Tag: Lord Stoddart of Swindon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 December 2015 (HL3817), what assessment they have made of the fact that, in relation to men and women under 35-years of age, the pay gap is in favour of women.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

This Government is committed to ending the gender pay gap. New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the gender pay gap in the UK remains the lowest on record. The pay gap for women under the age of 40, working full time, is particularly low. The gap is -0.8% for women working full-time aged 22-29 and 0.6% for women working full-time aged 30-39.

As well as revising statutory guidance for schools on careers to raise young women’s aspirations, we have established a new Careers and Enterprise Company to encourage greater collaboration between employers and schools to inspire young people and supported the ‘Your Life’ campaign to encourage more young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that issues around financing the provision of the Hinkley Point C power station will delay the commencement of that project.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Good progress continues to be made so that Hinkley can provide clean, affordable and secure energy that families and businesses can rely on into the future. The financing of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the parties involved.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 3 July 2014 (HL280) about the expenses of former Prime Ministers, and in the light of the ruling of the Freedom of Information Tribunal in the case of Gabriel Webber v Information Commissioner (EA/2015/0194) that the disclosure of details of expenses paid to former Prime Ministers would not breach confidence nor invade privacy, whether they will commit to full transparency regarding former Prime Ministers’ allowances including the costs of providing security.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government is considering the Tribunal’s judgement in this matter, and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost to date of keeping Peter Sutcliffe at Broadmoor Hospital, and what is the projected annual cost of keeping him at a category A high security prison.

Lord Keen of Elie

Decisions over whether prisoners are to be sent back to prison from secure hospitals are based on clinical assessments made by independent medical staff.

The Department for Health advise that information quantifying the costs to date of treating Peter Sutcliffe (now known as Peter Coonan) at Broadmoor Hospital between 1984 and 2016 is not available and would vary throughout the period of detention according to the care and interventions provided to meet his clinical needs and security requirements.

The annual cost in 2014/15 of keeping a prisoner in a High Security prison was £57,000. This information can be found in the attachment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Prime Minister’s recent assertions at the CBI Annual Conference on 9 November that the UK’s security is provided through membership of the EU, what assessment they have made of the impact of NATO membership on the UK’s security and whether they will continue to oppose any proposals for an EU army or other EU armed forces.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the cornerstone of our national security, and the ultimate guarantor of our defence. But the EU can play a useful complementary role, for example in missions in the Western Balkans and off the coast of Somalia. We always have, and always will, resist any proposal for an EU army.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will undertake a review of extant legislation that could be undermining the principle of free speech in the UK or rendering it conditional in some circumstances.

Lord Faulks

As set out in my answer of 20 July 2015 (HL1111), currently, there are no plans to review extant Acts of Parliament to ensure that the right of freedom of expression is not being restricted.

The Government will be bringing forward proposals for a Bill of Rights to protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 1 February (HL5390), whether the consent of both Houses of Parliament will be required before the granting of the BBC Royal Charter.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The BBC’s Royal Charter is granted by the Privy Council and all appropriate steps will be taken in advance of this, including debates in both Houses of Parliament. The format of these debates has not been decided.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 21 March (HL6874) about the accession of Turkey to the EU, whether they will now answer the question asked, namely whether they will hold a referendum in the UK before they agree to the accession of Turkey”.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government supports Turkey’s EU accession process, which remains the most effective mechanism for us to support continuing reform in Turkey. However, Turkey’s accession is not on the cards for many years to come. Turkey first applied for associate membership of the European Economic Community in 1959, and there remains a very significant amount of detailed work to do before Turkey is ready to join the EU. The question of whether to hold a referendum would therefore be for the Government of the day, at that time, and for Parliament at that time, when it came to consider the primary legislation which, under the European Union Act 2011, is required before the UK can ratify any new accession.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what stage of the process of leaving the EU they will invoke the Vienna Accord on the denunciation of treaties.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Treaty on the European Union contains provision for withdrawal in Article 50. It is this process which accordingly applies and has to be followed for the United Kingdom to leave the EU in accordance with international law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 9 November (HL3057), whether they will now answer the additional questions asked about whether planning consent is required for farmers to erect notices advertising receipt of EU grants; and whether they will require all such advertising notices to include information about the ratio of UK contributions to the EU budget and the sums returned by way of grants to farmers and others.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Local planning authorities can provide advice on whether consent is required for a notice in a specific location and decide whether such advertisements fall within any of the classes of advertisements that do not require express consent. General advice on advertisement consent is set out in national planning guidance on the GOV.UK website.

There is no requirement to include information about the ratio of UK contributions to the EU budget and the sums returned by way of grants to farmers and others.