Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement between the government of Colombia and Farc rebels.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The United Kingdom is committed to the full implementation of the Peace Accords of 2016, and to supporting the Colombian Government as they work to ensure sustainable peace across the country. We are proud to be the penholder on the issue at the United Nations Security Council. Most recently, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke on this issue at the Security Council on 14 July, and stated the importance of pressing ahead with work to consolidate peace for all, and build stability. We are working with stakeholders to help refine the mandate of the UN Verification Mission as it comes up for renewal later this year.
We also regularly raise our commitment to the peace process directly with the Colombian Government, most recently when Minister Wendy Morton spoke to the Colombian Foreign Minister Claudia Blum on 2 June.
The UK has committed almost £53 million over 5 years through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund for Colombia to support the implementation of the peace process, and we are the largest donor to the multilateral UN Trust Fund. We will continue to work closely with the Colombian Government and civil society on the peace process and related matters.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that Polish citizens living in the UK are able to vote in the Polish Presidential election on 10 May; what steps they are taking to ensure voting at the Polish Embassy is considered a legitimate essential duty; and what discussions they have had with the government of Poland about the steps being taken to ensure that adequate social distancing measures are in place at the Embassy when the election is held. [T]
Answered by Baroness Sugg
On 3 April, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued guidance to all missions in the United Kingdom setting out our expectation that countries intending to conduct Out of Country Voting should enable citizens to vote in a way compatible with current social distancing guidelines, for instance through postal voting or in-country representatives. The Polish parliament is currently considering draft legislation to allow for universal postal voting in the Polish presidential elections on 10 May. Senior FCO officials have received assurances from the Polish authorities that the proposed elections will be organised as a postal vote and that Polish citizens in the United Kingdom are not expected to vote in person. The Polish authorities have confirmed that consular and electoral commission staff organising the postal vote will respect social distancing guidelines at all times.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the current political situation in Malaysia, and (2) the protection of freedom of religion or belief by the government of Malaysia; and what representations they have made to that government about the protection of religious minorities in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We continue to follow the political developments in Malaysia closely. We look forward to working with the new Prime Minister and his government on institutional reforms and to tackle important global challenges such as climate change.
The Foreign Secretary's visit to Kuala Lumpur on 11 February underlined the strong, historic ties between the UK and Malaysia and set out our vision for a dynamic future relationship.
The British Government is firmly committed to standing up for freedom of religion, and for individuals to practise their beliefs free from fear. These views are well known in Malaysia, and our longstanding relationship allows us to raise concerns at senior levels with the Malaysian government.
I discussed freedom of religion or belief with the then Malaysian Minister for National Unity, Waytha Morthy, in January. Our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur regularly raise the issue of freedom of religion or belief with their Malaysian counterparts.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the methods of disposal of stolen lead; and of whether such disposal took place in (1) the UK, or (2) elsewhere in Europe.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government recognises the distress and disruption that metal theft can cause, not only to businesses but also local communities of which churches are an important part.
The Home Office collects information from police forces on the number of metal theft incidents. These data are published annually by the Office for National Statistics and can be found in the ‘Property Crime tables’ here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/focusonpropertycrimeappendixtables.
The data show whether or not the theft was infrastructure or non-infrastructure related. Data are available for the year ending March 2013 to March 2018, however they are not broken down to show how many incidents were related to theft of lead from church roofs or the method or country of disposal for the metal stolen.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the lead stolen from churches in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government recognises the distress and disruption that metal theft can cause, not only to businesses but also local communities of which churches are an important part.
The Home Office collects information from police forces on the number of metal theft incidents. These data are published annually by the Office for National Statistics and can be found in the ‘Property Crime tables’ here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/focusonpropertycrimeappendixtables.
The data show whether or not the theft was infrastructure or non-infrastructure related. Data are available for the year ending March 2013 to March 2018, however they are not broken down to show how many incidents were related to theft of lead from church roofs or the method or country of disposal for the metal stolen.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many churches in England have had thefts of lead in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government recognises the distress and disruption that metal theft can cause, not only to businesses but also local communities of which churches are an important part.
The Home Office collects information from police forces on the number of metal theft incidents. These data are published annually by the Office for National Statistics and can be found in the ‘Property Crime tables’ here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/focusonpropertycrimeappendixtables.
The data show whether or not the theft was infrastructure or non-infrastructure related. Data are available for the year ending March 2013 to March 2018, however they are not broken down to show how many incidents were related to theft of lead from church roofs or the method or country of disposal for the metal stolen.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with English Heritage about the replacement of lead stolen from church roofs; and whether they raised in any such discussions the option to replace such lead with materials of a similar appearance but less value.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government are not party to information on the replacement costs for lead stolen from churches in England, as this is the responsibility of local congregations. We have not had discussions with Historic England regarding the replacement of lead stolen from church roofs, nor the use of alternative materials in their replacement.
Government currently provides support to churches throughout the UK via the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which is presently funded to a maximum of £42m per annum. Established in 2001, the scheme provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs, maintenance and alterations to listed buildings that are used principally as places of worship.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the estimated replacement costs for lead stolen from churches in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government are not party to information on the replacement costs for lead stolen from churches in England, as this is the responsibility of local congregations. We have not had discussions with Historic England regarding the replacement of lead stolen from church roofs, nor the use of alternative materials in their replacement.
Government currently provides support to churches throughout the UK via the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which is presently funded to a maximum of £42m per annum. Established in 2001, the scheme provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs, maintenance and alterations to listed buildings that are used principally as places of worship.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many convictions for theft of lead from churches in England have been recorded in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
To identify whether theft convictions were specifically related to theft of lead from churches in England would require manual searching of court records, which would be of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they have taken to enquire about the health and well-being of Dr Essam El-Haddad and his son Gehad El-Haddad, who are being detained by Egyptian authorities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Egypt is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Human Rights Priority Country and the UK regularly raises concerns about human rights with the Government of Egypt. We are concerned about reports of torture and mistreatment in detention in Egypt. We have not raised these individual cases with the Egyptian authorities, but will continue to urge them to ensure all detainees are treated in accordance with relevant international human right standards.
We have raised these concerns in public, including in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 12 March and through the FCO’s Human Rights Priority Country reports, and in private in meetings with Egyptian Government representatives in London and in Cairo. We shall continue to call on Egypt to take action to release journalists and political detainees who remain imprisoned, review mass judicial decisions and remove restrictions on civil society.