Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 7 December 2022 (HL3693), when they will reach the decision on whether to grant Hong Kong military service veterans entitlement to British citizens passports and right of abode in the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Parliament will be updated at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the decision whether to grant Hong Kong military service veterans entitlement to British citizens passports and right of abode in the UK is to be announced.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Government remains committed to implementing a policy to ensure Hong Kong military service veterans are treated in a similar way to other non-UK service personnel who were based in Hong Kong prior to the handover.
We will update Parliament with more details once collective agreement on this policy has been reached. .
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 8 March (HL Deb col 1370) that "the Government remain committed to implementing a solution to the issue of British Hong Kong veterans before the end of this calendar year", whether they will still "update Parliament by the end of June".
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The option identified by the Home Secretary in December 2021 is being further refined to ensure it will be a sufficient solution for British Hong Kong veterans.
The Government remains committed to implementing a solution by the end of this calendar year, and will provide a further update at the earliest opportunity
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have found a solution to the problem of War Widows pensions, as referred to in the letter from Baroness Goldie to Lord Craig of Radley dated 11 Maerch 2020 and placed in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Government recognises the unique commitment that service families make to our country and remains sympathetic to the circumstances of those who remarried and cohabited before 1 April 2015. The Ministry of Defence is exploring options that ensure consistency with established Government convention that such payments are not made retrospectively. The issue remains a priority for the Department, though it remains very complex. The Defence Secretary has taken a personal lead in this matter and wrote to Mrs Mary Moreland, the former Chair of the War Widows Association. The Department is ensuring that the necessary time and resource is committed to examine every reasonable option that remains possible.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that pigeon racing between the UK and Europe to continue without restrictions and, in particular, avian quarantine periods; and what assessment they have made of the effects of Article 62 of the European Union's delegated regulation 2020/692 on UK racing pigeons.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We have written to the European Commission on how the provision of Article 62 of Regulation 2020/692 may be invoked to obtain a derogation for racing pigeons, and we are actively seeking a response. We will update the industry as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce direct lodgement for all appeals to the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber; and if so, (1) how, and (2) when, it will be implemented.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
As part of the reform within the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber, the Ministry of Justice will continue to work closely with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence to explore options for introducing Direct Lodgement for all appeals. This is part of the Government’s £1 billion investment to reform our courts and tribunals system. Our programme will improve the service provided to users by building a modern system for administering justice which will benefit all users.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Williams of Trafford on 14 May 2020 (HL3768) and the letter sent by the Minister for Future Borders and Immigration on 9 June 2020 in the response to the letter from Lord Craig of Radley on 19 March 2020, whether they have made a decision on the requests of 64 Hong Kong Military Service Corps veterans for right of abode in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Under the British Nationality Selection Scheme, introduced in 1990 and run until 1 July 1997, a limited number of Hong Kong Military Service Corps personnel who were settled in Hong Kong could apply to register as British citizens.
We are giving careful consideration to representations made on behalf of those former Hong Kong Military Service Corps personnel who were unable to obtain citizenship through the selection scheme.
Hong Kong Military Service Corps personnel, who hold British National (Overseas) citizenship, may be eligible for the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa which opens on 31 January and provides a route to settlement in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 10 June (HL4948), what assessment they have made of extending the use of Sentinel beyond 2021; and whether this will be included in this year's Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Sentinel's radar and mission system are now increasingly obsolescent and will face increasing reliability issues as time progresses. Retaining the capability would have required significant upgrade expenditure and the March 2021 out of service date (OSD) has been retained. It is necessary to retire certain capabilities at planned OSDs to allow re-investment in future capability.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether permission for the commercial operation of unmanned aerial vehicles may be granted by an organisation other than the Civil Aviation Authority in any region of the United Kingdom; and if so, by which such organisations.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Permissions for commercial operations of small unmanned aircraft in the United Kingdom are granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. This is in line with the legal requirement set out in Article 94(5) of the Air Navigation Order 2016 (ANO 2016).
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the use of the Sentinel aircraft system beyond 2021 for ongoing operations in (1) the Middle East, and (2) elsewhere.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Out of Service Date for Sentinel was set at March 2021 in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, this remains the case.