UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Lord Stoddart of Swindon

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the European Union Fourth Railway Package is likely to preclude nationalisation or re-nationalisation of national railways as a whole or in part.

    Baroness Kramer

    The proposals published by the European Commission on 30 January 2013 would, if adopted, strengthen requirements for the formal separation of infrastructure manager and train operator responsibilities. The proposals make no assumption about the status of the infrastructure manager. They do, however, require the competitive tendering of rail public service contracts in most circumstances.

    There is no particular bar on public companies competing for such tenders, and exemptions to tendering are proposed for small networks and in emergency situations.

    The Italian Council Presidency (Jul-Dec 2014) intends to start Member State level Working Groups about the market opening proposals in July. As these proposals are still under discussion it is too early to say what we think the effect is likely to be.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of European Union regulations requiring black market activities, including prostitution and illegal drug dealing, to be taken into account in the calculation of the United Kingdom gross domestic product.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

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

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish a full list of the criminal offences introduced between 1997 and 2013 in a form easily understood by the general public.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government wants to avoid bringing in new criminal offences where they are not needed and will continue to scrap unnecessary and out of date laws, but where there is a genuine need to create a new criminal offence we will continue to do so.

    To publish an accessible list of criminal offences introduced between1997 to 2008 would incur a disproportionate cost to the public purse.

    During this parliament, however, the Government committed to publishing the number of offences it created each year. My department is responsible for doing so and publishes an annual statistical bulletin on the number of new criminal offences added to the statute book. The bulletins cover primary and secondary legislation containing criminal offences enforceable in England and Wales. The latest bulletin covering the period 2009 to 31 May 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revised-new-criminal-offences-statistics-in-england-and-wales-june-2009-may-2013. The next bulletin should be available in December and will cover the period from 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014.

    “

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average annual salary and expenses paid to (1) members of the House of Commons, and (2) members of the European Parliament.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The determination and administration of the pay, pensions and expenses for Members of Parliament is the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). The current salary of a Member of Parliament is £66,396. IPSA publish the salary and total business costs and expenses paid to each MP.

    Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) paid by the European Parliament under the Statute for Members of the European Parliament are paid at 38.5%of the basic salary of a judge at the Court of Justice of the European Communities, which is currently € 7.956,87 a month before EU tax and accident insurance contribution. Those British MEPs who are not paid under the Statute for Members of the European Parliament are paid at the same rate as MPs.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Warsi on 17 June (WS 586–88), whether they plan to abandon their demand that President Assad step down and to urge co-operation between his government and the official opposition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham and other Islamic terrorist groups in Syria.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Assad regime is the primary cause of terrorism in Syria, not the solution to it. The most effective way to tackle terrorism in Syria is to support the moderate opposition in its efforts to protect the Syrian people from the twin threats of tyranny and terrorism. The only sustainable solution to the crisis in Syria is to reach a negotiated political transition by the mutual consent of both sides – this is the principle in the Geneva Communiqué as endorsed by the UN Security Council.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of President Obama’s statement on 26 March that Kosovo only left Serbia after a referendum was organised”.”

    Baroness Warsi

    The point that President Obama was making is that the situations in Crimea and Kosovo are not comparable. Kosovo’s independence followed a humanitarian crisis, nearly nine years of UN administration, and the failure of a long period of inclusive, internationally sponsored negotiations on Kosovo’s final status. Kosovo thus declared independence only after other options were exhausted, and by the decision of a parliament that had been assembled through a free and fair vote conducted under UN supervision. None of these conditions apply in Crimea.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rates of (1) misuse of postal votes, and (2) voting fraud, in the light of the recent local elections and the European Parliamentary elections.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The integrity of our elections is central to our democracy. The introduction of Individual Electoral Registration will make the electoral register more accurate and secure.

    The Government will carefully consider any findings by the Electoral Commission in relation to the elections held on 22 May 2014 to determine whether any further measures may be needed to support electoral integrity.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as part of their package of sanctions towards Russia, they intend to instruct Centrica to cancel their agreement with Gazprom to supply the United Kingdom with gas; and if so, what will be the consequences for United Kingdom gas supplies and energy prices.

    Baroness Verma

    The international community has sent a clear, strong, consistent message to Russia. The sanctions we have imposed to date are having an impact. The European Council is clear that it will respond with further wide-ranging measures if there is any further destabilisation in Ukraine by Russia.

    The contract between Gazprom and Centrica is a commercial matter. It relates to a small part of total gas supply to the UK. While the contract is with a Russian company, the gas can be sourced from anywhere in the European network. The UK is not dependent on Russian energy imports and this contract does not alter that.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 17 June (WA 37), which third countries envisage joining the European Union; and what assessment they have made of the impact of further European Union enlargement, particularly on the financing of the European Union and migration.

    Baroness Warsi

    Six countries currently have been awarded Candidate Status by the European Union (EU). Of these, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are currently in accession negotiations. Iceland has suspended its accession negotiations. Macedonia is a candidate country but has not yet opened accession negotiations. Last month, the European Council endorsed the decision to grant Candidate Status to Albania. Two further countries are recognised as potential candidates. These are Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

    The current governments of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have all publicly expressed an interest in joining the EU.

    The accession process is a lengthy one, involving detailed negotiation of 35 Chapters of the EU Acquis, with candidate countries required to adapt their administrative and institutional infrastructures and bring their national legislation into line with EU legislation in these areas. Financing of the EU and migration will be addressed at several stages in this process, notably in EU Common Positions and related impact assessments by the European Commission on Chapter 2 (Free Movement of Workers), Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) and 33 (Financial and Budgetary Provisions). We welcome the emphasis that EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fule, has placed upon economic governance in the enlargement process, which should increase economic convergence between accession countries and the EU and reduce migratory pressures.

    The UK has not produced national impact assessments on EU enlargement in addition to the European Commission’s own impact assessments. As part of the Government’s review of the balance of competences with the European Union, however, reports are due to be published on enlargement and free movement of persons.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the financial impact, in terms of percentage of United Kingdom food prices, of the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy; and what is their assessment of the overall effect on the United Kingdom economy if the Common Agricultural Policy were abandoned.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cost EU consumers approximately €16 billion in 2012 as a result of higher food prices. This equates to 4% of consumption expenditure on agricultural commodities (at farm gate prices).

    The Government does not have estimates of the effect of abandoning the current CAP programme. However studies are available from 2009 which estimated the impact of removing aspects of the CAP policies and budgets that were in place at the time:

    1) Modelling commissioned by Defra estimated the impact of phasing out direct payments in CAP and liberalising agricultural trade. The results vary by sector, ranging from a negligible impact expected on UK cereal production and prices to around a 25% reduction in beef prices and production.

    2) A European Commission study estimates the impact of eliminating direct payments and liberalising trade. The results showed a 6% reduction in land use and a 30% reduction in land prices across Europe. However the impact on agro-food production was modest and food price changes ranged from a 33% fall in beef, to just a 1% fall for milk and eggs.