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

    Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions over each of the last five years Network Rail has been fined for breaches of health and safety legislation; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that fines are not passed on to the taxpayer or passengers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail has been fined fifteen times over the last five years for breaches of health and safety legislation, however the incidents that these fines correspond with took place over the last thirteen years (2003-2016). All fines must be paid out of existing budgets and no additional funding will be made available by government and no extra can be raised from track access charges.

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

    Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any link between the salaries of senior managers in Network Rail and health and safety performance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail’s business performance is measured in every four-week period through a scorecard that includes a series of safety measures. Performance against the metrics in the scorecard is linked to the bonuses of senior managers.

    In terms of the company’s Executive Directors, each year Network Rail’s Remuneration Committee assesses performance for the year and decides whether the scorecard out-turn should be adjusted on safety grounds. Network Rail’s Management Incentive Plan states that in the event of a serious safety incident during the year, which impacts passengers, the workforce or the public, for which Network Rail was responsible, no incentive would normally be payable to any executive director for that year.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the impact of quantitative easing on investment and on savings to determine whether it is of greater benefit to one or the other.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is responsible for setting monetary policy to deliver its primary objective of maintaining price stability. As the MPC remit makes clear, ensuring price stability is an essential pre-requisite for economic prosperity. The MPC is accountable to both Parliament and the public, through regular reports and evidence given to the Treasury Committee. The Bank of England has previously produced analysis of the distributional effects of asset purchases on different groups in society. At the August Inflation Report hearing on 7 September the Bank committed to updating this analysis.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to restrict the advertising and promotion of primary option trading and investment to retail investors in the UK by firms based in Cyprus and Malta.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The government takes this issue very seriously.

    The government will introduce measures to strengthen investor protection when it transposes the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).

    This will include powers for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to prohibit or restrict the marketing, distribution or sale of financial instruments, including relevant binary options where there are significant investor protection concerns.

    These powers will apply from 3 January 2018.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the UK leaving the EU on the audio-visual industry.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings they have held with representatives of the audio-visual industry about the implications for the industry of the result of the referendum on EU membership; and which government departments have been involved in such meetings.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to hold meetings with representatives of the audio-visual industry about the effects of the UK leaving the EU; and if so, which government departments will be involved in such meetings.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.

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

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

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the discussions with the government of the US over the extension of the 1966 agreement concerning the British Indian Ocean Territory will be followed by discussions with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is disappointed at recent action by Mauritius in seeking a UN General Assembly resolution requesting “an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965”. We believe this is an inappropriate use of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion mechanism and sets an unwelcome precedent for other bilateral disputes. Whilst we are disappointed that this item has been added to the UNGA agenda, we are pleased that discussions at UNGA will be deferred until at least June 2017 in order to allow for bilateral discussions with Mauritius. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreed way forward through such bilateral discussions.

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

    Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the research commissioned by the Department for Education in 2010 into the development of government guidance on governance arrangements in children’s services: Research governance in children’s services: the scope for new advice.

    Lord Nash

    This report highlighted the importance of governance and ethical consideration in children’s services research. The report suggested that at the time of the research, local practice was variable, but there were, and still are, a number of accepted research governance arrangements in place for local authorities and other research organisations to seek guidance and approval, including the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), the Social Research Association, the NSPCC, and university ethics boards. The Department for Education has concluded that these arrangements are the best route for local authorities and external research organisations to obtain external guidance on research governance and ethics.

    Following publication of the report, the Department, in consultation with the ADCS Research Group, has developed ethics guidance and an ethics checklist for its own funded research and evaluation. This is based on the Government Social Research Professional Guidance, which sets out the principles that should be used when conducting social research for the Government. It states that those conducting, commissioning or managing Government social research have a responsibility to ensure that research is conducted using appropriate methods and that the rights and interests of all those involved in the research process are protected. Research should be conducted in a manner that:

    • ensures valid, informed consent is obtained before individuals participate in research (for children under 16, parents/legal guardians as well as the children themselves must be approached for consent to participate);

    • takes reasonable steps to identify and remove barriers to participation;

    • avoids personal and social harm; and

    • protects the confidentiality of information about research participants and their identities.

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

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

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the findings of the recent report Realising Aspirations for All by the charity Sense.

    Lord Freud

    We welcome the Sense report, Realising Aspirations for All and its findings. We want all disabled and people with a long term health condition to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations.

    We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health and conduct a consultation to understand how every individual can have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings, regardless of their health condition or disability. We will engage with Sense and other key stakeholders as part of the Green Paper consultation.