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British Citizenship
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether a person is entitled to be registered as a British citizen if, immediately prior to 1 January 1983, that person was a statutory British protected person by virtue of the British Protectorates, Protected States and Protected Persons Order 1978 in the following circumstances (a) the person was born in the British Protectorate of Uganda after 1914; (b) prior to the independence of Uganda on 9 October 1962 the person had ceased to reside in Uganda; (c) none of the person's parents or grandparents is or was a member of any of the indigenous communities existing and residing within the borders of Uganda as at the first day of February, 1926, as set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution of Uganda; (d) the person had never registered as a citizen of Uganda; and (e) the person has not acquired the citizenship of any other country. [HL764]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Whether or not a person is a British protected person, and the extent of any entitlement conferred on him or her by or under the British Nationality Act 1981 and associated legislation, are matters of law which can be determined conclusively only by the courts. The ways in which the various pieces of legislation interact are complex, and careful consideration has to be given to the circumstances of each case. Subject, however, to the person concerned having failed to acquire the citizenship of Uganda by any means after 8 October 1962, including acquisition under the 1962 constitution, our view is that he or she retains the status of British protected person under the British Protectorates, Protected States and Protected
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Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will place in the Library of the House the e-mail from Tameem Abdulhusein Ebrahim to the British consul-general in Hong Kong dated 1 December, regarding solely British nationals of Nepalese origin, together with the British consul-general's response. [HL765]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: We will review these papers as soon as possible and place copies in the Library of the House if feasible.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What matters were discussed last week by the British vice-consul and the Nepalese consul during their meeting in Hong Kong; and whether they will place in the Library of the House the vice-consul's account of the discussion. [HL766]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Our vice-consul in Hong Kong and the Nepalese consul discussed the processing of applications for registration as a British citizen under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981 and under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997, in particular the supporting documentation required. The discussion was informal and no record was kept.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 18 April (WA 163) regarding British overseas citizenship under Article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986, whether they will ensure that all staff handling British overseas citizen passport applications at the British consulate-general in Hong Kong are made aware of this; and whether they will place the notification to staff in the Library of the House. [HL926]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office prides itself on giving the best training possible to all staff to provide first-class consular services at all posts overseas. All staff in the passport section at our consulate-general in Hong Kong have had training on the various British Nationality Acts and are aware of the provisions of Article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986. The Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 is already publicly available.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Triesman on 14 December (WA 217), why the British consulate-general in Hong Kong requires a Nepalese citizenship renunciation certificate from a British overseas citizen of Nepalese origin in Hong Kong who applies for a British overseas citizen passport or registration as a
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Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The British consulate-general in Hong Kong does not require a certificate of renunciation from a British overseas citizen of Nepalese origin applying either for a British overseas citizen passport or for registration as a British citizen. A letter from the Nepalese authorities indicating whether an applicant has ever held Nepalese nationality is however required as evidence of statelessness.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Triesman on 14 December (WA 217), why the British consulate-general in Hong Kong is relying on the Nepalese authorities to advise solely British nationals what information is required to substantiate a claim for British nationality; whether they will instead publish on the British consulate-general's website what essential documentation is required to accompany applications; and whether they will place a copy of that information in the Library of the House. [HL1036]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The British consulate-general (BCG) in Hong Kong is not relying on the Nepalese authorities to advise solely British nationals on the information required to substantiate a claim to British nationality. However; any additional assistance that the Nepalese consul can provide in making sure potential applicants of Nepalese origin are suitably informed is welcome. There is already comprehensive information on the BCG Hong Kong website, and we will place a copy of the current guidance in the Library of the House.
China: Human Rights
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they are making concerning the conviction and sentence of Chen Guangcheng following the campaign he waged in Shandong province against the coercive birth control policy. [HL767]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: We have raised concerns about breaches of due process in Chen Guangcheng's case with the Chinese Government on numerous occasions, both bilaterally and through the EU, at ministerial and official level. Prior to Chen's trial on 25 August, we raised his case at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, in Beijing in July. After Chen was sentenced, we included his name on a list of individual cases of concern handed over to the Chinese authorities during the visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on 12-13 September. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary made a
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Cluster Munitions
Lord Garden asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they will be represented at the Cluster Munition Coalition meeting in Oslo from 21 to 23 February 2007. [HL964]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: We have not yet received any invitation to the meeting in Oslo. We will consider any invitation carefully, including the nature of UK participation.
Companies Act 2006
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): The Companies Act 2006 will be available in printed form on 22 December 2006, although the text of the Act has been available for download from the OPSI website since 7 December.
Crime: Gender Balance
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 8 November (WA 197), whether their research into the causes of crime indicates that the disparity of two-to-one in the propensity of males and females to commit crime arises from social or from biological factors. [HL243]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Home Office research into the causes of crime has not included any exploration of the potential role of biological factors in the greater propensity of men to commit crimes.
