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  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 1 February (HL5390), whether the consent of both Houses of Parliament will be required before the granting of the BBC Royal Charter.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The BBC’s Royal Charter is granted by the Privy Council and all appropriate steps will be taken in advance of this, including debates in both Houses of Parliament. The format of these debates has not been decided.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether student unions are in receipt of public funds, and whether all university students are obliged to join unions.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Individual students’ unions are principally funded through their university/college on either a per capita or a block grant basis, alongside funds raised through their commercial activities.

    The Government does not provide funding to student unions directly, but student unions may receive some public funding indirectly through payments made by their establishment. .

    The Education Act 1994 requires publicly-funded universities to take reasonable steps to ensure that their students’ union observes the right for students to opt out of membership. Students who exercise this right cannot be unfairly disadvantaged with regard to the services at the university. The university must draw up a code of practice setting out how these requirements will be put into effect.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Bates on 2 February (HLWS495), whether they intend to resist any proposal to allow the EU border guard to intervene directly in member states; and what assessment they have made of whether such an extension of EU powers would be made by way of treaty change and a UK referendum.

    Lord Bates

    The proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard builds on provisions of the Schengen agreement in which the UK does not participate; the UK will not therefore be bound by the new regulation.

    The UK is supportive of steps to increase the security of the external Schengen border – we have a strong interest in effective management of the Schengen external border, not just in combating illegal migration, and cross-border crime but also as part of the EU-wide counter-terrorism effort.

    In the Commission’s view there is sufficient basis in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to take forward the clause which allows for intervention, without change to the Treaty.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many individuals would receive medical or health benefits from eating bread fortified by folic acid.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have made no such assessment.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any restrictions on the number of Freedom of Information requests an individual can make.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Freedom of Information Act does not place a specific limit on the number of requests an individual can make. However, a request or series of requests for similar information may be refused where they exceed the cost limit, or are vexatious or repeated requests.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), what is the timeframe of the discussions about the legality of essay mills between the Consumer and Markets Authority and the Quality Assurance Agency.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Quality Assurance Agency have now met with the Competition and Markets Authority and are considering further how to take this forward.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support the British Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has given, or plans to give, the Patterson family whose daughter Lauren Patterson was murdered in Qatar in 2013, in the light of the decision by the Court of Cassation in Doha on 1 February 2015 to reject the guilty verdict against Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah Al-Jabar.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Consular officials have been in regular contact with Ms Patterson’s family, and have provided assistance since her death in 2013, including raising the case with the Qatari authorities and accompanying the family to meetings and court. Since the hearing on 1 February, officials have been in contact with Mrs Patterson and her Qatari lawyer, who is awaiting written copies of the court’s judgment before advising the family on next steps. We will continue to provide support to the family and raise the case with the Qatari authorities as appropriate.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), what systems are in place to ensure that a standardised approach is taken by higher education institutions in relation to dealing with cheating, and to encourage best practice relating to plagiarism.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Higher education institutions are independent and autonomous bodies and are required to comply with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, which requires that ‘assessment is equitable, valid and reliable’. As such, institutions are expected to have clear policies on cheating and plagiarism.

    As part of its cyclical review of UK universities and colleges, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) reports publicly on its findings, including if there are concerns relating to plagiarism.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government,  further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), whether the Quality Assurance Agency requests data from higher education institutions regarding the number of cases of plagiarism and how those cases were handled each year.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There is no centrally held set of data on the number of recorded plagiarism cases in higher education. This is an institutional matter and cases are handled by individual institutions.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), what assessment they have made of whether the specialist software Turnitin is able to detect whether a whole essay was not written by the person submitting, such as if that essay had been paid for from an essay mill.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government has made no such assessment. The selection of particular types of software is an academic matter for individual institutions.