficking who are released from immigration detention
and awaiting a conclusive grounds decision are granted
immigration bail and are therefore subject to at least one
condition of bail. This can include a condition to report to
the Home Office.
Incontinence
Asked by Lord Harries of Pentregarth
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what grounds
incontinence pads provided through the NHS were
changed from Attends to Tena; and what tests were
carried out as to their relative effectiveness. [HL14949]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: NHS Supply
Chain has not changed supply of incontinence pads from
Attends to Tena. Both these and other brands are available
for purchase from NHS Supply Chain.
Islamic State: Crimes against Humanity
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 March
(HL Deb, cols 1523–5), how many individuals accused
of participation or complicity in the Daesh atrocities
have been prosecuted to date in the UK; and on what
charges. [HL14768]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: There are a range of
tough measures to deal with people who pose a serious
threat to the UK. As of June 2018, there had been around
40 convictions of individuals who had been prosecuted
following their return from Syria, for a range of offences
connected to their activities overseas or subsequent
counter-terrorism investigations.
This number includes a ten year custodial sentence for
Mohammed Abdullah, a British national convicted in
December 2017 of IS membership, after leaked
documents from a defector revealed his role as a
“specialist sniper”, and the minimum of 40 years for
Khalid Ali who was sentenced in 2018 for planning a
terrorist attack in Westminster.
The majority of those who have returned did so in the
earlier stages of the conflict and have been investigated. A
significant proportion of these individuals are assessed as
no longer being of national security concern.
Israel: Golan Heights
Asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the recognition by the President of
the United States of Israel’s sovereignty over the
occupied Golan Heights; and what discussions they
have had, or intend to have, with the government of the
United States about that recognition. [HL14833]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: On 26 March officials
from our Embassy in Washington raised our concerns
with US counterparts about the US Presidential
Proclamation recognising that the Golan Heights are part
of the State of Israel. We are clear that the UK views the
Golan Heights as territory occupied by Israel. Annexation
of territory by force is prohibited under international law,
including the UN Charter. The UK did not recognise
Israel’s annexation in 1981 and we have no plans to
change our position. On 26 March we reiterated our firm
position on this matter at a meeting of the United Nations
Security Council.
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions,
if any, they have had with the United States
Administration about the President of the United States’
statement on Twitter on 21 March that it is "time for the
United States to fully recognize Israel’s sovereignty
over the Golan Heights"; and what assessment they
have made of the potential implications of that
statement for (1) the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
and (2) future regional stability. [HL14859]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: On 26 March officials
from our Embassy in Washington raised our concerns
with US counterparts about the US Presidential
Proclamation recognising that the Golan Heights are part
of the State of Israel. We are clear that the UK views the
Golan Heights as territory occupied by Israel. Annexation
of territory by force is prohibited under international law,
including the UN Charter. The UK did not recognise
Israel’s annexation in 1981 and we have no plans to
change our position. On 26 March we joined Belgium,
France, Germany and Poland at the UN Security Council
in reiterating this position.
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Page 14 8 April 2019 Written Answers
Libya: Politics and Government
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the UK
will play in the UN national reconciliation conference
expected to take place in Ghadames in Libya on 14 to
16 April; and what are their objectives for that
conference. [HL14861]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK strongly
supports the efforts of UN Special Representative
Ghassan Salamé and welcomes his recent announcement
that a National Conference will take place in Ghadames in
April. We continue to engage with the UN Support
Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on preparatory work for the
National Conference, and support the objective of
ensuring that the full Libyan political spectrum is
represented. This is an opportunity to bring together a
wide range of Libyan stakeholders to reach a consensus
on key questions relating to Libya’s political transition,
including the constitutional basis for elections, the
sequencing and model of elections, and the equitable
distribution of resources.
London Capital and Finance: Insolvency
Asked by Lord Myners
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they
intend to launch an independent review into the
Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory oversight of
London Capital and Finance Plc. [HL14788]
Lord Bates: On 1 April, the Economic Secretary
announced that he will use powers under the Financial
Services Act 2012 to direct the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) to launch an investigation into the
events at London Capital & Finance and the
circumstances surrounding them. This followed a request
from the FCA Chair, Charles Randell, to the Economic
Secretary to launch such an investigation.
