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10 Jun 2009 : Column WA149
10 Jun 2009 : Column WA149
10 Jun 2009 : Column WA149
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Diplomatic Relations
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which member states of the United Nations the United Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations. [HL3993]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The UK does not have diplomatic relations with Bhutan or Somalia.
Bilateral relations with Bhutan are friendly. We conduct business with Bhutan through our high commission in New Delhi and via the Bhutanese honorary consul, who is based in the UK and spends half the year in Bhutan.
Somalia does not have diplomatic representation in the UK and the security situation in Somalia does not allow us to have a diplomatic mission in Mogadishu. However, we acknowledge the Transitional Federal Government as the current Government in power in Somalia and deal with them on that basis.
To ask Her Majesty's Government which are the member states of the United Nations where the United Kingdom’s diplomatic representative is not resident in the state concerned. [HL3994]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The table below shows those countries where the UK has a non-resident ambassador or high commissioner, and where those ambassadors or high commissioners are resident.
| Country | Ambassador/High Commissioner resident in: |
|
Bridgetown (but we have a resident commissioner in Castries) | |
Internet: Security
Question
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 7 May (WA 143), why the Internet Watch Foundation's list enables internet service providers to block child sexual abuse images if they are hosted abroad but does not enable them to block websites hosted abroad promoting violent extremism and terrorism. [HL3607]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The IWF acts as a reporting centre for images of child sexual abuse, criminally obscene images and websites containing incitement to racial hatred. Of these, only child sexual abuse images are illegal to view, and therefore the IWF list comprises only those sites.
10 Jun 2009 : Column WA151
Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will advise the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which has just called for the enactment without delay of a justiciable Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland inclusive of economic, social and cultural rights, that the enactment of such a proposal was not part of the Belfast agreement. [HL3991]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: All the concluding observations of the committee will be addressed in the UK’s sixthreport under the covenant, which is due in 2014.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 19 May (WA 302), what are the special circumstances which will require extra human rights in Northern Ireland and not in the rest of the United Kingdom. [HL3999]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Government will consult on a potential Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland in due course. The question of whether there is a need for additional rights to reflect the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland will be fully explored during consultation.
Political Organisations
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the criteria by which it is decided that a political organisation or persons within a political organisation or their actions are subversive of the national interest of the United Kingdom. [HL3943]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria are taken into account in deciding that the security services should monitor the internal workings or participate in the proceedings of political organisations regarded as working against the national interest of the United Kingdom. [HL3944]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Section 1 of the Security Service Act 1989, as amended, sets out the functions of the Security Service. These include the protection of national security from “actions intended to overthrow or undermine parliamentary democracy by political, industrial or violent means”.
10 Jun 2009 : Column WA152
Prisons: Officers
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering using prison officers as learning advocates. [HL3973]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The prison officer role is central to the reducing reoffending agenda, one aspect of which is the education, training and employment pathway. Prison officers are prepared for their role by means of a one-year foundation training programme incorporating an eight-week prison officer entry level training course and a level 3 national vocational qualification in custodial care (CCNVQ). Since September 2007, all new officers must complete the NVQ in their first year. Module GJ2 of the CCNVQ—“support individuals in custody to take part in purposeful activities”—is optional but to date 1,169 new prison officers have either obtained or are currently working towards this unit. This NVQ module requires prison officers to demonstrate that they are encouraging prisoners to take part in purposeful activities which include educational, recreational and work activities.
There are no plans as yet to introduce a central policy on prison officers acting as learning advocates.
Railways: European Services
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place with rail operators in other European Union countries on expanding destinations for European services using High Speed 1. [HL4074]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Government are keen to encourage competition on High Speed 1 from 2010 and to expand the number of European destinations available by rail from the UK. Discussions have been held with rail operators in a number of other European Union countries on providing such services. These discussions are ongoing. It will be for the future operator of High Speed 1 to market the railway and to agree terms of access with international train operators.
To ask Her Majesty's Government who will be responsible for regulating applications by open access operators for providing additional rail services from the United Kingdom to Europe following the sale of High Speed 1 and Eurostar United Kingdom; and what steps will be taken to encourage additional or alternative rail services through the Channel Tunnel. [HL4076]
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