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1137361

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	China: Muslims
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Muslim children are being separated from their families, faith and language in schools in Xinjiang; and what representations they intend to make about such separations to the government of China.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16968
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific ethnic groups.</p><p>Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.</p><p>Reports about forced separation of children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:51:42 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1137362

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	China: Detainees
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that in one township in Xinjiang more than 400 children have lost both of their parents to some form of internment in camps or prisons; and what assessment they have made of whether those internments are part of a campaign to systematically remove children from their roots and their family’s beliefs.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16969
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific ethnic groups.</p><p>Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.</p><p>Reports about forced separation of children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:52:44 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1137363

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Eritrea: Health Centres
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 4 July (HL16637), whether they can now provide an assessment of the impact of the government of Eritrea's enforced closure of Church-run health centres; whether staff in Eritrea have been able to visit and gather evidence of the impact of such closures on the local community; what assessment they have made of the reported deaths resulting from the closure of those facilities; and when they intend to raise this matter with (1) the government of Eritrea, and (2) the Eritrean Ambassador to the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16970
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>​We understand that the majority of the Catholic Church managed health centres recently closed by the Eritrean Government have reopened under Ministry of Health management. Due to restrictions on travel, and with no independent media in Eritrea, it is difficult for UK Embassy staff to verify these reports themselves or the consequences of the original closures. The Eritrean Government has stated that the closures are part of a long-term plan to bring all healthcare provisions under the Government. We have raised with the Eritrean Ambassador in London and our Ambassador in Asmara has requested a meeting with the Eritrean Foreign Minister.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:53:08 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1137071

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Human Embryo Experiments: Regulation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 9 October 2013 (HL2237), what assessment the Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made of the regulation of embryoid bodies following the publication of research (1) by Lancaster et al. Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly in 2013, and (2) in the Nature Cell Biology journal A 3D model of a human epiblast reveals BMP4-driven symmetry breaking on 1 July.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made no formal assessment of the regulation of embryoid bodies following the publication of research by Lancaster et al. <em>Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly</em> in 2013, and in the Nature Cell Biology journal <em>A 3D model of a human epiblast reveals BMP4-driven symmetry breaking</em> on 1 July. The publications will be brought to the attention of the Committee.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 17/07/2019 14:17:06 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135687

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Pakistan: Royal Visits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, during their forthcoming visit to Pakistan, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit (1) the slums inhabited by the minority Christian community, and (2) members of Shahbaz Bhatti’s family.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16780
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>​The details of the programme for the visit by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Pakistan have not yet been agreed. For security reasons, we would not in any case comment on details in advance of the visit.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:37:10 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135688

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Pakistan: Minority Groups
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last raised the plight of minorities in Pakistan with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth; what response they received; and whether they asked the Secretary-General to raise continued human rights violations with the government of Pakistan.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16781
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We continue to be in close contact with the Commonwealth Secretariat on its support to member states to live up to the commitments to tolerance, to human rights, good governance and the rule of law set out in the Commonwealth Charter.</p><p>In addition, the British Government will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:38:46 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135689

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Pakistan: Blasphemy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the sentencing of Shagufta Kauser and her husband to death in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy; what assessment they have made of whether Shagufta Kauser is (1) from a Christian minority, and (2) illiterate; what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan on her behalf; what response they have received to these representations; and what estimate they have made of the number of people currently facing the death sentence in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16782
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We continue to monitor the case of Shagufta Kauser and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel who were sentenced to death in April 2014. We understand that Shagufta Kauser is of the Christian faith and we are aware of media reports stating that she and her husband are both illiterate.</p><p>We regularly raise our concerns about the misuse of the blasphemy laws with the government of Pakistan at a senior level. The harsh penalties for blasphemy, including the death penalty, add to these concerns. We remain firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We have repeatedly called upon the Government of Pakistan to end capital punishment and, as a minimum, commit to publicly renewing the previously imposed moratorium on the death penalty. Concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of minority religious communities were raised with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during a ministerial visit to Islamabad in February.</p><p>We do not hold figures for individuals on specific charges overseas. According to the US State Department 2018 Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief, at the time of publication, 77 individuals were imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges, 28 of whom had received death sentences.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:41:26 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135690

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	China: Prisoners
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to updating their travel advice for China to include the findings of the Independent Tribunal into Forced Organ Harvesting from Prisoners of Conscience from China, published on 17 June.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16783
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We do not intend to update our travel advice to include the findings of the recent report by the pressure group “The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China”. We have reviewed the report and at present, our assessment remains 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 continue to keep this issue under review.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:42:02 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1134671

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Abortion: Mental Illness
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Court of Appeal ruling overturning the decision of the Court of Protection to allow a mentally ill woman to be given an abortion against her wishes; what implications they consider that case to have for the rights of those with learning disabilities to become parents; and what steps, if any, they intend to take in the light of the Court of Appeal's ruling.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16638
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>This is an extremely difficult and sensitive case, and the Government will consider the Court of Appeal judgment carefully.</p><p> </p><p>The Court of Protection hears cases about some of the most vulnerable people in society, making decisions about personal welfare – including serious medical treatment - where the person lacks capacity to do so for themselves. In doing so it must follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). In particular the MCA stipulates that decisions must be in the person’s best interests, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, including the wishes, feelings, beliefs and values of the person, and must be the least restrictive of their rights and freedoms.</p><p> </p><p>It is right that such serious and difficult decisions – particularly where there is disagreement about what is in the person’s best interests - are made by the independent judiciary.</p><p> </p><p>The statutory MCA Code of Practice provides practical guidance on the operation of the MCA and is currently under review. We have sought input from a range of interested stakeholders through a call for evidence in January and propose to consult on a revised Code towards the end of this year.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 10/07/2019 11:30:53 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135060

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Conferences
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 25 June (HL16233), whether, when making decisions about whether to refuse visa applications to participants at conferences, including the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development held in Westminster on 11 June, they take into account whether a conference has been sponsored or part funded by a government department; and what assessment, if any, they make of the impact on the public purse and the reputation of the UK of a visa refusal for such a conference.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16687
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>All UK Visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the UK Immigration Rules https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules which set out the requirements to visit the UK. These requirements apply to all visitors to the UK and the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules.</p><p>Among the points on which the applicant must satisfy the decision maker is that they are a genuine visitor who will leave the UK at the end of their visit and will not make the UK their main home through frequent or successive visits. When assessing a visit visa application decision makers follow publicly available guidance: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/793361/Visit-guidance-v8.0ext.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/793361/Visit-guidance-v8.0ext.pdf</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 10/07/2019 16:21:07 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Visit-guidance-v8.0ext.pdf title Visit guidance
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool