Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to join the nine EU member states in calling for reform of the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court of Human Rights; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to call for the reform of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court's approach to the application of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to reform the European Court of Human Rights in order to restore public trust in the rule of law.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current state of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the priorities of the Danish presidency of the Council of the European Union, and what plans they have to meet the presidency to discuss those priorities.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Denmark assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July. Under the headline 'a strong Europe in a changing world', the Danish Presidency has two overarching priorities: a secure Europe and a competitive and green Europe. The Government will continue to engage regularly with the Danish Government on our shared priorities, as well as with the EU institutions, as we deliver a long-term UK-EU strategic partnership.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the letter from Lord Hanson of Flint on 4 June following the second reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, how they will play their part in supporting considered dialogue within the Council of Europe that seeks to balance "liberty and security, and justice and responsibility."
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK participates in regular engagement with the Council of Europe and its Member States, we look forward to a dialogue on the future of the ECHR as part of that process.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of foreign national offenders, and how many foreign national offenders, have been transferred to Poland to serve their sentences since the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters was signed in November 2024.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All convicted foreign national offenders (FNOs) who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation. On entry to custody, FNOs are informed of the likelihood of deportation and encouraged to take up removal schemes including prisoner transfer agreements.
The Ministry of Justice has invested £5 million on 82 FNO specialists to oversee swift removals from prisons. These specialists are working with the Home Office to remove FNOs who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom, by encouraging compliance, and by actively investigating, and seeking to remove, barriers to removal, thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer and helping to protect the public.
These specialists have also received training on prisoner transfers and in addition to their main function of ensuring deportation under the Early Removal Scheme, they also encourage FNOs to apply for voluntary repatriation under prisoner transfer agreements including the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Prisoner Transfer is only one of the mechanisms where FNOs can be removed early.
14 FNOs have been successfully transferred voluntarily under this Convention between July 2024 and 31 December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
There were no FNOs transferred to Poland under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters in November 2024 and the end of December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign national offenders have been transferred under the voluntary transfer mechanism provided by the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons in the past year.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All convicted foreign national offenders (FNOs) who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation. On entry to custody, FNOs are informed of the likelihood of deportation and encouraged to take up removal schemes including prisoner transfer agreements.
The Ministry of Justice has invested £5 million on 82 FNO specialists to oversee swift removals from prisons. These specialists are working with the Home Office to remove FNOs who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom, by encouraging compliance, and by actively investigating, and seeking to remove, barriers to removal, thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer and helping to protect the public.
These specialists have also received training on prisoner transfers and in addition to their main function of ensuring deportation under the Early Removal Scheme, they also encourage FNOs to apply for voluntary repatriation under prisoner transfer agreements including the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Prisoner Transfer is only one of the mechanisms where FNOs can be removed early.
14 FNOs have been successfully transferred voluntarily under this Convention between July 2024 and 31 December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
There were no FNOs transferred to Poland under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters in November 2024 and the end of December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage foreign national offenders to use the voluntary transfer mechanism under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All convicted foreign national offenders (FNOs) who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation. On entry to custody, FNOs are informed of the likelihood of deportation and encouraged to take up removal schemes including prisoner transfer agreements.
The Ministry of Justice has invested £5 million on 82 FNO specialists to oversee swift removals from prisons. These specialists are working with the Home Office to remove FNOs who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom, by encouraging compliance, and by actively investigating, and seeking to remove, barriers to removal, thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer and helping to protect the public.
These specialists have also received training on prisoner transfers and in addition to their main function of ensuring deportation under the Early Removal Scheme, they also encourage FNOs to apply for voluntary repatriation under prisoner transfer agreements including the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Prisoner Transfer is only one of the mechanisms where FNOs can be removed early.
14 FNOs have been successfully transferred voluntarily under this Convention between July 2024 and 31 December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
There were no FNOs transferred to Poland under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters in November 2024 and the end of December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on UK access to the Security Action for Europe fund.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We welcome all European efforts to increase defence spending and provide the critical capability uplift needed by Europe, including through the EU’s European Defence Readiness / ReArm initiatives and the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument.
SAFE was formally adopted by the European Council on 29 May 2025. Alongside the UK’s recently agreed Security and Defence Partnership with the EU, the UK now meets the criteria for discussing participation in the SAFE instrument. Recognising the important role that the UK’s world-leading defence industry plays for European security, the Defence Secretary has already engaged Commissioner Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, on our ambition to swiftly explore the potential for enhanced cooperation under SAFE. We also continue to engage allies bilaterally, including through the recent Lancaster House modernisation 2.0, to ensure we are all contributing to a more resilient defence industrial base for Europe.