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  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are guidelines for local consultations in the Education Funding Agency site selection process, and if so, what those guidelines are.

    Lord Nash

    The Education Funding Agency makes a value for money assessment of each site identified for a new free school. This takes into account factors such as the demand for places in the area and the suitability of the site, including any concerns from local residents.

    Local consultations should take place during the selection of the site and the views of residents are factored in at several stages of the process.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to ensure that existing secondary schools in areas where a new school is planned do not suffer from inappropriate competition for places or other disadvantages.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education’s published document ‘Free schools applications: criteria for assessment’ sets out the criteria which will be used to assess proposals to establish new free schools. This document is attached.

    Prior to the school opening, the Secretary of State considers the impact the new school will have on all schools in the area in which the institution is proposed.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the site selection and assessment process of the Education Funding Agency, and how much weight is given to local public opinion during that process.

    Lord Nash

    The Education Funding Agency makes a value for money assessment of each site identified for a new free school. This takes into account factors such as the demand for places in the area and the suitability of the site, including any concerns from local residents.

    Local consultations should take place during the selection of the site and the views of residents are factored in at several stages of the process.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that greenbelt land is only built on in exceptional circumstances.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that development in the Green Belt should not be permitted except in very special circumstances. A Green Belt boundary may be adjusted by local planning authorities in exceptional circumstances, using the Local Plan process involving consultation with local people and rigorous examination by the Planning Inspector. Planning guidance is clear that constraints such as Green Belt may limit the ability of a local planning authority to meet its full housing needs.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing in April 2015 the need for the Information Commissioner’s Office to prove that substantial” damage had been caused by nuisance calls or spam text messages on the number of (1) investigations that have taken place

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has not assessed the impact of the 6 April 2015 change in threshold, relating to the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR).

    The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) intends to conduct an assessment on the long term impact of the change to PECR in 2016-17, taking into account the result of any appeal judgements.

    Since the change in threshold to PECR, there has been a significant increase in enforcement action and the level of fines issued to organisations that breach the rules. The ICO recently imposed its largest fine of £350,000, on Prodial Ltd for making over 46 million automated nuisance calls and more fines against rogue companies are in the pipeline.

    The ICO has also published a list of all fines and investigations for breaches of the rules before and after the change to PECR in April 2015, this is available at:

    https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enforcement/

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of claims management companies that have faced some sort of intervention from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) works closely with the Claims Management Regulator (CMR) and they regularly share intelligence and information about issues of mutual concern involving claims management companies (CMCs).

    There are a total of 1,752 authorised CMCs, of which 21 CMCs were placed under investigation by the ICO during 2015-2016, amounting to 1.2% of the total. Some of which resulted in formal enforcement action.

    Further information can be found in the attached Claims Management Regulation Annual Report. Details of all the ICO’s enforcement action are published on its website at: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enforcement/“

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many authorised claims management companies have been operating over the last five years.

    Lord Faulks

    The total number of authorised claims management companies (CMCs) operating over the last five years is as follows:

    Year

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    2016

    Total Authorised CMCs (at end March)

    2998

    2693

    2097

    1752

    1610

    This information is included in the CMR Annual Report, which can be found at gov.uk.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage better customer service in insurance companies that allow for consumers to make free claims.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.

    The FCA’s Insurance Conduct of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms in relation to their business which aim to ensure consumers are treated fairly. This includes provisions relating to the handling of claims by insurers. ICOBS states that insurers must handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce an enforceable regulatory regime of any type to tackle nuisance calls, texts and other forms of marketing for claims management companies.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is taking forward a range of measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law.

    Specific actions include requiring direct marketing callers to display calling line identification; strengthening the ICO’s direct marketing guidance; and exploring the extension of the ICO’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls.

    The Government also intends to establish a tougher regulatory regime for Claims Management Companies (CMCs) by transferring responsibility for claims management regulation to the Financial Conduct Authority; re-authorising all CMCs under a more robust process; and holding managers of CMCs personally accountable for the actions of their businesses.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their target date for the operation of a regulatory regime for claims management companies.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    At Budget 2016 the Chancellor announced that the government accepts the recommendations of the independent review into the regulation of Claims Management Companies (CMCs). The new regime will be tougher and will ensure CMC managers can be held personally accountable for the actions of their businesses. In order to ensure that the new regulatory regime is implemented effectively, the government intends to transfer responsibility for regulating CMCs from the Ministry of Justice to the Financial Conduct Authority. The government intends to take forward the necessary primary legislation in due course.