The investigation will be led by an independent person
appointed by the FCA, with the approval of HM Treasury.
Members: Honours
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they
apply in recommending a Member of the House of
Commons for award of a peerage or knighthood; and
whether an individual MP’s voting record on the
withdrawal agreement proposed by Her Majesty’s
Government to Parliament forms part of these criteria.
[HL14874]
Lord Young of Cookham: Honours recognise long-
standing contributions to civic society – this should
include those who have made significant contributions to
public life through their service to Parliament.
To place this in context, the most recent New Year’s
Honours List recognised over 1,100 people for their
service from all walks of life and all backgrounds across
the United Kingdom.
Nominations of political peers similarly reflect the
contribution that individuals have made, but also the
contribution that they will be able to make in the future as
an active member of the Upper House.
Individual votes are not part of any such criteria.
Motor Vehicles: Theft
Asked by Lord Mendelsohn
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the causes of the 49 per cent rise in
vehicle thefts in the four years to 2017–18; what plans
they have to address that rise; what discussions they
have had with the automotive industry about improving
vehicle security, including the security of keyless entry
and start systems; and what regulations are in place to
ensure minimum standards of security for newly made
vehicles in the UK. [HL14787]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: On 15 January the
Minister for Policing and the Fire Service chaired the first
meeting of the Vehicle Theft Taskforce, which brings
together the automotive industry, insurers, the police,
Government departments and others to help ensure that
the collective response to vehicle theft in England and
Wales is as robust as it can be.
In addition to developing further our understanding
about the threat, the work of the Taskforce will cover
vehicle security, which includes looking at preventing the
compromise of electronic vehicle security.
The majority of new cars and small commercial
vehicles must meet the requirements of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 97
and Regulation 116 covering Vehicle Alarm Systems and
Protection of Motor Vehicles Against Unauthorised Use.
Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017
Asked by Baroness Cumberlege
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which sections of
the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 have not yet
been commenced. [HL14821]
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Sections 7, 8(2), 14,
18-28 (with the exception of 26(8)(b)), 31, 39 and 40 of
the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 have not yet been
commenced.
North Korea: Arms Trade
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of reports that North Korea has (1)
generated foreign currency through arms deals, (2) sold
nuclear materials to Iran in exchange for cash and oil,
and (3) sold missiles and conventional weapons to
Yemen. [HL14815]
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 15
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: North Korea continues
to undertake activities prohibited by a number of UN
Security Council Resolutions including through the illegal
proliferation of arms to several states. We are working
with our international partners to ensure that all existing
UN Security Council measures in respect of North Korea
are fully, and effectively, implemented. In addition, we
welcome the work of the UN Panel of Experts who are
mandated to gather, examine and analyse information
provided by States on their implementation of the
measures, as well as information on incidents of non-
compliance. The Panel’s latest report details continued
evasion of sanctions by North Korea and insufficient
implementation of sanctions by a wide range of countries.
The report and previous reports can be found on the UN
Security Council website.
North Korea: Foreign Trade
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of reports that North Korea has (1)
illegally sold minerals, gold, drugs, coal, and weapons,
and (2) misused the flags of other nations to avoid
international maritime inspection. [HL14814]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: North Korea continues
to undertake activities prohibited by a number of UN
Security Council Resolutions including illegal exports of
coal and the use of deceptive shipping practices. We are
working with our international partners to ensure that all
existing UN Security Council measures in respect of
North Korea are fully, and effectively, implemented. In
addition, we welcome the work of the UN Panel of
Experts who are mandated to gather, examine and analyse
information provided by States on their implementation of
the measures, as well as information on incidents of non-
compliance. The Panel’s latest report details continued
evasion of sanctions by North Korea and insufficient
implementation of sanctions by a wide range of countries.
The report and previous reports can be found on the UN
Security Council website.
