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  • Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 18 March (WS 50–52), how many trustees have been removed by the Charity Commission since 2007; how many trustees have been suspended by the Commission since 2007; and what discussions they have had with the Commission about its using its powers to investigate a breach of charitable law.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The number of trustees of charities suspended or removed by the Charity Commission in each year since 2007 can be seen in the table below:

    Number of trustees suspended

    Number of trustees removed

    2013/14

    4

    0

    2012/13

    0

    0

    2011/12

    1

    0

    2010/11

    1

    0

    2009/10

    1

    0

    2008/09

    1

    1

    2007/08

    7

    6

    A number of meetings have been held with the Charity Commission to discuss its use of regulatory powers. The draft Protection of Charities Bill, announced as part of the Queen’s Speech, would strengthen the powers of the Charity Commission to tackle abuse in charities.

  • 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 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many football banning orders have been issued in each of the past of the five years for football supporters found guilty of racially or religiously aggravated public order offences.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    A football banning order is a preventative measure which is not issued as part of a sentence, or solely on the basis of an individual’s conviction offence. For the purpose of deciding whether to make a banning order, a court may consider a range of prosecution evidence in support of a banning order application.

    The Football Banning Orders Authority holds a range of data on extant football banning orders, including in some cases the relevant offences which initiated a banning order application. However, this is secondary to details of the banning order itself, and it is not possible in all cases to identify which banned individuals have been convicted of a racially or religiously aggravated public order offence. To do so would require a manual exercise to review individual files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Ouseley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy and effectiveness of sentencing in cases where football fans have been found guilty of racially or religiously aggravated public order offences; and whether they will consider providing advice to the magistracy in response to any evidence revealing that magistrates are reluctant to issue football banning orders in such cases.

    Lord Faulks

    Racially and religiously aggravated offences have no place in our society. Parliament has provided the courts with the necessary powers to deal effectively with those who are convicted of these serious offences. The court must make a football banning order where an offender has been convicted of a relevant offence and it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that making a banning order would help prevent violence or disorder at, or in connection with, any regulated football matches. If the court is not so satisfied, it must state that fact and give reasons in open court. The prosecution has a right of appeal against a failure by the court to make a banning order.

    Relevant offences for these purposes include chanting of an indecent or racialist nature at a designated football match, and specified offences under the Public Order Act 1986 committed during a period relevant to a football match, which covers the period beginning two hours before the match and ending one hour after the match, at any premises while the offender was at, or entering or leaving or trying to enter or leave, the premises.

    We are not aware of any evidence to suggest that the magistracy are reluctant to make football banning orders, and decisions of the magistrates are made with the assistance of legal advisers who refer to current sentencing guidelines.

  • Baroness Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Meacher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Meacher on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of support for a change in the law on assisted dying for people with a terminal illness.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government has not itself made any assessment of the level of support for a change in the law on assisted dying.

  • Lord Hoyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Hoyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why Royal Air Force aircraft flying to Gibraltar cannot fly over Spain; what cost that adds to the flight; and what representations they have made to the government of Spain about the restriction.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    All requests to Spanish authorities by any nation for a military over flight that has Gibraltar as a departure or arrival airfield, is routinely denied by Spanish authorities. We make clear to the Spanish government that this is not the sort of arrangement close allies should have to manage.

    The military aircraft that routinely fly to Gibraltar are the Hercules C130 and C17 Globemaster. The difference in cost of a direct flight to Gibraltar from, for example, RAF Brize Norton and a route not overflying Spain is as follows.

    C130 – £2,600 each way
    C17 – £4,900 each way

    It should be noted that Spanish authorities are swift and cooperative in allowing our military aircraft to pass through Spanish airspace to any other destination. The refusal to use their airspace to access Gibraltar is an irritant that we have managed since the 1980s, and is set against an otherwise productive defence relationship between our two countries.

  • Lord Hoyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hoyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many experiments were carried out on animals in the United Kingdom each year from 1997 to 2014.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The following table contains information on the number of procedures undertaken for the years 1997 to 2012.

    The Home Office expects to publish, for Great Britain, 2013 statistics on 10 July 2014 and 2014 statistics in summer/autumn 2015.

    The publication of 2013 and 2014 statistics for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland (DHSSPSNI), which separately publishes Northern Irish statistics.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on defining complex needs for the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Extensive discussions are underway with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) Guidance for 2015/16, due this autumn. The guidance will set out the conditions under which DSA will apply. Students will continue to undergo individual study needs assessments, but their needs will be met by DSA and Higher Education Institutions through their duties under the Equality Act.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what definition of severity for those with dyslexia or specific learning difficulties will be used to justify continued support under the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Extensive discussions are underway with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) Guidance for 2015/16, due this autumn. The guidance will set out the conditions under which DSA will apply. Students will continue to undergo individual study needs assessments, but their needs will be met by DSA and Higher Education Institutions through their duties under the Equality Act.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how personal histories of recognised special educational needs will be taken into account when making assessments of eligibility for the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There are no proposed changes to the current process of assessment. All applicants for the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) will undertake a study needs assessment and independent study needs assessors will provide recommendations, giving due regard to personal histories of recognised special educational needs, where these have been provided. The support and strategies recommended by assessment centres will be provided by a combination of reasonable adjustments by Higher Education Institutions and DSAs.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they will put in place in order to gather information regarding the assessment of eligibility for the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There are no proposed changes to the current process of assessment. All applicants for the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) will undertake a study needs assessment and independent study needs assessors will provide recommendations, giving due regard to personal histories of recognised special educational needs, where these have been provided. The support and strategies recommended by assessment centres will be provided by a combination of reasonable adjustments by Higher Education Institutions and DSAs.