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  • Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Seccombe on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the breakdown of departmental spending on Government Procurement Cards in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2009–10, including the name, merchant type, purchase date and transaction value.

    Lord De Mauley

    Officials’ spending on Government Procurement Cards (GPCs) in 2009-10 generated nearly 47,000 transactions totalling £3.9m.

    The breakdown requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    However, details of all GPC transactions with a value of £500 or above, incurred from 1 April 2010 onwards, are published online at http://data.gov.uk/dataset/defra-gpc-spend-over-500-pounds.

    “

  • Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action has been taken against those responsible for the abandoned case involving eight South Wales police officers charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in the 1988 Lynette White murder inquiry.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    This case is the subject of civil litigation. HM Government is, therefore, unable to comment at the present time.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration has been given to local authorities and their partners having more responsibilities and commensurate finance to work with local employers to tackle unemployment and underemployment of young people.

    Lord Freud

    Through the City Deals, the Government has invited Local Authorities to develop proposals to tackle unemployment and worklessness in their areas. Several of these proposals have entailed working closely with local employers to enhance employment opportunities for young people, for example, Greater Manchester have developed a local employer-led jobs campaign to co-ordinate and simplify local and national employment schemes so that business can access young talent easily.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is proposed to meet any shortfall in primary and secondary school places in some localities over the next five years, as predicted by the Local Government Association’s analysis of the Department for Education’s figures.

    Lord Nash

    In December 2013 the Department for Education announced an additional £2.35 billion in basic need funding to support local authorities to create the additional places that will be needed by September 2017, in addition to the £5 billion already committed for the period 2011-15. We have also allocated £820 million in targeted basic need funding to fund an additional 74,000 high-quality places in the areas that face the most demand.

    The Department allocates funding for new school places based on information provided by local authorities through an annual survey of the current capacity of schools in the area, and forecasts of future pupil numbers.

    Local authorities are legally responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places. The Local Government Association’s report shows how effective many local authorities have been in creating new places and the Department will continue to support local authorities in doing this.

    One of the recommendations of the Local Government Association’s report was for longer-term allocations. The Department wants to give local authorities as long as possible to plan their school places. This should not extend beyond a period where we have confidence in the underlying data and should allow the Department to allocate funding to reflect changes in projected population and in the number of places needed. The Department believes that three-year rolling allocations strike the right balance between these two objectives.

  • Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord de Mauley on 19 March (WA 34–5), what discussions they have had with the Environment Agency in recent years about the case for, and value of, dredging; and whether Ministers considered at any point the Environmental Agency’s plans for the Somerset Levels.

    Lord De Mauley

    We have had frequent discussions with the Environment Agency over the last few years about flood risk management, including the contribution and value of dredging, in Somerset and across the country. We have also been kept up to date with Environment Agency’s plans for the Somerset Levels.

    The Environment Agency will continue to undertake dredging where it is shown to be a genuinely cost effective way of managing flood risk, taking account of the other options available. In some areas, dredging will be the most cost effective approach. In others, it would divert resources away from other flood risk management activities which are far more beneficial to local communities, such as maintaining pumps, sluice gates or raised embankments. The Environment Agency will therefore continue to review the case for dredging area by area, given its variable impact on reducing flood risk.

  • Lord Avebury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Avebury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government by how much they expect overall alcohol consumption to rise or fall across the United Kingdom as a result of the changes in alcohol duty announced in the Budget.

    Lord Newby

    The Government expects that there will be a small increase in alcohol consumption as a result of the changes to alcohol duty announced at Budget 2014. The tables below provide estimates of changes in consumption in both percentage and volume terms for each type of alcohol consumed, relative to the previous alcohol duty rates policy.

    Estimated increase in consumption (%):

    2014-15

    2015-16

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    Beer

    1.5%

    1.5%

    1.6%

    1.7%

    1.8%

    Spirits

    1.1%

    1.2%

    1.2%

    1.3%

    1.4%

    Alcopops

    0.1%

    0.1%

    0.1%

    0.1%

    0.2%

    Cider

    0.9%

    0.9%

    1.0%

    1.0%

    1.1%

    Wine

    0.0%

    0.0%

    0.0%

    0.0%

    0.0%

    Total

    0.8%

    0.9%

    0.9%

    0.9%

    0.9%

    Estimated increase in consumption (thousand hectolitres of alcohol):

    2014-15

    2015-16

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    Beer

    25

    25

    26

    28

    29

    Spirits

    12

    12

    13

    14

    15

    Alcopops

    0

    0

    0

    0

    0

    Cider

    4

    4

    4

    5

    5

    Wine

    0

    0

    0

    0

    0

    Total

    40

    42

    44

    46

    48
  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Law Society’s practice note on drawing up wills which are compliant with Sharia law.

    Lord Faulks

    Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales and the Government has no intention to change this position.

    The Law Society’s practice note gives guidance to solicitors preparing wills under the law of England and Wales. It is a fundamental principle of this law that testators are, by making a valid will, able to leave their property to whomsoever they wish, subject only to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The practice note does not and cannot change the law.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 24 March (WA 74), whether they will consider monitoring the nutrition and health of children in families when benefit sanctions are imposed on a primary care-giver; and if not, why not.

    Lord Freud

    The Government does not collect nutrition and health data in the way described and has no plans to do so.

    Claimants are expected to take reasonable steps to prepare for or find work. Safeguards are in place to ensure claimants are capable of achieving these steps, that they are appropriate to helping them towards or into work. These safeguards include claimants and their advisers agreeing what the actions will be, claimants being asked to give their reason for complying with the agreed actions before a sanction is imposed, the right to request a reconsideration of a decision and to lodge an appeal with Her Majesty’s Court & Tribunal Service.

    Claimants whose benefit is sanctioned can apply for hardship payments

  • Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 24 March (WA 74), which, if any, department investigates the issues about nutrition asked about in the original question; and whether that department will answer the original question.

    Lord Freud

    The Government does not collect nutrition and health data in the way described.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will make it his policy to introduce the option of anonymity for victims of female genital mutilation in court trials.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service recognises that more needs to be done to encourage victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) to come forward. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said that the introduction of anonymity for victims of FGM should be considered to encourage more victims to come forward as, given the very personal nature of the offence, very few do so. However, any change of law on anonymity is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.