The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to classify the cost of armed intervention to achieve regime change as overseas aid.
Lord Bates
No – the use of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for general military activities is circumscribed; ODA can only be used in well-defined training on a limited list of topics consistent with development objectives, for example in human rights and humanitarian law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the strategic importance of self-sufficiency in energy for the UK’s national security.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The security of the UK’s energy supply is an important factor in the national security of the country and featured prominently in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, published last year. The government also produces an annual assessment of the security of the UK’s energy supply which considers the availability of electricity and gas to meet consumer demand in Great Britain over the next four years. The strategically important contributions of both domestic energy production and diversity of supply are included in this analysis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the development of smaller reactors and the use of fracking for gas in order to strengthen the UK’s self-sufficiency in energy.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government is committed to ensuring the UK has a secure and resilient energy system while meeting our climate change obligations and keeping bills as low as possible. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and shale gas have the potential to play a part in achieving this.
The Government has committed to investing at least £250 million over the next five years in nuclear research and development, which will include support for SMRs. In March 2016, the Government launched the first phase of a competition to identify the best value SMR for the UK, as well as allocating up to £30m over the next 5 years for an SMR-enabling advanced manufacturing programme to develop skills capacity.
The Government supports the exploration of our shale gas resources in a safe and sustainable way. The shale gas resources beneath Britain have the potential to bolster our energy security and lead to jobs and economic growth. UK geology is promising but we make no assumptions about production levels. We need exploration to determine the potential.
The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether high frequency trading has utility and is in the national interest.
Lord Young of Cookham
The Government sponsored the Foresight Project, which reported in 2012, to analyse the role, development, and impact of computer-based trading – including high frequency trading – in financial markets. The Future of Computer Trading in Financial Markets report highlighted the benefits of computer-based trading for the operation of markets, in particular relating to liquidity, transaction costs, and the efficiency of market prices, while also considering the implications for financial stability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider introducing the national interest test for mergers and acquisitions that was part of the brief of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into the brief of the Competition and Markets Authority.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
As we build an economy that works for all, the Government will keep the law on mergers and acquisitions under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for the last 12-month period for which figures are available, how many applications have been made under the European Arrest Warrant for prosecution of British nationals overseas, and of those, how many have been (1) agreed to, and (2) rejected.
Lord Bates
In the 2014/15 business year the National Crime Agency (NCA) received 127 European Arrest Warrants for British citizens. During the same period 40 British citizens were extradited under an EAW.
The number of EAWs for British citizens which resulted in a discharge by the courts during this same period is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 21 March 2012 (HL Deb, cols 914–6), and in the light of the fact that the number of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in 2014–15 was the highest since 2010–11, what plans they have to reduce the number of DBS checks, and in particular to limit the DBS checking of groups such as parent volunteers.
Lord Bates
The Government has introduced an Update Service to enable existing criminal record certificates to be kept up to date whilst reducing the need for repeat checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS is driving greater uptake of the Update Service which will continue to reduce the need for repeat checks.
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 reduced the scope of “regulated activity” from which unsuitable people can be barred. It is for schools to decide whether or not to carry out disclosure checks on parent volunteers who work under supervision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider making it an offence to lend shares for short-selling without permission of the beneficial owners.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The short selling of securities is a legitimate and longstanding investment technique that can provide a positive contribution to efficient market functioning through supporting price formation and providing liquidity to markets.
It is already illegal to lend any property, including shares, without the consent of the beneficial owner. However, there are limited circumstances in which fund managers are able to lend shares on behalf of investors (including for purposes such as facilitating a short sale). Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules, fund managers are able to do so if they have explicitly set out that they will do this in fund documentation, including the prospectus. This documentation forms part of the contract, which the investors agree to when they invest in the fund. FCA supervisors monitor compliance with applicable rules in this regard. These existing rules allow the FCA to take action, where appropriate, if shares are lent without the permission of the beneficial owner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 27 January (HL4999), when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last monitored or audited the procedures that require institutions explicitly to set out that they may lend shares on behalf of investors for the purpose of short selling; and what assessment they or the FCA have made of whether beneficial owners of shares are fully aware of the consequences to them of their shares being lent for short selling.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that the net long-term international migration figure for the year ending September 2015 was 323,000 rather than their ambition of tens of thousands, what is the high migration assumption in the latest ONS population projections, and what they estimate will be the increase in the UK population over the next five years.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.