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  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) arrests, and (2) convictions, for diesel laundering there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not break down statistics for oils convictions to separate out those arising from diesel laundering. Total arrests and convictions for oils offences in Northern Ireland for the last complete three years for which figures are available were as follows:

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Arrests

    8

    0

    13

    Convictions

    9

    9

    5

    The figures for arrests and convictions in any particular year do not correspond as investigations and prosecutions do not always reach conclusion in the year that they commence.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the average cost to the public purse of a parliamentary by-election since 2010.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The average (mean) cost to the public purse of a Parliamentary by-election since 2010 is £228,964. This comprises two main elements: the costs incurred by Returning Officers in running the poll; and the cost of delivering election mailings produced by candidates. The costs of running the three most recent by-elections, for which the Returning Officer’s expenses have not yet been settled, have not been factored into this average figure.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they attach to acquiring and deploying autonomous underwater vehicles, and for what purposes they plan to use those vessels.

    Earl Howe

    The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.

    It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they attach to acquiring and deploying unmanned carrier-launched surveillance and strike aircraft.

    Earl Howe

    The Queen Elizabeth Class carriers will have an extensive flight deck with hangar and engineering support facilities, which can be utilised to operate and sustain autonomous systems. The Royal Navy recognises that such systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain its operational advantage and it continues to explore how they could augment its capabilities in the future.

  • Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Golding on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what independent reports, if any, they have commissioned from Ecofys in the past five years; when they received those reports; whether those reports were published; and if not, whether they will now publish those reports.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

    The roll-out is making good progress with more than 2 million meters now operating under the Programme which covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland is undertaking a separate roll-out programme.

    Currently, data is published only at Great Britain level. Data is not collected from energy suppliers in a way that allows constituency or regional-level data to be produced.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries have expressed an interest in applying for membership of the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that any European State which respects its values and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The Council currently recognises five candidates for EU membership: Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Serbia. Turkey, Montenegro and Serbia have started accession negotiations. Albania and Macedonia have Candidate Status but have not started accession negotiations. Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its membership application on 15 February 2016. The General Affairs Council will revert to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application once it deems that sufficient progress in the implementation of the Reform Agenda has been achieved. Kosovo is recognised as a potential candidate and has signed and concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. Iceland started negotiations in 2013, but last year requested that it no longer be considered a candidate country.

  • Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Rottmann v Freistaat Bayern (Case C-135/08) that a decision by an EU member state to deprive a person of national citizenship cannot result automatically from the fact that the person in question acquired that status by deception, in particular in the light of Section A of the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning issues raised by Denmark regarding the Treaty on European Union (Official Journal C348/1, 31/12/92).

    Lord Bates

    The European Court of Justice confirmed in the case of Rottmann that it was required to take into account the Edinburgh Decision of 1992 when interpreting the EU Treaties. On the facts of the case, the Court found that the decision to deprive the applicant of German nationality had to comply with the EU principle of proportionality. The Court considered that this conclusion was consistent with the Edinburgh Decision.

    In its application of this judgment, the UK Court of Appeal confirmed in the case of G1 that Member States retain competence over the acquisition and loss of citizenship and the principle in Rottmann only applies if EU law is engaged on the particular facts of each case.

  • Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU returns to the UK Parliament any competences that are presently conferred on the EU by Title 1 of Part One of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The deal agreed at the February European Council delivers a binding commitment that the Treaties will be changed in the future so that the UK is carved out of ‘ever closer union’. It ensures that the UK will not be liable for eurozone bailouts or discriminated against in the Single Market, and that the Treaties will be changed to reflect that. It establishes a new mechanism for the European Council to review EU legislation every year to see what can be done better at the national level and what can be dropped altogether. It ensures that Parliament will be able, acting with others in Europe, to block unwanted new EU laws. The deal also secures new powers to tackle the abuse of free movement and reduce the unnatural draw of our benefits system, to meet our aim of reducing immigration, by creating fairer rules, while protecting our open economy.

  • Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a decision under Article 9 of Protocol (No 15) to the EU Treaties would require approval (1) by an Act of Parliament, and (2) by a referendum.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Under the EU Act 2011, a decision by the UK under Protocol (No 15) leading to a decision by the Council under article 140 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union would require an Act of Parliament and a referendum result in favour before a Minister of the Crown could support it.

  • Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Section A of the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU imposes an obligation on the UK not to veto the new EU Treaty planned as part of the Five Presidents’ Report Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union, published in June 2015.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Any Treaty revisions to implement the proposals for reform in the Five Presidents’ Report would have to be concluded in accordance with the provisions in the Treaties, which require unanimous agreement by Member States. The agreement of and ratification by the UK and any new EU treaty or of any revision to the existing EU Treaties would be subject to the provisions of the European Union Act 2011.