The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the consolidation of central clearing houses will lead to an increase in risk concentration.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
I refer the noble Lord to my written answer of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the new holding company to be created to give effect to the proposed takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bourse will have to make its whole capital available to support a default by one of the two central clearing houses it will control, and which of those two clearing houses will receive capital priority in the event of a simultaneous or proximate failure of them both.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
I refer the noble Lord to my written answer of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which regulator will be responsible for overseeing the correlation algorithms used in cross margining positions held with LCH Clearnet and Euronext.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
I refer the noble Lord to my written answer of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rosser on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the importance of rural transport services in tackling loneliness amongst (1) young people, (2) the elderly, (3) those suffering from mental ill health, and (4) those suffering from physical ill health.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government recognises the importance of public transport for both the sustainability and independence of communities. Inadequate transport provision is a very real concern and can be a barrier to the wellbeing of all, particularly those living in more isolated areas.
Ultimately, however, it is for local authorities, working in partnership with their communities, to identify the right transport solutions that meet the economic and environmental challenges faced in their areas and deliver the greatest benefits for their residents.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rosser on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are giving to local authorities to ensure that changes to funding for local bus services do not negatively affect (1) young people, (2) the elderly, (3) those suffering from mental ill health, and (4) those suffering from physical ill health.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The majority of public funding for local bus services in England is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, the Department for Transport also provides around £40m of Grant funding directly to English local authorities for this purpose.
The Total Transport initiative has also provided around £8m funding for 37 pilot projects exploring how local authorities and other agencies can work together to commission transport services more effectively – including integrating NHS non-emergency patient transport.
Authorities should remain mindful of their statutory equality duties, including the Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty, and the effect of proposals on all people with protected characteristics, including those who are disabled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rosser on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Bus Service Operators Grant in tackling isolation and loneliness in rural communities.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Under the Bus Subsidy Operators Grant (BSOG) system, the Government pays out some £250m a year to bus operators and local authorities to support bus services outside London. BSOG plays an especially important role in protecting services in rural areas as it supports an extra 25 million bus journeys a year in those areas, by helping extend the bus network and allowing operators to charge lower fares. Department for Transport analysis indicates that BSOG has helped extend the rural bus network by 13%, equivalent to an additional 38 million kilometres, providing residents with vital links to local services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rosser on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many regional devolution settlements that are (1) agreed already, and (2) currently being negotiated, include the devolution of transport powers; and what impact those settlements will have on local bus services.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
(1) The Government has agreed devolution settlements with 10 English areas. Each of the settlements contained provisions for the devolution of transport powers and responsibilities, from bus franchising to the establishment and management of key route networks, based on the ambitions and needs of each individual area.
(2) The Government is in active discussions with many other areas, however, proposals are developed and led by local areas and the decision to release information regarding the content of these discussions is a matter for the local area to decide, not the Government. As individual negotiations conclude and devolution deals are agreed, local areas may decide to publish the final deal documents on the GOV.UK website.
The Bus Services Bill will enable the implementation of the commitments made in devolution settlements to provide authorities with a greater say over the bus services in their area. It will be up to authorities to determine whether and how they implement changes to the way in which local bus services are provided.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for International Development overspent their budget in the last financial year, and if so, for what reason.
Baroness Verma
In 2014-15, the most recent year for which audited accounts are available, the Department for International Development did not overspend its budget.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding the Department for International Development transferred to the EU over and above their fixed aid related contribution.
Baroness Verma
The UK makes fixed ODA contributions to the EU budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) each year. In addition to this funding, where DFID doesn’t have the expertise or resources to deliver a major programme itself, it will work locally with partners who can do this including the EU.
As set out in DFID’s 2015 Statistics on International Development publication, in addition to these fixed ODA contributions, DFID provided £20,378,000 to the EU in 2014 for two infrastructure programmes in Africa. These are both helping to promote trade within Africa and boost local economies, building markets that Britain can trade with which is firmly in our national interest.
In both cases the EU is the best partner with the necessary capacity and technical expertise to carry out these large infrastructure programmes. Details of all such bilateral programmes are published on devtracker.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mechanisms the Department for International Development has in place to monitor the quality and real developmental impact of their aid programmes.
Baroness Verma
DFID has rigorous programme and financial management procedures and systems in place. This government has significantly strengthened these procedures and systems, placing a strong emphasis on ensuring programmes are high quality and deliver value for money and real development impact. Each DFID project is rigorously appraised before approval to establish value for money. During implementation, projects are measured against a robust monitoring framework through mandatory annual reviews to ensure they remain cost effective and are delivering expected outputs, outcomes and development impact. The results of these annual reviews are scored by the managing team and are then monitored through regular management information reports to management and Ministers. We take decisions to exit underperforming programmes and redirect resources into those that deliver poverty reduction and value for money for taxpayers.
DFID is also committed to generating high quality evidence through independent evaluations which look in detail at the impact that our interventions are having and what lessons can be learnt for the future. In addition the Independent Commission for Aid Impact assesses the effectiveness of DFID’s programming.