Tag: Lord Birt

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of vehicles operated by central Government, or the wider public sector, are wholly electrically powered.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We do not have detailed numbers on the information requested.

According to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) statistics some 133 public transport buses, coaches and minibuses are wholly electrically powered. There are no purpose built electric taxis recorded on the DVLA records, although electric cars are used as minicabs and private hire vehicles, and a number of plug-in hybrid purpose built taxis are in development.

This Government has a comprehensive £600 million package of measures over the course of this parliament to keep Britain at the forefront of the ultra-low emission vehicle technology. This includes grants encouraging low emission buses and taxis.

The proportion of wholly electric vehicles operated by central Government is not recorded by the DVLA. However, the total number of central government electric vehicles that have been purchased via the Crown Commercial Service framework is 20. Just over 300 ultra-low emission vehicles are being integrated into public sector fleets under the ULEV readiness project; with over 70% being fully electric.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for not taxing the income from interest-bearing savings whilst interest rates are low.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Since April 2016 savers have benefitted from a new Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers, and £500 for higher rate taxpayers. They can also save up to £15,240 tax-free in ISAs this tax year. Together these measures mean that 95% of taxpayers have no savings tax to pay at all.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 30 November 2015 (HL3832), what assessment they have made of Eurostat’s figures for comparative police numbers in EU countries; whether they accept that police numbers in England and Wales per head of population are at 64 percent of the average of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain; and whether they consider police numbers in England and Wales to be at an appropriate level.

Lord Bates

Comparisons of police numbers between different EU countries should be made with extreme caution. This is because different countries have different legal systems, police responsibilities vary considerably, and there are differences in definitions used.

Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities. What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are. All forces need to look at the way frontline services are delivered to ensure that the quality of service provided is maintained or improved.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 12 September (HL1480), how they will establish whether the Football Association is adhering to the new Code of Governance.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

The new Governance Code for Sport in the UK will be published shortly. It will build on the existing governance requirements of UK Sport and Sport England and set out new governance standards that will be expected of all sports bodies seeking public funding. It will be for UK Sport and/or Sport England to determine compliance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider exempting traditional windmills producing high-quality artisan flours from any obligations to introduce additives.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

In the UK iron, niacin and thiamin are added back by law to all UK milled flour (except wholemeal) to restore nutrients lost in milling. Flour milled in the UK is also fortified with calcium to reduce the risk of calcium deficiency, a condition associated with poor bone health and osteoporosis. The Government is currently considering requests to exempt certain minor flour uses from these mandatory fortification requirements. This exercise could be extended to consider exempting traditional stoneground mills producing low volumes of flour should a case be made.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what experience the Secretary of State for International Trade has had of working inside British business.

Lord Price

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade’s CV is available on gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to grow national road, rail and air infrastructure, and to invest in public sector capacity, to match the forecast growth in population to 73 million by 2035.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government’s transport investment strategy is summarised in the Department for Transport’s Single Departmental Plan, which aligns major upcoming infrastructure projects and policy decisions with the four key strategic objectives of economic growth; building a One Nation Britain; improving journeys; and creating a safe, secure, and sustainable transport network.

The current Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) provides details of the Strategic Road schemes in which the Government will be investing a total of £15.2 billion over the Parliament. It also outlines long-term aspirations for a smoother, smarter, and more sustainable road network by 2040. A number of strategic studies are currently underway to inform the second Roads Investment Strategy, which will cover the period 2020-2025.

The Government invests in the rail network as a means of meeting forecast demand, reducing operational costs, and stimulating wider economic growth. It does this by targeting the four key investment areas of electrification, port-to-city freight connections, intercity connectivity, and commuter travel. High Speed Two overlays this programme of investment and targets many of the same objectives. Details of specific projects can be found in the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), published in July 2012 and in Sir Peter Hendy’s report on the replanning of Network Rail’s Investment Programme.

Alongside a decision on additional runway capacity, the Government is also revising its Aviation Policy Framework, which will include work to consider infrastructure.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the dynamism and capability of the UK business sector.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK is one of the most dynamic and competitive economies in the world, as borne out by measures of the effectiveness of UK competition policy and regulation, for example:

•The UK is ranked 2^nd in the OECD for the pro-competition stance of its regulatory policies

•The World Economic Forum rated the UK 3^rd (out of 138) for the intensity of local competition, 12^th for the extent of market dominance, and 10^th for the effectiveness of our anti-monopoly policies.

As a result, we are ranked 6th out of 189 countries in the World Bank Doing Business Index; and 7th out of 138 countries (improving our ranking from 10th last year) in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the public sector spend on health per head of population in real terms for each of the years from 1990–2015; and how in each of those years that compares with GDP per head.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The total UK Public Sector expenditure on health per head of population in real terms and GDP per head between the financial years 1990-91 and 2014-15 has been set out in the table below:

Real per capita (2015 £)	Health	GDP
1990-91	848	19,624
1991-92	911	19,368
1992-93	980	19,516
1993-94	1,023	20,050
1994-95	1,085	20,793
1995-96	1,104	21,248
1996-97	1,093	21,716
1997-98	1,116	22,421
1998-99	1,151	23,066
1999-00	1,198	23,780
2000-01	1,280	24,494
2001-02	1,388	25,047
2002-03	1,491	25,640
2003-04	1,637	26,358
2004-05	1,748	26,794
2005-06	1,825	27,521
2006-07	1,857	27,927
2007-08	1,912	28,449
2008-09	1,986	27,492
2009-10	2,072	26,605
2010-11	2,047	26,898
2011-12	2,021	27,158
2012-13	2,022	27,292
2013-14	2,049	27,801
2014-15	2,074	28,361

The expenditure figures set out in this table are drawn from the HM Treasury Public Spending Statistics (PSS) publications.

In addition to expenditure on services by the Department of Health, this includes health expenditure by other central departments, local government and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Please Note:

• UK government expenditure on the health function is only available on a financial year basis.

• Health expenditure recording switches from a cash basis to an accruals basis in 1998-99

• Population is taken from the mid-year figure for each calendar year that falls in the respective financial year.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to raise the level of the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Information Commissioner.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into force in all EU Member States on 25 May 2018, establishes a tiered approach to penalties for breaches which enables Data Protection Authorities to impose fines for the most serious infringements of up to the higher of 4% of annual worldwide turnover or EUR20 million. Other specified infringements would attract a fine of up to the higher of 2% of annual worldwide turnover or EUR10m.