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  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish annually a list of Alternative Investment Market companies that qualify for Inheritance Tax relief.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not have a list of Alternative Investment Market companies that qualify for Business Property Relief.

    The claim to the relief will depend on the circumstances of each case. Shares in a company might no longer qualify for Business Property Relief if the company went into liquidation or moved to a full listing on the UK Stock Exchange after publication. Any information provided by HMRC about a company may become out of date quickly raising the risk that relief is claimed incorrectly.

  • Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average processing time taken for cases in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal from the time a complaint or claim was submitted to the announcement of a ruling in each year from 2010 to 2014 inclusive.

    Lord Bates

    The numbers of new cases received by the independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal each year are published on the Tribunal’s website at: http://www.ipt-uk.com/section.aspx?pageid=5 .

    The numbers of complaints and claims for the years 2010 to 2014 are as follows.

    Year

    Human Rights Claims

    Complaints

    Both

    Total

    2010

    49

    40

    75

    164

    2011

    46

    46

    88

    180

    2012

    37

    52

    79

    168

    2013

    58

    67

    80

    205

    2014

    58

    60

    97

    215

    The Investigatory Powers Tribunal does not collate the information about the average length of time from a complaint or claim being submitted to the announcement of a ruling. The cases received by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal vary in scope and complexity. Each case is considered on its own merits and receives appropriate legal scrutiny.

  • Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) complaints, and (2) claims, were submitted to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in each year from 2010 to 2014 inclusive.

    Lord Bates

    The numbers of new cases received by the independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal each year are published on the Tribunal’s website at: http://www.ipt-uk.com/section.aspx?pageid=5 .

    The numbers of complaints and claims for the years 2010 to 2014 are as follows.

    Year

    Human Rights Claims

    Complaints

    Both

    Total

    2010

    49

    40

    75

    164

    2011

    46

    46

    88

    180

    2012

    37

    52

    79

    168

    2013

    58

    67

    80

    205

    2014

    58

    60

    97

    215

    The Investigatory Powers Tribunal does not collate the information about the average length of time from a complaint or claim being submitted to the announcement of a ruling. The cases received by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal vary in scope and complexity. Each case is considered on its own merits and receives appropriate legal scrutiny.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the potential negative effects of restricting dietary sodium intake.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake was extensively reviewed in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report ‘Salt and Health’, published in 2003. In reviewing the evidence, SACN noted that the greatest benefits were likely to be achieved by taking a population approach to reducing salt intakes rather than through individual targeted advice.

    The SACN continues to monitor average salt intakes through a programme of dietary survey work.

    New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.

    The SACN has also reviewed the evidence around the impact of low sodium intakes. It found no basis for changing the existing recommendation for a target reduction in average salt intake to 6 grammes per day for the adult population, equivalent to 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    The SACN ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to new evidence suggesting that their current campaign to reduce salt intake could be too generalised.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake was extensively reviewed in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report ‘Salt and Health’, published in 2003. In reviewing the evidence, SACN noted that the greatest benefits were likely to be achieved by taking a population approach to reducing salt intakes rather than through individual targeted advice.

    The SACN continues to monitor average salt intakes through a programme of dietary survey work.

    New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.

    The SACN has also reviewed the evidence around the impact of low sodium intakes. It found no basis for changing the existing recommendation for a target reduction in average salt intake to 6 grammes per day for the adult population, equivalent to 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    The SACN ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake as part of a balanced diet.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake was extensively reviewed in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report ‘Salt and Health’, published in 2003. In reviewing the evidence, SACN noted that the greatest benefits were likely to be achieved by taking a population approach to reducing salt intakes rather than through individual targeted advice.

    The SACN continues to monitor average salt intakes through a programme of dietary survey work.

    New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.

    The SACN has also reviewed the evidence around the impact of low sodium intakes. It found no basis for changing the existing recommendation for a target reduction in average salt intake to 6 grammes per day for the adult population, equivalent to 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    The SACN ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they are giving to consumers about the health risks of eating processed meat.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England’s advice is that, on average, people should be eating no more than 70 grammes of red and processed meat a day. People who eat a lot of these meats are at higher risk of bowel cancer than those who eat small amounts. Therefore, people who eat more than 90 grammes of red or processed meat a day are advised to cut down.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organization research showing that eating processed meat increases the risk of cancer.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The World Health Organization published its conclusions on the carcinogenicity of eating red and processed meat on 26 October. The detailed evaluations will be published in the future; until these are available, we cannot assess them in detail.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any new initiatives planned to revive or replace the so-called Geneva Two process on Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK remains committed to a sustainable political settlement that leads to a political transition in Syria, away from Assad, to a government in Damascus which better meets the needs of the Syrian people and with which we can work to defeat extremism. The Geneva Communiqué, which has been agreed by key international parties, remains a key building block of our efforts on this. On 30 October the UK, US, Russia, key Middle East states and European partners met in Vienna to take forward discussions on this. The Vienna Communiqué sets out areas of agreement and may provide the basis for a new process. The parties have agreed to reconvene within the next two weeks.

  • Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blunkett on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the 50 mile per hour limit on the M1 between junctions 19 and 15 will be lifted, in the light of the fact that work there has been suspended.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England reports that Junction 15 to 16: traffic management was lifted in September 2015 and Junction 16 to 19: traffic management will be lifted in stages. It will be completely removed by the end of November 2015.