Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial payments the UK has made to France to assist in the prevention of illegal migration in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK and France maintain a longstanding relationship on tackling illegal migration at the shared border; since 2015 the UK has committed several funding packages to supporting this work. In 2015, both countries signed a Joint Declaration which committed £10 million towards security reviews of the juxtaposed controls and to moving migrants into reception centres across France. This was followed by payments in 2016 (£17 million) and 2017 (£36 million) to further strengthen the border and maintain the operation of the juxtaposed controls.
In January 2018 both countries signed the Sandhurst Treaty. The UK made a commitment of €50 million (£45.5m) to implement the terms of the Treaty, which adopted a “whole of route approach” to tackling illegal migration. This was followed in 2019 by the signature of the Joint Action Plan on Combatting Illegal Migration Involving Small Boats. Under paragraph 11 of this plan, the UK committed €3.6m (approximately £3.25m) to tackling the issue. This was supplemented with a further €2.5m (£2.25m) in the 19/20 Financial Year, which was dedicated to the deployment of gendarme reservists and further strengthening preventive security measures at the French coast.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average age of the population of the United Kingdom in (1) 1990, (2) 2000, (3) 2010, (4) what is the current 2020 figure, and (5) the projected figure for 2050.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Maginnis,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average age of the population of the United Kingdom was in (1) 1990, (2) 2000, (3) 2010, (4) what is the current 2020 figure, and (5) the projected figure for 2050 (HL5312).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the latest (30 June 2019) mid-year population estimates on 6 May 2020[1]. Table MYE6 contains the median age for the years from 2001 to 2019. Median age is that at which half the population is above that age and half below. For 1990, 2000 and 2010, the ONS have used the already published median age, and, for 2020 and 2050, have taken the median age from the latest 2018-based Principal Population Projections, UK Summary[2] published on 21 October 2019. Table 1 shows the median ages for the requested years.
Table 1: UK median ages
Year | Median age (years) |
1990 | 35.8 |
2000 | 37.6 |
2010 | 39.5 |
2020 | 40.4 |
2050 | 43.7 |
Source: ONS mid-year population estimates and 2018-based population projections
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons they learnt from the (1) process followed by, and (2) conclusions of, the Iraq Historic Allegations Team; whether any such lessons are applicable to any ongoing investigations into soldiers who served in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1994; and what plans they have, if any, to establish a similar team to oversee any such investigations.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has made clear that the Government is committed to introducing legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles. This legislation will place information recovery and reconciliation at the heart of a revised legacy system that puts victims first. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has begun the process of engaging key partners on a way forward which will focus on reconciliation, delivering for victims and ensuring that all Service Personnel who served in Northern Ireland are treated as fairly as those who served overseas.
Where appropriate, we will draw on the lessons from the Iraq Historic Allegations Team. In Northern Ireland, during the Troubles, the Armed Forces acted in support of the civil powers, within the UK. This is different to military action outside the UK.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the most recent figures for the percentage of the population who have died from COVID-19 in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales and (4) Northern Ireland; and in which of those regions is the rate of infections decreasing the fastest.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Office for National Statistics publishes the weekly numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales, and National Records Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. The number of deaths from COVID-19 are published rather than the percentage of the population who have died from COVID-19, as this is a more useful an accurate way of keeping a consistent record of death data.
Public Health England are currently undertaking work on changes to the regional rate of infection.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review the involvement of Huawei in developing the UK's 5G infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The final conclusions of the Government’s Telecoms Supply Chain Review in relation to high risk vendors were announced on 28 January. The Government has been clear, however, that as risks, threats and technology changes we need to keep the position under review. On the 15th May the US Department of Commerce announced that they were taking further action against Huawei. The National Cyber Security Centre is considering what the impact of the US sanctions might be.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all regulations relating to the actions that banks are legally required to take when there has been unauthorised or fraudulent activity on a customer’s account also apply to building societies.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Banks and building societies are both regarded as credit institutions under the EU Capital Requirements Regulation. As such, where there are obligations for unauthorised or fraudulent activity in relation to a credit institution, these apply equally to banks and building societies, unless stated otherwise.
Every industry has a role to play in protecting themselves and their customers from fraud - from keeping their customers’ personal and card payment details safe, to ensuring they have adequate mechanisms in place to spot and stop fraudulent transactions. The scale of fraud requires a unified response with the private sector, particularly the banking industry, retailers, telecommunications industry and social media companies.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in China; (2) the response by the government of China to the initial outbreak of COVID-19; and (3) any delay in that government informing other governments of the outbreak; and what plans they have to change their approach to relations with the government of China as a result of any such assessment.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In time we will need to work with the international community, including China, to learn lessons and look at why this outbreak happened, and how to prevent something similar in future.
China is an important partner for the UK and has a vital role in the global response to the pandemic. Like the rest of the world, China has faced an unprecedented health crisis. The Chinese people - like so many others - have faced enormous sacrifices and challenges. We have always said that transparent and accurate information about the virus is essential for an effective global response.
The Government remains clear-eyed about the challenges and risks from China, and our approach is rooted in our values and our interests. It has always been the case that where we have concerns, we raise them, and where we need to take robust action, we will.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that trade and business resources in the UK are not exploited by foreign businesses, in particular businesses based in China, during any economic depression resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government continues to monitor the market closely during the Covid-19 pandemic and will take steps, as necessary, to ensure that UK businesses are not exploited.
The Government has existing powers, under the Enterprise Act 2002, to intervene in mergers and takeovers under three public interest considerations - national security, financial stability, and media plurality.
In December 2019, the Queen’s Speech lobby pack confirmed the Government’s intention to legislate to “strengthen the Government’s existing powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions to protect national security”.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reconsider the role of Huawei in the development of telecommunications infrastructure in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The final conclusions of the Government’s Telecoms Supply Chain Review in relation to high risk vendors were announced on 28 January. High risk vendors should be excluded from those parts of the 5G and full fibre networks that are critical to security (“the core”), and their presence in the rest of the UK’s networks should be limited to 35 per cent, with further restrictions in sensitive geographic locations.
The UK Government does not plan to reconsider this decision. We will be introducing the Telecoms Security Bill to implement the new security framework for our telecoms networks, including the restrictions to be applied to the presence of high risk vendors, at the earliest possible opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Independent Ulster Unionist - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made, while the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 apply, to enable UK citizens coming back from Northern Cyprus, or travelling to Northern Cyprus if currently a resident there, to fly directly to avoid an additional period of isolation if they are required to stop en route and disembark at a Turkish airport.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office worked with the Government of Cyprus to secure the necessary arrangements for 154 British Nationals in the north of Cyprus to transit to the Republic of Cyprus, to then depart on direct flights back to the UK operated by EasyJet and Aegean. This meant no repatriation flights travelled via Turkey.