Tag: Lord Lexden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Chairman of Committees what are the implications of the vote in the House of Commons on 20 April in favour of retaining vellum for the printing of record copies of public Acts of Parliament.

Lord Laming

The House Committee considered this matter at its meeting on 3 May. The Committee agreed that, in response to the letter from the Clerk of the House of Commons about the debate, I should write to the Chairman of the House of Commons Administration Committee in the following terms:

“I am writing further to the backbench debate on printing record copies of public Acts of Parliament on vellum. I have consulted the House of Lords House Committee in preparing this reply.

As you know, this House agreed in 1999 to move to printing Acts of Parliament on archival paper instead of vellum. We are persuaded that printing on archival paper is a more appropriate use of public funds, and that the case for continuing to print on vellum is not made.

If, in the light of the debate, the House of Commons wishes to arrange a contract for printing record copies of public Acts on vellum then the House of Lords Administration will gladly share experience of managing the legacy contract to assist you in making any such arrangements. I am sure you will appreciate that this House does not wish to contribute financially to any future printing on vellum. It is also important that we ensure the longevity of any public Acts, as the Clerk of the Parliaments must certify a record copy of them.

Perhaps at our next regular meeting it would be possible for us to discuss some of the points made in the debate. I am, as ever, grateful to you for all your help in this matter.”

I wrote accordingly on 4 May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Acts of Parliament have been passed since 2010; and how many of those have not been implemented.

Lord Bridges of Headley

212 Government and non-Government Bills have been passed by the United Kingdom Parliament since 2010. The Government monitors implementation of its policy commitments rather than individual legislative measures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that local electoral registration offices in England and Wales work closely with schools, as has been done in Northern Ireland, to increase the number of young people registered to vote.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Great Britain already work with their local schools and colleges to identify and register young people.

In a report before the start of the current canvass of electors in Great Britain, the Electoral Commission called on all EROs to update their local public engagement strategies for the canvass. The Commission noted that strategies should reflect the activity EROs intended to carry out to target under-registered groups, such as attainers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their planned legislation to enfranchise British citizens resident abroad for over 15 years will be introduced in the current Session.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government is committed to removing the 15 year time limit on the voting rights of British citizens living overseas, and will bring forward a Bill to make a permanent change on overseas voting rights as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the sale of the playing fields of over 100 schools since 2010 on the physical fitness of young people.

Lord Nash

The Government does not approve the sale of playing fields but assesses applications from schools and local authorities to dispose of them. A disposal can include a lease of the playing fields to a third-party commercial organisation with the fields, following investment and improvement, continuing to be used by the school.

It is neither the government nor the Department for Education that instigate the disposal of playing fields. It is the local authorities, academies or schools that seek consent to convert these often surplus or un-used fields to enable them to invest in school sport or education. However, there is strict control in place which requires an assessment of the facilities available to pupils. The government will only give permission to dispose of school playing fields if it is clearly demonstrated that they are surplus to requirements and the sports and curriculum needs of the school and its neighbouring schools will continue to be met.

Since any approved disposal would not impact on the provision of the sports curriculum at the school/s, no follow up studies on the sale of playing fields has been undertaken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend VAT zero-rating to building work in independent schools that do not charge VAT on school fees and are therefore not registered for VAT.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The construction of a new building is normally subject to the standard rate of VAT.

However, the construction of buildings that are either designed as a dwelling, to be used solely for a relevant residential purpose, or to be used solely for a relevant charitable purpose may be zero-rated for VAT.

This relief is available to eligible consumers and businesses regardless of their VAT registration status.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 17 November (HL3184), how many electoral registration officers have visited schools and colleges in the last twelve months; and what proportion of the total number of electoral registration officers that figure represents.

Lord Bridges of Headley

This information is not collected centrally.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the review of electoral fraud being undertaken by Sir Eric Pickles will be completed and its recommendations published.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Sir Eric Pickles will issue his report to the Prime Minister in due course.

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.