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Tag: 2015

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review their commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia in the light of the sentencing of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr to death by crucifixion.

    Lord Faulks

    I refer the Right Reverend to the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s statement of 13 October 2015. The bid to provide a training needs analysis to the Saudi Arabian prison service under the Just Solutions international (JSi) brand has now been withdrawn. As has previously been announced, Just Solutions international, the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), has ceased to operate. This is in line with our ambition to ensure the department’s resources are firmly focused on domestic priorities.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Saudi Arabia about their air attacks on towns and cities in Yemen and the consequent civilian casualties.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government is in regular contact with the Saudi authorities about the situation in Yemen through our Embassy in Riyadh and our Yemen Office based in Jeddah. The UK has been consistently clear with all sides to the conflict over the importance of compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law during this conflict. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Al Jubeir on 29 September in the margins of the UN General Assembly, and underlined the importance the UK attaches to finding a political solution to the current crisis as soon as possible. He also reinforced the necessity of full compliance with international humanitarian law.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 3 February (HL4351), what advice was provided to the incoming government about reforms of the death certification system, and whether they will publish that advice in full.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Consideration of reforms to death certification is on-going in the context of the Spending Review. The Government has no plans to publish the advice given by officials to Ministers.

  • Baroness Worthington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Worthington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Worthington on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the share of the total cost of decommissioning gas and oil infrastructure in the North Sea that will be met by the public purse under the current fiscal regime.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government believes in making the most of the UK’s oil and gas resources – to date the oil and gas industry has contributed £330bn to the Exchequer and is the UK’s largest industrial investor, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, supplying a large portion of the UK’s primary energy needs and making a significant contribution to GDP. With between 11 and 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent still to be exploited, the UK Continental Shelf can continue to provide considerable economic benefits for many years to come.

    Decommissioning is an inherent cost of doing business in the UK Continental Shelf. As a result, capital allowances are available on decommissioning expenditure (for the purposes of Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge) and the expenditure is tax deductible for the purposes of Petroleum Revenue Tax. The provision of relief requires a company to have current or previously taxed upstream profits against which to offset losses. Relief is not available where a company has not paid tax or where a company’s decommissioning costs exceed the amount of profits on which they have previously paid tax.

    We are committed to ensuring decommissioning programmes represent value for money, which is why the Government intends to bring forward amendments at Lords Report Stage of the Energy Bill to: require decommissioning programmes to be cost effective, ensure the Oil and Gas Authority has the powers it needs to scrutinise companies’ decommissioning plans to ensure they are cost effective, and enable the Secretary of State to require a company to take specific action to reduce the costs of decommissioning to address cost overruns.

    HMRC’s annual accounts include an estimate of, and provision for, the liabilities associated with the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure. Their annual accounts for 2014-15 are available below in the attached (page 115, Section 8).

  • The Earl of Dundee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The Earl of Dundee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Dundee on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of potential measures to reverse the recent decline in the number of overseas students coming to the United Kingdom to study or work, in particular those from India.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government values the contribution that international students make to the UK’s economy, and to making our education system one of the best in the world. According to the OECD’s Education at a Glance we remain, by some way, the second most popular destination in the world for international higher education students.

    The UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) aims to enhance mutually beneficial educational links between India and the UK. Both Governments have agreed to continue this highly successful programme into a third phase to begin in 2016.

    BIS has established a regular tripartite dialogue with colleagues from the Home Office and the Indian High Commission.

    The British High Commission in Delhi (BHC) and the British Council in Delhi are also working hard to promote the message that the UK is open to all genuine students and that there is no limit on the number of international students who can study at our world leading universities. For example, through the GREAT campaign we have a strong digital and social media campaign with a focus on the employability of Indian students who have graduated from UK HEIs and on countering common visa myths.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the most recent annual figure for the turnover of chief executives of National Health Service organisations.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This information is not held centrally.

    However, leadership experience and stability are an important factor in running successful National Health Service organisations. This is precisely why one of the new functions of NHS Improvement, working with other organisations such as Health Education England, will be to create and support the new generation of NHS leaders.

  • Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the potential benefits to marine conservation and habitats of extending British territorial waters in the sea areas around Gibraltar away from Spain.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government has not made any such assessment. Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar has constitutional competence for marine conservation and habitats in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

  • Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Rural Payments Agency will complete Basic Payment Scheme payments to eligible farmers before the end of 2015.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Rural Payments Agency are on track to start making payments for 2015 BPS Claims from December. The majority of these will be in December and the vast majority in January. The payment window runs from December to the end of June.

  • Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Griffiths on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of (a) teenage, (b) 15 year old, (c) 16 year old and (d) 17 year old girls (i) became pregnant and (ii) gave birth in each local authority area in the most recent three-year period for which figures are available.

    Mr Rob Wilson

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

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons his Department determined that addressing liabilities relating to unrestored coal mines in Scotland was a devolved matter.

    Damian Hinds

    Environmental protection is a devolved matter, and outstanding land restoration liabilities lie with the relevant local authorities and ultimately with the Scottish Government. The Treasury has fully considered the two proposals put to them for addressing the shortfall of land restoration on abandoned Scottish coal mines: an exemption from the Carbon Price Support (CPS) tax and a direct grant from the Exchequer. Following discussions with Hargreaves, the UK Coal Authority, the Scotland Office, the Scottish Government and DECC, the Treasury has had to decline both proposals after thorough consideration. The reasons for this include: – Addressing the shortfall in land restoration is not the responsibility of the UK Government. Environmental protection is a devolved matter, and outstanding land restoration liabilities lie with the relevant local authorities. – The proposals are unaffordable in the current fiscal climate. They would also set a precedent that would risk discouraging companies and local authorities from making proper financial provision for the cost of site restoration and future environmental liabilities. – A CPS exemption would be an inefficient means of addressing the shortfall of land restoration, as the money would not go directly towards this aim and it would incur significant administration costs. – A CPS exemption would distort the market by making non-exempt coal less competitive, and by discouraging investment in low carbon power generation. I have written to the Scottish Government’s Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism informing him of this decision and I would be happy to consider any other options put forward.