Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to conduct discussions with the French and Belgian authorities about the continued hosting of UK Border Force officials in those countries following Brexit.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The bilateral agreements underpinning the juxtaposed controls are not directly affected by Britain’s membership of the EU. We are committed to working together with France and Belgium to protect our shared border and to maintain the juxtaposed controls arrangements.
The French Government has repeatedly made it clear that removing the juxtaposed controls would not be in the interests of France. We continue to work closely with both French and Belgium authorities on measures to further bolster ports in northern France and Belgium. This includes not only physical security measures and technological improvements but also wider work to tackle criminal gangs involved in people trafficking.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits to the police and intelligence agencies in combatting terrorism and crime of making it mandatory for purchasers of pay-as-you-go SIM cards to produce appropriate forms of identification.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This issue was considered in detail by an expert group comprising representatives of law enforcement, the security and intelligence agencies and communication service providers following the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005. The experts’ findings remain valid. They concluded that the registration of ownership of mobile telephones would not deliver any significant new benefits to the investigatory process.
Mobile phones are not the only devices capable of making calls or sending messages. Many laptops, computers, popular MP3 players and games consoles also support the sending of messages and phone calls. These devices are increasingly being used for communications. It would be necessary to include these other devices in any mandatory registration scheme.
Separately, the person who buys the device is not necessarily the person who will use it. Mobile phones are often sold or given to family members or friends which would mean that such information would quickly become out of date.
Furthermore, those who were keen to avoid providing details would still find ways to circumvent the scheme, such as purchasing or registering phones under false identities.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to bring UK law into line with the European Court of Justice ruling C-127/08 on the implementation of Directive 2004/38/EC and the rights of non-EU spouses of EU citizens to move freely in the EU.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
United Kingdom law relating to the rights of EU nationals and their family members to enter and reside in the UK is fully compliant with the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in C-127/08.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the sharing of policing and security information between the UK and other EU member states is continuing in the light of the result of the EU referendum; and whether it will continue during negotiations on the UK's exit from the EU.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains a member of the EU and is subject to EU legislation. The UK and EU Member States continue to share policing and security information, including via Europol.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their intention that, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, citizens of EU member states who had previously settled in the UK would be entitled automatically to remain; and if not, what contingency plans they are making to defend any legal challenges or claims for compensation under the European Convention on Human Rights that might arise from individuals who are subject to removal.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. No country has ever used Article 50 – it is untested. There is a great deal of uncertainty about how it would work.
UK citizens get the right to live and work in the other 27 member states from our membership of the EU. If the UK voted to leave the EU, the Government would do all it could to secure a positive outcome for the country, but there would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what would be the residency status of UK expatriates currently living permanently in EU member states in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. No country has ever used Article 50 and this will be an area of discussion with EU member states in such a scenario.