The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will decide when Sea Lightning squadrons are embarked or disembarked on the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Earl Howe
The decision on whether to operate embarked or disembarked squadrons will be taken by the Strategic Headquarters in the Ministry of Defence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any decision has been made about the introduction of the new Long Service medal proposed by the Secretary of State for Defence in March.
Earl Howe
I can confirm that officials are currently working on the eligibility criteria for a new Long Service Medal. Details will be made available in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Ebola medal takes precedence over jubilee medals in the order of wear.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Jubilee Medals come ahead of the Ebola Medal for Service in West Africa in the current Order of Wear.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Truscott on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what studies they are undertaking into the slowing of the Gulf Stream and the subsequent impact on climate change and extreme weather patterns in the UK.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Natural Environment Research Council is currently funding two research programmes to detect changes in the Gulf Stream and to investigate how these changes might affect the weather of the North Atlantic (RAPID-AMOC and ODYSEA). DECC co-funds, with Defra, the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme which, amongst many other research activities, uses climate models to understand the observed fluctuations in the Gulf Stream, to predict future changes, and to assess the impact that present and future changes may have upon European weather and climate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have revisited the Personal Independence Payment assessment moving around guidance on reliability to ensure that that guidance captures real-life situations and that the criteria are applied consistently and fairly.
Baroness Altmann
The PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments includes guidance on the assessment criteria and how they should be applied. The guide is regularly reviewed to ensure that the criteria is applied consistently and fairly.
Chapter 3 – ‘The Assessment Criteria’ (page 73) explains how to apply the reliability criteria, including in the ‘Moving Around’ activity. We have also provided a worked example to further assist health professionals.
The latest version of the guide is annexed to this answer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have introduced a requirement for health professionals involved in the Personal Independence Payment assessment to confirm that they have referred to the reliability criteria when formulating their advice.
Baroness Altmann
The guidance for health professionals undertaking assessments for Personal Independence Payment specifies that for a descriptor to be able to apply to a claimant, the claimant must be able to complete the activity reliably i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period. For a report to be considered fully acceptable it must include confirmation that the health professional has fully considered these reliability criteria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Altmann on 4 December (HL3783) that the Personal Independence Payment assessment criteria were designed in close collaboration with disabled people and disability groups”
Baroness Altmann
The full public consultation on the ‘Moving around’ activity of the mobility component closed on 5 August 2013. We received more than 1,100 responses. We carefully considered all the responses received, including the suggestions for alternative approaches. We published our response to the consultation on 21 October 2013.
We believe the assessment criteria, including the 20 metres distance, are the best way of identifying those whose physical mobility is most limited, so we did not make any changes. However, we have strengthened the measures around the reliability criteria – we recognise these are a key protection for claimants.
Our response to the consultation is annexed to this answer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have of misuse of the Enterprise Investment Scheme for community energy projects that contributed to their decision to withdraw the scheme for those purposes.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to encourage investment into smaller, higher risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access the funding they need to develop and grow.
Changes have been made to the schemes over time to ensure that asset-backed activities, as well as those that benefit from predictable and reliable income streams, do not qualify, since these often represent lower-risk investments that should be able to secure finance without the need for tax relief. For example, different types of energy generation were excluded from the schemes in 2012, 2014 and 2015, due to clear evidence that such investments were particularly low-risk products offering return of capital, and were being explicitly marketed as such.
Community energy projects in receipt of other government support were not excluded at the time of these previous changes. However, since then the government has become aware of significantly increased interest in the use of community energy for low-risk tax planning purposes. The number of community energy schemes registered as community interest companies (CICs) or community benefit societies has increased from about 5 in 2014 to about 200 by October 2015. The marketing material of these investments suggests that the level of investment risk for community energy, including solar, is comparable to that of activities that were previously excluded.
The government announced at the Summer Budget 2015 that it would monitor the use of the venture capital schemes by community energy organisations to ensure that there was continued value for money for the taxpayer and that they were not the subject of misuse. The government subsequently announced the exclusion of subsidised renewable energy generation by community energy organisations on 26 October 2015, taking effect for investments made on or after 30 November 2015, providing a notice period of five weeks. At the same time, the government announced the exclusion of activities making reserve energy generating capacity available, also with effect for investments made on or after 30 November 2015.
The government believes that the notice period given provided a good balance between the provision of notice to potential investors who might wish to take advantage of the tax reliefs provided through the schemes and the financial risk to the Exchequer that a longer notice period would carry.
To further ensure the venture capital schemes remain well-targeted and deliver value for money, the government announced at Autumn Statement 2015 the exclusion of all remaining energy generation activities from the schemes with effect for investments made on or after 6 April 2016. The new exclusions will apply to both non-renewable and renewable sources of energy generation and apply irrespective of whether a subsidy is received or of the nature of the company carrying on the activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they afforded community energy schemes less than one month’s notice for the implementation of changes to the tax rules, but allowed a phasing out of Enterprise Investment Scheme relief for all generation projects over a longer period.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to encourage investment into smaller, higher risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access the funding they need to develop and grow.
Changes have been made to the schemes over time to ensure that asset-backed activities, as well as those that benefit from predictable and reliable income streams, do not qualify, since these often represent lower-risk investments that should be able to secure finance without the need for tax relief. For example, different types of energy generation were excluded from the schemes in 2012, 2014 and 2015, due to clear evidence that such investments were particularly low-risk products offering return of capital, and were being explicitly marketed as such.
Community energy projects in receipt of other government support were not excluded at the time of these previous changes. However, since then the government has become aware of significantly increased interest in the use of community energy for low-risk tax planning purposes. The number of community energy schemes registered as community interest companies (CICs) or community benefit societies has increased from about 5 in 2014 to about 200 by October 2015. The marketing material of these investments suggests that the level of investment risk for community energy, including solar, is comparable to that of activities that were previously excluded.
The government announced at the Summer Budget 2015 that it would monitor the use of the venture capital schemes by community energy organisations to ensure that there was continued value for money for the taxpayer and that they were not the subject of misuse. The government subsequently announced the exclusion of subsidised renewable energy generation by community energy organisations on 26 October 2015, taking effect for investments made on or after 30 November 2015, providing a notice period of five weeks. At the same time, the government announced the exclusion of activities making reserve energy generating capacity available, also with effect for investments made on or after 30 November 2015.
The government believes that the notice period given provided a good balance between the provision of notice to potential investors who might wish to take advantage of the tax reliefs provided through the schemes and the financial risk to the Exchequer that a longer notice period would carry.
To further ensure the venture capital schemes remain well-targeted and deliver value for money, the government announced at Autumn Statement 2015 the exclusion of all remaining energy generation activities from the schemes with effect for investments made on or after 6 April 2016. The new exclusions will apply to both non-renewable and renewable sources of energy generation and apply irrespective of whether a subsidy is received or of the nature of the company carrying on the activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries in the Middle East have never received a formal visit from a member of the Royal Family.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
I can confirm that every country in the Middle East has received a visit from a member of the Royal Family.