Tag: 2015

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 22 October (HL Deb, GC53–4), what response they have received from the government of Bangladesh following the representations they have made about the murder of secularists and upholding rights of freedom of belief set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government has been unequivocal in its condemnation of the murder of four secular bloggers in Bangladesh this year, and in calling for the Government of Bangladesh to protect those who face threats to their lives because of the views they have expressed. The Bangladesh authorities continue their investigations to find the perpetrators and a number of arrests have been made. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, visited Bangladesh from 31 August to 9 September. We look forward to his report at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2016 and we will encourage the government to consider all its recommendations carefully.

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Road Investment Strategy has made to increasing the housing supply.

    Andrew Jones

    The Road Investment Strategy (RIS), announced in December 2014, is the biggest upgrade to England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads in a generation. As part of the RIS, a new £100 million fund dedicated to Growth and Housing was announced. This allows Highways England to help accelerate the progress of key housing and mixed-use sites that have secured planning consent but are not progressing due to the strategic road infrastructure improvements they require.

    In addition, many of the major schemes announced in the RIS support economic and housing growth. These include the A5-M1 Link Road, a new Junction 10a on the A14 at Kettering and the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme. Together, these two A14 schemes support delivery of over 20,000 homes.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Attorney General was consulted or notified before the decision was made to remove the reference to the need to comply with international law and treaty obligations from the Ministerial Code.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.

    Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.

  • Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Hinckley Point C nuclear power station project is served by a road and rail network resilient to climate change.

    Claire Perry

    The Department has provided £2.8m funding to Somerset Council to upgrade transport links before construction begins. It will help guide the Council on the development of business cases for road, rail and public transport changes and on bidding for funding to support this, including seeking an appropriate contribution from third parties.

  • Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the estimated average earnings from employment of 1,156,000 employees aged 65 years or older, as shown in Summary Table 2(2) of the Office for National Statistics UK Labour Market Bulletin for October by gender.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

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

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define open access in the context of mandatory open-access sexual health services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Local authorities are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services for everyone present in their area; this includes free testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and notification of sexual partners of infected persons; and free contraception, and reasonable access to all methods of contraception.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made in retrieving the £3 million grant to Kids Company made by his Department immediately before that charity went into administration.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    We are currently in discussions with the Official Receiver regarding retrieving the grant Government recently provided to Kids Company.

  • Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 17 November (HL3227), what discussion HMRC has had with Trading Standards about VAT fraud among online traders operating from abroad; on what dates they held those discussions; by what medium; and with what outcome.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is engaging with Trading Standards, both bi-laterally and through cross-government groups, to establish a coordinated response to VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad. Additionally, HMRC has on-going policy and operational exchanges with Trading Standards via various media including face-to-face meeting, e-mail and telephone, sharing information and intelligence in line with established information gateways.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is providing to the spirits industry in Scotland.

    Damian Hinds

    The government is committed to supporting the spirits industry in Scotland. The duty on spirits was cut by 2% at March Budget 2015, building on the duty freeze at Budget 2014. These measures have benefited the Scotch whisky industry in addition to the overall spirits industry across the UK.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following reports that the Israeli army is preventing a Palestinian woman from travelling to her own wedding ceremony in Jordan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities over this specific issue. We do, however, remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.