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147400

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	British Nationals Abroad: Armed Conflict
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to prosecute jihadis who have fought with ISIS and return to the United Kingdom; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2804
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>If there is evidence that people are going to Syria to engage in terrorist activity they can be arrested and prosecuted. Each case is considered individually in accordance with the rules of the applicable criminal law jurisdiction. In England and Wales if the police refer a case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), they consider whether the test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors is met; that is whether there is sufficient evidence of any offence, and if so, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. A similar public interest approach is taken by the office of the Lord Advocate, the sole prosecuting authority for Scotland.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Whether an individual is arrested or prosecuted for a terrorism offence will always depend on the facts and circumstances of the case and is an operational decision for the police and responsible prosecuting authority. Safeguards are built in to our legislation and we rely on the professionals involved to make sure that prosecutions are pursued in appropriate cases. Whether any specific act falls within the definition of ‘terrorism’ and whether any individuals or groups have committed an offence will always depend on all facts and circumstances of the case. Depending on the specific circumstances, anyone who becomes involved with fighting overseas may be prosecuted under the applicable law on their return<strong>.</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A very wide range of offences already exists on the statute books that can be used to prosecute such individuals and to manage the risk they may pose on return, including in the Terrorism Acts 2000 and 2006 which provide extra-territorial jurisdiction in relation to certain activities. In particular, where there is evidence that individuals are planning, promoting, funding, facilitating or participating in terrorist activities overseas - including involvement in fighting for terrorist groups - the relevant authorities will seek to prosecute them, before they go or on their return.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Tankerness question first answered 24/11/2014 17:26:25 answering member 630 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Tankerness
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

147401

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Recruitment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to accelerate the Teach First programme so that all teachers are recruited by that method by 2020.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2805
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>Teach First is a charity part-funded by the Government to raise levels of pupil attainment in schools facing challenging circumstances. Teach First’s mission is to recruit high-performing graduates into schools with significant levels of economic deprivation and low levels of educational performance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government has allocated 2,000 training places to Teach First for 2015/16, a 33% increase on its allocation for 2014/15. This reflects the importance the Government places on Teach First’s contribution, and will ensure that Teach First operates in all regions of the country, including in rural and coastal areas. It would not, however, be consistent with Teach First’s mission or scale of operation for it to train all of the approximately 36,000 trainees, including at undergraduate level, required annually to meet the needs of schools of all types in all parts of the country.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 18/11/2014 15:51:39 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

147402

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Antisemitism
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the current law is sufficient to deal with hate messages against Jews on social media, including Twitter.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2806
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Yes. The Government is absolutely clear that abusive and threatening behaviour online – whoever the target - is totally unacceptable. A number of offences may be committed by abusing others on social media. A message sent by means of a public electronic communications network, such as a message on Twitter, which is grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing may be an offence under section 127(1) of the Communications Act 2003. Sending indecent, grossly offensive or threatening material to another with the purpose of causing distress or anxiety to a person to whom the material is communicated, including by means of the internet, is an offence under the Malicious Communications Act 1988.</p><p> </p><p>Internet abuse could also amount to an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 if it is carried out as part of a ‘course of conduct’ which amounts to harassment or puts someone in fear of violence.</p><p> </p><p>Changes to the law being taken forward in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will increase the maximum penalty for offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 to 2 years imprisonment, and will mean that the current requirement that prosecutions are brought within 6 months of the offence being committed will no longer apply. The Bill will also extend the time within which prosecutions under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 may be brought, to up to three years from commission of the offence, as long as this is also within 6 months of the prosecutor having knowledge of sufficient evidence to justify proceedings.</p><p> </p><p>These steps will help to ensure that people who commit these awful crimes are prosecuted and properly punished. Where any crime is motivated by or demonstrates hatred based on the race or religion of the victim, the courts will take this into account in passing sentence.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 24/11/2014 17:33:23 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

147403

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make it compulsory for internet service providers to publish, as prominently as "up to" broadband speeds, a guaranteed minimum speed for their services.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2807
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to regulate the way in which broadband speeds are advertised. Ofcom, the independent regulator, has already carried out a significant amount of work to improve the performance of Internet Service Providers (ISPs).</p><p>The Voluntary Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds was introduced by Ofcom in 2008 and which the majority of ISPs have now signed up to. The Code requires ISPs to make clear and accurate information on the broadband services available to consumers at the point of sale, including speed, so that they can make an informed decision before purchasing. Since the Code was strengthened in 2010, ISPs have been required to give consumers broadband speeds estimates in the form of a range rather than as a midpoint estimate where there was large variation in achievable speeds. Consumers must also be allowed to leave a contract without penalty if they receive speeds significantly below the estimate.</p><p>Under the Code ISPs are expected to manage customers’ problems when they report that they are not receiving the speeds that they had expected to receive when they purchased the broadband service. This includes the ISP investigating any technical problems and in certain circumstances offering a different broadband package without charging the customer the cost of migrating to the new package.</p><p>Ofcom is currently discussing with industry and consumer groups its proposals to revise the Code to reflect significant changes in the broadband market since the Code’s introduction, with the increased take up of superfast packages. An updated Code is due to be published in December.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 18/11/2014 15:15:49 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

