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  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what performance targets they have set for the UK Trade Office in Raleigh, North Carolina for (1) 2016–17, and (2) 2017–18.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The new UK Government Office in Raleigh, North Carolina will promote a broad range of British prosperity interests, including trade and investment and engagement with industry, research and development and higher education institutions. Performance objectives will be agreed with a broad range of HMG stakeholders, including the Department for International Trade, the UK Science and Innovation Network and policy teams in the British Embassy in Washington DC. The Office will be managed and supported by Her Majesty’s Consul General in Atlanta.

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much inward investment the UK Trade Office in Raleigh, North Carolina is expected to generate in (1) 2017–18, and (2) 2018–19.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government Office in Raleigh, North Carolina will contribute to inward investment objectives in support of the Department for International Trade’s targets for the South East United States. These targets are set by sector. North Carolina has one of the fastest growing economies in the United States. Our office there will allow us to explore opportunities for collaboration with the many institutions and businesses located in Raleigh’s Research Triangle Park.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of supported housing properties likely to be affected by the proposed reduction in housing benefit, and what is their estimate of the range of weekly costs to tenants of such properties.

    Lord Freud

    Supported accommodation plays a vital role in the lives of many vulnerable people. That is why on 15 September 2016 we announced, via a Written Ministerial Statement, that we would be deferring the application of Local Housing Allowance Rates in the social sector for supported housing until 2019/20, at which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 1 August (HL1311), whether they intend to publish the response to the consultation on Sure Start; and if not, why not.

    Lord Nash

    I refer Lord Beecham to my Written Answer on 13 September to HL1466. The Prime Minister has been clear that tackling poverty and disadvantage, and delivering real social reform, will be a priority for this Government. We will consider future policy on children’s centres as part of this. We will provide further detail in due course and will make clear how stakeholders and members of the public can contribute.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 19 September (HL1467), how much they will pay Ecorys for the production of their report evaluating the Troubled Families Programme; and whether that fee will be reduced in the light of the reported problems with methodology and the consequent delay in the completion and publication of that report.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The evaluation, published on 17 October, comprises several different strands including longitudinal case studies in twenty local authorities, in-depth longitudinal research with families, a face-to-face survey of over 800 families, an impact study using national administrative datasets, the development of a cost savings calculator for local authorities, and a local monitoring system for all local authorities to record family problems. The total value of these strands amount to £1.16 Million (0.2 per cent of the total programme budget).

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made enquiries of, or representations to, the government of Syria in relation to its claim that the passport of Zaina Erhaim produced at Heathrow on her arrival in the UK had been stolen.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have made no enquiries of, or representations to, the Syrian regime on this matter. The UK Government has no contact with the Asad regime due to the atrocities it has committed against the Syrian people.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in developing a new formula for school funding; and when the new formula will be applied.

    Lord Nash

    In July, the Secretary of State committed to introduce national funding formulae for schools and high needs from financial year 2018-19. We are considering the options carefully, taking into account the need to give schools and local authorities stability, and the importance of getting these historic reforms right. We will set out detailed proposals later in the autumn, and make decisions early next year, for the new system to be in place from April 2018.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to amending the Annual Data Requirement to replace the 16+1 ethnicity code based on the 2001 census with the 2011 census ethnicity category 18+1, to include Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The ethnicity categories used for data collections are assessed as part of the Home Office’s process of agreeing the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). This is the list of mandatory data collections required from the police.

    This process includes consultation with a range of stakeholders on the requirements for each data collection, together with consideration of the burdens involved in the collection (e.g. IT costs of implementation for police forces), and the likely quality of the data.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 September (HL1473), who are the members of HS2 Ltd.’s Conflict of Interest Panel; which cases of potential conflict of interest they have considered in the last year; what was their decision in each case; and whether they intend to publish this information every six months in the future.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    It is not possible to provide the names of HS2 Ltd’s Conflict of Interest Panel Members, nor details of specific cases which have been heard as we do not consider doing so would be consistent with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Unfair disclosure of personal data is a breach of the First Data Protection Principles under the DPA.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the planned expansion of Luton Airport from 10 million to 18 million passengers a year, they intend to include in the specification for the new Midland Main Line longer-distance passenger service a requirement that four trains per hour per direction should call at Luton Parkway in order to increase the percentage of air passengers arriving by rail.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The next East Midlands franchise is due to start in July 2018 and we are currently undertaking a process of information gathering to develop the high-level view of the franchise specification. We are due to begin a public consultation later this year to inform the specification. Until the views submitted through the public consultation are understood and further analysis is conducted on the options for the franchise, a firm decision cannot be taken at this stage. I would encourage the noble Lord to make his views known through the formal public consultation process when it opens.