It has not proved possible to respond to the noble, Lord, Lord Hylton, in the time available before Prorogation.

The Government do not hold children indefinitely in immigration detention centres and separated from their parents.

The Government made a commitment to end child detention for immigration purposes and has met that commitment by radically changing the system to ensure that the welfare of the child is at the heart of the decision and returns process.

The seven leaders of the Baha’i faith have now served almost five years of their 20-year sentences. Regrettably, there have been no signs to date that the Iranian authorities intend to release them. Meanwhile, the persecution of followers of the Baha’i faith in Iran continues at an alarming level. This and the continuing detention of the Baha’i leaders are matters of serious concern. We therefore call again on Iran to release all seven leaders and to cease its persecution of the Baha’is. Iran must meet its obligations under international law to respect its citizens’ rights to freedom of religion and belief.

The Office of the Quartet Representative (OQR) has a team of policy advisers based in Jerusalem. Its goal is to promote transformative economic change on the ground, underpinning the top-down political process, aiming to promote a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel. Its work is focused on particular areas, including private sector development, infrastructure development, Area C development, East Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority (PA) fiscal support, and the rule of law.

The OQR does not have a defined role in preventing violence, but it is working to help the Palestinian Authority build capacity in the rule of law sector. Recent work to promote the rule of law includes improvements in the Palestinian Authority justice sector, mapping current police presence and operations in Area B, and strengthening Palestinian-Israeli legal co-operation.

The Government remain committed to securing the release and return of Shaker Aamer to the UK, and will continue to raise his case with the US Government. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Mr Aamer’s case with former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and will continue to do so with Secretary John Kerry.

The Secretary of State for Defence, my right honourable friend the Member for Runnymeade and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and the Foreign Secretary made representations to US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in June 2012. The Defence Secretary then further raised Mr Aamer’s case with Secretary Panetta in January 2013.

Most recently, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), raised this issue with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns during meetings in the US on 15 April. Discussions continue with senior officials within the US Administration.

It has not proved possible to respond to the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, in the time available before Prorogation.

The UK regularly consults with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to obtain information regarding the plight of Syrian refugees, including women and children, who have been displaced into Egypt and to discuss the performance of the UN in delivering support to those in need. Latest information from UNHCR shows that there are 37,361 registered Syrian refugees in Egypt (as of 17 April). Of this number, 49.2% of refugees are female. Around 22% of all registered Syrian refugees in Egypt are aged under 18 years.

We recognise that refugee women are particularly vulnerable in Egypt. Our embassy lobbies for the recognition of refugee rights under international law in Egypt, including those of women. UNHCR has been monitoring the issue of early and forced marriage, but have not to date had any substantial evidence of widespread cases or practices. The Ministry of Justice has indicated that there have been 170 registered marriages between Syrian women and Egyptian men so far. UNHCR continues to follow up on any potential information it receives.

Syrian refugees in Egypt are provided with food vouchers, education, comprehensive healthcare services, including primary care, support for chronic illnesses, and sexual and reproductive health services, along with direct financial assistance. Additionally, the UNHCR is implementing community outreach programmes in Egypt to assist the integration of Syrian refugees in Egypt.

The annual budget of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is currently £3.2 billion. From its creation at the beginning of 2005-06 to the end of 2011-12, the NDA's total expenditure was £19.3 billion. During this period, the NDA's commercial income was £9.4 billion. Therefore, the net funding requirement from HM Government was £9.9 billion. There is no funding made by power companies other than through commercial contract payments for services provided (which form part of the NDA's commercial income total).

The Right First Time pilot was one of a number of recent initiatives in which the Home Office and refugee groups have worked together to make improvements to the asylum system.

Recommendations resulting from the pilot were not rolled out nationally following the conclusion of the pilot. However, findings from the project will be reviewed afresh in conjunction with the Early Legal Advice pilot evaluation, which is due to be published shortly. We will then consider whether further improvements can be made to the asylum system based on the lessons learnt and information gained from both pilots.

The British Government are aware of the study. The Government’s position is that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) against terrorist targets is a matter for the states involved. We expect all concerned to act in accordance with international law including taking all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting military operations.

On 6 April the Government introduced, through changes to the Immigration Rules, a new procedure by which stateless persons in the UK can be formally recognised as stateless and granted leave to remain. This is primarily intended to provide the small number of stateless people who qualify for no other type of leave and have nowhere else to go an avenue to regularise their stay.

In addition, the UK is a signatory and remains committed to the principles set out in two UN resolutions on statelessness: the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office makes bilateral representations to Governments, where appropriate, to ensure persons are not rendered stateless for political reasons and to regularise the status of those who are disadvantaged or suffering because they are stateless.

