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25 Nov 2011 : Column WA281
25 Nov 2011 : Column WA281
25 Nov 2011 : Column WA281
Friday 25 November 2011
Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to stop the payment of bonuses at Royal Bank of Scotland, as stated by the Prime Minister when interviewed on BBC Radio 2 on 11 November. [HL13393]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Government's shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is managed on a commercial and arm's-length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), a company which is wholly owned by the Government.
As the majority shareholder in RBS the Government have made clear that they expect the bank to be a back-marker and not a market leader on bonuses.
The Government are clear that RBS should be paying no more in bonuses than is necessary to protect the value of the taxpayer's investment.
Bonus figures have not yet been agreed for this year, but for the 2010 performance year, UKFI agreed the following:
for all staff at RBS, the maximum upfront cash bonuses was limited to a maximum of £2,000;all executive directors, including the chief executives, received their bonuses entirely in the form of shares; andthese shares were deferred and subject to clawback, with the chief executives not able to release the full value of their bonuses until 2014.Together with Barclays and HSBC, RBS has also committed to be more transparent about remuneration. In 2010, the banks disclosed the pay of the board and five highest paid senior executives not on the board and ensured that the pay of the 10 highest paid employees was signed off by the remuneration committee.
Charities: Overseas Aid
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 8 November (WA 32), which 10 charities have received the largest amounts of money from the Department for International Development over the past five years; and what sums were received by those charities.[HL13323]
Baroness Northover: Full details of funding to civil society organisations are published annually in Table 19 of Statistics on International Development (SID). These are available on the DfID website at www.dfid. gov.uk.
The 10 UK charities through which the UK Government have channelled the greatest amount of aid funding for development projects and programmes over the past five years are:
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| Organisation | Value £000's |
Crime: Metal Theft
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of delays suffered by rail commuters due to metal theft in the last full year for which figures are available.[HL13376]
Earl Attlee: During the year which ended on 31 March 2011, Network Rail recorded 995 incidents of cable theft which caused delay to the rail network, resulting in delays to trains totalling over 6,000 hours.
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to bring into force the remaining parts of Schedule 3 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003. [HL13419]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): An announcement will be made very shortly.
Economy
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative benefits to the economy of building work and quantitative easing.[HL13400]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The construction sector makes up around 7.5 per cent of GDP and made a 0.6 percentage point contribution to GDP growth in 2010.
The purpose of quantitative easing (QE) is to provide the independent Monetary Policy Committee with an additional tool to low interest rates, which can be used to support nominal demand in the economy in order to meet the inflation target in the medium term. In its Quarterly Bulletin published in September 2011, the Bank of England estimated that QE carried out between March 2009 and January 2010 raised UK inflation by around 3/4 to 1 1/2 percentage points and increased real GDP by around 1 1/2 to 2 per cent.
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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their definition of structural deficit refers to the cyclically-adjusted net borrowing figure; whether this includes or excludes capital spending; how capital spending is defined in this data point; and whether the Office for Budget Responsibility uses the same definition in its publications.[HL13433]
Lord Sassoon: The Government have set a forward-looking target to achieve a cyclically adjusted current balance by the end of the rolling, five-year forecast period. This measure included current spending but does not include capital spending.
The Government are assessed against this target by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) using the statistical definitions produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS), and in accordance with the framework set out by the European System of Integrated Economic Accounts 1995 (ESA95).
The OBR also publishes cyclically adjusted net borrowing figures, which include capital spending, using ONS statistical definitions.
Electoral Registration
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of bringing in individual voter registration on the number of people available for jury service.[HL13410]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): We have made no assessment on the impact of bringing in individual electoral registration on the number of people available for jury service. The Government are committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are registered to vote and are taking steps to stop people dropping off the register, as well as looking at ways they can increase registration levels as part of the transition to individual electoral registration. This will also help ensure that the pool of potential jurors is as wide as possible.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of bringing in individual voter registration on the size of the electoral register.[HL13411]
Lord McNally: The Government are funding research to understand the current state of the electoral register which will help us to better understand the way in which the move to individual electoral registration (IER) will have an impact.
