Written Answers
Monday 14 October 2013
Abortion
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what public interest grounds the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to take action against individuals willing to abort unborn babies on the grounds of their gender; and whether they have made an assessment of the CPS’s decision.[HL2240]
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness) (LD): The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has provided full reasons that explain the decision making in the cases that have been referred to. These have been placed in the library of The House.
The DPP has reviewed these decisions personally and the Attorney General is satisfied that these difficult decisions were taken properly and conscientiously.
On the facts of these cases, the CPS concluded that it would not be possible to prove that either doctor authorised an abortion on gender-specific grounds alone.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to take action against individuals willing to abort unborn babies on the grounds of their gender, what guidelines the CPS uses to decide whether or not to take action in cases which it deems to be political or sensitive.[HL2241]
Lord Wallace of Tankerness (LD): Decisions about whether or not to prosecute are taken in accordance with the two stage test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Firstly, is there sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and, if so, is a prosecution required in the public interest?
The CPS also has guidance and policy across a wide range of serious and sensitive areas. This can be found on the CPS website. The Director of Public Prosecutions retains close oversight of especially serious and sensitive cases and will commonly ensure that such cases are closely supervised through the holding of Director's Case Management Panels.
Banking
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to disenfranchise investors in bond debt issued by banks if the bond holders frustrate the resolution of a failing or under-capitalised bank. [HL2234]
Lord Newby (LD): Where a bank is undercapitalised, but remains a going concern, then addressing the capital shortfall is a matter for the bank, under the supervision of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
If the PRA determines that a bank is failing, or is likely to fail, to satisfy the threshold conditions for authorisation (within the meaning of Section 41(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) and that it is not reasonably likely that action taken by or in respect of the bank will enable it to satisfy the threshold conditions, then the Bank of England and the Treasury will consider whether the conditions are met for using the stabilisation powers in the Banking Act 2009.
There are currently three stabilisation powers in the Banking Act 2009—the private sector purchaser and bridge bank options, which are exercisable by the Bank of England, and the temporary public ownership option, which is exercisable by the Treasury. These are set out in Part 1 of the Banking Act 2009.
On 1 October 2013, the Government laid an amendment to the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill which if passed would introduce an additions stabilisation option—known as the bail-in option.
Banking: Chief Executives and Directors
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Financial Services Authority approved the appointment of Neville Richardson, former Chief Executive Officer of Co-operative bank, as a director of M&S Bank and M&S Financial Services; and whether HM Treasury or the Bank of England were consulted. [HL2231]
Lord Newby (LD): This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is now responsible for this aspect of the approved persons regime. The Treasury has therefore passed the question to the FCA who will respond to the Noble Lord in writing. A copy of the reply will be placed in the House library. The Treasury has no role in relation to such approvals and was not consulted in this specific case.
Banking: Interest Rates
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or any of the United Kingdom regulatory authorities are investigating possible manipulation of the Isdafix dollar interest rate swap, and if so when they expect to publish their findings.[HL2235]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on any potential or ongoing investigations.
The Government considers that any attempted manipulation of benchmarks is unacceptable and has led the international reform agenda through domestic reforms to LIBOR, as well as ongoing work with partners within the EU and internationally to reform the governance of financial benchmarks.
Credit Unions
Question
Asked by Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what, if any, financial support they have given to United Kingdom credit unions since May 2010; and if such support has been given (1) which companies have received support and to what value, (2) on what basis that support was offered, and (3) what audit and reporting requirements were made.[HL2255]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) (Con): Details of the financial support provided to credit unions in England, Scotland and Wales are shown in the table below. It is not within our remit to fund provision in Northern Ireland.
Support was offered through DWP’s Growth Fund to March 2011 to increase the availability of affordable personal loans via third sector (not-for-profit) lenders such as credit unions and community development finance institutions.
DWP entered in to a contract with individual community organisations and monitored performance against set targets to deliver loans within agreed costs and delinquency rates.
More needed to be done so a feasibility study examined options for the modernisation and expansion of credit unions. While this was carried out further support was given to the sector to increase membership and deliver affordable credit up to March 2012.
The study recommended that further investment to the end of March 2015 will support participating credit unions to expand their service to modernise, raise their profile so that they serve more customers and reduce their delivery costs in a way that will enable them to become financially sustainable. The Association of British Credit Unions Limited has been awarded a contract of £35.6 million to deliver this expansion project commencing May 2013. DWP will contract manage the performance against agreed targets, releasing payments once milestones have been achieved.
| Financial Support to Community Organisations (£) | ||
| Organisation Name | 2010/11 | 2011/12 |
Defence: Sharing Defence Spectrum
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans the Ministry of Defence has for the release of 1427–1452 MHz spectrum.[HL1845]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) (Con): I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave on 23 September 2013 (Official Report, column WA 448-WA 449).