North Korea: Politics and Government
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of reports that North Korea has been
involved in illegal trade and the hacking of foreign
banks. [HL14813]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: North Korea continues
to undertake trade activities prohibited by a number of
UN Security Council Resolutions. We are aware of
industry reports on North Korean cyber activity. The UK
has a comprehensive cyber strategy to address both
criminal and state based threats which includes activity to
defend and deter cyber-attacks as well as develop our
national expertise. We are working with our international
partners to ensure that all existing UN Security Council
measures in respect of North Korea are fully, and
effectively, implemented. In addition, we welcome the
work of the UN Panel of Experts who are mandated to
gather, examine and analyse information provided by
States on their implementation of the measures, as well as
information on incidents of non-compliance. The Panel’s
latest report details continued evasion of sanctions by
North Korea and insufficient implementation of sanctions
by a wide range of countries. The report and previous
reports can be found on the UN Security Council website.
Orthopaedics
Asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many
amputations were performed by the NHS in each year
from 2014 to 2018. [HL14854]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: The following
table shows a count of finished consultant episodes
(FCEs) 1 with a main or secondary procedures 2 of
amputation for the years 2014/15 to 2017/18.
Financial year Total FCEs
2014-15 19,953
2015-16 20,356
2016-17 20,968
2017-18 21,330
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS
Digital
Notes :
i) A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one
consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of
different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care
within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
i) Number of episodes with a main or secondary procedure:
The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was
recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included
once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one
procedure field of the record. It should be noted that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For
example, patients undergoing a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have
at least two procedures – removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one – counted in a single episode.
Patients: Transport
Asked by Lord Harries of Pentregarth
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
answer by Lord O’Shaughnessy on 4 April 2017 (HL
Deb, col 940), what improvements have been made in
the waiting time for hospital patient transport; and what
is the average waiting time. [HL14948]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: Patient
transport service waiting time data is not collected
centrally.
The provision of non-emergency patient transport
services is a matter for local National Health Service
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Page 16 8 April 2019 Written Answers
commissioners, including setting performance standards,
monitoring performance and taking improvement action
where needed. This ensures that services are best adapted
to local conditions, and where services fall short we
expect commissioners to take swift action.
Public Works Loan Board
Asked by Lord Myners
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible
for setting the credit risk budget for the Public Works
Loan Board; who has responsibility for lending
decisions; and when they last assessed the role of that
Board in delivering public policy and fiscal
management targets. [HL14790]
Lord Bates: The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) is
a statutory body that issues loans to local authorities, and
other specified bodies in England, Scotland and Wales.
The PWLB’s policy framework is set by HM Treasury.
Responsibility for local authority spending and
borrowing decisions lie with locally-elected council
members, who are democratically accountable to their
electorates. Since 2004, major local authorities have been
able to borrow without government consent provided they
can afford the borrowing costs. Local authorities are
required to have regard to the Prudential Code and
statutory guidance when they borrow from the PWLB or
from any other lender. The Prudential Code and statutory
guidance were updated in 2018 to increase transparency
and accountability, and ensure that local authorities take
investment decisions after careful consideration of risk
and proportionality. Before it can advance a loan, the
PWLB requires formal assurance from the authority that
the loan is within their borrowing powers and the relevant
legislation.
As with all policies, the government keeps the lending
policy for the PWLB under review.
Radovan Karadžić
Asked by Baroness Cox
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of (1) the longer sentence given to
Radovan Karadžić at an appeal court in The Hague, and
(2) whether that ruling increases the likelihood that
Omar al-Bashir, President of Sudan, will be arrested
and brought before the International Criminal Court.
[HL14774]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The International
Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) is
an independent and impartial tribunal established by
UNSC Resolution 1966, conducting the residual work of
the International Criminal Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia. We welcome the IRMCT Appeals Chamber’s
decision in the Karadžić Appeals Judgement which set
aside the sentence of 40 years and imposed on Karadžić a
sentence of life imprisonment, owing to the heinous
crimes he committed. The decision is one made by
competent judges who apply the law to the facts.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), on the other
hand, is a permanent International Criminal Tribunal
court, established by a Treaty, the Rome Statute. Its
jurisdiction differs from that of the IRMCT. While the
ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the
IRMCT has no jurisdiction over the suspect.
Science: Higher Education
Asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1)
entomology, (2) soil science, and (3) microbial
science professors, there are at English universities.
