Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have formulated guidelines for voluntary charitable organisations involved in the settlement of Syrian and other refugees in the United Kingdom; and if not, whether they plan to do so.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is seeking a solution to the crisis in Syria and contributing over £1billion of humanitarian aid. We are proposing that the UK resettles 20,000 Syrian refugees over the rest of this Parliament. The Home Office, local authorities and civil society partners are leading work on resettlement.
The Minister for Syrian Refugees and the Minister for Civil Society recently hosted a roundtable discussion with leading charities to agree with our partners how best to harness the strong desire expressed by the public, and a range of organisations, to welcome Syrian refugees to the UK. This was part of the wider co-ordination and cross-government work that the Home Office is leading.
There are currently no plans to formulate any formal guidelines for charities but we have provided further information via GOV.UK and charity websites on how members of the public and civil society organisations can contribute to helping Syrian refugees.
We will continue to work with leading charities to support a coordinated effort.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to request that future independent committees of inquiry should issue interim reports in cases where final reports are delayed beyond a reasonable time.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the Inquiries Act 2005 Explanatory Notes which state ‘In some cases it might be appropriate to specify a date by which the inquiry is asked to report, or the level of urgency.’ A decision on whether to publish an interim Report will normally be a matter for the independent Chair or would have been established at the outset.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to issue suggested timescales to all future independent committees of inquiry.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the Inquiries Act 2005 Explanatory Notes which state ‘In some cases it might be appropriate to specify a date by which the inquiry is asked to report, or the level of urgency.’ A decision on whether to publish an interim Report will normally be a matter for the independent Chair or would have been established at the outset.
Asked by: Lord Eames (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to encourage the devolved administrations of Wales and Northern Ireland to consider the effect on them of an affirmative vote in the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
The Government has no such plans. The Government has been clear that it is the Government for all of the United Kingdom including Scotland. It continues to act in the interests of all of the people of the UK, including people in Scotland.