Tag: Lord Greaves

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the £20 million of funding for providing English tuition for speakers of other languages announced by the Prime Minister is new money, and if so, from which budget heading it will come; whether that additional provision will be available for (1) both Muslim men and women who come to the UK on spousal visas and whose English requires improvement; (2) persons of other religions, and none, who come to the UK on spousal visas; (3) persons who are living in the UK by virtue of other kinds of permissions, such as other types of visas or following applications for asylum; (4) Muslim women and other persons who have come to the UK from other countries in the EU; and (5) UK citizens, whether or not they are Muslims; and whether that additional provision will be restricted according to how long a person has lived in the UK or their age.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The £20 million community-based English language training offer is new funding which will be routed through DCLG and will form part of its Integration Programme. The detail of how the programme will be designed, targeted and delivered will be informed by the findings of Louise Casey’s Review into boosting opportunity and integration amongst isolated groups and the learning from the six community projects we have funded as part of our current Integration Programme. In particular, we will work with Louise Casey to identify the most isolated communities in England to make sure this programme is targeted at those women who need it most. We are working to deliver as early a launch date as possible for the programme in 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Parliament will be involved in the scrutiny of any proposals for changes to systems of Islamic finance in the UK following the outcome of the Bank of England’s consultation.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Bank of England will decide whether or not to establish a Shari’ah compliant liquidity facility in light of feedback to its consultation from the market and other relevant stakeholders. None of the proposals in the consultation are expected to require a change to primary legislation. Once the Bank of England has concluded, the Government will consider whether there is a need for Parliament to review legislation in relation to Islamic Finance in the UK more widely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the number of people registered as parliamentary electors in more than one constituency in the United Kingdom; and what proportion of those are so registered (1) because they are students, (2) because they occupy more than one home, (3) because they work away from their main residence, and (4) for other reasons.

Lord Bridges of Headley

It is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of people registered as parliamentary electors in more than one constituency as this information is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements train operating companies are required to have in place to allow passengers on feeder services to a mainline hub station who have bought advance tickets online which start from a station without a ticket machine, and where the tickets have to be acquired at the mainline hub station, to travel by using booking confirmations that have been printed out, or can be shown on mobile devices, or by other means.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The National Rail Conditions of Carriage (NRCoC) states that Train Operating Companies must make tickets and reservations available at stations, over the internet or by telephone as appropriate.

When booking Advance tickets online most train operators give passengers the choice to print their ticket at home, collect it from a ticket machine, receive it by post or, where available, download their ticket onto a mobile phone.If a passenger chooses to collect from a ticket machine the train operator will give the passenger a choice of stations with ticket collection points available. These can be collected any time in advance of travel.

Passengers do have an obligation to have a valid ticket for the whole of the journey, and to keep their ticket safe. The NRCoC states that it is the ticket, not the receipt for it, which gives the right to travel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 November (HL Deb, col 566), what specific additional support they are providing to those towns and parishes wishing to exercise the community rights provided by the Localism Act 2011 for developing neighbourhood plans, listing assets of community value and running services using the right to challenge; what other such community rights are available to town and parish councils; and what financial contribution they have made to town and parish councils for each of these purposes in each year since those rights came into existence.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The financial support for use of the community rights made by the Department for Communities and Local Government since the community rights came into force amounts to £62.6 million, including spend for the current financial year (2015/16). Spending on the Community Rights programme includes funding for communities to work with public service providers to take on services, Our Place and other related projects.

Community Rights Funding (£million)
2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	TOTAL
1	10.8	19.5	17.4	13.9	62.6

The Government is currently considering options for funding this activity after the financial year 2015-16.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total capital and current spending on (1) drainage, and (2) flood prevention, by (a) local authorities in England, and (b) the Environment Agency, in each of the past ten years and in the current year.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Local authorities decide what to spend on drainage and flood prevention depending on local priorities. The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes statistics on local authorities’ revenue expenditure and capital expenditure outturns on GOV.UK. They are currently published from 2007/08 until 2014/15 with budget and forecast figures for 2015/16. Figures in relation to defences against flooding and land drainage are included in the statistics.

The Environment Agency invests in flood and coastal erosion risk management. Whilst in some cases there may also be secondary drainage benefits of this work, the Environment Agency does not measure those benefits and so cannot report on spending on drainage.

The table below shows the Environment Agency’s expenditure on flood and coastal erosion risk management in each of the past ten years, with budget figures for the current year. All figures are in £m, with real terms figures given at 2015/16 prices.

