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  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have held talks with the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland, the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Justice Minister about the forthcoming parading season in Northern Ireland; when any such meetings occurred; and who was present at those meetings.

    Baroness Randerson

    The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland met the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Chair of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland and the Minister for Justice for Northern Ireland on Wednesday, 14 May 2014.

    Also in attendance at this meeting were senior officials from the Northern Ireland Office and Department of Justice along with members of the PSNI Service Executive Team and the Secretariat of the Parades Commission.

    This meeting provided participants with an opportunity to exchange general views on the parading season in Northern Ireland. No decisions were taken at this meeting and there were no discussions about operational matters relating to specific parades.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whom they consider to be the legitimate government of Syria.

    Baroness Warsi

    While we consider the National Coalition the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people, it is not at present the government in Syria. The Coalition is working to realise the aspirations of the vast majority of Syrians for a democratic and pluralist future for their country. The Assad regime has lost all legitimacy by responding to the demands of its people for their basic rights and freedoms with escalating, and horrifying, brutality: using chemical weapons, heavy artillery and air power against civilians; unlawfully detaining and torturing its own people, including children; and preventing life-saving humanitarian support from getting to those who need it. The recent Syrian presidential elections were a parody of democracy and served only as a reminder of the continued illegitimacy of the Assad regime.

  • 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 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in the creation of a bespoke training package by the Independent Advisory Panel on Non-Compliance Managementfor use in deportation removalprocesses; and when will it be available.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Independent Advisory Panel on Non-Compliance Management (IAPNCM) was established to provide support to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) in the design of the new training package for use by Detainee Custody Officers who escort individuals being removed from the United Kingdom. They also provide independent advice to Home Office Immigration Enforcement on the quality and safety of the new package, and in particular on the use of force techniques.

    The panel has completed its work and the new training package and implementation are being finalised.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees what proportion of the food used in the House of Lords is (1) grown in the home counties; and (2) drawn from organic and whole-food sources.

    Lord Sewel

    The House of Lords does not draw any of its food from organic sources nor is any of the food offered categorised as “whole-food”. Fruit and vegetables used by the House sourced from the home counties are set out in the table below. Free-range chicken served in the House is mostly from Gloucestershire and Essex. The Salt Marsh lamb is from the Romney Marsh in Kent.

    Produce

    Source county

    Asparagus

    Hampshire

    Beetroot

    Bedfordshire

    Bramley apple

    Cambridgeshire

    Cauliflower

    Kent

    Herbs (potted)

    Hampshire

    Jacket potatoes

    Hertfordshire

    New potatoes

    Kent

    Raspberries

    Sussex

    Red potatoes

    Kent

    Spring greens

    Cambridgeshire

    Strawberries

    Kent

    Tomatoes (gourmet)

    Sussex

    Vitelotte potatoes

    Kent
  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the first Contracts for Difference auction to take place; when they expect the Offtaker of Last Resort to be operational; whether those dates have changed from the dates given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013; and if so, why.

    Baroness Verma

    The policy design of the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) is at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD) expected in October 2014, with regulations on schedule to be in place when the first CfDs are signed towards the end of 2014 or in early 2015. Consequently, CfD applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, in advance of the first auctions. This is consistent with the commitments about the timing of the OLR given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the different financing structures of independent generators as compared to the large vertically integrated utilities in the development of the proposal to introduce Contracts for Difference auctioning; and whether any concerns have been raised by independent generators as to their competitive position in the event that Contracts for Difference auctioning is introduced before the Offtaker of Last Resort is operational.

    Baroness Verma

    My officials have worked closely with developers and financial institutions in working up the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) proposals in order to meet the needs of independent renewable generators. The policy design is at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD) applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, in advance of the first auctions.

    The move to competitive allocation of CfDs has been a long-standing feature of Electricity Market Reform. In early 2014, Government consulted on proposals to move straight to competitive allocation for some technologies, during which a number of independent renewable generators raised concerns that they had less certainty of their costs than Vertically Integrated Utilities and weretherefore faced with a higher financial risk that might undermine their ability to win a CfD through a competitive process. In the Government’s response, we set out our expectation that the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market will evolve such that PPAs could be signed on a conditional basis, providing greater cost certainty for independent renewable generators.

  • and (4) academies.” – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    and (4) academies.” – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by and (4) academies.” on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 14 May (WA 532), of the just under a third of teachers who did not have the confidence…to discipline pupils for unacceptable behaviour”

    Lord Nash

    29 per cent of secondary school teachers did not feel confident using disciplinary powers, compared to 17 per cent of primary school teachers. The Department for Education does not hold separate data for local authority schools and academies.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the consultation on the proposal to introduce Contracts forDifference auctioning was published; when the European Commission adopted the final state aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy for 2014–2020; and when the Government’s response to the consultation was published.

    Baroness Verma

    The move to competitive allocation of Contracts for Difference has been a long-standing feature of Electricity Market Reform. In early 2014, the Government consulted on proposals to move straight to competitive allocation for some technologies. This consultation ran from 16 January 2014 to 12 February 2014; the Government’s response was published on 13 May 2014.

    EU Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020 were adopted in principle on 9 April 2014. Prior to that adoption, the Commission worked with member states on the development of the guidelines, including draft versions and receiving comments.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 13 May (WA 492), what is the annual charge used to calculate the net present value of £2.7 billion for the contract with Agility Trains East covering the provision of Intercity Express trains for the East Coast Main Line; and how many diagrammed trains and diagrammed vehicles are to be provided under the contract.

    Baroness Kramer

    The net present value of the East Coast Main Line fleet is £2.7bn in 2009 prices. This is for a fleet of 414 diagrammed vehicles over 54 diagrammed trains. The total Set Availability Payment for the full East Coast fleet in 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021 (the first year of full fleet operation) is £324.6m in nominal 2020 prices.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 13 May (WA 492), what is their latest estimate of the net presentvalue (NPV) of the contract with Agility Trains West covering the provision of Intercity Express trains for the Great Western; what is the annual charge used to calculate the NPV; and how many diagrammed trains and diagrammed vehicles are to be covered.

    Baroness Kramer

    The net present value of the Great Western fleet is £3.0bn in 2009 prices. This is for a fleet of 322 diagrammed vehicles over 50 diagrammed trains. The total Set Availability Payment for the full Great Western fleet in 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 (the first year of full fleet operation) is £333.7m in nominal 2019 prices.