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16 Mar 2009 : Column WA1
Written Answers
Monday 16 March 2009
Banking: Bank of Scotland (Ireland)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request the Financial Services Authority or any other agency to investigate the loan book of the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in the United Kingdom. [HL1779]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): As a matter of policy, the Treasury does not comment on matters of regulation relating to individual institutions. These are matters for the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Banking: Bonuses
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Myners on 10 February (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. 1009—11), whether they have identified any instances where legal and contractual obligations to pay bonuses can be challenged; and, if so, in how many cases. [HL1479]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): UKFI will continue closely to scrutinise the remuneration proposals of banks participating in the government recapitalisation scheme. As announced in its press release on 17 February, RBS has agreed to minimise the bonuses paid in 2009 for performance in 2008 while having regard to its legal obligations. Lloyds Banking Group has also committed to a restructuring based on the same principles as the RBS settlement.
UKFI has agreed with the banks in which the Government have investments that they will assure themselves that all payouts to former directors were no more than legally necessary.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Myners on 10 February (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. 1009—11), whether he has instructed the direction of UK Financial Interests Limited to take account of the views he expressed regarding bonuses being fully justified by the contribution of the individual. [HL1481]
Lord Myners: UK Financial Investments (UKFI) has been set up to manage the Treasury's shareholdings in recapitalised banks. UKFI has a role in scrutinising the non-lending recapitalisation conditions, including on remuneration policy, to protect the interest of the taxpayer as a shareholder.
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UKFI has been liaising with the board of the banks of which they are major shareholders on remuneration policy, including work to ensure that remuneration policies are in line with the Government's principles on remuneration, including no rewards for failure.
Banking: Northern Rock
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what directions they gave to the management of Northern Rock concerning the payment of staff bonuses. [HL1105]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The Treasury and UKFI have been liaising with the board of the banks of which they are major shareholders on remuneration policy. This includes work to ensure that remuneration policies are in line with the Government's principles on pay, including no rewards for failure.
Under the Northern Rock shareholder relationship framework document the Government require that executive incentivisation be linked to delivery of the objectives set out in the business plan. Government approval is required for remuneration packages and incentivisation arrangements for directors of Northern Rock. Junior staff pay and incentive arrangements are a matter for the company.
Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act
Questions
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the effectiveness of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 in light of developments in mobile home design and construction since 1960. [HL2017]
To ask Her Majesty's Government why local authorities cannot levy a fee to recover their costs in administering licence applications, variations and site monitoring under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960; and what action they will take to give financial help to councils in popular holiday areas, such as Conwy County Borough Council, in discharging their obligations under the Act. [HL2018]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government intend to consult on proposals to reform the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 to address issues concerning management and other standards in residential mobile home and other caravan sites through site licensing. It is proposed to consult on whether local authorities should be able to levy a fee in respect of their licensing functions.
16 Mar 2009 : Column WA3
Embryology
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 October 2008 (WA 167—68), what is the ratio of scientific papers describing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to research council funding for such work since 2006; and how that compares to the ratio of scientific papers describing stem cells derived by human cloning relative to public funding of such work since 2004. [HL2053]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): The information required to calculate an Answer to this Question is not held by DIUS, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council or the Medical Research Council and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Financial Services Authority
Question
Asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 23 February (WA 42), what assessment they have made of the operation of the jurisdiction of the Financial Services Authority; and whether they will introduce legislation if they do not view the operation of its jurisdiction as satisfactory. [HL1723]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): On 6 October, the Chancellor asked Lord Turner, the chairman of the FSA, to make recommendations for reforming UK and international approaches to regulation, to ensure the future stability of the UK banking system.
The FSA's review will be published on 18 March and will address a number of issues including the FSA's supervisory approach, processes and resources—in particular whether the changes already being implemented through the FSA's supervisory enhancement programme are sufficient, given the further global developments since it was initially designed.
Government Offices: North West
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any plans to establish new government offices in north-west England. [HL1874]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government Office for the North West will move from its current accommodation
16 Mar 2009 : Column WA4
The Government Office for the North West also occupies accommodation in the Cunard Building, Water Street in Liverpool. There are no current plans to establish new accommodation for this part of the Government Office for the North West.
Housing
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 2 March (WA 121—22), how many new homes were built in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007; how many in the Eastern region; and how many in each county in the Eastern region. [HL2069]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The table below shows the number of house building completions in the East of England broken down by county and unitary authority in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 calendar years.
| New Build Completions, 2005-07 | |||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
- Source: Local authority P2 quarterly house building and National House-Building Council returns submitted to CLG.
The regional and national totals include imputation for missing local authority returns. The county and unitary authority figures are as reported by local authorities and the National House-Building Council; no figure is given where a county or unitary authority has one or more missing (local authority) quarterly returns as the full level of house building activity in the local area is not known.
16 Mar 2009 : Column WA5
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were their targets for the total number of new homes in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007 and (d) 2008. [HL2070]
Baroness Andrews: Detailed housing targets are not directly set by government, but are set out in regional and local plans which are developed through regional and local planning processes. The Government set the overall strategy for housing supply in England. The housing Green Paper, Homes for the Future: More Affordable, More Sustainable (CM 7191), published in July 2007, set out a target to increase housing supply to 240,000 additional homes per annum by 2016.
Israel
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request the Government of the United States to suspend their military aid to Israel. [HL1858]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We are in close contact with the new US Administration on how to advance the Middle East peace process and are encouraged by the approach they have taken so far.
We have no plans to press the US on their aid to Israel, but will be working with the US to engage the new Israeli Government on the importance of urgently making real progress towards a two-state solution.
National Health Service Litigation Authority
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 10 February (WA 178—79), whether, if a case is settled by the NHS Litigation Authority, any admission of liability will affect the position of the doctor against whom the case has been brought, including in deciding on a merit award. [HL1855]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) provides support to members that are the subject to litigation claims. Claims may be brought against National Health Service bodies because they are vicariously liable for the acts, and omissions to act, of their employees. The NHSLA does not settle cases brought against individual employees of NHS bodies, as employees are not eligible to be members of the NHSLA's schemes.
When a claim is made against an NHS body following an isolated act of negligence by an employee, an investigation to uncover the facts of the case will be undertaken. An admission of liability by an NHS
16 Mar 2009 : Column WA6
Clinical Excellence Awards at national and local level recognise the additional contributions that individual consultants make to the NHS, over and above carrying out their normal responsibilities. The process for deciding on applications for these awards follows a well-established procedure and is quite separate to clinical negligence matters.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Department of Health's selection criteria for referral of topics to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence was last updated or amended; what were the changes made, and for what reasons; and when and how any changes were communicated to stakeholders. [HL2029]
To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances the Department of Health refers ultra-orphan drugs to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for assessment; when this policy was last updated or amended; what were the changes made; and when and how any changes were communicated to stakeholders. [HL2030]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The criteria for deciding which topics should be referred to the work programme of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) were last updated in July 2006 following a three-month consultation on the proposed changes between March and June 2006. The 2006 consultation document, full details of the consultation responses and the analysis of the comments have been placed in the Library. Details of the topic selection process and criteria as implemented following the consultation are available on NICE's website at www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/howguidancetopicsarechosen/. The document has also been placed in the Library.
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