Tag: Lord Lexden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the extent of homophobic bullying in schools.

Lord Nash

All forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, are completely unacceptable. In order to tackle homophobic bullying in schools we are providing £2 million this financial year to fund projects designed to build schools’ knowledge and capacity to prevent and tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

While evidence points to a high level of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people being subjected to bullying, it also indicates that thanks to the efforts of teachers and charities it is falling. Research undertaken by Stonewall shows that homophobic bullying has reduced in recent years – 55% of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual secondary school pupils reported experiencing homophobic bullying at school in 2012, a drop from 65% in 2007 (Stonewall School Report, 2007 and 2012). The Stonewall Report of 2014 also indicated that homophobic bullying has fallen. The number of secondary school teachers who said their pupils are often or very often the victim of homophobic bullying had almost halved, from 25 per cent in 2009 to 13 per cent in 2014 (Stonewall Teacher Report, 2014 and 2009).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to require applicants for jobs in the public sector to state whether they went to an independent school.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Appointments should always be made on merit. Her Majesty’s Government do not have plans to require applicants for jobs to state whether they went to an independent school. We are engaging on proposals to develop a set of potential measures for employers to understand the socio-economic backgrounds of their workforces and applicant pools. Type of school attended (primary and secondary) make up two of twenty-six measures which employers and organisations have been asked to consider

Over the past few years’ real effort has been put into broadening access to the Civil Service. It is important to be able to measure, overall, the success and impact of these policies. Any background measures would be collected on an entirely voluntary basis and used anonymously. They will not form the basis of any individual recruitment decision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bridges of Headley on 17 November (HL3184) and 7 December (HL2794), whether public engagement strategies are produced by electoral registration officers and made publicly available, and how the success of their work with local education institutions to increase voter registration is measured.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Electoral Commission’s guidance requires that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) produce a public engagement strategy. There is no requirement that these be made publicly available.

As part of the performance standards framework, the Electoral Commission encourages EROs to monitor and adapt their public engagement strategy where needed to meet local challenges. Evaluation of the success of this work is carried out by EROs at a local level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer given by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 9 June (HL Deb, col 817), how the consideration of honorary titles for the spouses of women members of the House of Lords will be conducted; whether same sex spouses and civil partners will be included in the exercise; and when that exercise will be completed.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government recognises that there are some intrinsic inequalities within the courtesy titles system as it relates to honorifics. We have sympathy with those who are seeking to resolve such inequalities and we are looking into the process around courtesy titles, including in relation to same sex spouses and civil partners. The resolution of these inequalities is a very complex issue and we are at an early stage. We will provide an update in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent future Honours Lists being prematurely disclosed.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Cabinet Office will continue to reiterate clear instructions for handling embargoed material.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue the Official History Programme; and if so, how.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given by my Noble Friend Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 10 December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many newspaper journalists and publishers received awards in honours lists published between December 2011 and December 2015, broken down by individual list.

Lord Bridges of Headley

This information is published on GOV.UK.

The number of newspaper journalists and publishers receiving awards in honours lists published between December 2011 and December 2015, broken down by individual list, is given below:

New Year 2012 – 1
Birthday 2012 – 3
New Year 2013 – 4
Birthday 2013 – 1
New Year 2014 – 3
Birthday 2014 – 1
New Year 2015 – 2
Birthday 2015 – nil
New Year 2016 – 1

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the size of the Privy Council on 13 July; and how many appointments had been made to it up to that date since 11 May 2010.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The information is set out in the table below.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total sum to date that has been paid in compensation to persons found guilty of terrorist-related offences in Northern Ireland whose convictions have been overturned because the activities of British agents were not disclosed to the courts; how many further such claims for compensation are pending; and whether compensation will be paid if more claims are made.

Lord Dunlop

It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny the involvement of agents of the Security and Intelligence Agencies in any specific activity in order to protect the UK’s national security. I am therefore unable to comment further.

However, where national security sensitive information is relevant to an application for compensation for a miscarriage of justice in Northern Ireland, for example where the Court of Appeal is unable to make public its full reasons for quashing the conviction, the decision on whether compensation is payable is one for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In making that decision, she will apply the new test set out in section 133(1Z) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, namely that compensation is payable “if and only if the new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not commit the offence”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-07-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the new Lord Chancellor meets the criteria for appointment laid down in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Appointments of Government Ministers and the Lord Chancellor are for the Prime Minister to recommend to Her Majesty. I would note that Section 2 of the 2005 Act explicitly states that the Prime Minister may take into account experience as a Minister of the Crown and as a member of either House of Parliament when deciding whether a person is qualified by experience to be Lord Chancellor.

I would also refer the noble peer to the speech by the Lord Chief Justice at the swearing in of the Lord Chancellor, which provides background on the Lord Chancellor’s experience, but also the historical context of those who have had custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, including its first female keeper back in 1253.

https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/lcj-speech-swearing-in-lord-chancellor-july2016.pdf

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