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  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the reasons the government of Spain has given for sending warships and other state vessels into territorial waters around Gibraltar.

    Baroness Warsi

    Our assessment is that unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish State vessels are a futile attempt to assert Spain’s legal position in respect of the waters. Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar, including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

  • Lord Lee of Trafford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lee of Trafford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lee of Trafford on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Revenue and Customs keeps records of the amount of Gift Aid claimed by, or paid to, attractions in respect of qualifying admission fees paid to view charity property; and, if so, in what form the records are kept.

    Lord Deighton

    HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information about Gift Aid claimed by, or paid to, charities in respect of admission fees to view charity property, except for charities subject to enquiry. It would be administratively burdensome for charities to routinely provide a detailed breakdown of their income with every Gift Aid claim they make.

  • Lord Bradley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Bradley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average annual household income in each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester in each of the last ten years.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as the major shareholder in National Air Traffic Services, they intend to meet the costs of the employee share scheme if the Civil Aviation Authority confirm their proposal that those costs will no longer be provided for in the next regulatory settlement.

    Baroness Kramer

    The regulatory settlement is a matter for the CAA. We would expect the NATS Board, in the first instance, to continue to consider the benefits of the employee share scheme and the terms on which it operates.

  • Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) overall, and (2) age-standardised, deaths from liver disease there have been in (a) England, and (b) each parliamentary constituency, each year since 1997.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

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

    Lord Pendry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of British Cycling’s Time to Choose Cycling campaign, what progress has been made in promoting cycling as a safe and viable transport method around the United Kingdom.

    Baroness Kramer

    Cycling is normal and fun and we are committed to making it a safer travel choice so more people can appreciate the benefits of physical activity. Cycling can help tackle congestion, reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality.

    In August last year the Prime Minister set out his ambition for increasing cycling. This included £94 million for Cycling Ambition Grants which covered eight cities and four National Parks across England. These eight cities all have ambitious targets to increase cycling over the coming years.

    In addition, we have invested £15 million for cycling and walking links in communities and almost £15 million for cycling infrastructure at rail stations – our rail funding has been the major enabler in doubling the amount of cycle-rail facilities at stations since 2009. We also continue to support Bikeability training for children – we provide funding of up to £40 per training place – over a million children have been trained.

    Finally, to help realise the Prime Minister’s ambition for cycling, we are working with stakeholders and Government to produce a Cycling Delivery Plan for publication later this year.

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

    Lord Pendry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by Policy Exchange, Watching the Watchmen: the future of school inspections in England, what measures are being taken to ensure that Ofsted inspectors used from private firms are accredited and qualified.

    Lord Nash

    This question is a matter for Ofsted. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the noble Lord and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to combat domestic violence.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Government is determined to do all it can to tackle domestic violence and abuse and bring perpetrators to justice. Our approach is set out in our strategy, ‘Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ published in November 2010, together with a supporting Action Plan. A revised version of the Action Plan was published in March 2014 and contains a hundred and fifty actions across Government departments.

    We are committed to ensuring that the police response to victims of domestic violence is as good as it can be. That is why last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to conduct an all force review of domestic violence. HMIC published its findings on 27 March 2014 and highlighted serious failings in the police response. In response to the review, the Home Secretary is leading a series of measures to improve the police response. This includes establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that the police must make significant improvements and that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014 to address HMIC’s findings.

    The Coalition Government is also committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. That is why on 8 March 2014, we commenced the national rollout of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme across England and Wales and why we are currently providing funding for 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and 54 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference co-ordinators.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in complying with the European Union Directive 2008/50/EC on air quality.

    Lord De Mauley

    The UK reports compliance with the limit values in the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) to the European Commission in September each year. The last report related to concentrations of air pollutants in 2012. This indicated that the UK met both the daily and annual limit values for particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less (PM10)and complied with the EU limit values for sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene and lead.

    Meeting the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values alongside busy roads continues to be a significant challenge for the UK and most other Member States. In 2012, 32 zones exceeded the annual mean limit value (or margin of tolerance for zones with a time extension) and two exceeded the hourly mean limit value. The UK is investing heavily in measures to reduce emissions, in particular from transport, and over £2bn worth of measures have been announced since 2011. These measures will address both particulate matter and NO2.

    Further information is available in the series of reports on ‘Air Pollution in the UK’ available at: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

    “

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in hosting Syrian refugees.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The first group of Syrian refugees arrived in the UK on 25 March as part of the Government’s Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) Scheme. The next group of refugees is expected to arrive this month, with further groups to follow on a regular basis. We continue to work with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to establish a steady flow of cases.

    Whilst there is no set quota, we predict that the VPR scheme will support several hundred people over the next three years.

    A number of local authorities have indicated that they would like to participate in the scheme, and we are in discussions with other local authorities who have expressed an interest.