The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Delvigne v Commune de Lesparre-Médoc (Case C-650/13); and whether any changes to legislation or government policies are required as a result of that judgment.
Lord Faulks
The UK’s ban on prisoner voting stays in place and as we have consistently stated, remains a matter for Parliament to determine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy with regard to the payment of child benefits to EU migrants (1) who have been resident in the UK for fewer than four years, and (2) whose children are also resident in the UK.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
I refer the honourable member to the recent UK White Paper ‘The Best of Both Worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union’, available on the gov.uk website.
The UK’s settlement will mean that Child Benefit paid to EU nationals living here, but whose children live outside the UK, will no longer be paid at UK rates but be paid at a rate that reflects conditions – including the standard of living and Child Benefit paid – of the country where the children live.
Eligibility rules for Child Benefit for individuals moving to the UK can be found on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they contribute to the EU programme of assistance to the Palestinians; what is the gross annual amount of funding for that programme, and what percentage of that funding the UK’s contribution, if any, represents; and what percentage of that programme’s funding is provided to the Palestinian Education Authority.
Baroness Verma
The EU is a major donor to both the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, providing over €290 million in 2016 to the Palestinian people, including the refugees who live outside Occupied Palestinian Territories in the camps of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 14.5%. The EU funding to the Palestinian Authority is through the PEGASE mechanism, providing the salaries for vetted civil servants only.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the European Commission’s Recommendation in 2014 on a new approach to business failure and insolvency on the UK’s insolvency regime.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work they are doing to promote the UK’s insolvency regime to the European Commission as it develops its plans for an insolvency directive.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
My officials have regular discussions with Commission officials on this matter. Insolvency experts have also had such discussions to ensure they are aware of the features and strengths of our insolvency regime. The Commission has announced its intention to publish a legislative initiative on corporate insolvency in late 2016. This is to be preceded by a consultation to be published this spring. The Government will be responding to the consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Bank’s methodology for producing its Resolving Insolvency rankings.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the main criteria for judging whether an insolvency regime is successful.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which of the provisions of the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation on a new approach to business failure and insolvency would (1) benefit, and (2) harm, the UK’s insolvency regime if introduced.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce changes to make motor vehicle tax proportionate to the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from motor vehicle engines.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Motoring taxation generally reflects the environmental impact of driving. In particular, Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax vary by CO2 emissions and reduced rates of fuel duty are available for low-emissions fuels.
From 1 September 2015, all new cars sold in the UK must be compliant with new European-wide air pollutant standards, known as Euro 6 standards, which include gaseous and particulate pollutants.
The combination of new Euro 6 standards and tougher vehicle approval regulation for air quality pollutants known as Real World Driving Emissions Testing (RDE), which come into force from 2017, will significantly reduce air pollutant emissions from all new vehicles including diesel models.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hutton of Furness on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in the last five years Ministry of Defence firefighters attended accidents on public highways involving civilian property.
Earl Howe
Such information has only been centrally recorded since February 2012. The number of occasions on which Defence Firefighters have attended accidents on the public highway since 2012 is as follows:
|
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
28 |
39 |
28 |
22 |