Asked by: Lord Bew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Kingdom's obligations on effective border control under paragraph 2(g) of Resolution 1373 of the United Nations Security Council.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Paragraph 2(g) of Resolution 1373 requires states to prevent the movement of terrorists through the use of effective border controls and controls on the fraudulent use of travel documents. The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by terrorists, including those using lost, stolen or revoked documents and visas. This includes the use of domestic and international watchlists.
Checks are conducted by the Home Office for a number of purposes, primarily for effective immigration control, safeguarding national security, and preventing, detecting and investigating serious and organised crime. The Home Office works with both law enforcement and wider government partners to ensure appropriate action is taken before travel or at the border when individuals of concern are identified.
Asked by: Lord Bew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the Public Office (Accountability) Bill to require local authorities to correct inaccurate statements.
Answered by Baroness Levitt
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill establishes a new duty of candour and assistance at Inquiries, inquests and other investigations, backed by criminal sanctions. Local authorities will be under new obligations to help investigations to find the truth by providing information and evidence with candour proactively and without favouring their own position.
The Bill already requires public authorities and officials to correct any errors or omissions in information given to an Inquiry or investigation. In the case of a public authority, they must provide a position statement and further information or clarification and must comply with other directions, as soon as reasonably practicable.
The Bill also requires local authorities to establish a professional duty of candour for all staff, to be set within a wider code of ethics. These obligations will be underpinned by a new duty requiring public bodies to promote the ethical conduct of those that work for them.