Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release of 6 March 2019 entitled Foreign Secretary appoints Special Representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, what steps (a) Ministers of his Department and (b) British diplomats in Libya have taken to encourage the Libyan authorities to engage constructively with (i) those victims and (ii) their representatives since the publication of that press release; on what dates those representations were made to those authorities on that issue; and what the outcome has been of that work.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government set out its position on Mr Shawcross's report on compensation for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism in a Written Ministerial Statement made on 23 March. The Written Ministerial Statement notes the clear practical difficulties in obtaining compensation from Libya for Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, and that the conflict, political instability and economic instability that have prevailed in Libya for most of the last ten years since the fall of the Qadhafi regime present particular challenges. Nonetheless, the UK has consistently pressed the Libyan authorities to address the Libyan State's historic responsibility for the Qadhafi regime's support for the IRA, and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister’s decision to halt the construction of border control posts on 27 February 2021, what information he holds on the (a) outcome of legal advice sought by the Permanent Secretary to the Northern Ireland Agriculture department on his ability to comply with that decision and (b) steps that have been taken to progress work on the development of border control posts since that decision.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Decisions on the construction of Border Control Posts are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Defra officials continue to work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to comply with international obligations and give effect to the Protocol in a pragmatic and proportionate way, minimising impacts on the everyday lives of people in Northern Ireland, in line with its fundamental purpose.
The agri-food processes required under the Protocol continue to be discharged using the interim facilities that have been in place since 1 January.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 20 May 2020 to Question 38548 on Libya: IRA, and of 20 October 2020 to Question 105446 on IRA: Libya, what steps he has taken to consider the Shawcross report in detail since May 2020; on what dates he has discussed the Shawcross report with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since October 2020; and what the outcome has been of each of those discussions.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Mr Shawcross was commissioned to write an internal scoping report on the subject of compensation for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism. Ministers across Government are carefully considering Mr Shawcross's report in order to do justice to the important and sensitive issues it covers, giving due respect to victims.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 239852 on Libya: IRA, what the finalised terms of reference were for the work undertaken by William Shawcross as Special Representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Mr Shawcross was commissioned to write an internal scoping report on the subject of compensation for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism. Ministers across Government are carefully considering Mr Shawcross's report in order to do justice to the important and sensitive issues it covers, giving due respect to victims.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff contributed to the work undertaken by William Shawcross as Special Representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism; and what the cost to the public purse is of that work.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Mr Shawcross, supported by a senior adviser and acting in an independent capacity, produced an internal scoping report on the subject of compensation for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism. Mr Shawcross and his senior adviser were appointed within Government guidelines for Ministerial appointments and specialist contractors. The FCDO provided secretariat and logistical support.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on (a) what date and (b) for what reason he decided to begin referring to the report on Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism produced by William Shawcross as an internal scoping paper.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Mr Shawcross was commissioned in 2019 to produce an internal scoping report on the issue of compensation for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether, at the meeting of the Joint Consultative Working Group on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 29 January 2021, the rules of procedure adopted by that Working Group were those included as an Annex to the EU’s Council Decision 2020/1599 adopted on 23 October 2020; and whether any amendments were made to those proposed rules of procedure.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Article 15(2) of the Northern Ireland Protocol establishes that the Joint Consultative Working Group shall be composed of representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Government has committed to including representatives of the Northern Ireland Executive as part of the UK delegation to meetings. The JCWG briefly convened for a very short period on 29 January to adopt the Rules of Procedure. This was not a full meeting so was attended by limited delegations of only three officials from each side.
The Rules of Procedure adopted by that Working Group were those included as an Annex to the EU’s Council Decision 2020/1599 adopted on 23 October 2020; and no amendments were made.
The Working Group will continue to meet at dates decided by the co-chairs.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) UK Government and (b) Northern Ireland Executive Departments were represented at the meeting of the Joint Consultative Working Group on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 29 January 2021; and which officials from those Departments attended that meeting.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Article 15(2) of the Northern Ireland Protocol establishes that the Joint Consultative Working Group shall be composed of representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Government has committed to including representatives of the Northern Ireland Executive as part of the UK delegation to meetings. The JCWG briefly convened for a very short period on 29 January to adopt the Rules of Procedure. This was not a full meeting so was attended by limited delegations of only three officials from each side.
The Rules of Procedure adopted by that Working Group were those included as an Annex to the EU’s Council Decision 2020/1599 adopted on 23 October 2020; and no amendments were made.
The Working Group will continue to meet at dates decided by the co-chairs.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the Office for National Statistics on covid-19 deaths by occupation in England and Wales, published on 25 January 2021, if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care the potential merits of classifying food production staff as a priority group for the second phase of the covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government has decided that the vaccine delivery plan should prioritise preventing mortality, by directly protecting those most at risk of death and hospitalisation. With this direction, the Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisation (JVCI) has been tasked with putting forward advice on prioritisation. This will carefully consider the arguments for prioritising sectors within the overall goal around health outcomes. We will ensure Defra sectors, including food production workers, are fully considered in this process.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment on the Privacy International case (C-623/17), what steps he is taking to ensure that data collection by UK (a) law enforcement agencies and (b) national security and intelligence agencies complies with EU data protection standards.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The CJEU Judgement of 6 October 2020 relates to a previous power, Section 94 Directions under the Telecommunications Act 1984, that has since been replaced by provisions in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). The IPA sets strict requirements of necessity and proportionality for the use of these powers, and provides significant safeguards and independent oversight. All warrants permitting the use of these powers are subject to the ‘double lock’ safeguard requiring that an independent Judicial Commissioner approve the Secretary of State’s decision before the warrant is issued. This ‘double lock’ ensures that the UK has one of the strongest oversight regimes anywhere in the world.
The Judgment will now be referred back to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal for interpretation for domestic law purposes.
The UK is committed to maintaining high data protection standards for personal data, and we will continue to be a global leader in ensuring personal data is properly protected.