The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 27 November (HL3723) and 8 December (HL4130), whether those answers include all security personnel who served in Northern Ireland but are not from Northern Ireland.
Lord Dunlop
I have nothing further to add to my earlier responses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who supervises and audits public funding of universities in the UK.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Responsibility for higher education is devolved.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has responsibility for oversight of the higher education sector in England.
For Higher Education Institute’s that receive HEFCE funding, the individual HEI’s external auditor is required to provide a statement in their audit report that public funding has been used for the purposes for which it was provided. HEFCE also seeks a range of other accountability returns from each HEI and carries out periodic ‘HEFCE Assurance Reviews’ of all HEIs.
Similar arrangements are in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BIS is responsible for “alternative HE providers”, which includes some private universities, who are not in receipt of funding from HEFCE.
Individual public bodies (such as Government Departments and Research Councils) are separately accountable for any public funding that they distribute.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether membership of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe requires them to regard all citizens in the UK to be equal and thus requiring equal treatment by law.
Lord Dunlop
In the UK, The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has many commitments that recall that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have an agreement or understanding with the IRA that there will be no attempts to stop or bring to court its members on charges relating to tax fraud or tax terrorism in South Armagh.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Genomics England is familiar with the Broad Institute’s database and it is one of a number of data sources that will be included in their clinical interpretation process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-04-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Republic of Ireland owes the UK as a result of loans made during the recent financial crisis, and what are the arrangements for repayment of those monies.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid in Parliament on 26 April 2016 and is available in the Printed Paper Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-06-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens are resident in each European Union member state; how many from each of those states are resident in the UK; and in each case how many are of pensionable age.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
There is no legal obligation on a British citizen living overseas to register with the British Embassy, but the UN estimated that in mid-2015 there were more than 1.2 million UK citizens living permanently elsewhere in the EU. These estimates do not include British citizens travelling or residing for part of the year in another Member State.
* Population of UK citizens permanently resident in the European Union; UN estimate, mid-2015
|
Total (thousands) |
|
|
TOTAL UK IN EU |
1,216.0 |
|
Austria |
11.0 |
|
Belgium |
27.3 |
|
Bulgaria |
5.3 |
|
Croatia |
0.7 |
|
Cyprus |
40.5 |
|
Czech Republic |
4.8 |
|
Denmark |
18.6 |
|
Estonia |
0.5 |
|
Finland |
6.9 |
|
France |
185.3 |
|
Germany |
103.4 |
|
Greece |
17.7 |
|
Hungary |
7.0 |
|
Ireland |
254.8 |
|
Italy |
65.0 |
|
Latvia |
1.1 |
|
Lithuania |
3.3 |
|
Luxembourg |
6.6 |
|
Malta |
12.0 |
|
Netherlands |
49.5 |
|
Poland |
34.5 |
|
Portugal |
17.8 |
|
Romania |
3.1 |
|
Slovakia |
4.9 |
|
Slovenia |
0.6 |
|
Spain |
308.8 |
|
Sweden |
25.0 |
Office for National Statistics data show that, between January and December 2014, there were approximately 2.9 million European Union member state nationals resident in the UK.
* Population resident in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by nationality; ONS statistics August 2015 (2014 data)
|
Total (thousands) |
|
|
TOTAL EU IN UK |
2,940 |
|
Austria |
18 |
|
Belgium |
17 |
|
Bulgaria |
59 |
|
Croatia |
4 |
|
Cyprus |
17 |
|
Czech Republic |
37 |
|
Denmark |
26 |
|
Estonia |
14 |
|
Finland |
14 |
|
France |
160 |
|
Germany |
131 |
|
Greece |
54 |
|
Hungary |
85 |
|
Italy |
170 |
|
Latvia |
108 |
|
Lithuania |
155 |
|
Luxembourg |
0 |
|
Malta |
8 |
|
Netherlands |
82 |
|
Poland |
853 |
|
Portugal |
175 |
|
Republic of Ireland |
331 |
|
Romania |
175 |
|
Slovakia |
79 |
|
Slovenia |
5 |
|
Spain |
131 |
|
Sweden |
32 |
There are many different ways of defining and calculating migration data so different sources will not necessarily be comparable.
No information is available on the numbers of UK and EU citizens in receipt of a UK State Pension broken down by nationality. This is because the UK State Pension is a contributory based pension, where nationality or citizenship do not form part of the eligibility criteria.
There is no data available on the number of European Union member state nationals resident in the UK who are of pensionable age.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 October (HL2879) concerning the 1998 Belfast Agreement, whether any change to the name of a town or city in Northern Ireland requires the majority support of both communities.
Lord Dunlop
I refer the Noble Lord to my previous answer of 29 October 2015 (HL2879). The Government remains fully committed to supporting the institutions and principles established under the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Department for Constitutional Affairs made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.
Lord Faulks
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Ministry of Justice is the successor department to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Searches have been conducted for the information requested. These searches have revealed no trace of any records that relate to such non-disclosure agreements, nor any references to records that were held previously and destroyed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 12 November (HL 3335) concerning contact with the government of the Republic of Ireland, what progress has been made in the development of human rights in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as contained in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.
Lord Dunlop
The UK and Irish Governments meet regularly both at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, including the development of human rights in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as contained in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.
The Government was elected in May with a clear mandate to implement its manifesto commitment to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. We believe that it is entirely possible to do that in ways that are consistent with the Belfast Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what debt, if any, they have that dates from before 1 January 1901; and what are the arrangements for payment of that debt.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government has redeemed all gilts issued before 1 January 1901. On 5 July 2015, the government redeemed all outstanding undated gilts, some of which pre-dated 1901. These were the 2½% Annuities, 2¾% Annuities and 2½% Consolidated Stock, first issued in 1853, 1884 and 1888 respectively.