Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 24 October 2014 (HL2132), whether there are any investment protection treaties between the European Union and other countries.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
No investment protection treaties are currently in force between the European Union and other countries.Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the process of accession of further countries from the former Yugoslavia to the European Union, any steps are being taken to ensure that British citizens are compensated for any deprivation of property during the Tito era.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The accession process of countries from the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the European Union does not involve steps specifically aimed at ensuring that British citizens are compensated for any deprivation of property during the Tito era. However the criteria for EU accession for candidate countries do include a requirement to implement measures to ensure that the rule of law is firmly embedded within the judicial and political system. This includes respect for private property, and we note that the European Commission has highlighted specifically the need for progress on restitution of property in its most recent annual enlargement Progress Reports on the Western Balkans countries published on 8 October. Furthermore, all Western Balkan countries have ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, the First Protocol of which enshrines the principle of respect for private property.
Some Western Balkans countries have, in recent years, made progress on the restitution of private property. Serbia invited applications for restitution and received 75,000 of them. Montenegro and Albania have been slower to implement their legislation on restitution, as highlighted in successive annual country Progress Reports by the European Commission. In 2012, the Commission recognised progress regarding restitution of property in Macedonia seized under the former Yugoslav Communist regime, despite administrative and judicial delays. In May, Albania (which was not part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) submitted an action plan to the Council of Europe, aiming to create, by June 2015, an effective mechanism to enforce decisions on restitution of, or compensation for, property nationalised during the Communist regime. The Kosovo Property Claims Commission and Kosovo Property Agency continue to resolve outstanding private property disputes resulting from the 1998-99 armed conflict. Over 40,000 claims have been decided. Bosnia and Herzegovina has made no progress on restitution of private property in the last four years. Despite earlier attempts to enact a legal framework, there is none in place.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish a list of investment protection treaties agreed by all United Kingdom Overseas Territories with another country.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK has extended a number of Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPA) to the Overseas Territories when the Territories have provided a case for doing so and the other country agreed. These are the IPPAs currently in force that have been extended to Overseas Territories:
UK-Antigua & Barbuda IPPA (Gibraltar)
UK-Belize IPPA (Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Dominica IPPA (Gibraltar)
UK-Grenada IPPA (Bermuda, Gibraltar, Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Guyana IPPA (Bermuda, Gibraltar, Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Hungary IPPA (Bermuda, Gibraltar, Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Indonesia IPPA (Bermuda)
UK-Korea Republic IPPA (Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Mauritius IPPA (Gibraltar)
UK-Panama IPPA (Cayman Islands)
UK- Philippines IPPA (Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Singapore IPPA (Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-St Lucia IPPA (Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Thailand IPPA (Turks & Caicos Islands)
UK-Tunisia IPPA (Bermuda, Gibraltar, Turks & Caicos Islands)
Records of all treaties involving the United Kingdom concluded between 1834 and 31 March 2014 can currently be found through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s UK Treaties Online service at: http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/treaties/treaty.htm
Details of treaties involving the United Kingdom since March 2014 can be found on the FCO Treaty Section’s pages on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/uk-treaties
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 21 July (HL849), whether the answer remains the same with the word "intelligence" removed.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The US Government has assured us that there have been no cases of rendition through the UK, our Overseas Territories including Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), or the Crown Dependencies, apart from the two cases in 2002, about which the then Foreign Secretary informed the House in 2008.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage immigration to Pitcairn; what are the targets for immigration to Pitcairn; and what they consider to be the obstacles to such immigration.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Her Majesty's Government (HMG) fully supports the economic development of the Pitcairn Islands. The Government of Pitcairn has recently worked up a new Strategic Development Plan and immigration policy, which HMG is currently considering. In 2013, the Government of Pitcairn and HMG commissioned two independent expert reports into attitudes to resettlement amongst the Pitcairn diaspora community, and on the broader economic potential of the islands. Both reports recognised that there are substantial obstacles to immigration to Pitcairn, including its relative isolation, the limited economic opportunities and the legacy of child safety issues. We will continue to work in partnership with the Government of Pitcairn to support the community in Pitcairn as we consider longer-term options for the island.Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the future population of Pitcairn will be large enough to maintain a sustainable community on the island.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In 2013, the Government of Pitcairn and Her Majesty's Government commissioned two independent pieces of analysis – into the appetite amongst the Pitcairn diaspora for return to the island, and on the broader economic potential of the island. Both reports recognised that unless the population of the island increases, it will be a challenge to maintain the longer-term viability of the community.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 28 July (WA 249), whether they will now answer the question as tabled.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The United States is our most important bilateral ally and we have regular discussions on a range of sensitive issues. It is our longstanding position not to comment on discussions of that nature. With regard to Mr Belhaj allegedly stopping over in Diego Garcia, I refer the noble Lord to the response given by my noble friend, the former Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Baroness Warsi), on 17 June 2014, Official Report, Column WA36, that, aside from the two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) in 2002, there have been no other instances in which US intelligence flights landed in the UK, our Overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies, with a detainee on board since 11 September 2001.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the United States sought to use Diego Garcia as a stopover for the rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhadj; and, if so, what was the outcome.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
I refer the noble Lord to the response I gave on 17 June 2014, Official Report, Column WA36, that, aside from the two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) in 2002, there have been no other instances in which US intelligence flights landed in the UK, our overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies, with a detainee on board since 11 September 2001.Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether prisoners have been held on Diego Garcia other than by United Kingdom authorities since 2000.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
Since 2000, in accordance with provisions of the 1966 Exchange of Notes, some members of the US Military at Diego Garcia have been confined in accordance with the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any proposals to give debt relief to the Turks and Caicos Islands; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
There are no proposals for the UK to give debt relief to the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are not in receipt of a loan from the British Government. In 2011, the UK provided a loan guarantee worth up to $260 million in response to the Territory’s governance and economic crisis. The British Government expects the Turks and Caicos Islands government to finance its borrowing independently and on an affordable and sustainable basis from the end of 2015/16 without a UK guarantee.