Research summarised in The impact of corrections on re-offending: a review of what works (HORS 291, 2006) discusses a range of factors, or criminogenic needs, predictive of offending in relation to the differences between men and women in the frequency and nature of offending.
Evidence suggests that female offenders have higher levels of need in relationships and emotional well-being, while male offenders have higher levels of need with regard to offending, alcohol misuse, thinking and behaviour and attitudes. Self-report offending studies have consistently shown that men
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The Home Office has recently published Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System which provides further details of the nature of offending carried out by women. (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/s95women0405.pdf).
Crime: Rape
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will refer to persons making allegations of rape unsubstantiated by independent evidence as “alleged victims” rather than as “victims” until judicial proceedings have established that such allegations are substantiated.[HL461]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The British Crime Survey on Interpersonal Violence published in 2001 found that approximately 15 per cent of rapes come to the attention of the police. This indicates that there are many victims who are unable to see justice done.
In order to improve this situation and to encourage reporting, it is important for victims of serious violent crimes, such as rape, to believe that their allegations will be taken seriously. In the context of specific criminal proceedings, appropriate language will always be used.
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the false accusations made by the accuser in the Warren Blackwell case of (a) sexual assault by her father in 1989; (b) rape against a boy in 1983; (c) violent sexual assault in a police station in 1988; (d) violent assault from behind with a knife in March 2000; (e) violent sexual assault from behind with a knife in July 2000; and (f) rape and sexual assault with a knife from behind in June 2001 were no-crimed. [HL576]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Information relating to individual cases is not collected centrally and so we cannot determine whether the alleged crimes referred to were no-crimed by the relevant forces.
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 6 December (WA 142), in what circumstances the DNA of a victim would need to be taken for elimination purposes. [HL769]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Where the police may expect to find more than one DNA profile at a crime scene, a victim or witness to the crime may be asked to provide the police with a DNA sample so that his
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Victims and witnesses who have voluntarily provided the police with a DNA sample for elimination purposes during the investigation of a particular offence may also consent to their DNA profile being retained on the National DNA Database. Consent must be given in writing and once given cannot be withdrawn.
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to review the requirement for a victim of rape to give written consent for the retention of their DNA on the National DNA Database. [HL770]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: At the present time the Government do not intend to review the requirement for a victim of rape to give written consent for the retention of their DNA on the National DNA Database.
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether a person who has been identified as a false accuser of rape and who has not been prosecuted retains the right to give written consent for their DNA to be held on the National DNA Database. [HL771]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, as amended, the police may only take DNA (and fingerprints) without consent from persons who have been arrested for, charged with, informed they will be reported for or convicted of a recordable offence.
DNA samples provided by victims of crime for elimination purposes may be retained on the National DNA Database only if the person gives their consent in writing.
Cyprus: Direct Flights
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Triesman on 4 December (WA 92—3), what are the legal obstacles to direct flights to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that cannot be overcome without the co-operation of the Greek Cypriot Administration in the south of the island; what is the legal authority for this opinion; and whether the human rights of Turkish Cypriots have been considered. [HL728]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The simplest way of enabling direct flights would be a decision by the Republic of Cyprus to designate Ercan as an international airport under the terms of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. In the absence of such a decision there are legal obstacles. The Government do not intend to pursue a policy which would be in contravention of international law. An application for a licence is under consideration by the Department for Transport and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
The UK and its EU partners remain committed to lifting the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots through targeted financial aid and trade liberalisation.
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Triesman on 4 December (WA 92—3), whether there are any embargos between other nations or traditions in the European Union comparable to that of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot Administration on direct flights to the former. [HL729]
Lord Triesman: The status of the divided island of Cyprus is unique within the EU and as such creates an unparalleled situation with regard to direct flights. There are no direct flights between Northern Cyprus and any EU member states. The Government fully support the work of the EU towards lifting the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. We welcome the ongoing implementation of the financial aid regulation and support further progress on trade liberalisation. However, a full solution to the difficulties faced by the Turkish Cypriots can be achieved only through a comprehensive settlement facilitated by the UN. We would echo the call of the UN Secretary-General in his latest report to the Security Council, as well as the statement of the Finnish EU presidency on 11 December, in urging the two communities to engage in discussions under UN auspices to achieve a resumption of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement as early as possible in 2007.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Human Rights
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo about the detention without charge of civil rights lawyer Marie-Thérèse Nlandu and six of her associates; and whether they will take action to ensure that the detainees are not tried in a military court and have access to adequate legal representation.[HL918]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): Our ambassador in Kinshasa has spoken to the Interior Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo and advisers to President Kabila on several occasions regarding the detention of Marie-Thérèse Nlandu. We and European partners raised our concerns that Mme Nlandu's human rights, particularly her access to legal representation, were not being respected.
Mme Nlandu has since been granted access to a lawyer, has now been charged with several offences and is due to stand trial. We have asked that her case be dealt with quickly and fairly and in accordance with due process. We will continue to monitor her situation and treatment.
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