[HL14870]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Higher Education
Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics
on staff at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
Latest statistics refer to the academic year 2017/18.
Each staff member can be recorded as teaching and/or
researching up to 3 academic disciplines[1]. Counts of the
number of academic staff and professors involved in the
most closely related academic disciplines to those
requested have been provided in the table:
Full-person-equivalent [2] academic staff by current
academic discipline at English HEIs for Academic Year
2017/18
Academic discipline Professors All academic staff
C340 Entomology 5 65
F770 Soil Science 5 25
C500 Microbiology 55 445
C510 Applied Microbiology
5 55
Source: Department for Education analysis of the HESA Staff Record
Notes:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 in line with HESA’s rounding
strategy.
Staff can be recorded across more than one academic discipline, so
rows in the table ought not to be summed together.
‘Professor’ indicates a member of staff holding a contract which
aligns with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association contract level 5A ‘Professor’. This may undercount professors because
many will fall into more senior levels, e.g. Heads of department.
[1] Academic disciplines are categorised using the Joint Academic Coding System: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c17025/a/curaccdis.
[2] The definition for full-person-equivalent is available from the
HESA website:
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c17025/fte_vs_fpe.
Slavery
Asked by Baroness Hamwee
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK Visas
and Immigration considers a person’s (1) past
immigration records, (2) pending immigration cases,
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 17
and (3) rule 35 report statements, in addition to the
information provided on their National Referral
Mechanism referral form, when making reasonable
grounds decisions in respect of foreign nationals (a) in
immigration detention, and (b) outside immigration
detention. [HL14849]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: Reasonable Grounds
decisions for foreign nationals in immigration detention
are made by trained Competent Authority decision
makers. As part of the decision making process
information held within the immigration database is
considered alongside the information provided by the
First Responder in the National Referral Mechanism
referral form. Further information is sought from the First
Responder where there is insufficient information
contained within the referral form.
Asked by Baroness Hamwee
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many victims
of trafficking or modern slavery who have received a
positive conclusive grounds decision have been
removed from the UK in the last period of twelve
months for which figures are available. [HL14852]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office
record the number of individuals that have received a
positive Conclusive Grounds decision and this
information is published Quarterly by the National Crime
Agency.
As NRM referrals, Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive
Grounds decisions are considered separately from
immigration enforcement action, there is no central record
of those who have received a positive Conclusive
Grounds decision and later removed. The Home Office
therefore does not collate or publish the data requested.
Students: Loans
Asked by Lord Mendelsohn
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether university
income from student tuition fee loans is classed as
public or private funds; what legal advice, if any, they
have received to this effect; and whether they will
publish any such advice. [HL14912]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The government pays
universities directly in respect of the tuition fee loans
which are approved for eligible students each year.
Students are then legally obliged to repay any tuition fee
loans in accordance with the contract they sign when
taking out the loan. The Office for National Statistics
classifies the money provided by the government to cover
tuition fees as a debt for the purposes of the public
finances. The government does not ordinarily disclose its
legal advice as that is protected by legal professional
privilege.
Syria: Islamic State
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they
have made of the number of children who are among
the captured ISIS fighters in Syria; what they estimate
the countries of origin of those children to be; and what
plans they have to facilitate the reintegration of those
children into society and to deter their radicalisation.
[HL14818]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of a
significant number of minors among those who fled the
final Daesh-held territory of Baghuz in north-eastern
Syria in the weeks prior to its capture by the Syrian
Democratic Forces. Most of these children are now
housed at the Al-Hol displaced persons camp where,
according to estimates by UN humanitarian agencies, at
least 41,000 of the 72,000 population are under 18; most
are understood to be either Syrian or Iraqi nationals. Due
to the circumstances on the ground it is not possible for
the British Government to make an independent estimate
of the numbers of children or their country of origin.
UK aid has provided more than £40 million in
humanitarian support in North-Eastern Syria in 2018-19,
which includes support for child protection, health care
and mental health support. For any British children
returning from Syria, a range of specialised support would
be offered, tailored to the needs of the individual child.
