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166650

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
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	Colombia
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 government of Colombia's land restitution process.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL3241
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text Whilst security for claimants and those returning to their land is a key concern, our 2013 Human Rights Report (released on 10 April 2014) notes that some progress has been made on the issue of land restitution. Since January 2012 there have been 64,815 registered land restitution claims. In his recent meeting with President Santos on 7 November, the Deputy Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Sheffield Hallam (Mr Clegg), welcomed the Colombian government’s efforts to improve respect for human rights in Colombia, including through its land restitution and victims reparations processes. Our Embassy in Bogota runs several human rights projects to help improve Colombia’s land registry process, increase access to protection measures and raise awareness of the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. Officials from our Embassy also meet regularly with indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and we also funded a project aimed at developing the role of organisations in protecting communities’ rights to the territories. We are following closely several emblematic land restitution cases; our Ambassador raised the cases of the Curvaradó and Jiguamandó communities with the Ministry of the Interior in July and acts as an observer on the case. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 10/12/2014 14:08:23 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

166651

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
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	United Arab Emirates
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the UAE authorities regarding their conviction of Osama al-Najjar.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL3242
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text We are aware of the sentencing of Osama al-Najjar, following alleged comments on twitter and other activities. While we have not made representations on this case, our views about the importance of freedom of expression as a universal human right are well known. We believe that people everywhere must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues, challenge their governments and make informed decisions in accordance with international human rights law. Our broad strategic engagement with the United Arab Emirates provides an opportunity to openly discuss these issues. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 09/12/2014 14:37:19 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

166652

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
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	Democratic Republic of Congo
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding the Kawama demolitions.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL3243
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text <p>Amnesty International issued a report on 17 November 2014 into the demolitions of homes and commercial buildings at Kawama in November 2009. Officials at our Embassy in Kinshasa have regular and frank dialogue with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on a number of issues, including on cases of alleged human rights violations, and will make representations urging the Government of the DRC to fully investigate the allegations made in the report.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 10/12/2014 14:09:04 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

166653

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
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	Zimbabwe
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the political situation in Zimbabwe regarding the relationship between Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL3244
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p>The UK remains committed to supporting the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people for a more democratic, stable and prosperous future. To this end, we actively engage with the Government of Zimbabwe, opposition parties and civil society and continue to call for constructive collaboration and dialogue between all groups.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 09/12/2014 14:38:53 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

166654

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
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	Sudan and South Sudan
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the violence suffered by civilians since the referendum in both Sudan and South Sudan.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL3245
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p>Since the independence referendum of 2011, civilians in Sudan and South Sudan have continued to be victims of violence. Over 1.9 million South Sudanese have been displaced since December 2013 and the UN estimates that 6.9 million people across Sudan are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. To seek an end to this suffering, the UK is a strong advocate of the peace processes in both countries, a leading humanitarian donor, and a firm supporter of the UN Missions in Sudan and South Sudan.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 09/12/2014 14:43:50 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

166655

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
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	Embassies
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many embassies or consulates they have closed in each year since 2010.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL3246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not closed any Embassies over this period but has suspended operations in Tehran, Damascus and Tripoli for security reasons. Overall, the total number of FCO posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices) worldwide has risen from 257 to 267 since 2010. However, in order to help fund expansions elsewhere, we have closed a number of Consulates in Europe and elsewhere, as new technology has enabled us to deliver services in different ways.</p><p> </p><p>The FCO has closed the following Consulates-General and Consulates since 2010:</p><p> </p><p>2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland</p><p> </p><p>2011: Two: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy</p><p> </p><p>2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Florence, Italy; Consulate Funchal, Portugal</p><p> </p><p>2013: One: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand</p><p> </p><p>The FCO has also downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:</p><p> </p><p>2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy</p><p> </p><p>2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 09/12/2014 14:58:20 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

166656

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to deal with net immigration; and whether they intend to revise their targets.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL3247
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>We are building an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate migrants, that is tough on those who abuse the system or flout the law, and that ensures people come to the UK for the right reasons – to work hard and contribute to our economy and society.</p><p>We have cut net migration from outside the EU by nearly a quarter since 2010 – close to levels not seen since the late 1990s. We have also clamped down on nearly 800 illicit colleges, reduced 45,000 visas from the further education route; and cut family visas by nearly a third since it came to power.</p><p>Our reforms have also made it more difficult for EU migrants to claim benefits in the UK and, through the landmark Immigration Act, made it tougher for illegal immigrants to remain by restricting access to work, housing, benefits, healthcare, bank accounts and driving licences and making it easier to remove those who have no right to be here by reducing the number of appeals.</p><p>The Government has reformed benefits, healthcare and housing rules to make them among the tightest in Europe and we continue to see an increase in the number of British citizens in work. In the past, the majority of growth in employment was taken up by foreign nationals; in the last year, two-thirds of it was accounted for by UK nationals. This shows that our immigration policy benefits UK nationals first while still attracting skilled migrants needed by British business.</p><p>However there is more to be done. The Prime Minister set out further measures to reduce migration, including EU migration, in his immigration speech delivered on 28 November.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 15/12/2014 12:43:49 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

166657

registered interest
date	27/11/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to secure more stable placements for girls at risk of child sexual exploitation, in the light of the recent <i>Children in Care</i> report by the National Audit Office.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL3248
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>Secure Children’s Homes provide specialist care in a secure environment for some of the most vulnerable young children in England to protect them, and others around them from harm, including girls at risk of child sexual exploitation.</p><p>In light of the growing demand for placements of children considered vulnerable, it is important that the system of provision sufficiently meets the changing needs of children that need to be placed in a secure setting.</p><p>The Department for Education is conducting a review of Secure Children’s Homes to examine the current and likely future need of places and what changes, improvements or new forms of provision may be required to ensure those needs are met. We have also announced steps to improve practice, such as better data collection on children who go missing.</p><p>Through the Innovation Programme we have also invited proposals for new ways of supporting vulnerable adolescents, including a number of bids that seek to prevent Child Sexual Exploitation.</p><p>The Department has recently consulted on changes to children’s homes regulations to introduce new Quality Standards. This includes a specific standard setting out that children are to be protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.</p><p> </p><p>We are also undertaking wider reforms to social work practice, including the development of new assessment and accreditation system which will provide a practice based career pathway for children’s social workers in England, announced by the Secretary of State at the recent NCAS conference and an expansion of schemes like Frontline – which will improve the quality of social work.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 08/12/2014 17:19:19 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick