Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any risks to regional peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In his 2 January speech, Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged Taiwan to accept reunification with China, restating China’s long-held position that it can use all necessary measures, including force, to secure this aim. We oppose any action which raises tensions in the region and hinders the chances of peaceful settlement of any issues. In line with our longstanding position on Taiwan we encourage Taiwan and China to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve this issue, taking into account the views of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the People’s Republic of China about their “one country, two systems” policy towards Taiwan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government has routine discussions with the People’s Republic of China on the issue of Taiwan, such as during the Foreign Secretary’s UK-China Strategic Dialogue (July 2018). We maintain that the issue should be settled through constructive dialogue, in line with the views of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief that the "recent escalation in persistent pattern of persecution of the Baha'i community in Sana'a mirrors the persecution suffered by the Baha'i living in Iran", what assessment they have made of the influence of Iran against the interests of the Baha'i community in Sana'a, Yemen.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We share the UN Special Rapporteur's concerns about the persecution of the Baha'i community in Yemen. We have raised our concerns with the Government of Yemen, and sought to highlight their plight through public diplomacy. We call on all parties to respect freedom of religion and belief and to protect the fundamental human rights of all Yemenis. We are concerned by Iranian support for the Houthis, and encourage Iran to show it can be constructive through promoting stability and showing commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether (1) an exemption from the Resident Labour Market Test when switching from Tier 4 to a Tier 2 visa, (2) an increase in the minimum salary threshold from £20,000 to £30,000, and (3) the proposed immigration skills charge, would adversely affect medical trainees and doctors coming from India to the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.
Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.
The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendations regarding Tier 2 visas meet the letter and spirit of the Joint Statement on the UK-India Summit of November 2015.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.
Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.
The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendations regarding Tier 2 visas on trade between India and the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.
Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.
The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations they have had with the government of India about recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee regarding Tier 2 visas.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.
Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.
The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL5469), of those tested, how many were subsequently diagnosed with (1) hepatitis B, (2) hepatitis C, and (3) HIV, over the same time period.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England (PHE) collects data on people in prison tested for blood-borne viruses (BBVs) via the Sentinel Surveillance Study. This system does not currently receive reports from all prisons in England where testing occurs currently 28 prisons report data. Table 1 below shows data from this system on the total number of prisoners tested positive for BBVs in the calendar years 2012-2014. Similar information from this study for the year 2015 will not be available until mid-2016. NHS England also collects data on levels of testing for BBVs in prisons via the Health & Justice Indicators of Performance. The numbers of positive tests for BBVs in these data are presented in Table 2 using currently available data. The higher number is due to the greater coverage of prisons by this dataset.
Table 1: Reported levels of positive tests for BBVs for people in prisons for calendar years 2012-14
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
hepatitis B | 60 | 51 | 49 |
hepatitis C | 456 | 400 | 327 |
HIV | 16 | 19 | 16 |
Source: PHE Sentinel Surveillance Study
Table 2: Reported levels of positive tests for BBVs for people in prisons from April 2015 to December 2015
April 2015 – December 2015 | |
hepatitis B | 743 |
hepatitis C | 2164 |
HIV | 1777 |
Source: NHS England
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals within the total prison estate have commenced treatment for hepatitis C in 2015–16 to date, broken down by Operational Delivery Network area; and of those, how many commenced treatment while in prison but were released from prison before completion of treatment.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
People diagnosed with hepatitis C infection in prison may be treated in prison (through an ‘in-reach’ care programme) or as outpatients via specialist services in National Health Service acute trusts or via a ‘mixed model’. Data on patients treated while in prison or whose treatment is continued following release are held by specialist service providers locally within Operational Delivery Networks and are not currently available centrally.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the review of the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates will commence, and what is the proposed timetable for that review.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The review of the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates is expected to commence this year with a view to recommendations being made within a year.