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61941

	registered interest
	date	16/06/2014
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	International Conference on Population and Development
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they will take to help implement the Stockholm Statement of Commitment developed at the April 2014 International Conference on Population and Development.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Craigavon
	uin	HL359
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The UK Government is fully committed to the principles of the International Conference on Population and Development's (ICPD) Programme of Action and will continue to uphold these principles in its development work. We consider 2014, as the twentieth anniversary and review year of the ICPD, as an important moment to recognise progress and to address remaining gaps and emerging challenges.</p><p> </p><p>We have been fully engaged in the intergovernmental process for the review of the ICPD, including actively participating in the regional and thematic conferences, the 47<sup>th</sup> Commission on Population and Development which took place in April of this year, as well as preparations for the upcoming special session at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The Stockholm Statement of Commitment was the outcome document agreed by participants attending the Sixth International Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, which also took place in April. Official representatives from the UK Government did not participate in the Stockholm parliamentarians' meeting. However, the Stockholm Statement does endorse a number of the elements we have been supporting throughout our engagement in the ICPD review process and will continue to support, including that sexual and reproductive health and rights become a reality for all, without distinction of any kind.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 23/06/2014 16:46:58 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	3384 label Biography information for Viscount Craigavon

62483

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Fuels: Tax Evasion
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address cross-border smuggling of diesel fuel between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Bridgeman
	uin	HL412
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>A range of measures are in place to detect and deter cross border smuggling of diesel between the Republic and Ireland and Northern Ireland. These include investigative work on either side of the border, for example checking of documentation, and acting on intelligence received. This is augmented by close cooperation and information sharing by the HMRC, the Irish Revenue Commissioners and other relevant agencies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Additionally, HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.</p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 30/06/2014 15:24:03 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
	tabling member	3515 label Biography information for Viscount Bridgeman

92825

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	East Coast Main Line
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the East Coast Railway line; and in particular to increase speed between London and (1) Newcastle, and (2) Edinburgh.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL2061
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Government has significant plans for the East Coast Main Line and the InterCity East Coast franchise. The competition for the franchise is expected to provide a number of material improvements for passengers, many of which are set out in the Prospectus and Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the franchise. These include the delivery of the new state-of-the-art Class 800/801 trains from the Intercity Express Programme, which will both improve the environment for passengers and reduce journey times.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s Rail Investment Strategy for the period 2014-2019 includes £240million for improving the East Coast Mainline with the aim of providing a material reduction in journey times between London and Edinburgh by 2020. The ITT for the new franchise seeks to build on this by specifying that the maximum journey time between London and Edinburgh reduces from 4hours 26 minutes in 2013, to 4 hours 17 minutes in 2020 to ensure that benefits from our investments in the IEP fleet and infrastructure are delivered. It does not specify a reduction in journey times to Newcastle but it is expected that these will also reduce to achieve the overall reductions to Edinburgh. As the ITT sets out our minimum requirements for the franchise, we expect that bidders will strive to improve upon these times.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 27/10/2014 16:20:31 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

63130

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	NATO
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held in relation to the possibility of establishing a permanent NATO presence in the Baltic states.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL539
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>Russia's actions in Ukraine represent the most serious security crisis in Europe this century. As a result, NATO has undertaken a number of measures to reassure Allies in Eastern Alliance territory. These include air policing, maritime deployments and exercising. The UK is playing an active role in delivering NATO reassurance measures and has offered additional support in a number of areas. We are contributing aircraft to reinforce the Baltic Air Policing mission and as part of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force. We have also augmented some NATO exercises that we were already committed to and are contributing to additional ones. On Wednesday 25 June, the NATO Secretary General announced that NATO Foreign Ministers agreed to develop a robust Readiness Action Plan for the NATO Summit in September. Allies have not made any decision to base forces permanently in the Baltics.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 01/07/2014 13:09:41 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

79508

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Middle East
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Hamas over the last three weeks regarding brokering a ceasefire with Israel.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1407
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government's policy towards Hamas is clear - the UK does not talk to Hamas, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 30/07/2014 16:32:09 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

79509

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Middle East
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent representations they have made to the government of Israel about their ground incursion into Gaza.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2014 answer text The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed the current crisis in Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories between 23-24 July. He made clear that whilst Israel had a right to self-defence, any response must be proportionate and maximum efforts made to avoid civilian casualties. He urged progress towards a ceasefire. answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 04/08/2014 10:56:44 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

79512

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Iraq
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with senior Kurdish representatives from northern Iraq about the future of Iraq.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1411
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p>Our Consul General in Erbil has met with President of the Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and other KRG Ministers and party leaders in recent weeks. Officials in London regularly meet with the KRG Representation to the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 30/07/2014 11:34:50 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

79578

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Russia
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they are using to assess the impact and effectiveness of current European Union sanctions on Russia.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1476
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/08/2014 answer text We judge the impact and effectiveness of sanctions based on a range of economic and political factors. Sanctions are designed to impose a cost for Russia’s actions in Ukraine, deter further escalation of this crisis, and support the wider diplomatic effort. EU measures already announced have exacerbated negative trends in Russia’s economy; capital flight in the first half of 2014 was greater than for the whole of 2013; and we have seen a significant reduction in expected growth. Russian access to western financial markets will be severely constrained as lenders consider the risks of Russian exposure in the current climate. The strengthening of sanctions should signal clearly to the Russian leadership that their policy of trying to destabilise Ukraine will have a cost for the Russian economy. The EU’s measures have in-built review mechanisms. The sanctions implemented on 31 July are in force for one year, with a review of implementation after three months. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 11/08/2014 10:28:37 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

79579

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Iran
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the E3/EU+3 talks with Iran have been affected by the situations in (1) Iraq, and (2) Ukraine.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1477
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p>E3+3 negotiations with Iran on a comprehensive solution to the nuclear issue have not been affected by either Iraq or Ukraine. These negotiations focus purely on the nuclear issue: regional and other issues are not discussed. The E3+3 remain united in their objectives and approach to the negotiations. All of the E3+3 agreed on 19 July to extend the Joint Plan of Action until 24 November. We will continue to work constructively with our E3+3 partners to reach our goal by 24 November.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 30/07/2014 11:42:34 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

79581

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Sahel
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the present terrorist threat in the Sahel and surrounding regions; and to what extent they consider it a threat to British interests in the region.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1479
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p>Terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and surrounding regions can pose a threat to British nationals and interests in the region. Groups active in the region, including Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al Murabitun, aspire to establish Islamic law in the region and to attack Western interests. Al Murabitun claimed responsibility for killing a French soldier in Mali on 14 July, while terrorists affiliated to AQIM are believed to be responsible for killing 14 members of the Tunisian Security Forces on 16 July. We are committed to working with our partners to strengthen the capacity of the affected nations to counter this threat.</p><p>Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice gives our most accurate assessment of the situation and the risks to British nationals in the countries across the Sahel. Travel Advice on the Sahel is included in the page for each country in the region and is available on our website at: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. We encourage all individuals and organisations to take that advice into account when travelling.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 30/07/2014 11:47:37 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian