Tag: Lord Rennard

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated annual cost of their special advisers.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Statement made on 17 December 2015, HLWS417, which I have attached for each of reference.

The attached list of Special Advisers sets out the names of the Special Advisers in post as of December 2015, each special adviser’s pay band, and actual salary (where this is higher than the Senior Civil Service entry-level salary), together with details of the total pay bill for 2014-15 and the estimate for 2015-16. The cost has fallen from last year, and the cost represents just 0.08 per cent of the Civil Service pay bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to further reduce the capacity for tobacco wholesalers and retailers to supply illicit tobacco.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government currently has no plans to introduce new measures specifically applicable to wholesalers and retailers to tackle the supply of illicit tobacco. However, HM Revenue and Customs has undertaken a public consultation on the implementation of Article 6 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Illicit Trade Protocol, part of which is concerned with consideration of the licensing of the supply chain for tobacco products. The consultation sought views from a wide range of stakeholders to help assess the potential benefits and impacts of introducing a scheme to help establish a clear evidence base for any decisions. The results of the consultation and the proposed next steps will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to reduce the costs of government special advisers.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Statement made on 17 December 2015, HLWS417, which I have attached for each of reference.

The attached list of Special Advisers sets out the names of the Special Advisers in post as of December 2015, each special adviser’s pay band, and actual salary (where this is higher than the Senior Civil Service entry-level salary), together with details of the total pay bill for 2014-15 and the estimate for 2015-16. The cost has fallen from last year, and the cost represents just 0.08 per cent of the Civil Service pay bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to ratify the WHO protocol on the illicit trade in tobacco.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is fully committed to implementation and ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Illicit Trade Protocol. The majority of the requirements of the Protocol are already in place in the UK. HM Revenue and Customs has recently consulted on the implementation of Article 6 of the Protocol, which includes the requirement to license tobacco manufacturing machinery. The Government will ratify the Protocol once we are satisfied that the legislation is in place to meet this requirement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce a limit on the size of personal, or company, donations to political parties.

Lord Bridges of Headley

We remain committed to negotiating a comprehensive cross-party reform agreement, including donations from all funding sources including trade unions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 20 October (HL Deb, col 2484–90), whether the Pharmacy Integration Fund is still planned to rise to a total of £300 million by 2020–21, and whether the planned expenditure of £42 million over two years means that previously planned support is being cut back.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In 2016/17, it was planned that £20 million would be available for the Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF), rising by £20 million per year to a total of £100 million per year by 2020/21, so that over the course of 5 years, £300 million would be distributed through the Fund.

The establishment of the Fund and associated work programme for 2016/17 is dependent on the overall financial pressures for NHS England, set out in the Five Year Forward View, and the priorities identified through the recently published National Health Service planning guidance.

This means through the business planning process, funding of £42 million has now been secured for 2016/17 and 2017/18.

There will be further business planning within NHS England for 2018 onwards which will determine the future provision within the Fund. However, the PhIF is a key priority for NHS England and is aligned with the Five Year Forward View priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2014-06-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to include, in their consideration of the future of the national census, the possibility of collecting data for electoral registration purposes in addition to other purposes.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2014-06-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that online completion of census data could be combined with online electoral registration.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

With the introduction of online registration in England and Wales on 10 June and September in Scotland, registering to vote is now more convenient and accessible.

The Government will continue to explore the mutual benefits of collaboration between online electoral registration and preparation for the online Census.