Tag: Lord Scriven

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider publishing central government data on procurement history and key performance indicators to help tech communities understand the opportunities available to them, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

On 12 May, the Cabinet Office committed to implement the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) in the Crown Commercial Service’s operations by October 2016. This is part of the UK’s Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has also begun a consultation on a number of proposals to update the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in the review of countries designated under section 94(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 following the Supreme Court judgment in R (JB (Jamaica)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] UKSC 8.

Lord Bates

The process of reviewing all the designated countries is nearing completion. Any proposals for changes to the designation of countries must be made by order and so will be put to Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Archbishop of Canterbury on the recent communiqué from Anglican Primates about homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government has made no representations to the Most Rev. and rt hon Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Anglican Community, regarding the recent communique from the Anglican Primates, issued on 15 January.

The Government does not normally make comments in response to statements issued by the Church of England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 March (HL6926), whether the issue of the sugar tax to be introduced by NHS England in their own premises by 2020 was raised as part of their conversations with NHS England, and if so, by whom and which ministers were consequently informed.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We have a range of conversations about key issues at Ministerial and official level with NHS England. NHS England is independent and the decision on a sugar levy on the National Health Service estate is a matter for them operationally. We are interested to see the results of their consultation on a sugar levy.

The announcement of a soft drinks industry levy by the Chancellor in the Budget is the first step in our comprehensive Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, and gives companies strong incentives to reformulate their products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend specifically to look at providing funding to make the North a testbed for experimental technology, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Government funding is already being used to develop and trial innovative new technology in the North. £170 million has been invested in the Hartree Centre to broaden and deepen the use of High Performance Computing in industry and academia – and has since attracted inward investment of over £200m from IBM and other high-tech industry. Government has also confirmed £45 million of research funding for six new Next Generation Digital Economy Centres – including one led by Newcastle University – to drive the development of new digital technologies. The centres have secured over £22 million additional funding and support in kind that will boost the impact of these centres. In addition, £9 million has been invested in the CityVerve Internet of Things Smart City demonstrator in Manchester to trial "Internet of Things" applications on a large scale.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in ensuring that management and statistical information concerning asylum claims on grounds of sexuality and gender identity are recorded accurately and comprehensively by the Home Office, and when that data will be published.

Lord Bates

We are still looking into the feasibility of publishing figures on the number of asylum applications by sexual orientation of the applicants. Any plans to publish will be subject to the data being of appropriate quality, in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL4964) on police facial recognition technology, whether the outcome of their review of that report will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny.

Lord Bates

Copies of the Custody Image Review will be provided to The Science and Technology Committee and made available in the Libraries of both Houses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 March (HL6926), on what date the Department of Health was informed that NHS England was going to introduce a sugar tax in NHS premises by 2020.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We have a range of conversations about key issues at Ministerial and official level with NHS England. NHS England is independent and the decision on a sugar levy on the National Health Service estate is a matter for them operationally. We are interested to see the results of their consultation on a sugar levy.

The announcement of a soft drinks industry levy by the Chancellor in the Budget is the first step in our comprehensive Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, and gives companies strong incentives to reformulate their products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work to establish a Digital Powerhouse Contract Portal, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North, and to add central government contracts to that portal once established.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

There are no current plans to do this.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) have published the attached detailed guidance on the new transparency requirements for publishing on Contracts Finder.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what vulnerability criteria are being used by the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.

Lord Bates

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies people most in need of resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme based on the following criteria: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries.