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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

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

143452

registered interest
date	07/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Health Services: Foreign Nationals
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 30 October (HL2329), what are the extra costs to the National Health Service of net immigration between 2001 and 2011.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department is not able to make a reliable estimate of the extra costs to the National Health Service budget of net immigration between 2001 and 2011, since the NHS does not hold or collate data on costs based on a person’s nationality or immigration status.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>In 2013, the Department commissioned a quantitative report to better understand the extent of the use of the NHS by migrants and visitors to support the consultation <em>Sustaining services, ensuring fairness: A consultation on migrant access and their financial contribution to NHS provision in England. </em>The report “Quantitative Assessment of Visitor and Migrant Use of the NHS in England. Exploring the Data.” estimates the total cost of visitors and temporary migrants’ normal use of NHS services to be £1.8 billion per year. This is the total gross cost and currently only a proportion of this is chargeable (approximately £460 million). Only some secondary care services are chargeable to non-European Economic Area individuals, and services for emergency care and public health reasons are exempt for all visitors and migrants, in addition to exemptions for different groups of individuals. This is an estimate for visitors and temporary migrants coming to England and does not account for the saving from individuals who migrate from the United Kingdom.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 17/11/2014 12:05:06 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

143453

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	Armed Forces: Meat
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 Astor of Hever on 28 October (HL2119), what information they provide to members of the armed forces to enable them to make informed choices about the consumption of halal food.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>Ministry of Defence policy is fully consistent with current UK legislation and Government guidelines. Although there is no requirement for a menu to state whether a dish does or does not contain halal food. Service and entitled civilian personnel with special dietary requirements are fully informed as to which dishes are suitable for them to eat.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 21/11/2014 14:27:56 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

100619

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Economic Situation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest revised forecast by the International Monetary Fund for the British economy, whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer still has confidence in its forecasting.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2350
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>Britain’s long term economic plan is working, boosting economic security for Britain’s hardworking people. The economy is growing, the deficit has fallen by a third and there are record levels of people in work. But the job is not done and the biggest risk now to the recovery would be abandoning the plan that is delivering a brighter economic future.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s strategy is to restore the public finances to a sustainable path and the UK is seen as a relative safe haven, with interest rates remaining historically low helping keep interest payments down for households, businesses and the taxpayer.</p><p>The IMF set out their latest forecasts in the October 2014<em> World Economic Outlook. </em>The publication recognises the Government’s long term economic plan is working, that the UK is growing and leaving the crisis behind. The IMF project the UK economy to be the fastest growing G7 economy in 2014, at 3.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent in 2015. Furthermore, the IMF recognise that fiscal consolidation undertaken during the past few years has built trust among financial investors that current fiscal paths are sustainable.</p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 05/11/2014 14:02:54 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

100592

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	GP Practice Lists: Immigration
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) what is the average length of a general practitioner practice list; (2) what has been the level of net immigration since 2000; and (3) what is the number of additional general practitioners they estimate to have been required because of that immigration change since 2000.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>Figures for 30 September 2013, the latest date for which published figures are available, showed the average number of patients per general practitioner practice was 7,034.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Information on the level of net immigration for 2000 to 2012 is published by the Office of National Statistics at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/long-term-international-migration/2012/table-2-01a.xls</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Final data, for 2013, will be released on 27 November 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>No estimates are made of the number of additional general practitioners needed specifically related to immigration changes.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 30/10/2014 16:23:07 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

100593

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Health
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to introduce fitness tests for all operational police officers, with different attainment levels for officers over 40 years of age.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL2330
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>Annual fitness testing was introduced on 1 September 2014 for officers required to undertake personal safety training, so that they meet its aerobic demands. There are no plans to alter the standard for any age group.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 30/10/2014 16:21:09 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra