Tag: Lord Lexden

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims for compensation by the victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland remain outstanding.

Lord Dunlop

Matters relating to policing and justice were devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2010 by the Northern Ireland (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions Order) 2010. As a consequence, responsibility for compensation of the victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland now rests with the Northern Ireland Executive, and in particular the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland (DOJNI), which oversees the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to respond to the Constitution Committee’s report, Inter-governmental relations in the United Kingdom, published on 27 March 2015.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

I would like to thank the Constitution Committee for their report ‘Intergovernmental relations in the UK’ which was published in March 2015. As the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster noted in his initial response to the Committee, the report was timely as it followed the launch of a joint review of intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom which was commissioned by the Prime Minister and heads of the Devolved Administrations at the Joint Ministerial Committee Plenary JMC(P) meeting in December 2014.

The review was undertaken by senior officials within each of the four administrations and the recommendations have been considered. It is anticipated that the review’s findings will be considered at the next Plenary meeting of the JMC later this year. The Committee has agreed that the Government issue a full response to its report following the JMC(P) meeting.