Developing Countries: Water Management
Question
Asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made during the United Nations Year of Water in expanding and conserving water resources and in providing cleaner water in developing countries; and what have been the main contributions from the United Kingdom.[HL2334]
Baroness Northover (LD): Significant progress has been made during this year of International Water Co-operation to promote improved water resources management. The final report of the UN High Level Panel recommended that the post 2015 development framework includes a specific water goal accompanied by targets for achieving universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation in schools and work, bringing freshwater withdrawals in line with supply, and increasing water efficiency in agriculture, industry and urban areas. The UK Government played an instrumental role in the High Level Panel, with the Prime Minister acting as co-chair.
The UK Government continues to fund programmes around water resources, water co-operation and access to water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH). These include: the Water Security Programme which will help 18 million people to access sustainable water services; and water co-operation programmes in South Asia, Southern Africa and the Nile Basin. On WASH, DfID has committed to support 60 million people to gain access to sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services by 2015. We are on track to achieve this target through expansion of our existing portfolio of projects and by entering into new partnerships with major WASH organisations.
Education: Special Educational Needs and Disability
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on how young people with cognitive development illnesses who are unable to be educated at school should be educated.[HL1993]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con): Under Section 323 of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a duty to assess the special educational needs of children in their area. They must, where necessary, issue a statement of special educational needs setting out the support that is required.
Local authorities also have a duty under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to arrange suitable, and where appropriate, full-time education for children who cannot attend school because of their health. The education these children receive should address their individual needs, including their social and emotional needs.
In May 2013, the Department for Education published statutory guidance on educating children who cannot attend school because of health needs. Statutory guidance on “Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs” is available here:
www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/statutory/g00219676/health-needs-education
A copy will be placed in the House Library.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of changes they are seeking to introduce through the Children and Families Bill, what discussions they have had with the Local Government Ombudsman about their role in amending the social care elements of Education Health and Social Care Plans where complaints about inadequate provision are upheld. [HL2273]
Lord Nash: Department for Education officials have met representatives from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) on two occasions this year to discuss the LGO's role in relation to complaints about Education, Health and Care plans, including the social care provision set out in the plans. Dr Jane Martin, the Local Government Ombudsman, is due to meet the Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families on 15 October to discuss the LGO's proposal that it becomes the single point of complaint for plans.
The LGO can already hear complaints about a local authority's role in social care provision and make recommendations. Local authorities do not have to abide by LGO recommendations but almost always do so. Where there is a failure to comply with recommendations the LGO has additional powers, including issuing further reports.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of changes they are seeking to introduce through the Children and Families Bill, what discussions they have had with the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman about their role in amending the health elements of Education Health and Social Care Plans where complaints about inadequate provision are upheld.[HL2274]
Lord Nash: The Department for Education and the Department of Health officials met the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman's officials to consider how they would approach any complaints. The Ombudsman will set their own tests in each individual case, but has confirmed their readiness to consider any complaints relating to the new arrangements for Special Educational Needs (SEN), including the fairness of planned provision. They would certainly consider the SEN Code of Practice in any complaints raised with them. If the Ombudsman found that local services have done something wrong that needs to be put right, the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman will work with them to address that.
EU: Justice and Home Affairs Measures
Questions
Asked by The Lord Bishop of Derby
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 29 August (WA 318), what guarantees they sought from other member states, prior to their decision of 9 July to opt out of 130 European Union Justice and Home Affairs measures, that the United Kingdom would be able to opt back in to various police and justice measures.[HL2253]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally) (LD): Protocol 36 does not provide for guarantees to be obtained from Member States and no Member State would have been able to have given such a guarantee. We therefore did not seek any such guarantees from Member States. However, the issue has been discussed in meetings with our EU counterparts at both Ministerial and official level.
However, Protocol 36 to the Treaties places an obligation on the UK and the Union institutions to, “…seek to re-establish the widest possible measure of participation of the United Kingdom in the acquis of the Union in the area of freedom, security and justice without seriously affecting practical operability of the various parts thereof, while respecting their coherence”. Given this, we are confident that we will be able to reach agreement on a sensible final package of measures that the UK will formally apply to rejoin.
Final agreement is subject to approval by the Council in the case of Schengen measures and the Commission for all others.
