Tag: Lord Beecham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to minimise the risk to aircraft from the use of drones, and whether those steps include a system of registration of ownership.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Drones are becoming increasingly popular and have the potential to bring significant economic benefits, but it is vital that they are operated safely, in a way that does not put members of the public and other aircraft at risk. There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. Work is underway to better understand the level of risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes. We are talking to both the Civil Aviation Authority and airports to find technical solutions to the problems around airport, these include mandated geo-fencing or frequency jammers.

The department is leading efforts with international bodies to develop a stringent regulatory framework focusing on safety. We are currently undertaking public dialogues ahead of a public consultation which will help to inform a government strategy to be published this year. The consultation will look at a range of options including regulation, registration and licensing options and a database to increase transparency on the use of drones for the general public.

The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether VAT paid by EU migrants is included in the recently announced figures of taxes paid by EU migrants, and if not what is the estimate of such payments.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The analysis on recently arrived non-UK EEA nationals subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions or receiving HMRC administered benefits became available on 12 May 2016 when it was published on HMRC’s publications page on GOV.UK.

No estimate of VAT paid by EU Nationals is held. VAT is levied on most goods and services, with the person’s nationality not generally recorded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in developing a new formula for school funding; and when the new formula will be applied.

Lord Nash

In July, the Secretary of State committed to introduce national funding formulae for schools and high needs from financial year 2018-19. We are considering the options carefully, taking into account the need to give schools and local authorities stability, and the importance of getting these historic reforms right. We will set out detailed proposals later in the autumn, and make decisions early next year, for the new system to be in place from April 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest Bank of England figures showing elevated levels of personal indebtedness, what assessment they have made of what is an acceptable and safe level of such borrowing.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen to 144 per cent in Q2 2015, from a peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England, to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of (1) the annual benefits paid to EU migrants in the UK, and (2) the contribution of those individuals to the public purse through income tax receipts and VAT.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The information is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the North East Commissioning Service has not accepted an offer from Newcastle City Council’s Director of Public Health to place a contract to modify data systems to facilitate analysis at council ward level.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This is an operational matter for the Commissioning Support Unit and the local Council.

The North of England Commissioning Support Unit advises that it has held discussions with the Director of Public Health but is not aware of any offer to place a contract with the organisation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to amending the Annual Data Requirement to replace the 16+1 ethnicity code based on the 2001 census with the 2011 census ethnicity category 18+1, to include Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The ethnicity categories used for data collections are assessed as part of the Home Office’s process of agreeing the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). This is the list of mandatory data collections required from the police.

This process includes consultation with a range of stakeholders on the requirements for each data collection, together with consideration of the burdens involved in the collection (e.g. IT costs of implementation for police forces), and the likely quality of the data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they have made to promote diversity in the composition of the lay magistracy, by reference to (1) socio-economic status, (2) ethnicity, (3) gender, and (4) age.

Lord Faulks

The government is committed to promoting the diversity of all members of the judiciary, including a diverse magistracy which reflects the society it serves. The local advisory committees who are responsible for recruiting and selecting magistrates, target recruitment activity to ensure that while we appoint on merit, local benches are representative of the communities they serve. This includes seeking applications from previously underrepresented groups.

As of April 2015, 53% of serving magistrates were female and 9% from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. Data on recent appointments has continued to show encouraging signs and suggests diversity will continue to improve in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent their proposed new restrictions on lobbying by charities extend the existing restrictions imposed by charity legislation.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The announcement on 6 February was on a new clause for all government grant agreements. This new clause makes clear that grant recipients must not use the grant funding for political campaigning and lobbying unless it is expressly authorised in the grant agreement.

Charities remain free to lobby the government, subject to charity law restrictions. They simply cannot use government grant funding to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that four million people have been added to the electoral register in recent months, whether they will publish details of the comparison between the final register for the EU referendum and that as at December 2015, and if so when.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Electoral Commission will publish the total electorate for the EU referendum in due course.