The Government are committed to maintaining registration rates during the transition to IER. We have learnt from the experience in Northern Ireland and are phasing in IER over two years from 2014, putting in a place a safeguard for the 2015 general election so that existing electors who fail to register
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We are also working with the Electoral Commission to plan publicity around the transition which ensures that people are well informed about the change, and we are also working closely with a range of groups representing those at risk of falling off the register during the transition, to ensure the system is designed in the best possible way to meet their needs.
Finance: EMIR
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 10 November (WA 87), whether the financial failure of a United Kingdom-based central counterparty and trade repository, operating under the organisational, prudential and conduct requirement of the European Union Regulation on Over the Counter Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (EMIR), would result in eligibility for financial support from European Union authorities, or whether the burden would fall on the United Kingdom. [HL13434]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The European Union Regulation on Over the Counter Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (EMIR) does not provide a framework for the provision of financial support to central counterparties or trade repositories in the event of their failure.
Gangs
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of whether the Metropolitan Police have adequate intelligence about the gangs in Greater London, where they are located, and who their leaders are.[HL12970]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): This Government have not made an assessment of whether the Metropolitan Police have adequate intelligence on gangs. This is an operational matter for the mayor's office and the Metropolitan Police Service itself.
Government: Ministerial Duties
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint has been appointed to advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer on banking and financial service issues; and whether this represents the assumption by Lord Green of responsibilities previously held by another Minister.[HL13392]
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The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Lord Green has extensive experience of the financial sector on which the Treasury can usefully draw. Responsibilities of Treasury Ministers are unchanged.
Housing
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of whether there will be more or fewer United Kingdom house sales in 2012 compared with 2011.[HL13399]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for forecasting economic data. In its most recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR forecast that residential property transactions will fall by 1.9 per cent in 2011-12, then rise by 20.2 per cent in 2012-13. Updated forecasts will be released on 29 November 201 1 .
Inflation
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will audit the Bank of England's record of forecasting inflation and benchmark the outcomes against those of independent forecasters.[HL13391]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Bank of England assesses the forecasting record of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in its inflation report each August.
Other independent forecasts of inflation are publicly available, including those of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in its Economic and Fiscal Outlook. HM Treasury also publishes a compilation of independent forecasts each month. These include forecasts made by the OBR, international institutions and City firms, and are available on the Treasury website.
Justice: Family Justice Review
Questions
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many responses to the Family Justice Review consultation concerned (a) public law, and (b) private law; and how many were from children, broken down by age group.[HL13493]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): There were 628 responses to the consultation on the family justice review's interim report: 418 responses concerned public law and 452 concerned private law.
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A total of 34 children responded to the young people's version of the consultation, which break down into the following age groups:
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government, regarding the public events held by the Family Justice Review, (a) when and where each event was held, (b) what was the attendance at each event, and (c) when, how and to whom each event was promoted. [HL13494]
Lord McNally: The following public events were held as part of the consultation on the family justice review's interim report:
London-18 May 2011, 97 attendees;Cardiff-31 May 2011, 72 attendees;Manchester-1 June 2011, 44 attendees; andBirmingham-7 June 2011, 51 attendees.In addition, 45 children attended a children's event in Leicester on 3 and 4 June 2011.
These events were promoted through: publication of the event's date, venue and attendance details on the Ministry of Justice's website, tweeting the details @FamJusticeReview and sending invitations directly to organisations and individuals who had previously shown an interest in the Family Justice Review.
Overseas Aid
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support and guidance the Department for International Development provides to its country offices and grantees on the development of businesses cases and on value for money to ensure that reproductive, maternal and newborn health programmes and services will benefit the poorest 40 per cent of the populations in which they are based, as proposed in its framework document "Choices for women: planned pregnancies, safe births and healthy newborns".[HL13538]
Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development (DfID) is committed to ensure that its support for reproductive, maternal and newborn health programmes reaches the bottom 40 per cent of the population in the countries in which it operates.
Corporate guidance is provided to departments throughout DfID on business cases, value for money and results to support the moves to bring DfID programme planning and appraisal in line with Treasury requirements for all government departments. There is also sector-specific support to country offices on value for money (VfM) and to the development of business cases. For health, this includes internal websites that provide information and guidance on VfM methodologies,
25 Nov 2011 : Column WA287
Prisoners: Employment
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether those prisoners previously resident at Latchmere House and still in prison elsewhere benefit from employment programmes similar or equivalent to those which existed at Latchmere House.[HL13344]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): All prisoners had left HMP Latchmere House by 30 September 2011 when the establishment officially ceased operating.
