The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Sovereign is subject to legislation originating in the EU.
Lord Bridges of Headley
In relation to UK law civil and criminal proceedings cannot be taken against the Sovereign as a person under UK law.
Under EU law, EU Heads of State enjoy a special status, in accordance with generally accepted principles of international law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what powers he intends to devolve to city regions; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Percy
It is for a city region or any other place to put forward proposals for any powers that it wishes to be devolved to it, together with its proposals for the necessary strong governance arrangements to support these.
The Government has already agreed devolution deals with nine areas which provide for the devolution of wide ranging powers and budgets on planning, transport and skills and the election of mayors in 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to restore compensation for war widows who remarried between 1973 and 2005.
Mark Lancaster
There are currently no plans to restore War Widows Pensions to those who had surrendered it on re-marriage or cohabitation, however, I remain sympathetic to the circumstances of this group of widows and have asked Ministry of Defence officials to continue to consider potential options given the financial and legal considerations we are faced with.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 December 2015 (HL4047), whether the build time of HMS Vanguard from beginning of whole boat construction to commissioning was six years 11 months; and, if so, why the first Vanguard replacement will take in excess of 14 years, as laid out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Earl Howe
The Vanguard class were built at the end of an extensive period of UK submarine production. UK industrial capacity diminished following the subsequent 10 year gap in submarine building, which is a key factor in the Successor build schedule. Additionally, the Vanguard build duration, which was more than eight years in duration, did not include sea trials, which take several years. The dates for Successor reported in the Strategic Defence and Security Review do include that activity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of income tax and corporation tax relief on payments to relevant scientific research associations.
Mr David Gauke
This is a longstanding tax relief which ensures that business payments made to scientific research associations which carry out research relevant to the business can be taken into account in calculating taxable profits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruits to the (a) Reserve and (b) armed forces in each local authority area of their origin in Wales and in each branch of service began their basic training in each of the last 12 months
Mr Julian Brazier
Information on the local authority of origin for recruits to the Regular and Reserve forces is not available.
The date at which personnel started their basic training is also not held.
The Ministry of Defence publishes UK Regular strengths by stationed location in our Quarterly Location Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/location-of-all-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-index
Information on untrained intake into the Volunteer Reserve by stationed location in Wales is provided in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-03-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the not-for-profit company that sets and co-ordinates the 11 plus exam in Buckinghamshire is subject to the public sector equality duty.
Lord Nash
The Department for Education holds no responsibility for the 11 plus exams. These are commercial products which local authorities and independent schools implement at their discretion.
The 11 plus exam, or newly-named ‘Transfer Test’, in Buckinghamshire is developed by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at the University of Durham, which is an independent educational supplier. Private and voluntary organisations are subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 when they carry out public functions. The duty may therefore apply to CEM’s public functions only, but the Department cannot advise on this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt drivers between the ages of 17 and 25 who have telematics black box car insurance from insurance premium tax to reduce that tax for those drivers.
Harriett Baldwin
Insurance Premium Tax is a tax on insurance companies and it is up to them how they pass it on to their customers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the additional staffing and resources required by the Student Loans Company for administration and postgraduate loan applications from October 2016.
Joseph Johnson
The Student Loans Company will open applications for the new master’s loan for postgraduate study from the end of June 2016. Around 40 additional full-time equivalent staff will support the new loan product.
The additional staff will be required to process the applications, administer the payment of student loans and deal with any enquiries from students in relation to the new product.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to review the eligibility for the operational allowance for service personnel.
Mark Lancaster
We review eligible locations every six months as standard but Ministers have no plans to change the qualifying criteria.