Tag: Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the situation in Gaza.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza. There is an urgent need for all the parties to reach an agreement that addresses the underlying causes of conflict in Gaza and to take the necessary steps to ensure Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery. Any agreement should ensure that Hamas and other militant groups permanently end rocket and other attacks against Israel; the Palestinian Authority resumes control of Gaza and restores effective governance; and that Israel lifts its restrictions to ease the suffering of ordinary Palestinians. Through the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism, over 96,000 people have now been able to buy materials to repair homes that were damaged during the conflict. The UN reports that more than 90 percent of damaged schools and hospitals have been repaired while repairs have either been completed or are ongoing on about half of all partially damaged homes. We continue to raise Gaza in our meetings with the Israeli government. On 10 September, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), emphasised the importance of improving daily life for the people of Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. On 24 November our Deputy Head of Mission in Tel Aviv met the Head of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories’ Civil Administration department. He stressed the urgency of Israel coming forward with a transformative package for Gaza and the West Bank, setting out in particular our concerns about power supply and movement and access restrictions. We are also urging Egypt to show maximum flexibility in opening the Rafah crossing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment, consultation and other work was carried out to establish the Pay to Stay thresholds at £30,000 and £40,000, outside and in London, respectively.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The starting gross income threshold of £30,000 nationally is above the median average household income figure, which is just over £26,000 based on evidence from the Family Resources Survey – this figure represents gross income of the ‘household reference person’ plus a partner. It is only fair that social tenants who can pay more should pay more. There are more than 40,000 tenants in social housing who benefit from subsidised rents but where the annual household income is over £50,000. The Government consulted in October 2015 on a proposal for a taper which, if introduced. would ensure that rent rises are affordable for those households above the thresholds and protect the incentive to find and keep work.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review and consolidate landlord and tenant legislation.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government has already introduced important reform to landlord and tenant legislation through the Housing and Planning Bill. Legislation is always kept under review given the complexity of issues in this area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Chairman of Committees what plans are there to support Fairtrade fortnight.

Lord Laming

Catering and Retail Services stock a range of Fairtrade products, including tea, coffee, cake, biscuits and bananas. Catering and Retail Services raised awareness of these lines during Fairtrade Fortnight this year and ran related promotions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Philippines concerning drug trafficking.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has a regular and productive law enforcement dialogue with the Philippine authorities relating to serious crime, including drug trafficking, though we have no intelligence to suggest that drugs are being trafficked from the Philippines to the UK or vice versa. All of our engagement in this area is subject to scrutiny under the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment process.

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 encourage house building on sites where planning permissions have been given for house building.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

We are keen to drive up delivery of new housing once permission has been granted and we are actively taking steps to tackle some of the factors which can delay a start to development. We are taking forward measures through the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, which was introduced on 7 September, to improve the use of planning conditions to avoid unnecessary delays to development. We have also, through the Housing and Planning Act 2016, introduced a provision for a section 106 dispute resolution process. This will assist in speeding up negotiations on the content of section 106 planning obligations, where developers and local authorities have failed to reach an agreement. Secondary legislation is required to implement the provision. We also expect the members of the Home Builders Federation to adhere to their commitments in May to provide local authorities with transparent annual returns on build-out rates. And we will be setting out further measures in the forthcoming Housing White Paper.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on completing the coastal path in England.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The coastal access programme has so far opened up 101 miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy.

The Government is working closely with Natural England to build on the progress already made, with the aim of completing the coastal path around England by 2020. We have approved Natural England’s coastal access proposals for a further 176 miles. By the end of this financial year we expect Natural England to have submitted proposals for another 349 miles and to be working on proposals for an additional 986 miles.

The Government has announced Defra’s capital allocation for the next five years, and funding to complete the coastal path around England by 2020 will be protected. When complete, the path will be one of longest coastal walking routes in the world at around 2,700 miles in length.

The Government will publish the detailed allocation of funding in the Department’s Main Estimate early next year.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the viability of biodiesel made from waste products in comparison to biodiesel made from virgin products.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) provides double rewards for biofuels derived from wastes.

The Department concluded a post-implementation review of the RTFO in April 2014. Evidence from the review indicates that double rewards for biofuels from wastes, which were introduced under the RTFO in 2011, have encouraged a strong market for biodiesel from used cooking oil in the UK.

Since the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) was established waste based biofuels have risen from 12% of total biofuel supply in the first year of the obligation 2008/09, to 50% according to the data for 2014/15 (Biofuels Statistics obligation year 7 2014/15 – Report 5).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the size of the Farming Recovery Fund, and how much has been paid to farmers to date.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Farmers affected by the recent flooding in Northern England will be able to apply for between £500 and £20,000 to cover the cost of work to restore damaged agricultural land.

The scheme is due to open for applications on 18 December and we will pay out on all eligible claims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans to they have to assess the effectiveness of the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 after it comes into force in Wales on 1 January 2016.

Lord Bates

Responsibility for Building Regulations in Wales, including fire safety provisions, is a devolved matter and the Government has no plans to assess the effectiveness of this measure, which is a matter for the Welsh Government.