Before Latchmere House closed, every prisoner was offered a personal interview to identify the most suitable and appropriate allocation.
To obtain full information for each prisoner displaced and who remains in prison could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would involve contacting each onward allocation to request them to consult individual records to identify if prisoners benefited from employment programmes similar or equivalent to those at Latchmere House
For the majority of prisoners allocation preferences were met. For some prisoners, employment programmes were the main consideration however, closeness to home was also an important factor when agreeing an onward allocation.
Railways: Fares
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals to set a price ceiling for all walk-on rail fares bought for use on the same day.[HL13566]
Earl Attlee: The Government have made no assessment of this proposal.
Railways: Procurement
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are putting in place to allow train operators to purchase locomotives or multiple units covered by the terms of the European Union flexibility directive relating to the European Union non-road mobile machinery directive, from 1 January 2012.[HL13607]
Earl Attlee: European Directive 2011/88/EU, which introduces additional transitional flexibility for manufacturers in the non-road sector in general as well as being of particular interest to the rail sector, was published on 23 November 2011. Member states are obliged to transpose this into national law by
25 Nov 2011 : Column WA288
Salman Butt
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any form of legal aid will be available to the Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt for any appeal against his prison sentence for spot fixing.[HL13456]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): A criminal legal aid representation order granted to a defendant for trial proceedings at the magistrates' or Crown Court extends to allow the legal representatives of a convicted defendant to advise their client on the merits of an appeal against conviction and/or sentence. This includes, where appropriate, assisting the client in making an application for leave to appeal.
Where this application is submitted to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and leave to appeal is subsequently granted or the application is referred to the full court, a fresh legal aid representation order will be required. The decision on whether to grant a representation order for proceedings before the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) will be taken by a High Court judge or the Registrar of Criminal Appeals.
In reaching this decision, no consideration is given to the financial means of the appellant. However, if the appeal is subsequently unsuccessful, a recovery of defence costs order may be made by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) against the appellant for some or all of the legal aid costs incurred at the appeal hearing.
Taxation
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will suspend personal tax paid on interest income whilst interest rates are below inflation.[HL13424]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Successive governments have taxed income, including income generated by savings. This ensures that individuals who gain their income from work are not put at a disadvantage compared to those who gain income from investments.
No tax is paid on the interest from savings held in individual savings accounts (ISAs), allowing all savers to save up to £10,680 in a tax-advantaged way. This Government have also ensured that the amount that people can save tax-free is not eroded by inflation by indexing the amount that can be paid into ISAs each year. This means that from April 2012, people will be able to save an extra £600 a year into their ISA including an extra £300 into their cash ISA.
25 Nov 2011 : Column WA289
Transport: MoT Scheme
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cars were given an MoT test in 2008, 2009 and 2010; how many cars in each year failed their MoT; and of those cars failing, how many (a) were three years old, undergoing their first MoT, (b) were four years old, undergoing their second MoT, and (c) passed their MoT after initially failing an MoT. [HL12651]
Earl Attlee: The number of MoT tests and failures are listed below.
| Year | Cars tested | Failures |
Listed below are MoT results for vehicles which (a) were three years old, undergoing their first MoT, (b) were four years old, undergoing their second MoT, and (c) passed their MoT after initially failing an MoT.
| (a) 3 Year Old Vehicles | ||||
| Tested | Total Tests | Initial Failure | Rate | (c) Passed after initial fail |
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| (b) 4 Year Old Vehicles | ||||
| Tested | Total Tests | Initial Failure | Rate | (c) Passed after initial fail |
- (c) Pass after rectification at station tests are classified as a failure when calculating the initial fail rate and will be rectified at the station before being passed. It has not been possible to provide a figure for vehicles which fail and are then taken away from a station then re-presented.
MoT test figures are published on the following website: http://data.gov.uk/.
West Lothian Question
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to announce the membership of the Commission to consider the West Lothian question announced in September; and whether the membership of the Commission will include representatives of each of the devolved Administrations.[HL13534]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): I refer the noble Baroness to my Written Ministerial Statement of 8 September 2011 (Official Report, col. WS 34). A follow-up announcement with further details on the Commission will be made soon.
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