Blog

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the status of the Sheffield City Region Devolution Deal, in the light of the Leader of Sheffield City Council refusing to accept the current Deal; what the areas of disagreement are; and what their position is on each of those areas.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Sheffield City Region devolution deal is a ground-breaking agreement that will see a major transfer of powers and responsibilities, including over transport. Local councils are in the process of ratifying devolution agreements and are working with the Government to ensure the timely implementation of all commitments.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will respond to the report A Review of Choice at the End of Life, published by the End of Life Coalition in February 2015.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department commissioned the independently-led Review of Choice in End of Life Care which provided advice to Ministers last year. The Review set out a vision for enabling greater choice and improving quality at the end of life for every dying person.

    We want to ensure that patients have greater choice about the care they receive at the end of their life and we are working with NHS England to see how this can best be achieved. We will set out our full response to the Choice Review shortly.

  • Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 29 June 2015 (HL541), what action they have taken to make it easier for human trafficking victims whose circumstances make it difficult to provide evidence that they have been habitually resident in the UK for three months to provide such evidence.

    Lord Bates

    A significant number of victims of modern slavery who are identified in the UK are provided support through the government funded victim-care contract for 90 days or longer. Where this is the case, we have ensured that the support provider is able to supply the Department for Work and Pensions with a letter as evidence that the individual has been habitually resident in the UK for more than three months. For the remaining cases where they receive support for less than 90 days, evidence may be provided by the police or other statutory agencies involved in the case confirming the victim has been living in the UK for more than three months, where such evidence exists.

  • Lord Hutton of Furness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Hutton of Furness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hutton of Furness on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in the last five years Ministry of Defence firefighters attended accidents on public highways involving civilian property.

    Earl Howe

    Such information has only been centrally recorded since February 2012. The number of occasions on which Defence Firefighters have attended accidents on the public highway since 2012 is as follows:

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    28

    39

    28

    22
  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce changes to make motor vehicle tax proportionate to the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from motor vehicle engines.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Motoring taxation generally reflects the environmental impact of driving. In particular, Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax vary by CO2 emissions and reduced rates of fuel duty are available for low-emissions fuels.

    From 1 September 2015, all new cars sold in the UK must be compliant with new European-wide air pollutant standards, known as Euro 6 standards, which include gaseous and particulate pollutants.

    The combination of new Euro 6 standards and tougher vehicle approval regulation for air quality pollutants known as Real World Driving Emissions Testing (RDE), which come into force from 2017, will significantly reduce air pollutant emissions from all new vehicles including diesel models.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which of the provisions of the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation on a new approach to business failure and insolvency would (1) benefit, and (2) harm, the UK’s insolvency regime if introduced.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the main criteria for judging whether an insolvency regime is successful.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Bank’s methodology for producing its Resolving Insolvency rankings.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work they are doing to promote the UK’s insolvency regime to the European Commission as it develops its plans for an insolvency directive.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    My officials have regular discussions with Commission officials on this matter. Insolvency experts have also had such discussions to ensure they are aware of the features and strengths of our insolvency regime. The Commission has announced its intention to publish a legislative initiative on corporate insolvency in late 2016. This is to be preceded by a consultation to be published this spring. The Government will be responding to the consultation.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the European Commission’s Recommendation in 2014 on a new approach to business failure and insolvency on the UK’s insolvency regime.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence

    “