The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the boundaries of the Rural Support Zone for HS2 and list the local authorities within which the Zone falls.
Baroness Kramer
The Government is not yet able to confirm the outcome of the recent consultation on property compensation for Phase One of HS2, but expects to make an announcement soon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average time taken by general practitioners to complete the medical forms required by candidates for the Territorial Army and Army Reserve; and what is the number presently outstanding.
Lord Astor of Hever
The average time taken by General Practitioners to complete medical forms for Army Reserve applicants is 29 days. This includes the time taken by the candidate to provide the documents to their General Practitioner as well as the time taken by General Practitioners to process the forms. This has reduced from 37 days which was the average prior to the implementation of the improved medical process for recruits in February 2014.
As at 6 June 2014, 1,315 sets of Army Reserve medical declaration documents were outstanding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for large occupational defined contribution pension schemes to be active owners or stewards of their assets, in line with the definition of stewardship as outlined in the Financial Reporting Council’s Stewardship Code.
Lord Freud
The Government supports the principles set out in the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) UK Stewardship Code including schemes becoming active stewards of their investments and reporting on that stewardship. The Code sets out a number of areas of good practice to which the FRC believes institutional investors should aspire, and operates on a ‘comply or explain’ basis. It includes guidance for pension schemes and other asset owners on steps they can take to protect and enhance the value that accrues to the ultimate beneficiary. The FCA requires UK authorised asset managers to report on whether or not they apply the Code.
The UK stewardship code is voluntary, however we would encourage workplace pensions schemes to comply with the principles set out in the code. In addition we are developing governance standards of workplace defined contribution schemes, and have asked the Law Commission to investigate how fiduciary duties currently apply in the investment chain. The Pensions Regulator’s defined contribution Code of Practice also sets out the legal requirements and standards they expect trustees of defined contribution schemes to attain. This includes a section on investment which also references the FRC Stewardship code. These initiatives are part of our on-going work to ensure schemes are governed and administered to deliver in members’ interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jenkin of Roding on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much public money is spent annually on research into Alzheimer’s disease; and what is their estimate of the amount spent on such research by commercial and charitable sources.
Earl Howe
Since 2009-10, dementia research funded by Government through the National Institute for Health Research, the Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council has almost doubled, from £28.2 million to £52.2 million in 2012-13. Over the same period, funding by the charitable sector has increased, from £4.2 million to £6.8 million in the case of Alzheimer’s Research UK and from £2 million to £5.3 million in the case of the Alzheimer’s Society. Data on annual expenditure on dementia research by commercial sources are not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Statement of 13 March 2014 by the Minister for Schools, Official Report, columns 927-29, how much of the £350 million announced for the fair funding proposals will be allocated from the Exchequer in addition to that already indicated in his Department’s budget.
Mr David Laws
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cardiff West on 24 March, Official Report column 84W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent hangings in India; and what steps they will take to ensure that the values set out in the Commonwealth Charter are being upheld in that country.
Baroness Warsi
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), expressed his concern about the recent gang rape and death of the two girls in Budaun on 28 May.
We are committed to working with the Government of India and international partners to address the problem of gender-based violence, human trafficking and child exploitation in India. Through the Department for International Development (DFID) programme, the UK supports measures in India’s 120 poorest districts to promote the empowerment and access to benefits and services of excluded groups. DFID India also provides support to national and state governments in India which includes helping girls to complete basic education and further tackling violence against women and girls. We will continue with work with the government of India on this important issue, and continue to encourage all Commonwealth countries to uphold the values set out in the Commonwealth Charter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on sheep rustling.
Norman Baker
The Home Office talks to a wide range of partners about rural crime and theft
of particular commodities. However, we have not recently received any formal
representations about sheep rustling.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 May (WA 499), what is their assessment of whether issuing guidance by amending the wording of form HSA1 would represent an act of secondary legislation or a change in the Abortion Act 1967.
Earl Howe
Any changes to the wording of the HSA1 form, if needed, would require changes to secondary legislation. Such changes could not be introduced through guidance, which makes no changes to abortion legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will seek an estimate from the (a) Bailiwick of Jersey and (b) Bailiwick of Guernsey of the value of Russian (a) financial and (b) non-financial assets held in each such territory.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK but are self-governing dependencies of the Crown. This means they have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and their own courts of law. It is therefore not for the UK to extend the application of the Sanctions set out in the Council Regulation (EU) 269/2014. Equivalent measures have been implemented by the Crown Dependencies, who have kept Her Majesty’s Government updated about their activities in this area.
Her Majesty’s Government does not routinely request information on the value of particular assets held in the Crown Dependencies.
The UK and the Crown Dependencies recognise the importance of working together to promote the application of high international standards and implementing sanctions and asset freezing measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many onshore windfarms have been connected to sub-stations in each of the last five years.
Michael Fallon
According to Renewable-UK Wind Energy Database the following numbers of onshore wind projects have been connected in Great Britain over the past five years. The vast majority of these projects contained five or fewer turbines. The Department does not hold data on what, if any, connections to substations were required.
|
Year |
Number of Projects |
|
2014 |
34 |
|
2013 |
73 |
|
2012 |
109 |
|
2011 |
48 |
|
2010 |
43 |
Further details of these onshore wind projects are available at:
http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/uk-wind-energy-database/index.cfm
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