147404

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Civil Servants
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 Wallace of Saltaire on 28 October (HL2121), whether they consider civil servants who believe in an Islamic State in the United Kingdom brought about by peaceful means a source of concern; and whether they consider such views to be extremist.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2808
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government’s Prevent strategy defines extremism as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Any civil servant seen as opposing those values would be a cause for concern.</p><p>As mentioned in my written answer of 28 October, Civil Servants are subject to the provisions of the <em>Civil Service Code.</em></p><p>The Home Secretary recently announced that the Home Office will, for the first time, assume responsibility for a counter-extremism strategy that goes beyond terrorism. The strategy will aim to build up the public sector and civil society to identify extremism in all its forms, confront it, challenge it and defeat it. The need to protect British values will be at the heart of the new strategy.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 24/11/2014 17:51:36 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

147405

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Training
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 Bates on 30 October (HL2330), how many police officers in England and Wales will be expected to undertake personal safety training; and how many operational police officers will not be undertaking personal safety training.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2809
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>Data regarding police officers undertaking, or not undertaking personal safety training is held by individual police forces and is not collated by the Home Office or the College of Policing. National guidance, set by the Association of Chief Police Officers requires all police personnel to undertake personal safety training relevant to their role requirements and to refresh this on an annual basis.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/11/2014 11:59:25 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

143448

registered interest
date	07/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Suicide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many self-inflicted deaths of prisoners occurred in (1) 2003, and (2) 2013.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2733
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The number of self-inflicted deaths in prison in 2003 and 2013 is published in the Safety in Custody statistical bulletin which is available at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prisons is a key priority for the Government. We are working hard to understand any trends, but, as is the case in society at large, there is no simple explanation with complex and individual reasons behind any suicide.</p><p> </p><p>We have dedicated resources providing support every day in prisons and have created a specialist team to help share good practice as part of our strenuous efforts to learn from each death.</p><p> </p><p>Young adults are a particularly challenging and vulnerable group, and that is why we have commissioned an independent review into the deaths of 18 to 24-year-olds in prison custody.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 21/11/2014 14:03:56 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

143449

registered interest
date	07/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	West Africa
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any members of the armed forces who contract ebola whilst serving in Africa will be immediately returned to the United Kingdom to receive medical treatment.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2734
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>Any member of the Armed Forces who contracts Ebola Virus Disease will have their circumstances considered on the basis of individual clinical need. Their safety and that of health practitioners, will be of paramount importance. If it is determined that the best clinical outcome would be achieved through medical evacuation, this would take place.</p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 21/11/2014 14:23:20 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

143450

registered interest
date	07/11/2014
answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
answering dept id	63
answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
hansard heading	Forests
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the acreage of forest that would need to be planted in the United Kingdom in order to meet a carbon reduction budget of 50 per cent by 2025; and what is their assessment of the contribution forests and other carbon sinks can make to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2735
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>There are no sector specific carbon reduction targets for forests and other carbon sinks but the contribution of these sectors to meeting carbon budgets is set out in the 2011 Carbon Plan. Forests and other carbon sinks can play a valuable role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the Government has put in place a range of policies to realise this reduction. These include the Rural Development Programme, the Woodland Carbon Code and the UK Forestry Standard as set out alongside Government’s wider forestry objectives in the Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 20/11/2014 16:40:30 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

143451

registered interest
date	07/11/2014
answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
answering dept id	63
answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
hansard heading	Forests
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what international action they are taking to press the case for global re-afforestation in order to act as a carbon sink.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2736
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK supports protection and conservation of global forests through our £3.87 billion International Climate Fund (ICF). To date, over £500 million has been committed to support a range of initiatives, including supporting forest governance; sustainable forestry, agriculture and land management, community forest management, and developing knowledge and evidence that can contribute to effective and coordinated policies and strategies. The UK also supports REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and Conservation, Sustainable Management of Forests, and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks), through investments in pilot REDD+ projects through the ICF, and through decisions supportive of the development of REDD+ through the international climate change negotiations.</p><p>The UK played a key role in developing the New York Declaration on Forests, endorsed by over 150 governments, private sector stakeholders, civil society, non-governmental and indigenous community organisations at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 23<sup>rd</sup> September 2014. The Declaration highlights the importance of reducing deforestation and increasing forest restoration to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius and calls for action. It sets out an ambitious restoration goal of restoring 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020 and significantly increasing the rate of global restoration thereafter, which would restore at least an additional 200 million hectares by 2030.</p><p>There are a number of important international processes in 2015 that can also encourage more ambitious outcomes for global re-afforestation and restoration. The UK will press the case for ambitious, quantitative forest conservation targets for 2030 in the post-2015 new sustainable development goals, and supports the inclusion of ambitious outcomes for forests as part of the post-2020 new international climate agreement. The Bonn Challenge 2.0 will also be an opportunity for countries to bring forward ambitious forest restoration targets.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 20/11/2014 16:43:24 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra