Tag: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect the UK’s opting out of the Prüm Decision has had on solving crime.

Lord Bates

The Government opted out of the Prüm decisions in December 2014 because we were not then in a position to implement it and could have been subject to substantial fines from the European Court of Justice for our non-implementation had we stayed in. On 26 November the Government issued Command Paper 9149 which recommended rejoining Prüm and set out a clear timeframe for implementation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the law to protect vulnerable people from phone phishing and other communication scams.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government is cracking down on nuisance calls. Over the last five years the average fine issued has increased from around £5000 to £85000, we have strengthened the law to make it easier to clamp down on companies who break the rules and have increased the maximum fine to £500,000.

The Government takes all types of fraud extremely seriously. We are working closely with the City of London Police (CoLP), the national lead force for fraud, to help local forces and partners deliver protective advice to the public on fraud, including phone scams. CoLP operates Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, to ensure that the public has the information they need to protect themselves from telephone fraud. Action Fraud, for example, places an alert on its website when a serious threat or new type of fraud is identified – which members of the public can sign up to receive by email.

We are also working with Financial Fraud Action UK and the British Bankers’ Association who issue advice to consumers on how to protect themselves from phone scammers. Ofcom work with the Metropolitan Police Service, Action Fraud and landline providers to prevent criminals exploiting phone lines to defraud members of the public.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of driverless car technology.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government recognises the transformative potential that Connected and Automated Vehicles technologies have for mobility and our transport system, and the significant opportunities that exist for UK industry in their development and commercialisation. The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles was established in July 2015 between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Transport, to lead on this agenda.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of GCSE and A-level exams that were changed after challenges this summer.

Lord Nash

This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the noble Baroness. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Lords Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the Department for International Development aid budget will be spent by other departments.

Baroness Verma

As part of the 2015/16 Main Estimate process the Department for International Development transferred £258m of its International Aid budget to other Government Departments.

This figure excludes the Conflict Security and Stability Fund, which is a £1.033bn cross departmental fund, £883m of which sits on the Department for International Developments baseline. £823m of this was then transferred to other government departments as directed by the National Security Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that apprenticeships deliver the skills that are needed in the current world of work.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We are committed to delivering employer-led apprenticeship reforms, which continue to improve the ability of apprenticeships to provide the skills that employers need.

Employers are designing high quality apprenticeships – including Degree Apprenticeships -that are more responsive to the needs of business. They are deciding the skills, knowledge and behaviour required in each apprenticeship and how those skills should be assessed at the end of the programme. Through this process employers can be confident that completing an apprenticeship signals a genuine ability to do the job.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their plans for the Department for International Development to invest in addressing Aids, tuberculosis, and malaria globally from 2016 onwards.

Baroness Verma

The UK government is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030. We are already working towards this goal through our substantial investment to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria which has saved 17 million lives.

We are currently undertaking a number of internal reviews to ensure we are in the right place to deliver our objectives and maximise our value for money and impact. Our future contributions to the Global Fund and country programmes are being considered as part of this. We will lay out further investment plans in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the obstacles people will encounter when searching for company statements on supply chains, which are required to be produced by all companies that have a turnover of £36 million or more.

Lord Bates

The Government wants to ensure that ‘slavery and human trafficking statements’ are accessible and easy to find. That is why the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires organisations to place a link to their statement in a prominent place on their website. This should ensure that people do not encounter undue obstacles when searching for company statements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more are ready to comply with the obligations of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Transparency in Supply Chains) Regulations 2015.

Lord Bates

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is now in force. Many businesses called for this provision, we consulted on the turnover threshold, and then involved businesses in drafting associated guidance. Therefore, the Government is confident businesses will be ready.

We have also included a transition provision so that organisations will have time to consider the guidance before the first statements are due on or after 31 March 2016.