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  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what terms they seek in taxation treaties with developing countries, and how they agree those terms before opening negotiations.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have responsibility for negotiating the UK’s double taxation agreements, subject to oversight by HM Treasury. HMRC run an annual consultation exercise to establish the negotiating priorities for the coming year, which are then approved by ministers. As part of this exercise they consider representations made by UK businesses, NGOs and government departments, including the Department for International Development, as well as the UK’s diplomatic missions throughout the world. When the programme is published it also invites representations about our forward programme.

    HMRC’s programme for 2015/16 covers the following countries: Colombia, Fiji*, Ghana, Guernsey, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, Kazakhstan*, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho*, Malawi*, Portugal*, Russia, Thailand*, Turkmenistan*, UAE*, US, Uruguay*.

    The UK’s starting point in negotiations is based closely on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention, which is also the basis for most other countries’ tax treaties. Some developing countries prefer to follow the UN Model, the provisions of which differ in some areas to the OECD Model, and the UK has agreed to adopt these provisions in its treaties. The object of the negotiations is to produce a text acceptable to both countries, balancing their preferences. There is no timetable for how long negotiations should take. It is quite normal for negotiations to take two to three rounds to complete.

    Consultation during the negotiations would be rare.

    *Negotiations largely completed.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation they undertake prior to, or during, negotiations with a developing country on a taxation treaty.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have responsibility for negotiating the UK’s double taxation agreements, subject to oversight by HM Treasury. HMRC run an annual consultation exercise to establish the negotiating priorities for the coming year, which are then approved by ministers. As part of this exercise they consider representations made by UK businesses, NGOs and government departments, including the Department for International Development, as well as the UK’s diplomatic missions throughout the world. When the programme is published it also invites representations about our forward programme.

    HMRC’s programme for 2015/16 covers the following countries: Colombia, Fiji*, Ghana, Guernsey, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, Kazakhstan*, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho*, Malawi*, Portugal*, Russia, Thailand*, Turkmenistan*, UAE*, US, Uruguay*.

    The UK’s starting point in negotiations is based closely on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention, which is also the basis for most other countries’ tax treaties. Some developing countries prefer to follow the UN Model, the provisions of which differ in some areas to the OECD Model, and the UK has agreed to adopt these provisions in its treaties. The object of the negotiations is to produce a text acceptable to both countries, balancing their preferences. There is no timetable for how long negotiations should take. It is quite normal for negotiations to take two to three rounds to complete.

    Consultation during the negotiations would be rare.

    *Negotiations largely completed.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent they take into account development goals when negotiating taxation treaties with developing countries, and what role the Department for International Development has in those negotiations.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have responsibility for negotiating the UK’s double taxation agreements, subject to oversight by HM Treasury. HMRC run an annual consultation exercise to establish the negotiating priorities for the coming year, which are then approved by ministers. As part of this exercise they consider representations made by UK businesses, NGOs and government departments, including the Department for International Development, as well as the UK’s diplomatic missions throughout the world. When the programme is published it also invites representations about our forward programme.

    HMRC’s programme for 2015/16 covers the following countries: Colombia, Fiji*, Ghana, Guernsey, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, Kazakhstan*, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho*, Malawi*, Portugal*, Russia, Thailand*, Turkmenistan*, UAE*, US, Uruguay*.

    The UK’s starting point in negotiations is based closely on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention, which is also the basis for most other countries’ tax treaties. Some developing countries prefer to follow the UN Model, the provisions of which differ in some areas to the OECD Model, and the UK has agreed to adopt these provisions in its treaties. The object of the negotiations is to produce a text acceptable to both countries, balancing their preferences. There is no timetable for how long negotiations should take. It is quite normal for negotiations to take two to three rounds to complete.

    Consultation during the negotiations would be rare.

    *Negotiations largely completed.

  • Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to the Written Answer by the Chairman of Committees on 18 September (HL2226), what costs were incurred in recruiting the last House of Lords Executive Chef, and for how long that postholder was employed.

    Lord Laming

    The last Executive Chef was employed by the House for just over a year. We paid £360to publicise the permanent vacancy in relevant forums. Reasonable travel expenses of several candidates were reimbursed at £83.40. An external consultant already engaged by Catering and Retail Services assisted with the selection process – a reasonable estimate of the cost of his time is £278. There were also marginal costs for the refreshment for the panel and ingredients to support a work-based skills test. The successful candidate had previously been employed on a fixed-term contract for which we paid an agency fee of £3,600.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on legal imports of lion-hunting trophies into the European Union.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Under international rules set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a hunting trophy from an endangered species can be exported only if the exporting country is satisfied that the hunt was both legal and sustainable in terms of its impact on the overall population of the species in that country.

    However, in the light of growing concerns about the sustainability of the hunting of some species, including lions, we have worked within the EU to introduce stricter controls on the import of hunting trophies of particular species. These require the importing country as well as the exporting country to consider the issue of sustainability. In this way the import of hunting trophies of certain species from certain countries is currently prohibited by the EU.

    We will continue to monitor the impact of trophy hunting and will work with the EU and our international partners to put in place greater protection, including prohibiting imports, if this is shown to be needed.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families with three or more children born before 6 April 2017 they estimated would be affected by the proposed two-child limit for new claimants for Universal Credit in the calculations of the Budget policy costings for (1) 2017–18, (2) 2018–19, and (3) 2019–20.

    Lord Freud

    The information requested is not available for publication.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia concerning the cases of Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of and seriously concerned by the cases of Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher. We have raised these cases at a senior level in the Government of Saudi Arabia, most recently on 11 October. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn’t deemed “the most serious”.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the review of the framework within which police forces use and retain custody images is yet complete; if so, what advice has been circulated to police forces as a result; and if not, why not.

    Lord Bates

    The review has not yet been completed. It is important that the issues identified by the review are properly tested with operational decision makers, so as to appropriately balance the protection of personal data and privacy with the public protection benefits and the operational need.

    Due to the complexity of the operational and legal issues raised in the evidence gathering stage and the number of important stakeholders, this work is yet to be completed.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the action plan sent to the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum following the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report in 2014 on asylum on grounds of sexual orientation has now been agreed and implemented in full.

    Lord Bates

    Following publication of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report last year and in consultation with key partners, UKVI produced and agreed an LGBTI ‘Action Plan’ to facilitate further improvements in the handling and management of asylum claims brought on the basis of sexual identity issues and to improve the training and guidance given to staff.

    The key inspection recommendations have been reflected in this plan, specifically improving training and guidance to decision makers, improving claim recording mechanisms, ensuring policy compliance, and ensuring a consistent approach to explicit material and dealing with sexually explicit questioning. We continue to work with our partners in developing these strategies to ensure full implementation of the Chief Inspector’s recommendations.

  • Lord Soley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Soley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Soley on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to including producers of aviation fuel in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established a Transport Energy Task Force in September 2014 to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, including through the wider deployment of sustainable biofuel. The Task Force included input from representatives of the Sustainable Aviation group. The Task Force’s report was published in March 2015 by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. My hon Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, the Hon Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones) met with Task Force representatives, including Sustainable Aviation, in July.

    The Task Force recognised that sustainable biofuels have a valuable role in reducing carbon emissions from transport, particularly in sectors where there are limited alternatives such as aviation.

    We are assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). We aim to include proposals in a public consultation next year on amendments to the RTFO scheme.