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  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been their total expenditure on military action in Syria and Iraq.

    Earl Howe

    From August 2014 to 31 March 2016, the net additional costs of counter-Daesh activity in Iraq and Syria were £265 million. These costs were met from a combination of the HM Treasury Special Reserve and the Deployed Military Activity Pool (DMAP). The £265 million is split into £45 million in financial year 2014-15, and £220 million in financial year 2015-16.

    This activity was to support UK military activity to degrade and ultimately defeat Daesh. It has included airstrikes in support of coalition ground operations and airborne intelligence gathering operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as helping to train the Iraqi Security Forces and moderate Syrian opposition.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding is given annually by the UK to assist refugee projects in the Middle East.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Department for International Development is providing support to refugees in a number of countries in the Middle East including in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In financial year 2015/16 our support totalled more than £204 million.

  • The Lord Bishop of Rochester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The Lord Bishop of Rochester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Rochester on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the publication of the review of Islamist extremism in prisons and the probation and youth justice services, in what ways they plan to change the vetting of prison chaplains and build on existing good practice, including vetting to counter-terrorism level.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    Prison chaplains of all faiths make a valuable contribution to offender management, both in the provision of pastoral care and theological education, and as a safeguard against the spread of extremist ideologies. There are established pre-appointment checks in place for all prison chaplaincy positions, including Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance and the scrutiny of professional credentials.

    The Government response to the review into Islamist Extremism included a commitment to strengthen the due diligence process for the recruitment of prison chaplains. This policy is still being developed, and will supplement rather than replace existing arrangements. The checks can be applied to all prospective prison chaplains, of any faith, before a final offer of employment is made.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish the NHS England Research and Development plan for 2016–17; if so, when, and if not, why not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    A draft version of NHS England’s Research and Development Plan for 2016/17 is currently out with stakeholders for information and comment. A copy of the final version will therefore be published on NHS England’s website in due course once it has been agreed and approved.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review their policy of freezing state pensions of British citizens residing in overseas countries, where there is no existing reciprocal social security arrangement in place.

    Lord Freud

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so – for example in countries where a reciprocal agreement is in place that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this or to assess the impact of British citizens’ choosing to retire abroad.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to negotiate extending reciprocal social security arrangements to overseas countries so as to facilitate an annual increase in the state pension for British citizens who retire to those countries.

    Lord Freud

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so – for example in countries where a reciprocal agreement is in place that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this or to assess the impact of British citizens’ choosing to retire abroad.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the average annual cost or saving to the public purse when a British citizen chooses to retire abroad rather than remain in the UK, assuming a continuing increase in the state pension.

    Lord Freud

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so – for example in countries where a reciprocal agreement is in place that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this or to assess the impact of British citizens’ choosing to retire abroad.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that regular updates of the list of Tier 4 visa sponsors are published when sponsors are found not to be compliant with government requirements.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The register of licensed Tier 4 sponsors is published daily and will continue to be. Sponsors that lose their licence as a result of non-compliance are removed from the published list of sponsors.

    No information is routinely published regarding sponsors found not to be compliant. In January 2015 data was published showing Tier 4 sponsors whose status appeared as revoked from 2010 to 2014. This information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tier-4-sponsors-whose-status-appeared-as-revoked-from-2010-to-2014

  • Lord Tanlaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Tanlaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tanlaw on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to change the meaning of the acronym GMT from Greenwich Mean Time to Greenwich Meridian Time.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We consider that any attempt to change the meaning of the acronym GMT is likely to result in confusion.

  • Lord Tanlaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Tanlaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tanlaw on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to identify accurately the GPS Prime Meridian with a corresponding marker at the correct location in Greenwich Park.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    As the reference frame for the Global Positioning System (GPS) is established through a mathematical interpretation of satellite radio signals, rather than a physical meridian, it is not conceptually appropriate to represent it in the same way as other meridians have historically been marked at Greenwich.