Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect Afghan refugees from harassment in the hotels and other temporary accommodation in which they reside.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We take the safety and welfare of the people we accommodate very seriously.
The Home Office have contracted Mitie to provide security to all bridging hotels that we are using to temporarily accommodate guests evacuated from Afghanistan, ensuring guards are available on all entry and exit points 24 hours a day, 7 days a week . All security guards in our bridging hotels are in unbranded uniform. Security at the sites remain under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to renegotiate current extradition arrangements between the UK and the USA.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There is no current intention to renegotiate the UK-US Extradition Treaty.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which EU member states they have concluded extradition agreements to come into force after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The safety and security of our citizens is the government’s top priority, which is why we have said the agreement with the EU on law enforcement and judicial cooperation on criminal matters should provide for fast-track extradition arrangements based on the EU’s arrangements with Norway and Iceland, but with appropriate further safeguards for individuals beyond those in the European Arrest Warrant.
Both the UK and the EU are committed in the Political Declaration to reaching agreement by the end of 2020.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been extradited (1) to the USA from the UK, and (2) to the UK from the USA, since the Extradition Act 2003 came into force.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Extradition Act 2003 entered into force on 1 January 2004. To date, since entry into force, there have been 177 extraditions from the UK to the US, and 67 from the US to the UK.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a record has been kept of the proportion of the 500 passports allocated to members of the Hong Kong Service Corps under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 Selection Scheme that were taken up.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Successful applicants and their dependants under the Hong Kong Nationality scheme were granted British citizenship. They were then entitled to apply for a passport at any time and continue to be able to do so today. No figures exist on how many passports have been issued, including renewals over the passage of time.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned on the creation of an electronic border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is committed to avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, including any physical infrastructure or related checks and controls, as set out in the December Joint Report.
It is our priority to deliver a practical solution that recognises the unique social, political, and economic circumstances of Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 219531, what recommendations have been made by the policy review undertaken by the Asset Recovery Task Force.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Asset Recovery Task Force policy review identified legislative, policy and operational changes that could be made to improve the UK’s response to overseas grand corruption cases following regime change. The review’s recommendations
included actions that could help prevent the proceeds of corruption coming to the UK in the first place, as well as what could be done to identify, freeze and recover stolen assets. It has been implemented through measures in the
Serious Crime Bill (including the lowering of the legal test for restraint orders and extending investigative powers so that they may be used after a confiscation order has been made) and the UK Anti-Corruption Plan (including
the commitment to review the Suspicious Activity Report regime).
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions the UK has imposed an asset freeze on an individual with reference to former regimes in the Arab Spring countries since the creation of the Arab Spring Asset Recovery Taskforce; what the value is of such assets; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Although no assets have been repatriated since 1 January 2014, there are a number of ongoing investigations and the UK authorities are assisting a number of overseas jurisdictions in their continuing efforts to recover criminal
funds. In 2011, the EU adopted restrictive measures in view of the situations in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, including an asset freeze on funds and economic resources owned or controlled by designated persons and entities. These
measures are implemented by EU Regulations, which have direct effect in the UK and are separate to those which enable the UK to restrain funds domestically for criminal or civil confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
HM Treasury publishes the names of those subject to such EU financial sanctions on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK, which can be found on gov.uk. HM Treasury is unable to publicly release information about
assets frozen in the UK or EU belonging to particular individuals due to restrictions imposed by EU and domestic law, both under sanctions and data protection legislation, as well as for reasons of confidentiality.
The Serious Crime Bill will implement one of the key recommendations of the policy review undertaken by the Asset Recovery Task Force, by lowering the legal test required to secure a restraint order to freeze assets. Other
recommendations of the review are to be delivered through the recently published UK Anti-Corruption Plan. These include the creation of a new central Bribery and Corruption Unit, bringing together resources from the National
Crime Agency and those of the Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit, and the review of the Suspicious Activity Report regime
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) legislative measures and (b) further reviews have been instigated as a result of the Arab Spring Asset Recovery Taskforce Review led by Michael Beloff; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Although no assets have been repatriated since 1 January 2014, there are a number of ongoing investigations and the UK authorities are assisting a number of overseas jurisdictions in their continuing efforts to recover criminal
funds. In 2011, the EU adopted restrictive measures in view of the situations in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, including an asset freeze on funds and economic resources owned or controlled by designated persons and entities. These
measures are implemented by EU Regulations, which have direct effect in the UK and are separate to those which enable the UK to restrain funds domestically for criminal or civil confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
HM Treasury publishes the names of those subject to such EU financial sanctions on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK, which can be found on gov.uk. HM Treasury is unable to publicly release information about
assets frozen in the UK or EU belonging to particular individuals due to restrictions imposed by EU and domestic law, both under sanctions and data protection legislation, as well as for reasons of confidentiality.
The Serious Crime Bill will implement one of the key recommendations of the policy review undertaken by the Asset Recovery Task Force, by lowering the legal test required to secure a restraint order to freeze assets. Other
recommendations of the review are to be delivered through the recently published UK Anti-Corruption Plan. These include the creation of a new central Bribery and Corruption Unit, bringing together resources from the National
Crime Agency and those of the Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit, and the review of the Suspicious Activity Report regime
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many assets of criminal origin have been repatriated from the UK to jurisdictions overseas since 1 January 2014.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Although no assets have been repatriated since 1 January 2014, there are a number of ongoing investigations and the UK authorities are assisting a number of overseas jurisdictions in their continuing efforts to recover criminal
funds. In 2011, the EU adopted restrictive measures in view of the situations in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, including an asset freeze on funds and economic resources owned or controlled by designated persons and entities. These
measures are implemented by EU Regulations, which have direct effect in the UK and are separate to those which enable the UK to restrain funds domestically for criminal or civil confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
HM Treasury publishes the names of those subject to such EU financial sanctions on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK, which can be found on gov.uk. HM Treasury is unable to publicly release information about
assets frozen in the UK or EU belonging to particular individuals due to restrictions imposed by EU and domestic law, both under sanctions and data protection legislation, as well as for reasons of confidentiality.
The Serious Crime Bill will implement one of the key recommendations of the policy review undertaken by the Asset Recovery Task Force, by lowering the legal test required to secure a restraint order to freeze assets. Other
recommendations of the review are to be delivered through the recently published UK Anti-Corruption Plan. These include the creation of a new central Bribery and Corruption Unit, bringing together resources from the National
Crime Agency and those of the Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit, and the review of the Suspicious Activity Report regime