The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to replace the permanent secretary to the Treasury or the permanent representative at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
There are no plans to replace the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury or the Permanent Representative at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK civil servants, and of what grade, who work in units, directorates or sub-departments within DEFRA are charged with EU policy formulation, advising on EU policy or enforcing EU policy.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra is amongst those Government Departments whose work is most closely linked to and impacted by EU activity, legal frameworks and funding. The majority of policy roles within the Department will or are likely to support EU related work to some degree.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK civil servants, and of what grade, who work in units, directorates or sub-departments within the FCO are charged with EU policy formulation, advising on EU policy or enforcing EU policy.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Staff in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Europe Directorate lead on providing advice to FCO Ministers on European Union (EU) and EU-related issues. However, staff in other Directorates in London, as well as staff in our diplomatic missions around the world, also on occasion work on EU or EU-related issues. It is not possible, therefore, to give precise figures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK civil servants, and of what grade, who work in units, directorates or sub-departments within the Treasury are charged with EU policy formulation, advising on EU policy or enforcing EU policy.
Lord Young of Cookham
Staff within the longstanding International and EU group lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU and EU related issues.
Staff within other groups throughout the Treasury also provide advice or analysis on EU issues as required, including policy formulation and enforcement.
HM Treasury do not routinely capture information about each employee’s specific work. Given the interactions between EU policy and other work, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 18 July (HL1279) and in the light of the recent report by NHS Digital concerning social media pressure and mental health, whether they will now conduct that research.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health Research and the Department’s Policy Research Programme have no current plans to commission research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook.
In their report, the Mental Health Taskforce recommended that the United Kingdom should aspire to be a world leader in the development and application of new mental health research. The Taskforce asked specifically that the Department, working with relevant partners, should publish a report by February 2017 setting out a ten year strategy for mental health research. The final ten-year strategy is planned for publication in February 2017 and will identify future needs in mental health research. This will include a specific focus on the mental health of children and young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 June (HL475), what is the justification for requiring self-employed vehicle courier drivers to have third party insurance but not cyclist couriers.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Current legislation requires the use of motor vehicles to be covered by third party liability insurance. Compulsory insurance only applies to motor vehicles because the average speed and construction of motor vehicles means that they are much more likely than a pedal cycle to cause serious property damage or personal injury to a third party.
We have no plans to make insurance compulsory for cyclists. However, all cyclists are encouraged to take out liability insurance and a range of products are available on the market.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has for the funding of agri-environment projects in receipt of EU funding signed after the Autumn Statement.
Mr David Gauke
On October 3, the Chancellor confirmed that funding for agri-environment schemes signed after Autumn Statement will be guaranteed by the Treasury. The guarantee will apply to all new agri-environment schemes signed before the point of exit from the EU as long as they provide strong value for money and are in line with domestic priorities.
These conditions will be applied in such a way that the current pipeline of committed projects are not disrupted, including agri-environment schemes due to begin this January.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to investigate reports of misconduct by Royal Bank of Scotland relating to small business finance.
Simon Kirby
HM Treasury has no plans to investigate these reports. This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority, which is undertaking a review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate additional funding to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Mr David Gauke
At the Spending Review in 2015, the Government set out its plans to invest more than £300m to support the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. This will increase cycling and walking by improving infrastructure and encouraging active travel, particularly in children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the quantitative easing programme on defined benefit pension schemes.
Simon Kirby
Monetary policy is set independently by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. The minutes to the MPC’s August meeting, in which the Committee expanded its asset purchase programme, noted that ‘lower yields posed potential risks to some aspects of the functioning of the financial system, for example by increasing the deficits of many pension funds’ but concluded that ‘at present, however, those effects appeared to be relatively limited’.