Tag: Lord Sharkey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what written assessments of the advantages and disadvantages of not publishing the Financial Conduct Authority’s report on banking culture outlined in its Business Plan 2015–16 were considered, and when; and who wrote those assessments.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

No Treasury Minister or official had any discussions with the FCA before the FCA took its decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in its 2015-16 Business Plan.

The FCA has published (in response to the Noble Lord’s Freedom of Information request) the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposal not to publish the Financial Conduct Authority’s report on banking culture outlined in its Business Plan 2015–16; to whom they have communicated that assessment; and what response they have received.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

No Treasury Minister or official had any discussions with the FCA before the FCA took its decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in its 2015-16 Business Plan.

The FCA has published (in response to the Noble Lord’s Freedom of Information request) the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Migration Advisory Committee to publish the findings of the review of the Tier 2 route of the Points Based System, including their recommendations on the application of a skills levy to businesses recruiting from outside the EEA.

Lord Bates

In June last year, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on how to restrict Tier 2 to roles where there are genuine skills shortages or which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers.

As part of that commission, the MAC was asked for advice on applying an immigration skills charge to businesses recruiting from outside the EEA. The MAC published its report on 19 January 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what help and advice is available to Muslim students who wish to progress to higher education but for whom an interest-bearing student loan would be a violation of their religious principles, and where that help and advice can be accessed.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Government is aware that some students, whose religious beliefs may prevent the taking out of a loan that bears interest, may feel unable to take advantage of student loans. In April 2014 BIS conducted a consultation on an alternative finance product for undergraduate students. Upon review of consultation responses, the Government supported the introduction of a Takaful Alternative Finance product available to everyone. This work is ongoing and subject to Parliamentary approval, the Government hopes to introduce the system through new legislation.

All students can access advice and guidance on the financial support available to them from Student Finance England on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/contact-student-finance-england

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of Muslim students who have been unable to progress to higher education because their religious principles do not permit them to take out an interest-bearing student loan.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Government consulted in April 2014 on an Alternative Finance product that could be offered to students alongside traditional loans. 20,000 responses were received with 94 per cent believing there is a demand for Alternative Finance.

The Government is working on the development of a Takaful Alternative Finance product and as part of this will be working with the Muslim community and others to understand the likely take-up of the product.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will be the lead UK representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation Assembly in Montreal between 27 September and 7 October.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The UK has not yet nominated its delegation for the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, but will do so in the coming months. In the past the UK’s Chief Delegate has been the Director General of Civil Aviation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish a compulsory register for drone ownership following similar action by the Federal Aviation Administration in the US; and if not, why not.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We are exploring a range of options for monitoring and enforcing regulations on drone use in the UK. This includes the potential for types of registration schemes, such as are implemented in the US and Ireland. The Department for Transport is in contact with both these authorities, as part of our work into understanding the benefits of such schemes, in terms of transparency of ownership and enforcement, as against their costs to business and other users. HM Government intends to consult on options this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which commercial organisations are permitted to promote or distribute their products or the products of other organisations in NHS maternity wards; what revenues accrue to the Government or the NHS from that activity; and what evidence there is that patients welcome such activity.

Lord Prior of Brampton

National Health Service trusts may negotiate locally with commercial organisations to distribute advice, information and ‘try before you buy’ samples that they think would be useful for pregnant women.

Neither the Department nor NHS England centrally have any contracts with Bounty or influence over the contents of the packs nor does the Department benefit financially from such arrangements. We do not have any information about what contracts might exist between Bounty and individual NHS trusts.

Although we are aware of Bounty distributing their packs on maternity wards, we have no evidence of whether or not this is welcomed by parents.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) use the services of Bounty to help distribute Child Benefit claim packs to new mothers in NHS hospitals. The contract for this service is held by HMRC’s Print Vendor Provider, Williams Lea. Using the Bounty pack as one channel for distributing Child Benefit forms has proved efficient and cost effective. The Child Benefit form can also be obtained through other channels, notably the HMRC website.

In 2012-13, HMRC paid £85,990.27 (excluding VAT) for Bounty to distribute a total of 857,939 English and Welsh language claim forms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the nature and extent of the relationship, including financial arrangements, between HMRC and Bounty, between NHS England and Bounty, and between NHS Foundation Trusts and NHS Trusts and Bounty.

Lord Prior of Brampton

National Health Service trusts may negotiate locally with commercial organisations to distribute advice, information and ‘try before you buy’ samples that they think would be useful for pregnant women.

Neither the Department nor NHS England centrally have any contracts with Bounty or influence over the contents of the packs nor does the Department benefit financially from such arrangements. We do not have any information about what contracts might exist between Bounty and individual NHS trusts.

Although we are aware of Bounty distributing their packs on maternity wards, we have no evidence of whether or not this is welcomed by parents.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) use the services of Bounty to help distribute Child Benefit claim packs to new mothers in NHS hospitals. The contract for this service is held by HMRC’s Print Vendor Provider, Williams Lea. Using the Bounty pack as one channel for distributing Child Benefit forms has proved efficient and cost effective. The Child Benefit form can also be obtained through other channels, notably the HMRC website.

In 2012-13, HMRC paid £85,990.27 (excluding VAT) for Bounty to distribute a total of 857,939 English and Welsh language claim forms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Leader of the House what was the average time in (1) the 2015–16 Session, and (2) each of the last five Sessions before that, between the publication of a select committee report and its being debated; and how many select committee reports published in the 2015–16 Session and the previous five Sessions were undebated (1) 12 months, and (2) six months, after publication.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

My office does not hold the information requested.

My Noble Friend the Government Chief Whip makes regular offers of time for debates on Select Committee reports to the Committee Office. The Committee Office then coordinate among Chairmen to determine which reports are debated on such occasions and in what order.

Sixteen select committee reports were debated in the last session and debates on nine reports have been arranged thus far this session.