| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
| GDP Growth (%) | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
Central to the Government's retrospective reporting and analysis of fiscal issues and their commitment to transparency, HM Treasury publishes the End of year fiscal report (EYFR), which reports the differences between forecasts and fiscal outturn for the year-ahead forecasts published in Budgets. The latest 2008 EYFR is available on www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/prebud_pbr08_fiscalreport.htm.
Questions for Written Answer
Question
To ask the Leader of the House whether she will ask Ministers to answer parliamentary questions directly and not request questioners write directly to (a) the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and (b) the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. [HL3087]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): Non-department public bodies, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, operate at arm's length from Government and make decisions independently of Ministers. There is a long-standing convention that when a Parliamentary Question about an NDPB relates to an operational matter, the Member can be referred to the relevant NDPB chief executive for a response.
Regional Development Agencies: South West
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what benefits have accrued to communities from the West Dorset District in the past five years from the activities of the South West Regional Development Agency. [HL2841]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & Cabinet Office (Baroness Vadera): The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) through the regional economic strategy (RES) for the south-west plays a key role in supporting investments/interventions and delivery at regional, sub-regional (eg Dorset) and local (eg west Dorset) levels. These RES driven interventions, though not recoded on a local authority (LA) basis, ultimately benefit localities and communities across the region. Some of the agency's key activities from the past five years, which will have led to benefits for west Dorset communities, including its businesses, are:
provision of business support through Business Link, the Manufacturing Advisory Service and the Rural Enterprise Gateway (regional) and more local projects such as the Dorset skills festival and the Dorset business mentoring scheme;support to the development and implementation of the Bournemouth Dorset and Poole multi-area agreement, which provides the area with the11 May 2009 : Column WA173
In addition, the agency is the managing authority for the local action programme of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which has awarded £3.1 million to the chalk and cheese partnership which covers west Dorset. The agency has also recently funded the Town Mill Trust in Lyme Regis to acquire a building to refurbish in order to create new work space.
Roads: Byways Open to All Traffic
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether regulation-making powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 are adequate to protect Byways Open to All Traffic from damage by mechanically propelled vehicles. [HL3178]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Government believe the powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 are adequate to protect byways open to all traffic from damage by mechanically propelled vehicles, and particularly when used as part of an overall management plan. Defra has published both Making the best of byways and Regulating the use of motor vehicles on rights of way and off road, which provide guidance and advice to local authorities, the police and community safety partnerships on managing byways open to all traffic and on getting the most out of the existing legislation.
Under powers in the 1984 Act traffic regulation orders can restrict vehicular use to certain times or certain seasons, or even ban vehicular traffic altogether. Additional provisions introduced by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 and
11 May 2009 : Column WA174
The police also have powers under Sections 59 and 60 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles that are being driven on byways open to all traffic in a careless or inconsiderate manner and in a way that causes alarm, distress or annoyance.
Senior Salaries Review Body
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 21 April (WA 383) concerning the amount of funding for Senior Civil Servants' performance-related pay, what was the figure requested. [HL3144]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The table below shows the Communities and Local Government non-consolidated pay pot for the Senior Civil service in each of the past five years.
| Year | Number of staff Receiving Awards | Proportion of Staff Receiving Awards (%) | Cost of Bonuses |
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |