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  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that tunnelling engineering skills in the UK are not lost.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    .

    In 2012, the Government published “Tunnelling: A Capability Analysis” which identified the tunnelling skills essential to deliver key projects, including Crossrail, HS2 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

    To help meet this demand and maintain the UK’s skills base, the National Construction College delivers training at a purpose-built facility: the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in East London.

    In September, the Government published the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills, to ensure the UK has the right skills base to deliver and maintain world-class infrastructure. This report sets out the scale of the challenge and is just the first step. The Government is now consulting with stakeholders across industry, academia and training providers to build a series of detailed actions to address the skills challenge.

  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 November (HL3659), why no national assessment has been made of the effect of hospital trusts charging disabled people to park their cars, and whether they have made any regional or local assessments about that issue.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS trusts have the power to charge for car parking under paragraph 20 of Schedule 4 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Foundation Trusts (FTs) have similar general powers under section 43(3) of the NHS Act 2006. Individual NHS organisations decide locally whether or not to institute charges and they also carry out any assessment of the impact of such charges.

    As part of an assessment, trusts consider a range of factors, including the availability of parking spaces, the existence of alternative transport options and the cost of providing car parking. Such matters vary from place to place and therefore cannot be centrally assessed.

    In addition, as public bodies, NHS organisations must ensure they are compliant with the public sector equality duty at Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The conduct of equality assessments is a local matter and the outcomes are not collected centrally.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HMS Ocean was designed and built to have a 20-year lifespan.

    Earl Howe

    Yes, HMS OCEAN entered service in 1998 with a specified service life, based on her build specification, of 20 years.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 October (HL2592), whether the new offshore patrol vessels Forth, Medway, and Trent will operate in addition to the current four vessels.

    Earl Howe

    The three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) currently under construction will enter service as replacements for three of the four in-service OPVs. As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review [Cm9161], two further River Class OPVs will be built, resulting in a more modern and more capable fleet of up to six OPVs in the Royal Navy.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the two new offshore patrol vehicles announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be run operationally alongside the existing seven.

    Earl Howe

    The three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) currently under construction will enter service as replacements for three of the four in-service OPVs. As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review [Cm9161], two further River Class OPVs will be built, resulting in a more modern and more capable fleet of up to six OPVs in the Royal Navy.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, whether they plan for the Royal Navy to have a two-tier escort force in the future.

    Earl Howe

    In addition to setting out the Government’s commitment to build eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare ships, the statement by the Prime Minister on the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Official Report, column 1049 dated 23 November 2015) announced the launch of a concept study for a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigates, so that by the 2030s we can further increase the total number of frigates and destroyers. This study will consider the utility of the new frigate within the wider force structure across the spectrum of tasks the Royal Navy undertakes.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the planned build rate of the Type 26 frigate.

    Earl Howe

    The statement made on 23 November 2015 in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister on the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Official Report, column 1049) set out the Government’s commitment to build eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare ships, preceded by two additional Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), as well as the intent to develop a new light frigate programme.

    We have now begun detailed work to take forward the programme outlined by the Prime Minister. The impact of building the two additional OPVs on the Type 26 programme schedule, including the timing of the award of the contract to build the ships and their build schedule, will be central to this work. In due course, a revised programme will be produced and be considered through the normal investment approvals process.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to place the order for the first Type 26 frigate.

    Earl Howe

    The statement made on 23 November 2015 in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister on the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Official Report, column 1049) set out the Government’s commitment to build eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare ships, preceded by two additional Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), as well as the intent to develop a new light frigate programme.

    We have now begun detailed work to take forward the programme outlined by the Prime Minister. The impact of building the two additional OPVs on the Type 26 programme schedule, including the timing of the award of the contract to build the ships and their build schedule, will be central to this work. In due course, a revised programme will be produced and be considered through the normal investment approvals process.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children were being home educated in each of the years 2010 to 2014 inclusive.

    Lord Nash

    This information is not collected by the Department for Education. Local authorities maintain voluntary registers of the number of children being educated at home.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate the work of the various relief organisations in Syria.

    Baroness Verma

    Despite our best efforts, the UN appeals for Syria and the region remain critically underfunded. It is therefore critical that UN agencies use the most cost efficient and effective methods to deliver assistance to refugees in the region. The UK is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that this is the case and there have been substantial improvements in coordination – which saves lives – over the past year.