Asked by The Lord Bishop of Wakefield
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 29 August (WA 318), what assessment they have made of the likely impact on the United Kingdom’s criminal justice and policing system if, following their decision of 9 July to opt out of 130 European Union Justice and Home Affairs measures, the United Kingdom is unable to opt back in to various European Union police and justice measures.[HL2254]
Lord McNally: The Government carefully considered the implications of its decision to exercise its right to opt out and which measures the UK should seek to rejoin. As part of this consideration the Government considered how the measures contributed to public safety and security, whether practical cooperation is underpinned by the measure, and whether there would be a detrimental impact on such cooperation if pursued by other mechanisms. The impact of a measure on civil rights and liberties is also a consideration. Further detail on this is outlined in Command Paper 8671, which was submitted to Parliament on 9 July 2013.
Protocol 36 to the Treaties places an obligation on the UK and the Union institutions to, “…seek to re-establish the widest possible measure of participation of the United Kingdom in the acquis of the Union in the area of freedom, security and justice without
seriously affecting practical operability of the various parts thereof, while respecting their coherence”. Given this, we are confident that we will be able to reach agreement on a sensible final package of measures that the UK will formally apply to rejoin.
The Government also notes the positive statements released by the European Commission on 9 July this year:
“At first sight, it appears that the UK has looked at the opt-ins in a pragmatic way.
The Commission hopes that the UK can continue to contribute actively and pragmatically to the EU wide fight against organised crime and terrorism”.
The Government looks forward to negotiating with the Commission and Member States in order to rejoin measures that are in the national interest.
Food: Food Banks
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for Work and Pensions has instructed staff not to refer claimants to food banks or collect relevant data in relation to the numbers who might benefit from such assistance; and, if so, why. [HL2259]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) (Con): Food banks are not a government responsibility so we do not gather statistics. DWP signposts claimants to relevant local provision only.
Health: Mitochondrial Disease
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 29 August (WA 359), what assessment they have made of the view ascribed to scientists by the Minister that mitochondrial DNA does not play any role in human physical and mental characteristics.[HL2238]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 29 August (WA 359), whether they expect the impact of mitochondrial replacement for neurological disorders such as mitochondrial neuropathies to be negligible; and, if not, why not.[HL2239]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): The Government recognises the general scientific view that mitochondrial DNA has no role to play in the development of physical and mental characteristics, other than that of health. For example, the noble Lord will find this assessment reflected in the report of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' review of novel techniques for the prevention of mitochondrial DNA disorders. The report of the review can be found on the Council's website at:
www.nuffieldbioethics.org/mitochondrial-dna-disorders
The expert panel, co-ordinated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that reviewed the scientific methods to avoid mitochondrial disease, set out the action of mitochondrial DNA in the background on mitochondrial biology at paragraph 2.1 of its 2011 report, which can be found on the HFEA's website at:
www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/2011-04-18_Mitochondria_review_-_final_report.PDF
On the question of the impact of mitochondrial replacement for neurological disorders, the HFEA has advised that the expert panel did not consider directly this particular issue but the explanation of how the techniques could be used to avoid mitochondrial diseases is in section 4.1 of the 2011 scientific report (and 2.1 of the 2013 update), which can be found on the HFEA's website at:
Housing: Prices
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether current levels of house prices are consistent with their housing and financial stability strategies.[HL2230]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): The Government is committed to making the vital reforms needed to address the structural issues in the housing market. This includes measures to support home ownership, increase housing supply and reform the planning system. The Government announced f4.5 billion additional support for housing in England at Budget 2013, building on the £11 billion it had already committed to invest in housing over this Spending Review period.
Nominal house prices remain below their peak in all regions other than London and the South East. Moreover, while annual house price inflation is 3.3 per cent for the United Kingdom as a whole, that figure falls to 0.8 per cent when London and the South East are excluded.
The Government has established the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) to monitor the stability of the financial system as a whole with a view to ensuring that emerging risks and vulnerabilities are identified and effectively addressed.
The record from the FPC meeting of 18th September noted that “housing activity and loan-to-value ratios on new mortgage lending remained below their historic averages; households' debt servicing costs were low; the ratio of house prices to earnings was at its level of a decade ago; and the Committee judged that there were few signs yet of house prices rising solely in anticipation of future price increases”.1
Help to Buy has been designed to increase the availability of low deposit mortgages to borrowers who are able to afford the monthly repayments but who are unable to save the large deposits required by lenders since the financial crisis.
The Chancellor has asked the FPC to work with him every September, starting next year, to assess the ongoing impact of the Help to Buy scheme and to examine whether the price cap and the fees charged to lenders remain appropriate.
