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  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any guidance or instruction from the Department of Education has prompted Brighton and Hove City Council to seek to establish the gender identity rather than the physical sex of four and five year-old children, and how many other education bodies have sent similar requests to parents.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Department for Education provides guidance on the Equality Act 2010 to schools which contains advice on the Public Sector Equality Duty and on the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

    The Department has not inquired into the gender identity of children in January 2016 and has no correspondence on the matter.

    The addition of gender identity information on the pupil registration form was solely a decision of the Brighton and Hove City Council. They have the independence to make this decision.

    The Department does not hold details of any additional information collected by local authorities outside of those required by the Department for our centrally specified, mandatory data collections.

    The Department is not aware of any referral on this issue to the Police.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish any relevant correspondence between the Department for Education and Brighton and Hove City Council following its January 2016 inquiry into the gender identity rather than the physical sex of secondary school children.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Department for Education provides guidance on the Equality Act 2010 to schools which contains advice on the Public Sector Equality Duty and on the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

    The Department has not inquired into the gender identity of children in January 2016 and has no correspondence on the matter.

    The addition of gender identity information on the pupil registration form was solely a decision of the Brighton and Hove City Council. They have the independence to make this decision.

    The Department does not hold details of any additional information collected by local authorities outside of those required by the Department for our centrally specified, mandatory data collections.

    The Department is not aware of any referral on this issue to the Police.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the actions of Brighton and Hove City Council regarding its inquiries into children’s gender identity, rather than their physical sex, have been referred to the police in the light of any risk that such questioning might sexualise vulnerable young people.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Department for Education provides guidance on the Equality Act 2010 to schools which contains advice on the Public Sector Equality Duty and on the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

    The Department has not inquired into the gender identity of children in January 2016 and has no correspondence on the matter.

    The addition of gender identity information on the pupil registration form was solely a decision of the Brighton and Hove City Council. They have the independence to make this decision.

    The Department does not hold details of any additional information collected by local authorities outside of those required by the Department for our centrally specified, mandatory data collections.

    The Department is not aware of any referral on this issue to the Police.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the effectiveness of the recommendations on public sector procurement by Sir Philip Green.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 11 April 2016 to Question HL7227.

    As a result of the commercial and procurement reforms we made during the life of the last Parliament, we saved more than £21 bn.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the financial strength of the Pension Protection Fund.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Pension Protection Fund is run by an independent Board and reviews its financial position regularly. It manages over £23 billion of assets and, in the 2014/15 Annual Report, the last published, declared a funding ratio of 115.1 per cent and a surplus of £3.6 billion.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the legislation protecting creditors in the event of business failure.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We do keep insolvency legislation under review. We seek to ensure that the legislative framework strikes the right balance between rescuing a business, which may also save jobs, and the rights of creditors who may lose out financially.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding BHS being placed in administration, and in particular in to the implications for employees, pension scheme members and creditors.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    When a company enters administration, the administrators have to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills within three months on the conduct of the directors.

    In the case of BHS the Insolvency Service is making early contact with the administrators to discuss the directors’ conduct and to consider whether further steps, such as a detailed investigation, may be necessary.

    Where misconduct is established it can lead to disqualification of a director for between 2 and 15 years.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had any talks with the owners, managers or advisers to BHS; and whether they will take any action to protect employees, creditors and pensioners.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    This is a worrying time for the BHS workforce and their families.

    I understand that there are no plans for immediate store closures and that the administrators are looking to sell BHS as a going concern.

    Clearly if this proves not to be possible, then we stand ready to help those affected, including through Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service, to help people move into new jobs as quickly as possible.

    The Insolvency Service continues to liaise with the administrators, and stands ready to provide statutory assistance to employees in the event that the commercial situation changes.

    I understand that the BHS schemes are in the early stages of a Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment period, during which the PPF will determine the final funding position of the scheme and whether it should assume responsibility for a scheme. We cannot comment on this, or any other individual case directly.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered the risk to the solvency of the Pension Protection Fund of owners of companies with funding deficits selling the business for a nominal consideration or to an unsuitable purchaser.

    Baroness Altmann

    The independent Pensions Regulator, which oversees worked based pensions, has a statutory objective to reduce the risk of situations arising which may lead to compensation being payable from the Pension Protection Fund. It was given a significant range of anti-avoidance powers in the Pensions Act 2004, which can be deployed where it is appropriate and where the legal tests laid down in legislation are met.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning its possession of nuclear weapons and the admission of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have regular discussions with the Government of Israel on a wide range of nuclear-related issues. Israel has not declared a nuclear weapons programme.

    Israel does have a facility-specific safeguards agreement in place with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agreement applies to a single facility in Israel, which is the Soreq Nuclear Research Reactor. The facility is inspected by the IAEA to ensure that it is not used for weapons purposes. We continue to call on Israel to upgrade this arrangement to a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards agreement with the IAEA.