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  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran, and what other steps they have taken, following attacks on prisoners held at Evin prison.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK was disturbed at reports of attacks on political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. As we detailed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report, released in April 2014, prison conditions in Iran remain a serious concern. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department plans to develop its existing work on violence against women in Afghanistan in its next operational plan.

    Justine Greening

    DFID works with partners in Afghanistan, including other donors, Afghan women and civil society groups, and the Afghan Government to build on our existing work tackling violence against women and improving women’s rights.

    This includes £3m funding for a joint programme with the Australian Government to improve the implementation of laws designed to protect women and girls affected by violence. From 2014, up to £2m in grants from the DFID-funded Tawanmandi programme to Afghan civil society organisations will also be primarily focused on the elimination of violence against women and girls.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have been involved in the consultation by the Financial Conduct Authority on the new rules for consumer credit adverts; and when the findings will be published.

    Lord Deighton

    This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the Right Reverend Prelate by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to implement the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s recommendation that beneficiaries in Afghanistan should be directly consulted when new projects are being designed and that Afghan women should be consulted on development of the new strategic priority on violence against women.

    Justine Greening

    DFID already uses a variety of methods to ensure intended beneficiaries in Afghanistan are consulted in the design of new programmes and monitoring of existing programmes.

    DFID already consults Afghan women and civil society groups to inform our strategy and programmes for tackling violence against women and improving women’s rights.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether data on the provision of discretionary housing payments by local authorities are collected centrally.

    Lord Freud

    The Department asks local authorities to provide data on their use of Discretionary Housing Payments on a twice yearly basis. Information regarding April to September 2013 can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268411/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-dec13.pdf

    The Department is currently gathering and quality assuring information regarding end of year spend from local authorities for 2013/14

    “

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact on people on low incomes of uprating most cash benefits and tax credits by one per cent from April 2013 rather than in line with inflation.

    Lord Freud

    For 2013/14, the main rates of working-age benefits, statutory payments and tax credits were up-rated by one per cent in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2013. The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 provided for the one per cent increase to apply for 2014/15 and 2015/16. Both of these were accompanied by Impact Assessments.

    As part of his ongoing public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 to monitor impacts on ‘protected groups’, the Secretary of State continues to monitor the impacts of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 in light of any changes to the underlying rate of inflation. The underlying rate of inflation for increases in 2014/15 is similar to that forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility and used in the Impact Assessment. It is therefore likely that the impacts on affected households will be broadly similar to those detailed in the Impact Assessment.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he last met the Minister for Justice in Northern Ireland; and what subjects were discussed at this meeting.

    Damian Green

    The Secretary of State for Justice had a meeting with David Ford, the Northern Ireland Justice Minister on 6 February 2013 in Belfast at which they discussed matters of mutual interest in relation to justice policy.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Goods Vehicle Levy in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The levy is supported by a majority of hauliers in Northern Ireland, all of whom pay it alongside their Vehicle Excise Duty. Hauliers from Ireland must also pay before they use roads in Northern Ireland. A typical large HGV from Ireland visiting Northern Ireland twice a day, as would be the case for a round trip, would effectively pay only £1.28 per visit if they had purchased an annual levy. Smaller vehicles pay less, and those under 12 tonnes pay nothing. These represent small amounts compared to the running cost of a UK HGV of £80,000 to £100,000 per year, and much less than the tolls a typical Northern Ireland HGV would face doing a round trip to Dublin at around £8. Parliament has already debated the exempting of some border roads in Northern Ireland, totalling around 7 miles. These exemptions are a practical measure meaning that vehicles entering Northern Ireland for a short distance do not have to pay the levy, and exempting them simplifies enforcement.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will act to reduce the unit price paid by those consumers who are able to purchase electricity only from a supplier because they are not on mains gas supply and so cannot benefit from a dual fuel tariff.

    Baroness Verma

    The decision to offer a dual fuel discount to customers who take a gas and electricity supply from one supplier is a commercial matter for the companies concerned. The discount reflects savings made by the company by combining administrative costs of providing the two separate supplies. Dual fuel discounts typically range from £10 to £25 per year. It would not be appropriate for Government to intervene by requiring suppliers to reduce electricity prices for just one specific segment of customers.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to ensure the continuing affordability of liquid petroleum gas and oil for those households which are not on mains gas supply.

    Baroness Verma

    Her Majesty’s Government is acutely aware of the difficulties people have experienced with the price of liquid petroleum gas and heating oil. The price of LPG and oil is influenced by a range of factors, including crude oil prices (the major factor), refinery capacity, stock levels, distribution costs and retail margins.

    We believe that the consumer is best served by open competition between companies. The Office of Fair Trading studied the heating oil market in 2011 and found few competition concerns. Most areas of the UK are supplied by a variety of heating oil suppliers and there are low barriers to entry for new businesses who may want to compete. The OFT study also commented on the generally positive initial impact of the Competition Commission Orders from 2009 to make it easier for domestic bulk LPG consumers to switch supplier, and there is a statutory duty to keep under review the effectiveness of and compliance with these Orders.

    My Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Energy will chair a third Ministerial Roundtable meeting on heating oil and LPG supply on 21 May. The Roundtable brings together a wide range of interests including Government, regulators, advisory and charitable bodies, the fuel supply industry and others to work together to improve the security and affordability of off-grid fuel supply.