Tag: Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reorganise local government in England.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government’s policy is to work with local areas to deliver effective devolution with the governance necessary to support this, including moves to more unitary structures where this is wanted locally. Our aim, as it has been throughout our devolution discussions with areas, is to build consensus and the provisions in the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, to which the House of Commons gave an unopposed Third Reading on Monday 7 December, provide the flexibility that no one council can reasonably refuse to discuss with others the potential for reforming their area’s governance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK Athletics report A Manifesto for Clean Athletics.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

I welcome UK Athletics contributing to the debate on anti-doping and underlining its commitment to clean sport.

It’s important that all sports continue to look at ways they can further promote clean sport and we will continue to work closely with UK Anti-Doping, World Anti-Doping Agency and sports governing bodies on tackling doping.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the level of subsidy from the public purse provided for council housing.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Local housing authorities do not receive subsidy from the Exchequer; the Localism Act 2011 abolished Housing Revenue Account Subsidy.

The Housing Revenue Account Self-Financing Determinations published in 2012 provided a once and for all settlement that allows local housing authorities in England to keep all their rental income in return for a rebalancing of housing debt.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Since the election of President Sirisena in January 2015 the Sri Lankan government has taken a number of positive steps to improve the human rights situation in the country. We welcomed the historic co-sponsorship by Sri Lanka of a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council on 1 October 2015 committing it to reconciliation, accountability and the protection of human rights. We have been encouraged by the early progress Sri Lanka has made in delivering on these commitments. This includes starting public consultations on reconciliation mechanisms and constitutional reform, the return of some military occupied land and the release on bail of some long-term Tamil detainees held under anti-terrorism legislation.

While there has been progress, we recognise that there is still much to be done and Sri Lanka remains listed as a Human Rights Priority Country in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s latest Human Rights and Democracy Report published in April. We remain committed to supporting and encouraging the Sri Lankan government to deliver fully against its commitments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on the UK withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Faulks

The Government’s position on the European Convention of Human Rights remains clear. We cannot rule out withdrawing forever, but our forthcoming proposals do not include it. We are confident that we can replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights and reform our relationship with the Strasbourg Court.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of ships sailing under flags of convenience, and of the impact of that practice on the British maritime industry.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Department for Transport analysis of IHS Global data on ship characteristics as at 31 Dec 2015 shows 19,661 vessels registered on open flag registers.

An analysis of the impact of these registers on the UK maritime industry has not been conducted. However, the Maritime Growth Study (2015) did note that while the volume of tonnage on open registers is significant the amount managed or owned by companies located in these countries is far less substantial.

The UK is a leading global maritime centre. Government is committed to supporting the UK maritime sector and ensuring growth in UK Ship Register through a greater commercial focus while retaining its reputation for quality.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will bring forward draft regulations under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Officials are continuing their work on implementing the Housing & Planning Act 2016. A number of regulations have been implemented and this process will be on-going throughout 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote walking football.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We are investing in walking football via Sport England as part of the FA’s new National Game Strategy toget more people playing football. Sport England is currently working closely with the FA to understand the growing market for walking football.In partnership with the FA, the Premier League and Football League Community Foundations are also getting people playing walking football.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to replace fire authorities.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government has recently consulted on proposals intended to enable greater emergency services collaboration. This includes proposals to enable Police and Crime Commissioners, where this is local support, to take responsibility for fire and rescue services in their area.

The consultation closed on 23 October and the Government is currently considering the responses received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have to strengthen legislation in order to prevent cyber bullying.

Lord Faulks

Legislation that can be used to prosecute cyber-bullying related offences includes the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; the Public Order Act 1986; the Malicious Communications Act 1988; and the Communications Act 2003. The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made changes to the relevant offences in these last two Acts which will help to ensure that people who commit them are prosecuted and properly punished.

The Government believes that this is sufficient and therefore does not intend to introduced specific additional legislation to address the issue of cyberbullying.