Blog

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 23 February (HL6039), how many of the six cases in 2014 knowingly requir[ing] another person to perform forced/compulsory labour” involved child victims.”

    Lord Faulks

    There were no juveniles (individuals aged 10-17) involved as victims of the offence of “knowingly requir[ing] another person to perform forced/compulsory labour”, in England and Wales, in 2014.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether anyone has been prosecuted for human trafficking offences in circumstances where the victim has been found in a cannabis factory.

    Lord Bates

    The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided by reviewing individual case files, at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings (1) Treasury ministers, and (2) Treasury officials, have had with the Association of British Insurers in each of the last three years.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.

    As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

    Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website.

  • Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that the net long-term international migration figure for the year ending September 2015 was 323,000 rather than their ambition of tens of thousands, what is the high migration assumption in the latest ONS population projections, and what they estimate will be the increase in the UK population over the next five years.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

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

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the safety of aircraft flying over heavily populated areas of West London, in the light of the laser attacks on aircraft pilots and the possible expansion of Heathrow Airport.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The UK aviation industry has an excellent safety record and safety is monitored continuously by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as safety regulator. The safety of the public is the first consideration in any decision-making process.

    The CAA has conducted extensive assessments of the risks to aircraft of laser attacks. The CAA Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MORs) provide statistical data on the frequency and geographical location of attacks on UK aircraft. In addition, the data provides details of the rate of reported attacks in relation to the number of aircraft movements at all UK airports including London Heathrow.

    The assessments are supplemented with further enhanced statistical analysis of the MORs by Imperial College London.

    The Government is actively working to draw together a plan to tackle the issues around the sale and misuse of lasers, and to ensure the safety of consumers and aircraft.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made in providing safe abortion for women who are raped in conflict situations.

    Baroness Verma

    Women and girls raped in conflict situations need access to a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health services. The UK funds partners to deliver such services. For example, we are working with agencies such as UNFPA to provide essential sexual and reproductive health care within our humanitarian responses, including in Ukraine and Syria. We encourage other donors and partner agencies to increase provision of sexual and reproductive health services including full implementation of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP). These may include access to safe abortion services as set out in our policy paper on safe and unsafe abortion.

    The Secretary of State made a commitment at the UN General Assembly in 2015 that in humanitarian crises, DFID calls for proposals will require the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to be considered. We are working with our partners to operationalise this commitment.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 24 February (HL6131) concerning a proposal by the EU to requisition member states’ gas supplies under certain circumstances, whether such a policy would require (1) parliamentary consent, and (2) a referendum.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    There is no suggestion in the proposals that the EU will requisition Member States’ gas supplies. The proposals are at a very early stage and we are engaging with the Commission to ensure that the final version is practical and proportionate. The proposals do not involve any agreement by the UK to transfer power or competence to the EU. These proposals are subject to the usual scrutiny process of both Houses.

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

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 23 February (HL6060), whether, in the light of clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill and the laws regarding pre-entry trade union membership, they will take appropriate action to ensure that student unions are bound by the same rules as other unions.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Student unions are not trade unions, as specified by Section 1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Therefore, none of the reforms being provided by the Trade Union Bill will impact students’ unions.

    The Education Act 1994 already requires publicly-funded universities to take reasonable steps to ensure that their students’ union observes the right for students to opt out of membership.

    The Green Paper “Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice” sought public views on the role of students’ unions and what further steps could be taken to increase transparency and accountability to individual members. The Government plans to publish a White Paper in response in the spring.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of food poverty or insecurity that is caused by state benefits being used for purposes other than to provide necessities.

    Lord Freud

    There has been no such assessment.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parliamentary approval would be required for any decision to join the eurozone, and if so, why the Prime Minister has stated that the UK will never join the eurozone, in the light of the fact that one Parliament cannot bind its successor.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As set out in Protocol 15, the United Kingdom is under no legal obligation to adopt the euro as its currency. Under the EU Act 2011, a decision by the UK under Protocol (No 15) leading to a decision by the Council under article 140 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union would require an Act of Parliament and a referendum result in favour before a Minister of the Crown could support it.

    The Prime Minister has been clear that Britain will never join the euro.