Tag: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incidents of disruptive passengers on flights departing from or arriving in the UK have been recorded in 2016; what mechanism they use to record such incidents; and what assessment they have made of the effect of such incidents on the safety of other passengers and cabin crew.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government does not collect specific data on the frequency of incidents of disruptive passengers on flights departing from, or arriving in the UK. As such, no estimates have been made.

If serious enough such incidents would be counted amongst data for safety related events. In accordance with EU Regulation No 376/2014, safety-related events which endanger or which, if not corrected or addressed, could endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person have to be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority as part of the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (MORS).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of how many public sector employees earning below £31,000 will be affected by the proposed £95,000 public sector exit payment cap.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government set out its proposals for the cap on public sector exit payments in the consultation document published on 31 July 2015 and confirmed the design of the cap in the consultation response document published on 16 September 2015. The consultation document gave details of the number of exits over recent years that cost the taxpayer more than £100,000.

The precise number of those affected by the public sector exit payment cap will depend on the number and type of exits in coming years. However, in recent years the large majority of exits in the public sector are below the level of the cap. For example, the Whole of Government Accounts states that, in 2013-14, 1,838 out of 72,445 pay outs were in excess of £100,000.

The exit payment clauses currently before the House of Lords in the Enterprise Bill set out how the cap is expected to apply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on Principle 1.1 of the coalition document The Compact of the new Cabinet Office policy on charitable campaigning for charities in receipt of government grant funding, published on 6 February.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The new clause is compatible with the Compact because it does not restrict the rights of charities to campaign on behalf of their beneficiaries. What it rightly prevents is this being done with a government grant funded by taxpayers’ money, and given for a different purpose.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Cabinet Office guidelines that no government grants may be used to lobby for new regulation or more government funding would preclude academics at publicly funded universities, or charities in receipt of grants for specific work, from giving talks, writing articles or submitting letters to newspapers seeking to influence policy if such activity draws on such publicly funded research.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The new clause will not prevent recipients from performing activities that are part of the intended purpose of the grant. It makes sure that taxpayers’ money is not diverted from their intended purpose and wasted on political campaigning and political lobbying.
As indicated at the House of Lords Science Technology Committee, BIS and Cabinet Office are looking into how this new clause will apply to academic research.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 8 April (HL7348), when they will announce the membership of the steering group promised in their response, published on 18 February, to the independent review of UK consumer product recall by Lynn Faulds Wood, following the invitation to potential candidates of 6 April; and when they intend to report on the progress being made on implementing the report.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

A statement on the membership of the steering group has been issued and is attached. It can also be seen on the Gov.uk website.

The first meeting of the steering group took place on 4 May and the group will report on its progress in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to prohibiting passengers from consuming their own alcohol on board aircraft, as is the case in the United States under Federal Aviation Administration regulations; and whether they have considered amending the Air Navigation Order 2016 to include such a prohibition.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Air Navigation Order has provisions that make it an offence to board an aircraft, or be in an aircraft, while drunk, as well as behaving in a disruptive way. Additionally, the aviation industry has clear rules and procedures in place which make it clear that only alcohol bought onboard will be allowed to be consumed. There are no current plans for the Government to review legislation further in this area. Aviation safety is, however, always kept under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Which? survey which showed that 9 out of 10 of the Volkswagen owners surveyed believe they should receive compensation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There has been no assessment of the Which? survey.

The Government expects Volkswagen to set out quickly the steps necessary to correct the problem and to support owners of the affected vehicles in the UK.

This Government is already playing its part by ensuring vehicle owners will not incur higher VED or Company Car Tax if their existing vehicles are found to be fitted with illegal software that manipulates emissions tests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in the light of the 21 October Which? investigation reporting that listings on some ticket resale websites are in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Where there are alleged breaches of legislation, enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action. Consumers or their representatives should report any alleged breach through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline who will report substantive breaches to Trading Standards, or to the police, to take enforcement action as appropriate.

The Government has launched an Independent Review of consumer protection measures in relation to ticket resale and online Secondary Ticketing facilities under Professor Waterson, and Contributions and evidence from interested parties are welcome. This review will gather evidence on how well the Consumer Rights Act’s new ticketing provisions and wider consumer protections are working.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers increases the role and powers of Special Advisers; and, if so, whether they plan to bring forward regulations under section 2(5) of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 so that consultant lobbyists would need to register communications made personally to a Special Adviser.

Lord Bridges of Headley

It is usual practice to publish an updated Code of Conduct for Special Advisers after an election. The updated Code, published on 15 October, does not change the role and powers of special advisers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new wording in the Ministerial Code, issued in October, alters the legal obligations or duty of ministers to comply with international law and treaties.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given to the Noble Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 5 November 2015 to HL3046,HL3047,HL3048, which I have attached for ease of reference.

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.