Tag: Lord Patten

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the annual amount spent on upgrading the railway tracks and stations between Salisbury and Exeter between 2015 and 2020 will increase or decrease in real terms.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Network Rail currently has no funded strategic plans for significant upgrading on this route. However, it advises that it is working closely with local stakeholders, including Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities, to work up potential schemes that could support growth and meet the needs of passengers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of how many new homes will be built on green belt land in England during 2016.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We do not collate information centrally on the number of sites that are available for residential development. Local planning authorities are required to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years worth of housing against their housing requirements. Whether those sites are in the Green Belt is again a matter for local planning authorities to consider in line with national planning policy, which makes clear that Green Belt boundaries should be altered only in exceptional circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of progress in implementing the provisions regarding footpaths and bridleways contained in the Deregulation Act 2015.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

We are continuing to work with the Stakeholder Working Group on both the secondary legislation and guidance necessary for implementation of the rights of way provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015. We expect the package of legislation and guidance to be commenced, all on the same date, later in the year. One of the sets of regulations we are introducing is subject to affirmative resolution and therefore first needs to be debated in both Houses. This has added to the timetable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 29 April (HL7749), whether they have identified any prospective disadvantages of the Right to Roam policy; and if so, what those disadvantages are.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government has not identified any prospective disadvantages of the right of access for open-air recreation on foot on open country (mountain, moor, heath and down) and registered common land which is provided for under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The Act was passed by a previous Government after public consultation and an appraisal of a number of options for increasing access to land where access had not been allowed before.

The legislation was therefore framed so that the right of access over such areas was carefully balanced against the needs of land managers, businesses and wildlife. Areas such as houses and their gardens, and buildings or their curtilage, are automatically exempt from the right of access to avoid intrusion on people’s privacy even where they fall within land which appears on a map of open access land.

The open access regime also includes general restrictions at the national level that exclude specific potentially damaging activities from the right of access and controls on people walking with dogs. To supplement these, local temporary restrictions on the right of access may be put in place to limit where people go or what they do, if it is necessary to protect against the harm that any access may cause to sensitive landscape or wildlife habitat, public safety or the ability of landowners to manage their land.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities for inward investment to the Ukraine by UK companies.

Lord Price

There are a number of areas of potential interest for UK investors in Ukraine, including Agriculture, Energy and Infrastructure.

Ukraine has recently been moving up the World Bank Doing Business survey (now 83, up 5 places from 2015) but it continues to lag on the Corruption perception index (142 out of 175 countries ranked).

Ukraine’s Government is keen to attract foreign investors and is taking steps towards improving the business climate and the UK Government is providing assistance e.g. with the recent establishment of an Anti-corruption Bureau and Business Ombudsman which has been positively received by business leaders. But more still needs to be done.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 December (HL4088), what proposals they have also to consult travellers who use the railway line between London, Salisbury and Exeter.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Network Rail undertook public consultations for a period of 90 days on the Wessex and Western Route Studies prior to their publication in August 2015.

The Government expects to set out in July 2017 its investment plan for the railways during 2019 to 2024 (CP6). The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) will undertake public consultation as part of the process to develop plans for CP6.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether any of the UK’s fellow members of NATO are currently using military force against their own citizens.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government has not made any such assessment. Through signature of the Washington Treaty, all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have reaffirmed their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UN, and their commitment to the principles of security, democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. The UK expects all our NATO Allies to live up to these commitments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of weapons smuggled into the UK from Albania, Bosnia and Serbia.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Criminals from a wide range of countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, attempt to smuggle weapons into the UK and other EU countries illegally.

Border Force works with partners, including law enforcement agencies from the UK and overseas, to disrupt the increasingly sophisticated attempts to smuggle prohibited goods into the UK. Border Force uses intelligence generated from a wide variety of sources and state of the art technology to seize weapons and other prohibited goods at ports of entry across the country.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on relations between the UK and Turkey of the decision in the Turkish Parliament to strip parliamentary immunity from 124 deputies.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The lifting of parliamentary immunity is a matter for the Turkish parliament. As a modern democracy and candidate for EU accession, we would expect Turkey to undertake any subsequent legal processes transparently and fully respect the rule of law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the political situation facing UK companies contemplating investing in Turkey.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

UK companies are active in a range of sectors in Turkey, and the UK is consistently among the country’s top sources of foreign investment. The failed coup in Turkey on 15 July and its aftermath has had some short term impact, and the political situation remains challenging. The Turkish economy is well under-pinned and offers significant opportunities for investors in the medium and long term, particularly if the government proceeds with planned structural reforms.