Tag: Lord Jopling

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 July 2015 (HL1470), whether the review of the failures that caused the cost of the recent A1 roadworks near Gamston Airport to escalate has been completed, and what conclusion and lessons have emerged from that review.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The close out of the scheme and associated financial reconciliation is pending and therefore it would be premature to draw conclusions at this time.

Landscaping for the scheme and remedial works are nearing their final stages and completion of the contract is expected at the end of March. A “lessons learned” review will be held as soon as possible in April.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 September (HL1845), on a convenient date in the last month, what percentage of the M1 Motorway was subject to a speed limit under 70 mph as consequence of roadworks causing unexpected restrictions of more than one week.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

From 00:01 on 03/10/2016 to 23:59 on 09/10/2016, the percentage of the M1 subject to speed restrictions was 16.7 per cent northbound and 17.2 per cent southbound.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 June 2015 (HL105), what trunk road improvement schemes there have been in the last five years, and for each of those, what was (1) the original target cost, and (2) the estimated completed cost.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The table below provides details of the major scheme on trunk roads opened in the last five financial years (from April 2011 to the present), together with the original target cost and latest outturn forecast (to the end of December 2015, and subject to closure of final accounts):

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Leader of the House what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Cabinet Office with regard to the number of Questions for Written Answer not answered within 10 working days.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

My responsibility as Leader of the House, to encourage Ministers to be punctual in answering written questions, is one I take seriously. My office immediately approach departments who have not responded to questions after 10 working days, and remain in contact with them until the questions are answered. This process was followed with the Cabinet Office for the seven questions that remained unanswered after 10 working days on 18 March. All of those questions have now been answered. At the end of this Session I will publish data on each department’s promptness in dealing with Questions for Written Answer to allow for proper scrutiny of their performance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 April (HL7637), whether they will now state what contingency plans they have drawn up, if any, to repatriate the British Art Collection from the European Parliament in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why people leaving the UK have their passports examined and recorded at some airports, whilst at others no examination takes place.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Border Force does not operate a uniform passport control regime against passengers departing the UK in the same way that it does for passengers who arrive in the UK. However, it does undertake targeted passport checks against selected cohorts of passengers leaving the UK for a range of law enforcement purposes.

We check the passports of all those passing through passport control on entry to the UK and we also conduct exit checks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Price on 10 May (HL8062), whether that answer assumes that the United States Congress will accept a fast-track” procedure for ratifying the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood of such a procedure being either endorsed or withdrawn by the new Congress in 2017.”

Lord Price

Legislation to re-authorise Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – sometimes called “fast track” – the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, was signed into law by President Obama on 29 June 2015. It will apply to certain international trade agreements – including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – if agreement is reached before 1 July 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Leader of the House how many Questions for Written Answer were put to each Government department and answered within the target 10 working days in each month in the 2015–16 Session, together with the relevant percentages in each case.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

In line with the practice established in the last session, following the commitment made by my predecessor (HL Deb 8 May 2014, col 1575), I will continue to publish annually the performance of departments on their promptness in dealing with Questions for Written Answer. My office will also continue to work with all departments to ensure prompt and comprehensive responses to all Questions for Written Answer.

The statistics for the 2014-15 session are available as a Written Statement (HLWS39). I will shortly publish data on departmental performance for the 2015-16 session.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 6 June (HL91), what, if any, is the specification for ermine robes with regard to the materials used, and whether there would be any impediment to clothiers, such as those in the Far East, providing robes for peers either for purchase or for hire.

Lord Laming

As set out in the Standing Orders of the House of Lords Relating to Public Business: “When Her Majesty comes publicly to the House, the Lords shall be attired in their robes or in such other dress as may be approved by Her Majesty”. A proposal for robes other than those presently used would be considered by the appropriate authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Leader of the House, further to her Written Statement on 21 July (HLWS128), what discussion she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the light of that Department’s position as the Department having the worst record in answering Questions for Written Answer within 10 working days, and whether the Secretary of State intends to make a Written Statement to explain what steps have been taken within that Department to match the overall record of government departments in answering 93 per cent of Written Question within 10 working days.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

I take very seriously my responsibility as Leader of the House to encourage Ministers to be punctual in answering written questions. I recently published data on departmental performance in answering Questions for Written Answer for the 2015/16 session, where I was pleased to see that 93% of questions were answered within 10 working days. Nevertheless, we must always strive to do better. I have written to the three departments with the greatest proportion of late responses in the last session to make clear the House’s expectations and to stress the importance of timely responses.

Though the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) received 475 Questions for Written Answer in 2015/16 – more than double the number received in the previous session – Ministers were nevertheless disappointed by the department’s performance. In response the department has put in place a range of actions to improve performance, including strengthening internal deadlines and procedures. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, as the Lords Minister, has stressed to me how seriously the department takes its responsibilities to Parliament and is confident that performance will improve in this session.

My office continues to work with all departments to ensure prompt and comprehensive responses to all Questions for Written Answer. I will continue to publish data on an annual basis to allow analysis of performance over time. This practice is important in highlighting where improvements in timeliness could and should be made.