Year	Total	Total Real Terms
2005/06	445.1	549.7
2006/07	439.7	528.7
2007/08	459.4	536.7
2008/09	565.6	644.6
2009/10	620.1	688.9
2010/11	651.6	704.4
2011/12	548.5	582.5
2012/13	537.1	561.4
2013/14	535.9	548.8
2014/15	569.3	575.0
2015/16	601.4	601.4

In addition to the above, exceptional funding of £30m; £180m; and £60m was provided to the Environment Agency in financial years 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively (cash terms), following the winter 2013/14 flood event.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend to government departments, government agencies and other public bodies the requirement for local authorities to publish lists of the brownfield land they own.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Government records details of its land and property holdings on the electronic Property Information Management System database. The Government Property Finder website draws on this information and allows the public to search and map the estate. The Cabinet Office is currently considering future data requirements, including whether there should be any specific reporting requirements on brownfield land.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on which dates the Community Engagement Forum met following the first meeting in October 2015; what were the main topics discussed at each meeting; and who attended each meeting.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Community Engagement Forum met on 19 November 2015 and focused on education and the role it can play in promoting integration. The following individuals attended:

Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities

Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism

Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities

Alun Francis, Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College

Aina Khan, Head of Islamic Department, Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at Jan Trust

Mary Ney, Supporting Commissioner, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival

Farook Yunus, Leader of Kumon Y’all

Sara Khan, Director and Co-founder of Inspire

Shaukat Warraich, Chief Executive, Faith Associates

Anil Bhanot OBE, Managing Trustee and Director of Hindu Council UK

Gillian Merron, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews

William Nye, Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England

Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations

Christine Fischer, Catholic Education Service

Pascale Vassie, Executive Director, National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education

Martin Pratt, Director of Children, Schools and Families, Camden Council

Matthew Coffey, Chief Operating Officer, Ofsted

Phil Champain, Director 3 Faiths Forum

Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara, Circuit Judge East London Family Court and Kingston Crown Court

Sue Robb, Head of Early Years, 4Children

The Community Engagement Forum also met on 14 January 2016 and focussed on the contribution of Muslim women in Britain. The following individuals attended:

Rt. Hon. David Cameron, Prime Minister

Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities

Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism

Baroness Williams, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government

Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities

Camilla Cavendish, Head of the No. 10 Policy Unit

Max Chambers, Special Adviser, Home Affairs and Justice, No.10

Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at JAN Trust

Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival

Sara Khan, Director and co-founder of Inspire

Diana Nammi, Executive Director of Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation

Aysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors of Odara

Fahma Mohamed, FGM activist and Trustee of Integrate Bristol

Faeeza Vaid, Chair of ‘Sister 2 Sister’ in Birmingham and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Network

Henna Rai, Director for the Association of British Muslims

Yasmin Khan, Director of Staying Put and Aspire-I

Hasina Khan, Chair and founder of Saheliyaan Asian Women’s Forum and Councillor on Chorley Council

Nahid Rasool, Director of Shantona Women’s Centre

Farmida Bi, Head of Islamic Finance and a partner at Norton Rose.

Zahra Al-Alawi, Presenter of Woman’s View on Ahlulbayt TV

Farah Mirza, TV Presenter and previous UN representative for Islamic Human Rights Commission

Sarah Joseph OBE, Chief Executive and Editor of emel magazine

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 October (HL2528), why it was possible to vote daily in the Great British High Street of the Year competition for up to 30 days, and from multiple email addresses; who decided that voting should be allowed to take place in that way; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that decision on the outcome of the competition.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Great British High Street Competition was an initiative launched by the Future High Street Forum, a group bringing together retailers and sector experts to lead work to support high streets. The Great British High Street Competition, now in its second year, is overseen by a sub-group of the Forum.

The results of the Great British High Street Competition will be decided on by the combination of two scoring mechanisms. The first element will be based on scoring from a visit from our independent panel of judges which includes expert senior representatives from Boots, Costa, Google and the Post Office.

The second part of the scoring is based on the outcome of a public vote which allows people to vote every day but from a single email address. The decision was based on advice from analysts and social media experts, which included Facebook, LinkedIn and Yahoo, and was introduced in order to allow the finalists to build local campaigns which generate interest across the course of the campaign and not just on one day. It was also designed to allow towns with varying populations to compete. Ministers had no role in this decision.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the team in Colne and their competitors, every luck. We received 230 entries of an excellent standard so to reach the final is a huge achievement. The competition is shining a light on all the wonderful, hard work going on around the country and, once the competition is over, we look forward to continuing to work with all of the finalists to share and publicise their great work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for the delay in the refranchising process for the West Coast Main Line.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The re-timing will ensure that passengers and taxpayers get the maximum possible benefits from both the InterCity West Coast (ICWC) franchise and the HS2 project.

We are re-timing the ICWC franchise to ensure that it is well aligned with the HS2 programme which is currently progressing through Parliament. The ICWC operator will play an important role during the construction of HS2 and in facilitating the introduction of High Speed services in 2026. This retiming will allow us to continue to engage with the market on the best options for the franchise to do this.