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 16 March (HL2050), whether they have received the requests of 64 Hong Kong Military Service Corps veterans for right of abode in the UK enclosed with my letter to the Home Secretary, dated 19 March 2020; whether they will respond individually to veterans; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The letter concerning the request of 64 Hong Kong Military Service Corpsveterans for right of abode in the UK has been received and is being considered. The Minister for Future Borders and Immigration will respond in due course.
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 by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 17 February (HL1247), when they expect to complete their consideration of the right to abode requested by former Hong Kong Military Service Corps personnel which has been under assessment since January 2016.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Further to my response of 17 February, we continue to actively consider representations made on behalf of those former Hong Kong Military Service Corps who were unable to obtain citizenship through the selection scheme.
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 by Lord Bates on 26 January 2016 (HL4968), whether they have completed their assessment of the request of former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps and the Hong Kong Royal Navy Service for the right of abode in the UK; and if so, what was the outcome of that assessment.
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, that was introduced in 1990 and ran 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 a British citizen.
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.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the UK to be represented by a minister at any of the ceremonies in Hong Kong that will commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Hong Kong in 1945.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The 75th Hong Kong Liberation day ceremony will be held at Sai Wan Cemetery on 31 August. We are not aware of any plans for official events to mark the anniversary.
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 by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 6 July (HL9019), what decision they have reached following their active consideration of the request of 301 former British Hong Kong servicemen to be granted British citizenship.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Further to my response of 6 July, we continue to actively consider representations made on this issue, including those provided recently by the noble Lord.
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 by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 April (HL6972), when a decision, said to be made "as soon as practicable", will be reached on the request of 301 British Hong Kong Servicemen to be granted British citizenship.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are actively considering the wider issue of those former Hong Kong Military Service Corps personnel who were unable to obtain citizenship through the selection scheme.
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 by the Minister of State for Immigration on 19 March (HC132570), when a decision will be made on the request of 301 British Hong Kong Servicemen to be granted British citizenship, made in a petition handed to the then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015 and subsequently raised by a delegation of those servicemen at a meeting with the Home Secretary Amber Rudd in November 2017.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We have received a number of representations on this matter, all of which are being carefully considered and a decision will be made as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 11 October (HL Deb, col 249) indicating that references to "part-time" were included within a previous Armed Forces Act, to which Act he intended to refer.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
During the Report Stage for the Armed Forces (Flexible Working) Bill, I referred to Section 2(1A) and (1B) of the Armed Forces Act 1966. This reference was inaccurately transcribed in the official record of the debate but it has now been corrected in Hansard.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the consultation on <i>Transforming our Justice System: panel composition in tribunals, </i>whether they intend to preserve the use of tripartite panels, including Service members, in War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Appeals.
Answered by Lord Henley
The government is consulting on proposals to amend existing legislation to provide the Senior President of Tribunals with greater flexibility in his determination of panel composition in the unified tribunals, including the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal.
We believe our proposals will lead to a more proportionate, targeted approach to panel composition, with non-legal members being used in cases where their knowledge or expertise is really needed.
Decisions on the composition of tribunal panels are, and will continue to be, made by the Senior President of Tribunals independently of my department.
Asked by: Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Army Air Corps personnel have been asked in the past 12 months to repay retention or other alleged overpayments; and in each case, who was responsible for the error.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 23 March 2016 (Official Report, column 2379) to the noble Lord, the Lord Trefgarne.