The Government has also stated that, should a Chancellor wish to extend the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme in the future, they will ask the FPC to make an assessment of the impact of the scheme on financial stability.
1http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/ records/fpc/pdf/2013/record1310.pdf
Internet: Fraud
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions were mounted in 2012 of United Kingdom-based perpetrators of online fraud against United Kingdom consumers.[HL2244]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally) (LD): The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. This centrally held information does not include details of the means through which a fraud offence proceeded against was committed—for example, whether the accused offence was committed through online activity using the Internet or otherwise—nor whether the defendant and victim of offences proceeded against were resident in or outside the UK.
As such, it is not possible to identify from centrally held data cases where a prosecution for online fraud was brought against a United Kingdom consumer by a defendant based in the United Kingdom. This information may be held on court files, which could only be collated at disproportionate cost.
Legal Aid
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the take up of civil legal aid, in the light of the current decline in the number of applications.[HL2263]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally) (LD): The Government is monitoring the take up of civil legal aid following the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
We developed a targeted communication strategy to ensure awareness of legal aid changes in the lead up to the implementation of the Act. We worked closely with other government departments, legal aid providers,
advice organisations and relevant third sector partner organisations to raise awareness and enable them to provide information about legal aid changes to their users. This included the development and introduction of a new, simple online tool to enable members of the public or their representatives to check whether they might be eligible for legal aid.
The tool, which can be found at www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid, is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week and signposts users to either a legal aid provider or other relevant sources of advice and assistance, as appropriate. The tool was promoted and, as well as being found on the Government website, is linked through from other commonly used sources of information about legal aid, including HMCTS and DWP, and Citizens Advice Bureaux.
We continue to work with legal aid providers and advice organisations on the awareness of the availability of legal aid.
NHS: Clinical Negligence
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why liability for clinical negligence in the National Health Service has increased in the last two years by 25 per cent; and what steps they are taking to reduce that figure.[HL2281]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): In answering the question, liability for clinical negligence in the National Health Service has been taken to mean the provisions made in the NHS Litigation Authority's (NHS LA's) annual accounts for clinical negligence claims. Clinical negligence provisions were £16.6 billion in the 2010-11 accounts, and £22.7 billion in the 2012-13 accounts, an increase of £6.1 billion, or 36.7%.
Of this, approximately £1.4 billion resulted from a change in the HM Treasury discount rate during 2012-13. The purpose of the discount rate is to ensure that an amount of money invested today will still be worth the same amount in future. Provisions have also increased because the number of claims has increased, by 17% over the same period.
The Government is looking at what can be done to reduce the NHS litigation bill, including by seeking to bring down the number of mistakes through a relentless focus on patient safety. The vast majority of the millions of people seen by the NHS every year experience good quality, safe and effective care. However, if things do go wrong then it is right that patients are compensated. Following the Francis and Berwick reports, patient safety must be the priority for everyone in the NHS.
The NHS Litigation Authority has an important role to play in supporting the NHS to improve patient safety through its focus on learning from claims. It has created an 'extranet' for scheme members, providing real time access to their claims data, and is developing a safety and learning service. The NHS LA is also moving away from assessments against a set of risk management standards to more outcome focused
approach, in order to reduce bureaucracy and the burden on front line staff and freeing them up to focus on improving patient safety and reducing the number of incidents leading to claims.
The Government has also introduced measures designed to reduce the cost of civil litigation, in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. This is expected to have an impact on the costs paid out by the NHS to claimants' lawyers in the next few years, as claims begin to be brought under the new rules.
Nigeria
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which companies invested in by CDC, the Development Finance Initiative owned by the Department for International Development, were connected to James Ibori, the former Governor of Delta State in Nigeria.[HL2269]
Baroness Northover (LD): A Crown Court hearing to consider the confiscation of James Ibori’s assets is presently underway. It would be inappropriate to comment further pending the findings of the court.
Prisoners: Faith Groups
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners there are in each faith group recognised by the Prison Service in England and Wales; what percentage of the total prison population those numbers represent; how much is spent on chaplaincies and equivalent for each of those faiths; and what percentages of the total spent on prison chaplaincy services those amounts represent.[HL2282]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally) (LD): The religion of prisoners is self declared and prisoners are under no obligation to declare their religion. Statistics on the prison population by self-reported religion in England and Wales are published annually within table A1.23 of the ‘Offender Management caseload statistics’- Annual Tables, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/194275/omsq-annual-tables-2012.zip
The Table below provides information on the population in prison establishments in England and Wales by religion as at 30 June 2013:
| Total | % | |
The National Offender Management Service's central accounting system does not separately record expenditure relating to chaplaincy services and equivalent for each faith at each public or private sector prison in England and Wales. To establish such costs would require an establishment-wide survey and would be disproportionate to cost.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Railways: Bank Holidays
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to their announcement that trains will run on Boxing Day between Ashford, Ebbsfleet and St Pancras to facilitate access to shops by train, which other rail services in the United Kingdom are planned to run on that day.[HL2256]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Kramer) (LD): In addition to the rail services mentioned by the Noble Lord, the Department has specified the provision by Southern of services between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport and Brighton, and on certain south London lines, each Boxing Day. Otherwise, the provision of services on Boxing Day is left to the commercial discretion of train operators, who generally take the view that this is not viable.
