Tag: Lord Jopling

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Partnership; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood of such a procedure being either endorsed or withdrawn by the new Congress in 2017.”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.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 June (HL500), whether they intend to publish in the Official Record a summary of the findings of the lessons learnt review of the 83 per cent escalation of costs for the recent improvements to the A1 road close to Gamston Airport, and what steps they have taken to reduce the risk of similar occurrences.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The “Lessons Learned” workshop was completed on 8 June 2016 and is currently under review. There are some outstanding issues to be resolved regarding the possible requirement for permanent speed cameras, the agreement of alterations to a private access and the completion of road safety audit works, before it can be completed. Highways England intend to publish their findings on their website in due course.

To reduce the risks of similar occurrences, Highways England now has a greater focus on strategic planning with a five year plan of work. They are more able to ensure early contractor involvement more proactively in the development and construction of schemes. Highways England will take the lessons learned on the A1 Elkesley and ensure they are given due consideration in future schemes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the total mileage of each UK motorway is subject to speed restrictions lower than 70 mph.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The number of miles of a motorway subject to speed restrictions varies on a daily basis, depending on planned roadworks as well as temporary restrictions that need to be imposed due to incidents. There also are some sections, such as motorway to motorway junctions, which have speed restrictions due to the road geometry or for other safety considerations. Every effort is made to keep such restrictions to a minimum.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Leader of the House, in the light of the answers on 6 May to written questions tabled by Lord Mendelsohn, what steps he will take to ensure that the replies to written questions answer the question which was put as fully as possible.

Lord Hill of Oareford

As Leader of the House, I have a particular responsibility to encourage departments to be punctual in answering written questions, but the content of each answer is a matter for the minister concerned. The Ministerial Code says that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-05-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 6 May (WA 365), whether they will now answer the question which was put.

Baroness Northover

DFID’s Executive Management Committee review year-to-date and forecast expenditure against budgets each month through a monthly Management Information report.

There is no formal cost overrun percentage threshold that triggers a review of specific budgets. The EMC does however examine potential material overspending each month that represents a significant risk to the DFID’s overall Resource and Capital budgets.