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  • 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 steps they are taking to ensure that people who are deafblind, and those with complex needs, benefit from plans to halve the disability employment gap.

    Lord Freud

    The Government is committed to enabling all disabled people to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations. Work is an important part of this, which is why the Government has committed itself to halving the disability employment gap.

    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 continue to engage with key stakeholders that support deaf blind people as part of the Green Paper consultation.

    The feedback from the consultation and the work that we are doing to build and test the evidence base will help us to find out what really works to remove the barriers disabled people and people with health conditions face in getting and staying in work.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the fall in revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty since October 2014.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) annual audited accounts showed that £5.9 billion was collected in vehicle excise duty (VED) during 2015-16. The amount of VED collected varies year on year and this was a reduction of £93 million, a decrease of around 1.5% from the previous year. This figure compares favourably with the Office of Budget Responsibility’s forecast that VED revenue would fall by up to £300 million during 2015-16.

    The decrease in revenue for the last financial year is principally attributable to the ever increasing number of fuel-efficient cars on the road which attract a lower rate of duty, as well as a small increase in evasion.

    In addition, in the 2015-16 annual accounts, the Comptroller and Auditor General noted that the decline in cash receipts had been significantly influenced by the short term effect of giving motorists the option to spread VED payments over longer periods through the introduction of Direct Debit.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to address the shortfall in revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty since October 2014.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The amount of vehicle excise duty (VED) collected varies year on year. The Office of Budgetary Responsibility forecast that VED revenue would fall by £300 million in 2015-16. The actual reduction of £93 million was principally caused by the ever increasing number of fuel-efficient cars on the road which attract a lower rate of VED, as well as a small increase in evasion.

    The DVLA operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle VED evasion. These measures range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, wheel-clamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles. The latest figures show that 98.6% of all motorists comply with the requirement to pay VED.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had, or agreements they have made, with Amazon and other retailers about the use of drones for deliveries.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Civil Aviation Authority have assessed an operational safety case submitted by Amazon and granted permission for the current trials to be undertaken. Discussions have taken place between Government and Amazon around their current trials and future plans for the UK. A non-disclosure agreement has been put in place with Amazon that sets out how confidential information relating to their UK drone delivery trials should be handled. No discussions have been had or agreements put in place with any other retailers about the use of drones for deliveries.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of objections to the creation of lorry area in Kent to address problems caused by Operation Stack.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England (HE) held a public consultation on their proposals for a lorry area between 11 December 2015 and 26 January 2016. The information gathered was analysed and published in:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535213/Public_Consultation_Report_Managing_Freight_Through_Kent_March_2016.pdf and is attached for ease of reference.

    Highways England held a second public consultation between 12 August and 23 September 2016 on the design of the lorry area. They are currently analysing all comments Highways England received and will publish a consultation report in due course.

    “

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the creation of a lorry area in Kent, intended to address problems caused by Operation Stack, will cost, including the cost of improvements required to the local infrastructure.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In the Spending Review and Autumn Statement of November 2015, the Government announced up to £250 million for a major permanent lorry area. Highways England is developing a scheme that is close to the M20 motorway and minimises the impact on the local infrastructure.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered upgrading the M20 or the A2/M2 as an alternative to the establishment of a permanent lorry area near Junction 11 of the M20.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England carried out an assessment of alternative options for a solution to Operation Stack and this considered increasing the overall capacity and resilience of Kent’s motorway network. The alternatives were included in a public consultation held between December 2015 and January 2016.

    Overall, a lorry area was the best performing option and this was stated in the report on the consultation which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/management-of-freight-vehicles-through-kent and is attached for ease of reference.

    “

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied young asylum seekers have arrived in the UK in the past 12 months; and where they have been sent.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Annual Figures on the number of claims for asylum from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC), including by country of nationality, are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April to June 2016, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2016.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that there is a more equitable distribution of UASC across the country and that no one authority has to care for more UASC than they are able to. That is why we introduced the voluntary National Transfer Scheme and have consulted with every region in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on their capacity. In order to continue the success of the voluntary scheme more local authorities will need to participate and offer places for unaccompanied children from councils which are caring for disproportionately high numbers.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims have been made by young asylum seekers in Calais in the past 12 months; of those, how many have been accepted; and how many applicants have been allowed to proceed to the UK.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The number of asylum claims made in France over any given period, and their outcome, is a matter for the French authorities.

    The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism for determining responsibility for considering an asylum claim. If accepted for transfer to the UK, the asylum claim is considered in the UK after the individual has been transferred.

    The Home Office has accepted responsibility to consider the asylum claims of over 80 unaccompanied minors from France under Dublin since the start of the year and many more are in train.

    Dublin transfer requests involving children are now generally processed within 10 days by a dedicated team in the Home Office. Children can then be transferred within weeks and are now arriving in the UK on an almost weekly basis. A senior Home Office official has been seconded to the French Interior Ministry to help speed up the process of identifying children who may qualify for transfer to the UK.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims made by young asylum seekers in Calais in the past 12 months were refused, and on what grounds.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The number of asylum claims made in France over any given period, and their outcome, is a matter for the French authorities.

    The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism for determining responsibility for considering an asylum claim. If accepted for transfer to the UK, the asylum claim is considered in the UK after the individual has been transferred.

    The Home Office has accepted responsibility to consider the asylum claims of over 80 unaccompanied minors from France under Dublin since the start of the year and many more are in train.

    Dublin transfer requests involving children are now generally processed within 10 days by a dedicated team in the Home Office. Children can then be transferred within weeks and are now arriving in the UK on an almost weekly basis. A senior Home Office official has been seconded to the French Interior Ministry to help speed up the process of identifying children who may qualify for transfer to the UK.