The information required on caseworker numbers in the now former agency, henceforth referred to as the Home Office, is not held in a format compatible with the request. However the Home Office does publish data against 15 key performance measures. Specifically,

asylum intake;

work in progress (WiP) cases;

intake;

asylum support costs;

productivity;

asylum unit cost;

initial decisions in 30 days;

cases concluded in six months;

cases concluded in 12 months;

cases concluded in 35 months;

cases removed in 12 months;

decision quality;

appeal representation rate;

appeal win rate; and

asylum grant rate.

Our most recent published statistics on speed and quality of decisions are at the link below: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/further-key-data/asylum-performancel.xls?view=Binary.

The statistics show an asylum system which is performing steadily on quality and speed. On speed, although performance on initial decisions within 30 days fell slightly in FY11-12, conclusions overall are performing well:

asylum cases concluded within 12 months (up from 56% in FY 10-11, to 63% in FY 11-12);

asylum cases concluded within 36 months (up from 63% in FY 10-11, to 70% in FY 11-12); and

asylum cases concluded within six months steady at 53% in FYs 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Decision quality also rose from 88% in financial year FY 2010-11 to 89% in FY 2011-12.

To build on this, and further improve performance, the Home Office is implementing a new asylum operating model. This will see caseworkers concentrated in a smaller number of casework hubs with greater co-ordination and specialisation. Ahead of this, the Asylum Casework Directorate has initiated a national performance drive across all regional offices which is expected to show further improved performance in the next set of figures to be published.

In 1992, the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which became the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1995, called on all participating

states to introduce an embargo on deliveries of weapons and munitions to forces engaged in combat in the Nagorno-Karabakh area. The Government implement strictly this arms embargo and will issue licences for export to Armenia or Azerbaijan only where these are consistent with the terms of the OSCE embargo. We expect our OSCE partners to abide by the embargo and encourage all states to uphold their obligations under the conventional forces in Europe treaty.

The Government continue to call on all sides to use diplomatic means to reach a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and urge them to refrain from behaviour and rhetoric which would increase tension. They strongly support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to mediate negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

On 30 January, officials from our embassy in Tel Aviv asked Israel’s co-ordinator of government activities in the territories to allow the import into Gaza of raw materials for the St John’s

Eye Hospital and passed over a list of the items needed. We also regularly raise access issues with Israeli Ministers, senior officials and the Israeli defence forces, including the issues of medical supplies to Gaza. We will continue to monitor the situation regarding access issues.

Negotiations between the United Kingdom and Iraq on a possible prisoner transfer agreement are taking place. It is not possible to say when these negotiations will be concluded.

We understand Mr Ahmed Ghaith al-Suweidi was arrested in March 2012. He has recently appeared in court as one of the 94 detainees being tried on national security grounds.

As the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), said when he visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November 2012, no issue is off limits in our relationship. Where we have human rights concerns we make these clear to the Emirati authorities as part of our broader strategic engagement. We have raised with the UAE at ministerial level the importance we attach to observing international human rights standards and will continue to do so. We have also specifically raised the issue of the detainees with the UAE authorities.

The recommendation in the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on Cedars pre-departure accommodation that force should never be used to effect the removal of pregnant women and children was rejected by the UK Border Agency. However, the UK Border Agency has taken the decision to adopt a policy not to use force solely to effect removal in such cases until a consultation on its use has taken place.

Posthumous trials are rare, and are only usually expected to be carried out to exonerate a wrongfully convicted person or to provide justice for family members of victims, so the decision to try Mr Magnitsky posthumously, against the wishes of his family, is of utmost concern to the Government. In addition, the closure of the investigation into Mr Magnitsky's death due to an apparent “lack of evidence of a crime” is particularly disappointing given that the Russian Presidential Committee on Human Rights concluded in 2011 that his death was likely the result of being severely beaten and denied medical treatment. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) raised this case when he met Foreign Minister Lavrov for talks in London on 13 March. In our annual human rights dialogue in May we will reiterate to the Russian authorities the importance of bringing this case to a thorough and transparent conclusion.

Membership of the EU places obligations on member states to ensure the highest standards of democracy and fundamental freedoms and we welcome the Hungarian Prime Minister's and the Hungarian Government's recently expressed commitment to EU law and values, and their offer to work constructively with both the European Commission and the Venice Commission to address all outstanding concerns. We continue to watch developments closely, and to maintain open and frank discussions with the Hungarian Government at all levels on a range of issues.

Although there will be no UK representatives present, the EU Delegation in Ankara, representing all EU member states, will observe the trial on 28 March. The UK plays an integral part in delivering the EU human rights strategy in Turkey and, together with our EU partners, we will continue to urge Turkey to make further progress on the full range of human rights issues, including fair trials.