Terrorism
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the current threat posed by extreme
right-wing terrorism to UK national security; and how
they define right wing terrorism. [HL14864]
Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Secretary
has been clear: the far right has absolutely no place in
Britain. The British people overwhelmingly reject the
prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis
of the values that this country represents: decency,
tolerance and respect.
Through CONTEST and the Counter-Extremism
Strategy, we’re dealing with the threat of right-wing
terrorism and the wider harms caused by the far right,
including community tensions, hate crime and public
order issues. This is about keeping our communities safe
and secure. We have also been discussing the risk posed
by right wing terrorism with our international partners.
The Government proscribed National Action as a
terrorist organisation in December 2016. We’ve also
proscribed Scottish Dawn and NS131 as aliases of
National Action.
“Terrorism” is defined in Section 1 of the Terrorism
Act 2000. Our counter terrorism strategy, CONTEST,
works to reduce the risk of all forms of terrorism,
regardless of ideology.
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Thiomersal
Asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which vaccines
prescribed by the NHS contain thimerosal. [HL14855]
Asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when thimerosal
was last tested for safety of use in patients (1) below 16,
and (2) above 65, years old. [HL14856]
Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: None of the
vaccines currently recommended for use as part of the
United Kingdom routine immunisation programme
contains the preservative thiomersal.
The safety of thiomersal-containing vaccines has been
extensively evaluated in studies which have found no
evidence to suggest thiomersal is associated with any
serious or long-term risks. Such studies have mostly been
in young children. The most recent assessment in the
Weekly epidemiological record was undertaken by the
World Health Organization in 2012, which advised that
the available evidence strongly supports the safety of the
use of thiomersal in vaccines where required. A copy of
the 2012 Weekly epidemiological record is attached.
The Answer includes the following attached material:
2012 Weekly epidemiological record [WHO report.pdf]
The material can be viewed online at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-
answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-03-27/HL14855
Tunisia: Politics and Government
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment
they have made of the political situation in Tunisia in
view of reports that the President of Tunisia is seeking
to amend the 2014 constitution to increase the power of
the presidency. [HL14862]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK supports the
democratic process in Tunisia and continues to follow
developments closely. Successful municipal elections in
May 2018 were an important milestone in the country’s
democratic transition, ahead of the legislative and
Presidential elections due at the end of this year. Any
potential changes to the 2014 Constitution amending the
division of powers between the President and the Head of
Government would need to be agreed by the Tunisian
parliament. There is a clear Constitutional process in
place to address such issues.
Turks and Caicos Islands: Politics and
Government
Asked by The Earl of Shrewsbury
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the
process of appointing a new Governor for the Turks and
Caicos Islands, they will consider the importance of
promoting and encouraging tourism and businesses in
that sector in those Islands. [HL14916]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign and
Commonwealth Office recruitment process looks for the
best candidate who can demonstrate they have the skills
to meet the challenges of the position of Governor. The
position is advertised across the civil service. The
Governor as Her Majesty The Queen’s representative has
responsibility for security, external affairs and defence.
Although the locally elected Government is responsible
for tourism and business, Governors of course have an
important role to play in supporting the prosperity of the
Overseas Territories.
As has been the established practice since 2002, I wrote
to the Turks and Caicos Islands Premier last September
asking for her views on the qualities and expertise needed
for a new Governor.
Voluntary Schools: Capital Investment
Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 28 March
(HL14650), what are the (1) names, (2) related local
authorities, (3) phases, and (4) religions, of each
expression of interest in the new capital funding scheme
for voluntary-aided schools they received. [HL15002]
Lord Agnew of Oulton: On 26 March 2019, the
department published the list of bids received for the new
capital funding scheme for voluntary-aided schools. The
link to this list, which is split by school name, local
authority, phase and faith ethos or designation, can be
found on the GOV.UK website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/voluntary
-aided-schools-capital-scheme-applicant-information.
This list can also be found attached.
As registering expressions of interest was not
compulsory and not all groups who register their interest
go on to submit bids, the department does not publish
information about expressions of interest.
The Answer includes the following attached material:
HL15002_Voluntary-aided_school_applicant_info
[HL15002_Voluntary_aided_school_applicant_information.pdf]
The material can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-
answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-04-02/HL15002
Yasser Fawzi Shweiki
Asked by Baroness Tonge
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
representations they will make to the government of
Israel about the killing of Yasser Fawzi Shweiki and
reports that the Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s
medics were prevented from attending the scene.
