The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the European Commission’s recommendation that spectrum should be harmonised and allocated across all 28 member states as part of the Digital Single Market.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government is currently assessing the risks and benefits of such harmonisation to inform its response to the public consultation and subsequent proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the mandatory criminal courts charge on the number of guilty pleas.
Lord Faulks
Section 55 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 places a duty on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge three years after implementation of the charge. No such assessment has been made to date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who are innocent of crimes but have pleaded guilty in order to reduce their liability for the mandatory criminal courts charge since April 2015.
Lord Faulks
Section 55 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 places a duty on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge three years after implementation of the charge. No such assessment has been made to date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to bring forward their review of the mandatory criminal courts charge.
Lord Faulks
It is right that we find better ways to pay the costs of running our criminal courts, and the introduction of this charge has made it possible to recover some of the costs from offenders, which reduces the burden on taxpayers. The Government is keeping the operation of the criminal courts charge under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-02-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the rejection by National Health Service trusts of the financial tariff proposals drawn up by Monitor for 2015–16, whether they intend to refer the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority; and if not what other prescription they have to deal with the issue.
Earl Howe
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the decision on whether to refer the matter to the Competition and Markets Authority is for Monitor to take.
We understand that Monitor is carefully considering the best course of action, alongside NHS England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-02-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the United Kingdom’s research and development intensity above the 1.7 per cent reported by the Office for National Statistics last March for 2012; and whether they anticipate that the United Kingdom will meet the three per cent research and development intensity targets set by the European Union when the latest figures are released by the Office of National Statistics.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government’s Science & Innovation Strategy, published last December has a long term commitment to research infrastructure of £1.1bn a year, increasing in real terms to 2021. This will give businesses long term certainty in planning their R&D investments which will be vital in ensuring the UK increases its R&D intensity. The Government has also protected the science ring fence in cash terms during this Parliament.