Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 20 July (HL8823), what steps, if any, they will take to inform parliamentarians of the conclusion of the review into UK visas being granted to such high risk individuals; and whether they will facilitate broader parliamentary scrutiny of this matter.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As stated in my previous response, for national security reasons it would not be appropriate to disclose the criteria by which high risk individuals are identified or the basis of any review of these criteria.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 11 July (HL8821) and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 4 July (HL8822), what assessment has been made by (1) the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, and (2) the Home Office, of the suitability of the Islamic Human Rights Commission and IHRC Legal in light of the official warning of the Charity Commission in relation to the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Islamic Human Rights Commission Ltd is currently registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). The OISC keeps in close contact with the organisation and audits it regularly.
Organisations seeking regulation by the Commissioner are required to abide by the OISC's Guidance on Fitness (Owners). The criteria for assessing fitness include the likelihood of compliance with the OISC's Regulatory Scheme, a history of honesty and legal compliance, as well as a history of financial probity.
The OISC is a non-departmental arms’ length body of the Home Office. The Home Office is satisfied that the OISC is undertaking appropriate assessments in relation to the Islamic Human Rights Commission.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 6 March (HL6140), whether they intend to conduct a review into UK visas given to Religious Workers or Ministers of Religion from Iran; and if so, what is the timetable for doing so.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office is fully aware of the risks associated with this route.
The Home Office regularly reviews the criteria used to identify persons who may pose a higher risk to the UK, with scrutiny given to each application the Home Office receives and additional interventions taken where required. For national security reasons, it would not be appropriate to disclose these criteria, nor the timing of when these reviews take place.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to the Community Right to Bid under the Localism Act 2011, how many assets of community value have been listed in England; how many groups have triggered the moratorium period; how many assets have been bought by community groups; and how much of the £150 million Community Ownership Fund announced in 2021 has been spent to date.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Community assets play a vital role in creating thriving neighbourhoods, where people meet, connect, and spend time together. The Government does not hold the information requested because this is a matter for local authorities.
The Community Ownership Fund has, so far, awarded £36.8 million to 150 projects across the United Kingdom. A total of £25.5 million has been allocated to 97 projects in England, £5.2 million allocated to 24 projects in Scotland, £3.2 million to 15 projects in Wales and £3 million to 14 projects in Northern Ireland. Round 3 Window 1 of the fund is now open and will close on 12th July.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Islamic Human Rights Commission, through IHRC Legal, continues to be listed by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner as a fit organisation to provide immigration advice.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Islamic Human Rights Commission Ltd is currently registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). The OISC keeps in close contact with the organisation, and audits it regularly.
Organisations seeking regulation by the Commissioner are required to abide by the OISC’s Guidance on Fitness (Owners). The criteria for assessing fitness includes the likelihood of compliance with the OISC's Regulatory Scheme, a history of honesty and legal compliance, as well as a history of financial probity.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what official warnings have been issued, or enforcement action taken, by the Charity Commission in the past 24 months in relation to Islamic Human Rights Commission or its affiliates, including the IHRC Trust.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
The Charity Commission issued the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust with an Official Warning on 28 March 2023. This was due to concerns about the Trust’s management of its relationship with a non-charitable entity, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, and its failure to comply with legal reporting requirements.
The Official Warning was given following regulatory advice previously issued by the Charity Commission to the Trust. Further details of the Official Warning are publicly available on the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust’s entry on the register of charities.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission is not a registered charity and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Charity Commission.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the titles and authors of works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published; when these titles were commissioned; and when they are due to be published.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.
Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.
It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.
The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.
The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are allocated to the Official History Programme; and what are their responsibilities.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.
Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.
It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.
The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.
The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Histories, Openness and Records Unit at the Cabinet Office still exists; if not, when and in what manner it ceased to exist; and where its former responsibilities and functions now lie.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.
Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.
It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.
The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.
The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when Tessa Stirling left her role as Head of the Histories, Openness and Records Unit at the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.
Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.
It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.
The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.
The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.