Tag: Lord Stoddart of Swindon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their plans to deal with the increase in the United Kingdom population to 70 million within 12 years and 74.3 million by 2030, as projected by the Office for National Statistics, and what estimate they have made of the cost of those plans.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The recent 2015 Office for National Statistics projections predict the United Kingdom population to reach 70 million in 2027. This is consistent with their previous 2013 projections which also predicted the UK population would reach 70 million in 2027. The new projections forecast the population to increase to 71 million by 2030, as did the previous projections.

Population growth does not necessarily cause an equivalent increase in demand for all public services, because at different points in their lives people will use different services. For instance, population increases caused by people living longer than previously, might increase demand for health services but probably would not increase demand for classroom places.

However, as these increases are largely consistent with the previous population projections, they are well covered by existing plans and planning processes. Public services are provided local authorities and central departments. Local Government and Departmental budgets are set in advance through multi-year Spending Reviews. This allows the Government to make decisions on all areas of public spending in the context of projected demand and available resources while ensuring the public finances remain sustainable in the long term. Departments are responsible for deciding how this money is then allocated, subject to strict Treasury rules on the proper management of public funds. This allows money to flow to where it is most needed, given demographic pressures and other considerations.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility produce 50-year forecasts of the sustainability of the public finances in the biannual Fiscal Sustainability Report. For instance, the most recent report highlighted pressures from growth in health spending, state pension costs, and the costs of long-term social care. In response to these pressures, the Government introduced reforms that will save £500 billion over the next 50 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 4 December (HL3456), what urgent action they are taking to remedy the shortage of male teachers and teaching assistants.

Lord Nash

We value diversity in the workforce but want the best people in the classroom, regardless of their gender; evidence shows that the quality of teaching is the single most important factor in determining how well pupils achieve. We are pleased that the quality of entrants to initial teacher training, as measured by degree class, remains high, with 18 per cent of postgraduate entrants, a new record, holding a first-class degree. Recent figures show that 26 per cent of teachers in publicly funded schools in England are male. The proportion of men starting initial teacher training programmes in 2015/16 is 31 per cent. The proportion of entrants to the School Direct (salaried) scheme in 2015/16 who are male is 34 per cent.

Given this performance, the government does not feel that top-down targets for the recruitment of men into initial teacher training would be appropriate. Similarly, it is schools that employ teaching assistants and they are best placed to decide who are the most appropriate for that role regardless of gender.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the criticism of the European Commission by Robert Stack, the US Treasury Official in charge of international tax policy, for disproportionately targeting US companies; and under what articles of the EU treaties the EU can tax foreign enterprises.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

While corporate taxation is a matter for Member States, under the EU Treaties the European Commission has competence to conduct State aid investigations in order to prevent unlawful distortion of competition and to safeguard the internal market. Investigations into tax rulings issued by EU Member States to multi-national companies were opened by the Commission in 2013. While the Commission has found illegal aid has been provided by some Members States (not including the UK) relating to some US companies, rulings under investigation also relate to a number of non-US undertakings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of food poverty or insecurity that is caused by state benefits being used for purposes other than to provide necessities.

Lord Freud

There has been no such assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Sir Julian King will be obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the EU, and what assessment they have made of whether that oath will conflict with the decision of the UK to leave the EU.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain a full member of the EU until we leave and it is therefore our right under the treaties to have a Commissioner during that period. On their appointment, Commissioners are required to give a solemn undertaking to respect their obligations as Commissioners and behave with integrity and discretion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the European Arrest Warrant system will cease to have legal force in the UK following Brexit.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security with our European and global allies will be undiminished.

Officials are exploring options for cooperation arrangements once the UK has left the EU. We will do what is necessary to keep people safe, but it would be wrong to set out our position in advance of negotiations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the deficit in trade with the EU in 2014 in (1) goods, and (2) overall in goods and services; and how that deficit is financed.

Lord Maude of Horsham

The UK’s trade in goods deficit with the EU was £78.9bn in 2014. The overall trade in goods and services deficit with the EU was £61.7bn.

The UK’s total trade deficit is financed by a net inflow of investment in the financial account, for which data is not available on a geographical basis. The UK’s financial account surplus was £89.4bn in 2014.

Source: ONS Pink Book 2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of coal-fired power stations under construction worldwide, the number that are planned for the future, and what effect those new stations will have on the total tonnage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The IEA estimate that global coal electricity capacity will be around 8-17% higher in 2020 than 2013, with some growth even under the IEA’s estimate of a 2°C scenario.

We know that limiting the global growth in unabated coal use is necessary to tackle climate change. The UK Government announced at COP19, in Warsaw in 2013, its plans to end support for public financing of new coal-fired power plants overseas, except in rare circumstances. In order to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees, globally we need to rapidly move away from unabated coal power generation.

We have negotiated a new policy in November 2015 on how OECD export credit agencies can contribute to our goal to address climate change. The new policy places significant restrictions on the financing of coal-fired power plants by OECD export credit agencies. Support for the larger less-efficient coal-fired power plants is removed, and will encourage a move away from low-efficient towards high-efficient coal-fired power plants. Over two-thirds of the coal-fired power projects receiving official export credit support from Participants between 2003 and 2013 would not have been eligible for such support under the new rules. The new rules will take effect from 1 January 2017, and are subject to a mandatory review starting in 2019, with the goal of strengthening them.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced that we will consult next year on an end date for coal of 2025 and limiting its use by 2023.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what legal powers the EU has to intervene in the taxation arrangements agreed between HM Treasury and foreign-based firms, including Google, and what assessment they have made of whether HMRC could legally co-operate in any such EU action.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

While corporate taxation is a matter for Member States, under the EU Treaties the European Commission has competence to conduct State aid investigations in order to prevent unlawful distortion of competition and to safeguard the internal market. Member State authorities are required to cooperate with any such investigations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 23 February (HL6060), whether, in the light of clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill and the laws regarding pre-entry trade union membership, they will take appropriate action to ensure that student unions are bound by the same rules as other unions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Student unions are not trade unions, as specified by Section 1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Therefore, none of the reforms being provided by the Trade Union Bill will impact students’ unions.

The Education Act 1994 already requires publicly-funded universities to take reasonable steps to ensure that their students’ union observes the right for students to opt out of membership.

The Green Paper “Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice” sought public views on the role of students’ unions and what further steps could be taken to increase transparency and accountability to individual members. The Government plans to publish a White Paper in response in the spring.