Tag: 2016

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 26 April (HL7583 and HL7584), what assessment they have made of whether the same collateral could be used to support risk at both LCH and Eurex.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to my previous answers of 26 April (HL7583 and HL7780) which noted that, once notified of the merger, the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority would assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint, and that it would also be subject to assessments and approvals by the competition authorities, overseas regulators, and shareholders.

    My previous answers further noted that any inter central counterparty links would need to be assessed against the relevant parts of European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current health and status of earthworm populations in English arable soils, and based on research and surveys carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ commissioned research and research of other organisations, what trends they have identified in the last two decades.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Defra is working closely with the research councils and is funding research to improve our understanding of the role of soil biodiversity in contributing to soil condition. This research includes a Defra-funded review of the current available UK-affiliated evidence base. The Report of the review was published in March and has been placed in the House Library.

    We are looking closely at its findings, including whether there is a need to carry out analysis of trends in biodiversity in order to understand better how the functions it supports, such as soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics and plant growth, contribute to soil condition across a range of ecosystem services and management practices.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the disclosure by Equal Justice of details of six new discrimination claims involving race, sex and gender against the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), what action they are taking to ensure that MPS black and ethnic minority groups are able to work in an environment that is safe and free from abuse.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government takes allegations of unlawful discrimination in the police very seriously and is firmly committed to ensuring the highest possible standards in policing. Such allegations must be investigated thoroughly and, when and where required, perpetrators must be dealt with robustly.

    We are reforming the police disciplinary system to ensure it delivers greater transparency and accountability. We are implementing the recommendations of the Chapman Review to make the police disciplinary system less adversarial with a greater focus on rehabilitation, development and improvement where possible, whilst ensuring the most serious matters are dealt with appropriately and robustly through the police conduct system.

    It is essential that the actions and behaviour of racist police officers are not allowed to undermine public confidence in the police’s ability to respond to, investigate and fight crime, or to tarnish the reputation of the police and the majority of officers who work closely and effectively with people from all communities.

    The public must also have trust that the police represent the communicates they serve, and the proportion of police officers who are from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds has now risen to its highest level ever with forces taking important steps to attract staff from a diverse range of backgrounds.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve (a) rail connectivity and (b) service delivery on Cross Country Trains which run between Birmingham and Stansted and through Peterborough in the next Control Period; and if he will make a statement.

    Paul Maynard

    I recently announced a new contract for the Cross Country rail franchise that will run until October 2019. This franchise offers a number of passenger experience improvements such as free wi-fi on trains. The franchise retains the same level of service between Birmingham and Stansted Airport. I am aware that there are aspirations for improvements in the Cross Country service through Peterborough. Currently, there are no suitable diesel trains available to allow this to happen. However, should this position change, we would work with Cross Country to consider what services enhancements may be possible to deliver. There may be further enhancements across the Cross Country network, once it’s competitively let in 2019.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many temperature tests there were to determine eligibility to receive winter fuel allowance of people living abroad in 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The winter fuel payment eligibility criteria for people who normally live in the EEA, was changed for winter 2015-16. A temperature criterion was introduced by the DWP using information from a report it commissioned from the Met Office. This report showed the average winter temperature data for each EEA country and Switzerland and for the regions of the UK. The Met Office report was produced in 2012 and used information from a dataset for the reference period 1961-1990 available through the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia.

    The average winter temperature in the warmest part of the UK, the South West, is 5.6oC. This point is the basis for the changes made to the winter fuel payment eligibility criteria. People living in countries with an average winter temperature of no more than 5.6oC, or a temperature that is close enough to that to be statistically equivalent, are eligible for a winter fuel payment.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of (1) the annual benefits paid to EU migrants in the UK, and (2) the contribution of those individuals to the public purse through income tax receipts and VAT.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The information is not available.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the RAND Europe evaluation of Liaison and Diversion services will be published.

    Alistair Burt

    RAND Europe will publish its evaluation of the 10 Wave 1 Liaison and Diversion (L&D) pilot services when HM Treasury’s decision on the L&D full business case is announced. This decision is expected shortly.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken in response to the Resolution of the House of 11 February on conservation of sea bass and the effect of related EU measures on the UK recreational fishing industry.

    George Eustice

    The Government has noted carefully the points of the Resolution of the House, which have informed the ongoing development of UK policy on bass as we continue to work to improve the sustainability of the stock at both national and EU level.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 28 April (HL Deb, col 1244), what provision was made in the Treasury document published on 18 April on the economic efforts of a UK withdrawal from the EU for funding the health, education, welfare and other costs associated with the forecast increase in that document of three million in the population of the UK by 2030.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    “HM Treasury analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives” shows that after 15 years, even with savings from reduced contributions to the EU, receipts would be £20 billion a year lower in the central estimate of the EEA, £36 billion a year lower for the negotiated bilateral agreement and £45 billion a year lower for the WTO alternative. £36 billion is more than a third of the NHS budget and the equivalent of 8p on the basic rate of income tax.

    The HMT analysis does not forecast immigration but uses the latest figures from ONS as a modelling assumption. These numbers do not take account of future Government actions to reduce immigration, including the emergency brake on welfare agreed as part of the renegotiation.

    The Government is committed to controlling migration by dealing with those who shouldn’t be here, by deporting illegal immigrants and improving the skills of British workers, so we reduce the demand for skilled migrants.

    The Prime Minister has re-negotiated the UK’s position within the EU to close back-door routes into the UK and exert greater control over EU migration by tackling the draw of our welfare system.

    But net migration remains too high and there is still more work to do.

  • Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the monetary value of the relevant information that a franchising authority may obtain from local bus operators under Clause 5 of the Bus Services Bill [HL].

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has made no assessment of the monetary value of the information that a local authority can obtain under Clause 5. The Government understands that some of the information will be commercially sensitive and it is therefore imperative that authorities treat it with care. The information can be used only in connection with the franchising scheme.