[HL14803]
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Written Answers 8 April 2019 Page 19
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have not raised this
specific issue with the Israeli authorities. The British
Government is very concerned at the high numbers of
Palestinians killed by Israel Defense Forces in the West
Bank and Gaza. We recognise the Israeli authorities’
legitimate need to deploy security measures in some
circumstances, but we have encouraged them to avoid
excessive use of force and to act in a way which
minimises tensions. When there have been accusations of
excessive use of force, we have urged the Israeli
authorities to conduct swift and transparent investigations.
We continue to call on the Israeli Government to ease
movement and access restrictions for Palestinians in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories and to improve access to
medical care. We are clear that medical staff should have
the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety.
Youth Organisations
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they
are giving, and to whom, to strengthen youth
organisations. [HL14831]
Lord Ashton of Hyde: Local authorities are primarily
responsible for allocating public funding to youth
organisations in their area.
Government is committed to strengthening and
supporting youth organisations including, but not limited
to:
• The Office for Civil Society has allocated over £863m
between 2014/15 and 2018/19 to youth programmes -
with £195m of that allocated for 2018/19;
• A new £200m Youth Endowment Fund to be
delivered over 10 years to support interventions with
children and young people at risk of involvement in
crime and violence; and
• Supporting the creation of the Youth Futures
Foundation - a new, independent organisation created
with initial funding of £90m from dormant bank
accounts,which will support young people furthest
away from the labour market using data from the Race
Disparity Audit.
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Index to Statements and Answers
Written Statements ................................................. 1
Access for All ....................................................... 1
Companies House Public Targets ......................... 2
Counter-Daesh Operations ................................... 2
Serious Youth Violence ........................................ 3
Windrush Compensation Scheme ......................... 4
Written Answers ..................................................... 6
Agriculture: Degrees ............................................ 6
Autism .................................................................. 6
Brunei: Capital Punishment .................................. 6
Brunei: Legal Systems .......................................... 7
China: Transplant Surgery .................................... 7
Civil Servants: Conditions of Employment .......... 7
Claudia Jones and George Padmore ..................... 8
Commission for Countering Extremism ............... 8
Commonwealth: Public Records .......................... 8
Company Voluntary Arrangements ...................... 9
Copyright: Internet ............................................... 9
Debts ..................................................................... 9
Degrees ................................................................. 9
Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola ............... 10
Erasmus+ Programme ........................................ 10
Fines: Surcharges................................................ 10
Football: Racial Discrimination ......................... 11
Fraud ................................................................... 11
Genito-urinary Medicine: Finance...................... 11
High Rise Flats: Fires ......................................... 11
Home Office: Fees and Charges ......................... 11
Homelessness ..................................................... 12
Hospitals: Human Remains ................................ 12
Housing Market .................................................. 12
Human Remains: Imports ................................... 12
Human Trafficking ............................................. 13
Incontinence ....................................................... 13
Islamic State: Crimes against Humanity ............ 13
Israel: Golan Heights .......................................... 13
Libya: Politics and Government ........................ 14
London Capital and Finance: Insolvency .......... 14
Members: Honours ............................................ 14
Motor Vehicles: Theft ....................................... 14
Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 ................... 14
North Korea: Arms Trade .................................. 14
North Korea: Foreign Trade .............................. 15
North Korea: Politics and Government ............. 15
Orthopaedics ...................................................... 15
Patients: Transport ............................................. 15
Public Works Loan Board ................................. 16
Radovan Karadžić .............................................. 16
Science: Higher Education ................................ 16
Slavery ............................................................... 16
Students: Loans .................................................. 17
Syria: Islamic State ............................................ 17
Terrorism ........................................................... 17
Thiomersal ......................................................... 18
Tunisia: Politics and Government ..................... 18
Turks and Caicos Islands: Politics and
Government ....................................................... 18
Voluntary Schools: Capital Investment ............. 18
Yasser Fawzi Shweiki ....................................... 18
Youth Organisations .......................................... 19