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  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4704), what were the other administrative reasons for retaining documents to which she refers.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The administrative grounds for retaining public records referred to in my answer to HL4703 are: records or series of records which have not been selected for transfer to The National Archives or a place of deposit, but which the department has retained after they are defined as historical records because they are required for its own administrative purposes; records or series of records that have been selected for transfer to The National Archives or place of deposit but are still required for administrative purposes; records or series of records which are awaiting appraisal or preparation for transfer.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4704), whether the decisions not to transfer records to the National Archive were in each case in accordance with the advice given by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, and in each case what that advice was.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Yes, all decisions were made in accordance with the advice by the Advisory Council.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they intend to take in response to the Lord Chief Justice’s Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts of 2015, which found that our system of justice has become unaffordable to most” and that “no satisfactory means of funding the provision of our system of justice has yet been achieved”.”

    Lord Faulks

    The Government has put in place measures to support people in resolving their disputes by means of more informal and less costly remedies, and we have made sure that legal aid remains available for the highest priority cases. There is, however, more to do if we are to achieve our vision of one nation justice.

    As the Lord Chief Justice made clear in his annual report, the investment the Government is making to modernise our courts and tribunals is a significant step, and one which will enable us to tackle many of the issues he identified.

    We will continue to work closely with the judiciary to make sure that our justice system delivers faster and fairer justice for all.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make provision to apply fixed recoverable costs across the range of fast-track cases, and in the lower reaches of the multi-track, as recommended by the judiciary and referred to in the Lord Chief Justice’s Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts of 2015.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government remains supportive of the principle of extending fixed recoverable costs and we continue to consider areas in which implementation might be appropriate and workable.

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the overall level of public funding for apprenticeships in (1) England, and (2) the construction sector, for apprentices aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 24, and (c) 24 and over, for the latest year for which information is available.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Funding responsibility for the Apprenticeship Programme is shared between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which funds adult apprenticeships and the Department for Education which funds 16-18 year olds. This is a demand-led budget and not allocated to any particular sector. Employers and providers are relied upon to work together to offer sufficient opportunities to meet local demand.

    For the 2015/16 financial year, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will provide £770million to fund apprenticeships for those aged 19+ and the Department for Education will provide £797.5million to fund apprenticeships for those aged 16-18.

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many 18 to 21-year olds in England are (1) in full-time education, and (a) employed, (b) unemployed, and (c) economically inactive, and (2) not in full-time education and (a) employed, (b) unemployed, and (c) economically inactive.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the resource cost charge in England of (1) full-time fee loans in higher education, (2) full-time maintenance loans in higher education, (3) part-time fee loans in higher education, and (4) adult further education fee loans, for those aged 24 and over who are studying on Level 3 and 4 courses.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    We estimate that the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge for full time tuition fee and maintenance loans, and part time fee loans, is between 20% and 25%.

    We estimate that the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge for Advanced Learner Loans is around 40%. BIS is collecting data on learners as it emerges and based on this data we regularly review and update the RAB charge estimate for Advanced Learner Loans.

    These estimates take into account the changes to student finance and the new HM Treasury discount rate used to value the student loan book announced at Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. We will update our estimates in summer 2016 and publish these at the same time as BIS accounts.


  • Lord Truscott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Truscott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Truscott on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent flooding, what plans they have to re-allocate the proposed funding for HS2 to the funding of strengthened flood defences.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    There are no plans to re-allocate HS2 funding to flood defences. The HS2 budget is to deliver HS2.

    The Government is separately investing £2.3bn in flood defences through the six-year capital programme, which will better protect 300,000 homes and reduce overall flood risk in England by 5% by 2021.

  • Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Whitty on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they removed the £1 billion funding of carbon capture and storage, as announced to the London Stock Exchange on 25 November 2015; and how they plan to ensure the advance of that technology in the future.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government believes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to play an important role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK.

    The Department’s Annual Report & Accounts for 2015-16 will be published in June 2016 and will review the work of the Department, including the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage in 2015-16. The Budget for the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage for 2015-16 is £41.3 million.

  • Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Whitty on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are undertaking, both nationally and internationally, to reverse the global decline in the bee population.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government is committed to supporting pollinators, including bees, through the National Pollinator Strategy for England. This is an exciting 10 year plan, with comprehensive action to protect pollinators on farmland and across towns, cities and the countryside.

    In November 2015 Defra published an implementation plan highlighting significant progress in the first year of the strategy, delivered through collaboration between government and non-government partners. This includes £900 million Defra has made available for the new Countryside Stewardship scheme, launched in July 2015. For the first time ever this contains dedicated management options for pollinators as part of the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package.

    We have been working to raise public awareness and engagement, holding the first Pollinator Awareness Week in July 2015. This promotes our Bees’ Needs Call to Action, setting out simple actions that any individual or business can take to provide food and shelter for pollinators.

    Internationally, Defra hosted two successful events on pollinators at the Milan Expo in July 2015, and following this is working with academics to explore opportunities to build on the innovative work the UK is doing for bees. The UK is also an active member of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), with UK experts contributing to the IPBES assessment of the state of knowledge on pollinators, the reasons for their decline and the policy options to protect them. The final report of this assessment will be considered and approved by Governments at the 4th IPBES Plenary Meeting in February 2016.