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  • Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review electoral law in Northern Ireland in relation to postal voting; what are the major differences from the law in England; and whether they have any plans to enable those over 80 years of age, on application and verification, to have automatic permanent postal votes.

    Baroness Randerson

    The system of postal voting in Northern Ireland is kept under regular review, both by the Government and the Chief Electoral Officer and Electoral Commission. Legislative amendments will be brought forward shortly with the introduction of anonymous registration which will permit electors with an anonymous entry on the electoral register to vote by post. These provisions will come into force on 15 September 2014.

    Postal votes are issued to electors in Northern Ireland who are unable to vote in person at their polling station on Election Day as a result of certain specified conditions. These conditions relate to disability, work or study circumstances. This is different to Great Britain where postal voting is offered on demand and electors are not required to provide a reason for why they are unable to vote in person.

    There are no plans to enable those over 80 years of age to have automatic permanent postal votes. However, permanent postal votes are available to all electors who are unable to attend their polling station on a permanent or long-term basis on the grounds of disability; their (or their husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s) work; or their (or their husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s) studies.

  • Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what searches have been undertaken to find the missing files on pre-1998 Northern Ireland royal prerogative of mercy cases; how many are absent; where the paperwork would normally be filed; and whether such paperwork is passed to the National Archives on a routine basis after 30 years.

    Baroness Randerson

    Before 1998, the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) in Northern Ireland was relatively common since this pre-dated a number of statutory schemes which enabled sentences to be shortened for various reasons, for example where evidence had been given by prisoners to enable others to be convicted. The overwhelming majority of RPM cases during this period were not terrorist-related.

    The Northern Ireland Office continues to seek information on the use of the RPM between 1987 and 1997, including through contacts with other parts of Government which might hold relevant information.

    The NIO takes its records management responsibilities seriously and is compliant with all public records legislation and National Archives guidance. This includes routine reviews of records, compliance with records disposal schedules and transfers of records at 30 years to the National Archives.

  • Lord Temple-Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Temple-Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the effect of sanctions on Iran on exports from (1) the United Kingdom, and (2) the European Union.

    Baroness Warsi

    A significant set of EU, UN and US sanctions have been imposed on Iran because of its nuclear programme. UK exports to Iran fell to £79 million in 2013, down from £100 million in 2012, and £180 million in 2011. EU exports to Iran have also fallen, totalling €5.4 billion in 2013. This is down from €7.4 billion in 2012, and €10.5 billion in 2011.

  • Lord Moonie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Moonie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the annual savings arising from the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative introduced in 2005–06.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    The Warship Support Modernisation Initiative (WSMI), introduced in 2002, encompasses three separate contracts between the Ministry of Defence and the operators within Her Majesty’s Naval Bases (HMNB) at Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth.

    Figures on savings are provided in the tables below. These are broken down on an annual basis where information is held in that format.

    Annual Savings from the WSMI arrangement with Babcock Marine Ltd at HMNB Clyde

    Based on the contractual share-line arrangements and the final/interim cost settlements the savings to MOD are as attached.

  • Baroness Taylor of Bolton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Taylor of Bolton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many category A and category B prisoners are currently being held in category C or category D prisons.

    Lord Faulks

    All prisoners are assessed as to their risk of escape or abscond, and their risk of harm to the public should they escape or abscond, which ensures allocation of prisoners to a prison providing appropriate levels of security. Only those prisoners categorised as C would be held in a category C prison and only those considered suitable would be held in category D open conditions.

    Those same procedures ensure that category A and B prisoners are not allocated to category C or D prisons and that all prisoners are held in an establishment of at least the security category to which they have been assigned.

    Prisoners re-categorised to a higher category would be held in the prison’s Segregation Unit until such time as they could be moved to more appropriate accommodation.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that cookery is included in the curriculum as part of design and technology lessons.

    Lord Nash

    All pupils should be taught to cook and to apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Design and Technology (D&T) is compulsory for all maintained schools from key stages 1 to 3 and the new D&T curriculum, which will be in force from September 2014, strengthens the requirements on schools to teach about food at primary and secondary. At primary, the curriculum will ensure pupils are taught about healthy eating, where food comes from and to prepare and cook a range of dishes. At secondary, for the first time, cooking will be compulsory at key stage 3: teachers will be also required to cover nutrition, diet and where food comes from.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many schools will not have the facilities to provide hot meals in September.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education is providing funding, expert advice and support to assist schools in offering hot meals to all infant pupils from September.

    There will be a range of ways that hot meals are provided in schools, with some being fully prepared on site and others transported in. The vast majority of schools are on track to offer free school meals to all their infant pupils in September, and we have made it clear that we expect them either to offer hot options immediately, or to work towards doing so as soon as possible.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to allow colleges to provide free meals transactions on individual student smart cards.

    Lord Nash

    We published guidance for further education funded institutions, including colleges, on 16 April setting out full details of the requirement on institutions to provide free meals to their disadvantaged 16- to 18-year-old students from September 2014.

    Exactly how those requirements are met is for individual institutions to determine, and will depend on current practices and systems already in place. Institutions have the flexibility to be able to provide either a meal or a voucher or credit for the student to exchange for a meal. Smart cards would be an ideal way to make such provision.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to extend summer school initiatives to help disadvantaged children improve their levels of attainment after the summer of 2014.

    Lord Nash

    A decision on whether to extend the Department for Education’s summer schools programme in 2015 will be made towards the end of 2014, in light of information gathered on this year’s summer school programme.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any cost-benefit analysis of the reduction of carbon monoxide emissions as a result of the planned HS2 high-speed rail link.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Government has not made any cost-benefit analysis of the impact of HS2 on carbon monoxide emissions.

    The HS2 Economic Case quantifies the impact of HS2 on non-traded direct Greenhouse Gas emissions (which include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) resulting from changes in petrol/diesel use from road and rail passenger transport as a result of HS2. This analysis estimates that the full HS2 Y-Network generates benefits of £101 million (2011 prices, NPV) from reduced non-traded Greenhouse Gas emissions.