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  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 January (HL4728), whether independence was one of the criteria by which candidates to chair the independent review of localisation of Council Tax support schemes were assessed.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    While independence was not referenced in my earlier answer, Ministers were mindful of independence in considering a chair, and have made it clear that this would be an independent review.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total value of redundancy payments made to former employees of the Tenant Services Authority as a result of the decision to abolish that organisation.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (known as The Tenant Services Authority) ceased to exist from 31 March 2012. All staff were transferred under TUPE regulations to the Homes and Communities Agency from 1 April 2012, with the exception of the Managing Director. It was agreed that the post of Managing Director would not transfer and that the post should be deleted from the establishment from that date. A redundancy payment of £47,675 was made, together with enhanced pension contributions of £148,568.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets currently receive Universal Credit.

    Lord Freud

    The latest published statistics show that, as at December 2015, there were 1,409 Universal Credit claimants in Tower Hamlets.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 8 December 2015 (HL3997), what has been identified as the cause of the overpayment of housing benefit to those claimants migrated onto Universal Credit, and how many claimants in Tower Hamlets have been affected.

    Lord Freud

    We have safeguards in place to ensure an effective transition and avoid impacts on overlapping benefits.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of imports from the EU in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what percentage of that amount is represented by imports from the Republic of Ireland.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The value of UK imports of goods and services from the EU28 was £290.6 billion in 2014. Imports from the Republic of Ireland amounted to £17.1 billion, or 5.9% of total UK imports from the EU28 (Source: ONS Pink Book 2015).

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to releasing parts of one or both of the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus to facilitate a political settlement on the island.

    Earl Howe

    The UK will continue to support the efforts of President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci to reunite Cyprus through a just and lasting settlement. The UK has made a generous offer that, as part of a comprehensive settlement, we will cede a significant proportion of the land mass of the Sovereign Base Areas. However, the Sovereign Base Areas continue to have a significant operational value for defence that is expected to endure for the long term.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to abandoning one or both of the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus to facilitate a political settlement on the island.

    Earl Howe

    The UK will continue to support the efforts of President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci to reunite Cyprus through a just and lasting settlement. The UK has made a generous offer that, as part of a comprehensive settlement, we will cede a significant proportion of the land mass of the Sovereign Base Areas. However, the Sovereign Base Areas continue to have a significant operational value for defence that is expected to endure for the long term.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to ceasing to be a guarantor power in Cyprus to facilitate a political settlement on the island.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is prepared to consider whatever arrangements the two communities can agree upon to meet the security needs of a reunited Cyprus as part of a settlement. We remain strongly supportive of the efforts of President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci to seize this opportunity to secure a historic agreement.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any restrictions on the supply of gas or electricity to Gaza, and if so, what representations have been made to the government of Israel by them or the EU on behalf of its member states.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Less than 50 percent of Gaza’s basic electricity needs are currently being met. This is a result of the limited capacity of the existing power lines from Israel (providing approximately 120 Mega Watts (MW) at present) and Egypt (approximately 32 MW), and of the Gaza power plant (60 MW). The plant is not run at full capacity because of damage sustained in past conflicts and restrictions on the amount of diesel allowed into Gaza. Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv regularly urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on Gaza and to facilitate improvements in electricity infrastructure. On 10 September, during Israeli Prime Minister Mr Netanyahu’s visit to the UK, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), emphasised the need for Israel to do more to improve conditions in Gaza. They discussed electricity, as well as water and exports.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who are the members and the associate members of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and to which UK political party each belongs.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was announced by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), in a Written Ministerial Statement on 3 November 2015. [HCWS287]

    A list of full and alternate UK members of PACE, as well as their party affiliations and European political groupings, is as follows:

    FULL MEMBERS

    Sir Roger Gale MP (Leader) Con

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP OBE SNP

    Lord Anderson of Swansea Lab

    Guto Bebb MP Con

    David Crausby MP Lab

    Geraint Davies MP Lab

    Rt Hon Jeffrey Donaldson MP DUP

    Earl of Dundee Con

    Baroness Eccles of Moulton Con

    Nigel Evans MP Con

    John Howell MP OBE Con

    Ian Liddell-Grainger MP Con

    Sir Alan Meale MP Lab

    Kate Osamor MP Lab

    Lord Prescott Lab

    Mark Pritchard MP Con

    Christina Rees MP Lab

    Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP SNP

    ALTERNATE MEMBERS

    Lord Balfe Con

    Rt Hon Lord Blencathra Con

    Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP Lab

    David T C Davies MP Con

    Baroness Eaton DBE Con

    Suella Fernandes MP Con

    Rt Hon Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Lab

    Khalid Mahmood MP Lab

    Baroness Massey of Darwen Lab

    Huw Merriman MP Con

    Baroness O’Loan DBE CB

    Mary Robinson MP Con

    Paul Scully MP Con

    Virendra Sharma MP Lab

    Paula Sherriff MP Lab

    Kelly Tolhurst MP Con

    Phil Wilson MP Lab

    Mike Wood MP Con