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  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 March (HL6235), what destinations are currently licensed to accept spoil from the Thames Tideway Tunnel, and what commitments have been given about whether such spoil may be sent to landfill permit sites.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There are many sites across the country licensed to accept the type of excavated material and waste from the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT). Tideway, the Infrastructure Provider set up to finance, build, maintain and operate the TTT, is assessing several sites that were identified as part of the information submitted for the Development Consent Order consent to receive the TTT excavated material. In order to meet Tideway’s commitment to transport by river, it is focussing on sites in the Thames Estuary. The type of permit these sites require is being assessed in line with current statutory guidance. A number of applications have been made and are being determined by the Environment Agency.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the spoil from Crossrail tunnelling deposited at Wallasea Island was authorised under a landfill or recovery permit or licence and whether the same designation will apply to spoil deposited from the Thames Tideway Tunnel excavations.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The site at Wallasea Island received the Crossrail tunnel excavated material under a deposit for recovery permit.

    Tideway, the Infrastructure Provider set up to finance, build, maintain and operate the Thames Tideway Tunnel, is assessing several sites that were identified as part of the information submitted for the Development Consent Order consent to receive the tunnel excavated material. In order to meet its commitment to transport by river Tideway is focussing on sites in the Thames Estuary. The type of permit these sites require is being assessed in line with current statutory guidance. A number of applications have been made and are being determined by the Environment Agency.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much compensation has been paid or committed to any company involved in cross-channel traffic because of losses or additional costs due to the number of migrants in the Calais area.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The department has not paid or committed to pay compensation to any company involved in cross-channel traffic because of losses or additional costs due to the number of migrants in the Calais area.

    The Business Support Helpline is available to businesses seeking advice on managing disruption.

    In the 2015 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer committed £250 million to finding a long term solution to Operation Stack.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 March (HL6235), what assessment they have made of whether a procurement process where there are only two genuine bidders complies with the EU rules and procedures for public contracts, which state that a minimum of three bids are required, and whether they have sought from the EU a derogation from that rule.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Rail franchising competitions are governed by Regulation 1370/2007 and not the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Therefore, although the Department fully applies the EU treaty principles of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination, it is not obliged to follow the processes and procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

    Where a competition is to be held, Regulation 1370/2007 requires a fair competitive procedure, but does not stipulate the minimum number of bidders that is required to evidence this.

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

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 27 October 2015 (HL2390), what steps they have taken to satisfy themselves as to the appropriateness of the award of the contract for the management of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre to MTCNovo in the light of the failure of the Youth Justice Board, in its response to a letter from Article 39, the Howard League for Penal Reform, and INQUEST, to address issues concerning that company’s limited experience of dealing with the provision of custodial care for young offenders, and legal cases in the USA that raise questions about its suitability.

    Lord Faulks

    MTCnovo is a joint venture between Management Training Corporation (MTC) and Novo Community Ltd, owned by Amey. The capability of MTC and Amey, were robustly assessed at the pre-qualification stage of the competition.

    There are two current legal cases brought against the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDCO) in relation to two correctional facilities in the USA where MTC is now the operator. Both these cases are brought against the commissioning authority MDOC and relate to conditions that existed when the facilities were operated by a different provider.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will require charities to take to establish that no part of their funding of lobbying activity is derived from Government grants.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Recipients of public money through grants should maintain records of how that money is spent, as required by the grant agreement.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in advance of the Global Anti-Corruption Summit in London in May to legislate to subject UK property owned by offshore companies to the same regulations as domestic companies and individuals.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    A discussion paper on proposals to require foreign companies to provide beneficial ownership information when purchasing or owning property or bidding for public contracts was published on Friday 4 March.

    The document has been published here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/property-ownership-and-public-contracting-by-foreign-companies-improving-transparency and copies of the discussion paper have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

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  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the humanitarian and emergency response to the earthquakes in Nepal in 2015, and of which organisations were best placed to deliver a quick response to affected areas and to deliver lasting change.

    Baroness Verma

    The Government’s response to the recent devastating earthquakes now stands at £70 million. Funds raised by the British public for the DEC appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. UK support has provided: over 230,000 people with emergency shelter; over 200,000 people with winter support such as clothes, blankets and mattresses; and over 2,000 hours of helicopter flights to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to communities in areas inaccessible by road.

    In the first few weeks after the earthquake, DFID and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office established a project to collect beneficiary feedback. Short, monthly perception surveys on the coverage, quality and fairness of the humanitarian response are produced by this project. This information has informed the DFID response, as well as shaped wider humanitarian efforts in Nepal.

    DFID is also funding a number of ongoing surveys to understand the issues and challenges on the ground, including community recovery from the earthquake (with the Asia Foundation) and also levels of food security in the affected areas (with the World Food Programme). In a complex context, this has helped us understand the needs and challenges that are driving costs and delivery timelines.

    DFID delivered much of its humanitarian support through International Non-Governmental Organisations, who had the capacity and presence on the ground to respond. We have undertaken regular monitoring of partner performance through field trips, meetings with partners, and routine narrative reporting. We have undertaken three rounds of monitoring to track partner performance, unit costs, timeliness and quality. All partner organisations have delivered to expectations.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their recommendation that members of the public donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for Nepal following the earthquakes in 2015, what assessment they have made of (1) how much money was donated to that appeal, (2) how soon after the emergency those funds were spent, (3) individual donors’ levels of satisfaction with how their donations were spent, (4) how that money was shared between NGOs that are members of the DEC and Nepalese NGOs, and (5) what effect that spending had.

    Baroness Verma

    Funds raised by the British public for the DEC appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. UK Government representatives in Nepal’s meet regularly with Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) members to discuss the ongoing earthquake response, recovery and reconstruction efforts.

    The DEC publishes regular updates on the Nepal response on their website and through social media. Information on how funds are being used is also shared directly to donors via email and post. The DEC has also commissioned and published an independent evaluation of the work, which I have attached for ease, of members in Nepal which particularly focuses on the emergency response phase.

    The DEC is planning on producing a ‘one year on’ report which will be published on the anniversary of the earthquake. This will give details of how funds were raised, how they were disbursed to member agencies, how they have been spent and what has been achieved.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Disasters Emergency Committee about when it will publish its summary of how money donated by the public to the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake was spent.

    Baroness Verma

    Funds raised by the British public for the DEC appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. UK Government representatives in Nepal’s meet regularly with Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) members to discuss the ongoing earthquake response, recovery and reconstruction efforts.

    The DEC publishes regular updates on the Nepal response on their website and through social media. Information on how funds are being used is also shared directly to donors via email and post. The DEC has also commissioned and published an independent evaluation of the work, which I have attached for ease, of members in Nepal which particularly focuses on the emergency response phase.

    The DEC is planning on producing a ‘one year on’ report which will be published on the anniversary of the earthquake. This will give details of how funds were raised, how they were disbursed to member agencies, how they have been spent and what has been achieved.