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  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 1 April (HL7086), what are the annual (1) gross, and (2) net, costs of the UK’s contributions to the EU for each year from 2013 to 2015 inclusive, and why those figures were not provided in that answer.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The outturn figures for gross and net contributions to the EU Budget in the year’s 2013 and 2014 can be found in Table 3B, page 16, of European Union Finances 2015 (Cm 9167), which is easily available in the House library and on gov.uk. Equivalent figures for 2015 are not yet available.

    As shown in Table 3B of European Union Finances 2015 (Cm 9167), the UK’s gross and net contributions in 2013 and 2014 were:

    2013: Gross €17.07 billion Net €10.76 billion (£9.13 billion)

    2014: Gross €14.07 billion Net €7.09 billion (£5.71 billion)

    Equivalent figures for 2015 are not yet available.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 1 April (HL7086), why the Office for National Statistics Pink Book cannot be used to establish the UK’s gross and net contributions to the EU; what Government sources provide a more accurate picture, and why.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Data published in the Office for National Statistics Pink Book represent only those transactions that are administered by official bodies, in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 for the purposes of producing statistics on the UK’s balance of payments. These do not include all receipts from the EU. Table 3B, page 16, of European Union Finances 2015 (CM 9167) provides complete outturn figures, including receipts administered by public sector bodies and those received directly by beneficiaries. The difference between these, and other figures, are explained further in Annex B of the Treasury analysis of the long-run economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Leader of the House whether she will encourage Government ministers to provide full answers to Written Questions from members of the House rather than providing references to third-party sources.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    As Leader of the House, I am responsible for encouraging departments to give timely answers to Questions for Written Answer (QWAs), a duty I take very seriously.

    The House has set out clearly (most recently in agreeing the Procedure Committee’s 5th Report on the 2014-5 Session) that all answers to QWAs should be complete and comprehensible, and as such should not rely on references to external documents or webpages. I will continue to make this guidance clear to Ministers. Whilst it is for individual Ministers to account to the House for the content of the answers they provide – with Ministers providing personally signed answers to members as part of this direct accountability – any member is welcome to inform me of any particular concerns about a response they have received.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Polak on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 10 March (HL6654), what projects are delivered by Burj Al Luqluq Youth Centre and Silwan Youth Centre that are funded through the Bilateral Programme Budget.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Bilateral Programme Budget funded two projects run by the Burj Al Luqluq and Silwan Youth Centres, both of which were completed in March 2016.

    The Burj Al Luqluq project built the capacity of Palestinian youth in East Jerusalem to become positive and active leaders in their communities. The project worked with 50 participants, male and female, who received training in communication, leadership and photography skills. They developed their employability and strengthened their national and cultural identities.

    The Silwan project provided Information technology and other equipment to create a safe environment for children and adults to conduct homework and research.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total amount of lost revenue to the United Kingdom from the tax avoidance of UK citizens revealed by the Panama Papers.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs does not have access to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ data, but are exploring every avenue, nationally and internationally, to obtain it, so they can pursue the dishonest minority who seek to hide and dodge their taxes.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK citizens have been prosecuted for non-payment of taxes in the last 10 years; and how many of these were prosecuted for avoiding paying £1,000 or less.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The information is not held in the form requested.

    The smallest amount of revenue loss prevented in respect of individuals prosecuted between 2011/12 and 2014/15 is £162. The person prosecuted was a member of aircrew who attempted to bring 600 cigarettes into the UK without declaring them, thus attempting to evade the correct excise duty on them. Aircrew are deemed to hold privileged positions due to their unrestricted airport access and HM Revenue and Customs has a zero tolerance approach to prosecution should they not declare dutiable goods when entering the UK.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken by the Crown Prosecution Service following the publication of the Panama Papers.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Government has announced plans to create a cross-agency taskforce to investigate all evidence of illegality that has emerged from the so called “Panama Papers” revelations. The Government will take whatever action is necessary after the work of the taskforce has been completed.

    The Crown Prosecution Service will advise on any criminal investigations commenced by HMRC, the police or the National Crime Agency and will bring criminal proceedings if cases pass the evidential and public interest stages of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the smallest amount of unpaid tax that has led to a criminal prosecution in the UK in the last 10 years.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The information is not held in the form requested.

    The smallest amount of revenue loss prevented in respect of individuals prosecuted between 2011/12 and 2014/15 is £162. The person prosecuted was a member of aircrew who attempted to bring 600 cigarettes into the UK without declaring them, thus attempting to evade the correct excise duty on them. Aircrew are deemed to hold privileged positions due to their unrestricted airport access and HM Revenue and Customs has a zero tolerance approach to prosecution should they not declare dutiable goods when entering the UK.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent increases in the number of non-natural deaths in prisons; and what plans they have to improve mental health support for those in prison who are at risk of suicide.

    Lord Faulks

    Every death in custody is a tragedy. We are taking forward a wide range of work to reduce violence and the use of drugs, including new psychoactive substances, in prisons and to address the levels of suicide and self-harm.

    All deaths in prison custody are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), and a Coroner’s inquest. We are committed to learning from these investigations to inform the approach of both health and custodial services in identifying and supporting prisoners at risk.

    All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harming themselves. The Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has recently reviewed compliance with the ACCT process and is working to implement the recommendations, which include improvements to multi-disciplinary working between prison and clinical mental health staff.

    NHS England is implementing new prison clinical information systems which will improve the availability of clinical information to staff in prisons from the early days in custody.

    In addition, the government has initiated a cross departmental Mental Health Taskforce, tasked with developing integrated mental health service pathways in the least restrictive settings and aimed at providing support and intervention to those in need of help at the earliest opportunity.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish a compulsory register for drone ownership following similar action by the Federal Aviation Administration in the US; and if not, why not.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We are exploring a range of options for monitoring and enforcing regulations on drone use in the UK. This includes the potential for types of registration schemes, such as are implemented in the US and Ireland. The Department for Transport is in contact with both these authorities, as part of our work into understanding the benefits of such schemes, in terms of transparency of ownership and enforcement, as against their costs to business and other users. HM Government intends to consult on options this year.