The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the future of the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Access to Elected Office Fund was a pilot established in 2012 to test this type of support for disabled candidates. We are now reviewing the findings of the assessment of the pilot and anticipate making an announcement in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the reasons for the increase in the contract target costs of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
No assessment was made by the Department for Transport of the reasons for the increase in the contract target costs of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road. Norfolk County Council officials provided the Department with information on this and with the papers provided to their Councillors prior to the meeting on 6 November where the revised cost of the scheme was approved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pregnant women are currently held in detention under the Immigration Act 2014.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Home Office will not necessarily be aware that a woman is pregnant unless she chooses to make this known to us and a woman may not know herself that she is pregnant when she is detained. It may not always be appropriate for healthcare professionals to disclose information that the patient has asked not to be disclosed.
As of 19 May 2016 there were no pregnant women detained under Immigration Act powers in an immigration removal centre or residential short-term holding facility, subject to these conditions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process was used to assess the value-for-money that would be achieved from the additional Department for Transport funding provided to Norfolk County Council in relation to the Norwich Northern Distributor Road project.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
A value for money assessment was undertaken on the full revised cost of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road which showed that it remained very high value for money under the Department’s value for money assessment with an adjusted Benefit Cost Ratio of 6.07.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their stated intention to require both ministerial and judicial authorisation for warrants under the Investigatory Powers Bill, why they consider it necessary to include a provision limiting judicial scrutiny to judicial review principles.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Investigatory Powers Bill creates a “double lock” for the use of the most intrusive in-vestigatory powers such that a decision to issue a warrant must be approved by a Judicial Commissioner.
As the Secretary of State for the Home Department set out last November, this system balances Parliamentary accountability with independent consideration by a judicial authority. The application of judicial review principles is a robust, yet flexible, approach that the judiciary have significant experience in applying as the framework for independent scrutiny of Executive decision making. The ‘double-lock’, including the use of judicial review principles, was considered in detail by the Joint Committee that scrutinised the draft Bill. The Committee concluded that they were satisfied with the use of judicial review principles and that they would afford the Judicial Commissioners considerable flexibility in reviewing decisions to authorise the use of investigatory powers.
In response to concerns expressed during Commons Committee Stage, the Government tabled an amendment to the test at report. That amendment makes it clear that when carrying out their review of the decision to issue the warrant, the Judicial Commissioner must do so with a sufficient degree of care so as to ensure that the Commissioner complies with their duties under clause 5 (General duties in relation to privacy). There was strong support from across the House for this amendment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since 2010 they have provided additional funding to local authority road building schemes.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Since 2010 additional funding, above that allocated at the initial approval stage, has been provided to five local authority road schemes as follows:
Norwich Northern Distributor Road – £10m
Fletton Parkway Widening (Peterborough) – £0.9m
Hartford Bridge Roundabout (Hampshire) – £0.4m
A4600 University Hospital Junction (Coventry) – £0.1m
Stafferton Way (Windsor and Maidenhead) – £0.8m
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total cost of Trident renewal over the lifespan of the Successor-class submarines, including in-service costs and decommissioning.
Earl Howe
As stated in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, our latest cost estimate for manufacturing the four submarines of the Successor submarine programme is £31 billion, plus a contingency of £10 billion. This includes an assessment of the likely inflation over the lifetime of the programme and the risks appropriate for a project at this stage.
Once the new fleet of ballistic missile submarines comes into service, we expect that the in-service costs of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, which include the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, basing and disposals, will be similar to the current system, at around six per cent of the defence budget.
While we have no plans to replace the current Trident D5 missile, we are participating with our US partners in a programme to extend their lifespan to the 2060s. The estimated cost is around £250 million.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-10-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people currently receive Universal Credit, and at what cost to the public purse.
Lord Freud
The Universal Credit programme publishes official experimental statistics which are available on GOV.UK.
The statistics to 10 September show that 125,877 people were on the Universal Credit caseload. Cost information for the current UC caseload is not available for publication.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-10-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend their definition of a notifiable crime to include (1) all driving offences, or (2) all driving offences that cause injury.
Lord Bates
There are no plans to extend the definition of a notifiable crime to include all driving offences or all driving offences that cause injury.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-09-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to (1) investigate options, and (2) consult on proposals, to widen the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down following the A303/A30/A358 corridor feasibility study last year, and which organisations and individuals they plan to consult during each exercise.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Road Investment Strategy is clear that the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme involves a tunnel of at least 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres). Highways England is in the early stage of scheme development, looking at options, including the length of tunnel. Consultation on options will take place in 2017 and will involve stakeholders, local residents, businesses, road users and interested parties.
Highways England does not yet have reliable cost estimates for a 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometres), or 4.3 miles (7 kilometres) tunnel. This information would become available during the consideration of options. The A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study indicated that the cost estimate for a 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres) tunnel is in the range of £864m to £1321m.
To date, Highways England has not sought funding outside of their own resources to fund a solution for the A303 past Stonehenge although this does not preclude them from considering other funding sources in the future.