Tag: Lord Wills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Bates

The costs to the Government for the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation since 2011 are set out below:

2011-2012: £213,100

2012-2013: £201,700

2013-2014: £213,100

2014-2015: £270,000 (plus an additional £350,800 for the statutory Investigatory Powers Review, as required by section 7 of the Data Protection and Investigatory Powers Act 2014)

2015-2016 (to the half year point in September): £135,800

It is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the Independent Reviewer’s costs prior to 2011.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in ensuring that each person in need of end of life care is offered a care co-ordinator who would be their first point of contact for all their care at the end of life, as recommended in the review What’s important to me: A review of choice in end of life care.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are committed to ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

The Government’s forthcoming response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care, which will be published shortly, will set out our vision for high quality, personalised care and the steps we will take to achieve this. The response will also address each of the Review recommendations, including on care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the progress being made in achieving their target of establishing superfast broadband coverage to 90 per cent of the UK by 2016.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme, which has £1.7 billion of funding from central government, local authorities, devolved administrations and European funding sources, has contributed to well over 3 million homes and businesses in the UK having access to superfast broadband. Our programme remains on track to deliver superfast broadband coverage to 90% of the UK by early 2016 and to 95% of the UK by December 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have  considered tackling in-built obsolescence in computer software, equivalent to legislation in France under decree 1482, and if not, why not.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Decree 1482 concerns obsolescence in appliances rather than computer software. The Government is not specifically considering obsolescence in computer software but has protected consumers in a different way. Since October 2015 consumers have had new rights under the Consumer Rights Act in relation to digital content including software. Software must be of satisfactory quality which includes remaining functional for the period a consumer can reasonably expect.

Decree 1482 does not cover internet search engines and the concept of in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines is unclear so the Government has no plans to address this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on people at the end of life of delaying the publication of their response to the Choice in end of life care review.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government recognises that the response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care is keenly awaited. Ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences is a priority for this Government, and the response to the Choice Review is therefore being carefully considered.

As previously set out, in its response the Government will address each of the Review recommendations including: care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care. Further details regarding the publication of the response, which is expected shortly, will be made available when it is appropriate to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the last five years, what proportion of the UK’s aid budget was allocated to research into mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Baroness Verma

DFID has not supported any research into mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases in the last five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have  considered tackling in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines, equivalent to legislation in France under decree 1482, and if not, why not.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Decree 1482 concerns obsolescence in appliances rather than computer software. The Government is not specifically considering obsolescence in computer software but has protected consumers in a different way. Since October 2015 consumers have had new rights under the Consumer Rights Act in relation to digital content including software. Software must be of satisfactory quality which includes remaining functional for the period a consumer can reasonably expect.

Decree 1482 does not cover internet search engines and the concept of in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines is unclear so the Government has no plans to address this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not provided a specific date for when they will publish a response to the Choice in end of life care review, and why that response has not yet been published.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government recognises that the response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care is keenly awaited. Ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences is a priority for this Government, and the response to the Choice Review is therefore being carefully considered.

As previously set out, in its response the Government will address each of the Review recommendations including: care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care. Further details regarding the publication of the response, which is expected shortly, will be made available when it is appropriate to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue the operation of the Care Leaver Strategy, and what plans they have to ensure that cross-departmental work to support care leavers is maintained.

Lord Nash

In 2013, the government published the Care Leaver Strategy. That document set out plans to improve support for care leavers, including in housing, health, employment and education. In 2014, the Department for Education reported that the commitments contained in the Care Leaver Strategy had been implemented or were in the process of being so.

We recognise, however, that many young people leaving care still face significant challenges. That is why my colleague, the Minister for Children and Families, recently announced that he has asked officials within the department to lead the development of a refreshed strategy, to be published next year. That work will include a consideration of how government departments and agencies can best work together, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that care leavers are offered the support they need in order to manage the transition to independent living successfully.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-03-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received in the last three years about the Go-Ahead Group and its operation of the Southeastern rail franchise in respect of (1) health and safety, (2) passenger satisfaction, and (3) responsiveness to customer complaints.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

With regard to health and safety, there has been some 20 representations from Honourable Members from the other place received by the Department for Transport, and one representation from a Noble Lord. Two Noble Lords representations and regular communication with Transport Focus have been received with regard to Passenger satisfaction and some half dozen representations with regard to customer complaints. However, most customer complaints are resolved by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch as the official independent watchdogs for rail passengers.

In the same time period, there has been approximately 120 concerns raised directly by members of the public to the Department for Transport.