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  • Lord Norton of Louth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Norton of Louth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Norton of Louth on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to issue a revised response to the report from the Constitution Committee The office of Lord Chancellor (6th Report, session 2014–15, HL Paper 75).

    Lord Faulks

    I welcomed the opportunity to participate in the excellent debate on this issue in July of last year, and the Lord Chancellor was similarly grateful for the opportunity to discuss his role during his annual evidence session to the Committee in December. We have no plans to revise the written response provided by the previous administration to the Committee’s report.

  • Lord Norton of Louth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Norton of Louth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Norton of Louth on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many members of the Senior Civil Service have taken courses provided by Civil Service Learning that are intended to enhance their understanding of the role of the House of Lords, in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Civil Service Learning provide two e-learning courses that address this subject area – “Induction: An introduction to Parliament” and “Parliamentary processes”. They also provide face to face training on taking a Bill through Parliament, however on this training attendees are not required to provide information on their grades. Civil Service Learning also endorse and promote two relevant external courses to the Senior Civil Service – “Supporting Ministers” and “Civil Service Attachment Scheme” both provided by the Industry and Parliament Trust.

    In total 80 Senior Civil Servants accessed this learning in 2014. In 2015 this number rose to 90. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest ten.

  • Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will release details of each weapons release over Syria so that they can be correlated against any reports of civilian casualties.

    Earl Howe

    As at 18 December 2015, the UK had released 21 weapons against targets in Syria since the vote on airstrikes. There have been no reports of civilian casualties as a result.

    The weapons have all been Paveway IV guided bombs from RAF Tornado GR4 and Typhoon aircraft. The UK released six Paveway IV on 2 December, one on 3 December, eight on 4 December and six on 6 December. These have all been against targets in the Daesh-controlled Omar oilfield in eastern Syria.

    We will not release the exact location and timing of each strike as this could compromise our operational capabilities. All UK airstrikes are conducted in accordance with Rules of Engagement and International Humanitarian Law. Targets are selected with the utmost care; the risks of collateral damage or civilian casualties are assessed and mitigated based on intelligence and the use of precision guided weapons.

  • Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air vehicles from the RAF’s inventory have been deployed over Iraq and Syria in the last three months.

    Earl Howe

    In the last three months the RAF has deployed Sentinel and Airseeker aircraft and the REAPER MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Air System over both Iraq and Syria. In addition, Tornado GR4s have deployed over Iraq and Syria fitted with the Raptor tactical reconnaissance pod.

  • Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evaluation they have carried out of the potential cost savings from centralised procurement of common generic drugs in the light of evidence from other countries using high volume contracts.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    On behalf of National Health Service secondary care establishments (hospitals) in England the Department’s Commercial Medicines Unit undertakes a long established centralised tender programme for framework agreements for generic medicines. This is in compliance with European Union procurement regulations.

  • Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate to be the flying costs, including maintenance, of the (1) F-35A, and (2) F-35B, aircraft.

    Earl Howe

    The Ministry of Defence has made an estimate of the flying and maintenance cost of the UK’s F-35B but I am withholding this information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

  • Lord Lea of Crondall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Lea of Crondall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lea of Crondall on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government for what reasons they have decided not to follow the guidance set out in Chapter 14 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation in respect of the Trade Union Bill, and in particular the requirement in paragraph 14.10 to publish the final impact assessment at the final proposal stage”.”

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    In line with the Cabinet Office guidance, we will publish a final impact assessment before enactment. The Government has already published consultation Impacts Assessments alongside the public consultations that support the overall package of reforms, as well as an equality impact assessment and will publish a further Impact Assessment on the Bill before Lords Committee.

  • Lord Kinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Kinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide all factual evidence they have, together with their sources, that UK in-work and out-of-work benefits are a factor in encouraging immigration to the UK from other EU member states.

    Lord Freud

    The benefits system is one of a range of factors attracting migrants to Britain. Net migration to the UK stood at 336,000 in the year to June 2015 according to the November 2015 Migration Statistics Quarterly Report from the Office for National Statistics, and EU nationals are a significant contributor to recent increases. Meanwhile, an analysis of administrative data held by the Department for Work and Pensions showed that between 37% and 45% of all recent EU migrants were in households supported by the benefits system as of March 2013.

    The Government has already introduced tough new measures to ensure that EU jobseekers will have no access to means-tested benefits whatsoever as Universal Credit is rolled out.

    And now we want to ensure that the welfare system plays no part in the migration decisions of any EU national. The Prime Minister is therefore pursuing further reforms to ensure that EU migrants who come to the UK for low-paid work cannot claim in-work benefits until they have lived here and contributed to our country for a minimum of four years.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the statement by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court calling for the UN Security Council to do more to demonstrate its commitment to Darfur and to ensure that the perpetrators of past crimes are held to account.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In response to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s report, presented to the UN Security Council on 15 December, the UK made clear that it remains fully committed to supporting UN Security Council action on Darfur. We continue to push for effective follow-up action to ensure the Court can fulfil the mandate given to it by the UN Security Council. We have also made clear to the Government of Sudan and the international community that we expect compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1593 and the Rome Statute, and execution of the arrest warrants for the ICC indictees, including President Bashir. The UK will remain active on this issue.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the violence against women in South Sudan since conflict broke out in December 2013.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We remain deeply concerned by the situation in South Sudan and are responding accordingly. We are pressing the Government of Sudan to progress its commitments to tackle violence against women and raised this issue most recently with the Minister of Defence in November. The UK’s humanitarian programme has a strong focus on protection, including supporting the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. We are also supporting projects that empower women and seek to provide justice to the most vulnerable groups, including women and girls. Additionally, the UK played a key role to ensure the new mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan has an even stronger focus on protecting civilians, including women and girls.