Tag: Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve street works organisation and reinstatement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government wants to deliver better journeys for drivers. Roadworks are essential, but that doesn’t mean they should be in place any longer than is absolutely necessary. We are continuing with our work to modernise and update legislation and statutory guidance where this is necessary and where it will lead to improvements in the way that road and street works are managed.

Recent examples include consultations earlier this year on updated statutory guidance relating to inspections and modernised regulations relating to the qualifications regime. In 2015, we updated regulations and guidance on permit schemes that are now in place in almost 60% of local authority areas and which are resulting in more effective management of street works and reductions in the duration of works. We are also working with stakeholders to review the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in the Highway (SROH).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of rough sleepers in London.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we’ve invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. In London, we have given the Mayor £34 million to deliver pan-London rough sleeping services, with an extra £8.5 million for this work in 2015/16.

DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics. The latest figures, for 2014, are attached.

More rough sleepers are being found and helped thanks to our investment. Our measures include supporting the roll-out of No Second Night Out across England through the Homelessness Transition Fund. In London, two-thirds of rough sleepers come off the streets after a single night. We have also commissioned the pioneering StreetLink service, which since its launch has helped over 14,500 rough sleepers by connecting them to local support services and avoid becoming entrenched in a life on the streets.

We are committed to do more to improve services for homeless people with complex needs. Our investment includes £5 million for the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, which is reaching 830 entrenched rough sleepers in London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the productivity levels in the UK compared with the rest of the G7 in each year since 1990.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The data is available on the ONS website, under the international Comparisons of Productivity section. For your ease, I have provided the table below:

Current price GDP per hour worked (UK=100)

Year	UK	G7 exc. UK	Year	UK	G7 exc. UK	Year	UK	G7 exc. UK
1990	100		2000	100	107	2010	100	115
1991	100	119	2001	100	108	2011	100	114
1992	100	116	2002	100	106	2012	100	116
1993	100	112	2003	100	105	2013	100	117
1994	100	111	2004	100	105	2014	100	120
1995	100	111	2005	100	106
1996	100	109	2006	100	104
1997	100	109	2007	100	106
1998	100	109	2008	100	107
1999	100	111	2009	100	110

Data are in current prices, allowing cross-country comparison of productivity for each individual year.

Source: International Comparisons of Productivity, First Estimates for 2014, ONS (Sep 2015)

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/icp/international-comparisons-of-productivity/2014—first-estimates/stb-icp0915.html

* Productivity data for the G7 are unavailable for 1990 due to the absence of comparable data for pre-reunification Germany.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Brandon Lewis, what assessment they have made of what matters people should take into account when making the judgment call of whether to live in London.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Where people decide to live is a matter for individuals, based on their own circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to integrate the use in military operations of unmanned vehicles in the air, at sea, and on land.

Earl Howe

Unmanned vehicles already play an important role in UK Armed Forces’ operations across all environments. On the basis of the Government’s National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review of November 2015, the Department is continuing to examine where unmanned systems may offer advantages over manned alternatives and to invest in new unmanned capabilities. For example, the Department is more than doubling the number of armed remotely piloted aircraft available to the UK Armed Forces under the Protector programme to replace the existing Reaper aircraft, and is also developing high-end technologies – including in collaboration with France and the US – under a future Unmanned Combat Air System programme.

Throughout the Department’s development and integration of unmanned systems, the policy is that a human must always be responsible for any decisions on targeting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are planning to take to end fraudulent whiplash insurance claims.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Government is determined to crack down on the compensation culture and insurance fraud.. We therefore announced, in the Autumn Statement, that we will limit the right to damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in low value whiplash claims and raise the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000.

These reforms build on previous measures taken forward by the Ministry of Justice to control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims.

The Government will consult on the detail of the new measures in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Malawi regarding bringing the perpetrators of albinism-related crimes to justice.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

On 27 April our High Commissioner to Malawi raised the increase in human rights violations against persons with albinism at a meeting with the Malawian Foreign Minister. President Mutharika has condemned the attacks and ordered increased effort to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with ministers in the devolved administrations about improving the levels of voter registration.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Following the May elections we look forward to working with the new Governments in Scotland and Wales on modernising and improving electoral registration. Electoral policy is not devolved in Northern Ireland but we are working with the Chief Electoral Officer to introduce digital registration. The Government is committed to helping ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote in polls is able to do so. Online registration makes it easier, simpler and faster for people to register to vote. Since the introduction of IER in Great Britain in 2014 there have been over 17 million applications to register to vote, with a majority of these applications online.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution that busking makes to community life.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The Government is clear that live music and street entertainment play an important role in community life and can generate a positive atmosphere that can be enjoyed by all. It can help in introducing performers to new audiences and contributes significantly in establishing and developing new talent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost to high street businesses of street works that (1) overrun, and (2) exceed budget.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the cost to high street business of street works that overrun. It is for the works promoter to consider the impact of works that exceed budget.

The Government published an Impact Assessment in 2012 to accompany the most recent change in legislation affecting the charges that local authorities can levy against the promoters of street works that overrun. The Impact Assessment considered the benefits to businesses of the proposals in terms of reduced congestion.

We are also aware of the general disruption that street works can cause and we are committed to improving the way that they are managed. We know that high street businesses benefit from improvements to the network and from the provision of new and upgraded utility services. However, we are working closely with the sector to ensure that street works are in place for no longer than is necessary.