Tag: Lord Scriven

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-03-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 10 March (HL6471), when they were informed of the NHS England plan to introduce a sugar tax on its 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 Childhood Obesity Strategy will be published in the summer.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which minister was informed of the move of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London, why they were informed, and whether they had any decision-making role in that move.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Permanent Secretary and Executive Board have made the proposal to relocate policy roles to London. They are responsible for the day to day running of the Department. The proposal is part of the BIS 2020 programme agreed with Ministers to deliver £350m savings and be more effective in delivering Ministerial priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many faces have been uploaded onto the police facial recognition database since the ruling against the Metropolitan Police Service in 2012; which police forces made those uploads; and how many faces each force has uploaded.

Lord Bates

There is no facial recognition database as such. The Police National Database (PND) includes photographs of persons taken on their arrest. These images can be uploaded onto the PND by police forces.

Full face images of a suitable size and quality are then enrolled in the facial image recognition gallery within PND, which can be searched using automated facial recognition software. Information on the number of facial images loaded by forces since June 2012 is not readily available

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the status of the Northern Powerhouse rail network, what schemes are incorporated into its remit, what budget it has allocated to it and by whom, what the governance structure is, and what powers it has.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The government and Transport for the North (TfN) published the Northern Transport Strategy in March 2015, setting out the vision for the Northern Powerhouse Rail network: radically improved journey times and frequencies between the major cities of the North, building on the substantial improvements to rail in the North to which the government is already committed.

In November, the government and Transport for the North published the Northern Transport Strategy: Autumn Report, providing a progress update on the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) network.

The government has also committed a total of £50 million of funding over this parliament to Transport for the North, to help it develop plans to transform the North’s rail connections and build a single regional economy.

Work on Northern Powerhouse Rail is governed jointly by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for the North as set out in Principles for Governing the Relationship Between TfN and DfT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-03-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 10 March (HL6471), what specific advice they were asked for before NHS England announced its plan to introduce a sugar tax on its 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 Childhood Obesity Strategy will be published in the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 27 April (HL7786), what temporary measures they plan to take, pending the review by the Lord Chancellor of the recommendations arising out of the review of extremism, to ensure that literature of a homophobic nature is not handed out by prison chaplains.

Lord Faulks

Prison chaplains are already aware that they should not distribute any unacceptable material, including material of a homophobic nature, to prisoners. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Justice is considering the recommendations of the review of Extremism. As the Secretary of State told the House on 26 April, a summary document will be published in due course. The full report cannot be published due to sensitive security issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the review of the framework within which police forces use and retain custody images is yet complete; if so, what advice has been circulated to police forces as a result; and if not, why not.

Lord Bates

The review has not yet been completed. It is important that the issues identified by the review are properly tested with operational decision makers, so as to appropriately balance the protection of personal data and privacy with the public protection benefits and the operational need.

Due to the complexity of the operational and legal issues raised in the evidence gathering stage and the number of important stakeholders, this work is yet to be completed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the action plan sent to the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum following the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report in 2014 on asylum on grounds of sexual orientation has now been agreed and implemented in full.

Lord Bates

Following publication of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report last year and in consultation with key partners, UKVI produced and agreed an LGBTI ‘Action Plan’ to facilitate further improvements in the handling and management of asylum claims brought on the basis of sexual identity issues and to improve the training and guidance given to staff.

The key inspection recommendations have been reflected in this plan, specifically improving training and guidance to decision makers, improving claim recording mechanisms, ensuring policy compliance, and ensuring a consistent approach to explicit material and dealing with sexually explicit questioning. We continue to work with our partners in developing these strategies to ensure full implementation of the Chief Inspector’s recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-01-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many public bodies as defined in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill do not meet the provisions of the Prevent duty guidance consultation document, according to each category of public body.

Lord Bates

The duty outlined in Chapter 1 of Part 5 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill (‘the Prevent duty’) falls on the specified authorities listed in Schedule 3 to the Bill. The authorities include local government, prisons and probation services, schools, further and higher education institutions, NHS bodies, and the police. The Government does not hold information about the Prevent policies and processes of all the authorities on which the duty would fall. There are many examples of good practice, but involvement in Prevent activity is not consistent across the country. In legislating, the Government’s intention is to spread that good practice, and ensure all apply the duty in a risk-based and proportionate way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Hungary about the use of tear gas and water cannon on those seeking asylum.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK expects all EU Member States to meet their obligations to comply with international standards including with regards to the fundamental values of respect for human dignity, freedom and respect for human rights, in the same way they have this expectation of us. The British Government recognises that Hungary has received the second highest number of asylum claims of any EU Member State this year to June, reaching unprecedented levels. We continue to follow closely the situation in Hungary and other Central European countries regarding the arrival of unprecedented numbers of people seeking entry and, often, passage onwards. Staff at our Embassy in Budapest have visited the border with Serbia and reception centres and have also met with Hungarian officials. More broadly as the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has stated, the UK and its EU partners must pursue a comprehensive approach which addresses the causes of the migration problem as well as the consequences.