However, Boxing Day services are contingent upon network availability. The absence of most services over the Christmas period also provides an opportunity for engineering work on the railway with minimal disruption to passengers.
Railways: Crossrail
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of commercial losses suffered by retail businesses located in close proximity to long-standing Crossrail construction sites; and whether they have plans to compensate any businesses which may have suffered such losses.[HL2242]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Kramer) (LD): As set out in the Crossrail Act 2008, matters relating to property acquisition and compensation have been nominated to Transport for London (TfL) who acts as the nominated agent in such matters on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Crossrail Ltd, as the body responsible for delivering the project, is very mindful of the potential temporary adverse impacts that may be caused by Crossrail construction activity to neighbouring property whether retail, commercial or residential. As a result Crossrail Ltd is committed to ensuring that works are planned, managed and undertaken to ensure disruptive activity is contained within acceptable parameters and that reasonable access is maintained at all times. Crossrail Ltd liaises with local businesses and other stakeholders to ensure effective way finding and signage is provided.
Where disruption becomes inevitable TfL has statutory obligations as nominated agent. TfL expects the incidence of claims to be low but it will consider any claims for loss received in accordance with the statutory compensation code.
Roads: Road Works
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to ensure that different and discrete road works in a single area are phased and co-ordinated in such a way that the overall adverse impact on traffic flows and parking is reduced.[HL2246]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Kramer) (LD): The 1980 Highway Act places management of the road network with local highway authorities. The 1991 New Roads and Street Works Act specifically requires that local highway authorities co-ordinate works and utility companies to co-operate with them. The introduction of the 2004 Traffic Management Act enabled those authorities to introduce Permit Schemes which give them powers to more proactively manage and co-ordinate works to minimise disruption for all road users. The Government supports Permit Schemes, which are currently operating in around a third of English authorities.
Schools: Sport
Question
Asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage and fund more sports activities by maintained schools on common land, public parks and university sports grounds.[HL2332]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con): The Government has committed £300 million in funding to primary schools for academic years 2013-14 and 2014-15 to be spent on physical education and sport.
Head teachers and schools are best placed to decide how they might most effectively address the particular needs of their pupils, including in the provision and location of sports activities.
Sport: 2022 Football World Cup
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made, or plan to make, to (1) the government of Qatar, (2) FIFA, and (3) any other forum, about the reported maltreatment of workers building football World Cup infrastructure; and whether they intend to make representations or provide assistance to FIFA and the International Labour Organisation to ensure that international labour standards are respected in advance of the 2022 football World Cup.[HL2329]
Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con): We believe sports events should be spread around the world, but one of the important consequences of doing that is that those countries that receive them should comply with the basic minimum standards of care. London 2012 had an outstanding record on safety and security, both during the construction phase and when the Games were on. We stand ready to help with lessons learnt and share best practice with future host cities and countries of major international sporting events. It is vital that international sports organisations remain vigilant and ensure that their selected hosts’ safety and security plans are completely robust.
Syria
Questions
Asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take following the G20 Summit in St Petersburg to ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian workers inside Syria, including safe routes for aid convoys and the lifting of any bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Assad regime. [HL2277]
Baroness Northover (LD): It is vital that aid reaches those who have been affected by the Syria crisis. Since the G20 summit, the UK has successfully pushed the Security Council to capitalise on its strong chemical weapons resolution by applying its weight and authority to securing unfettered and immediate humanitarian access. On 2 October, the UN Security Council unanimously agreed a Presidential Statement setting out measures to facilitate access for humanitarian relief to all parts of Syria. The Minister of State for International Development, the right honourable Alan Duncan MP, met Baroness Amos of the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs on 9 October to discuss these urgent matters.
Asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of their humanitarian aid response to the conflict in Syria is allocated for the education and protection of children affected by the conflict.[HL2278]
Baroness Northover: The UK Government has committed £500 million to the humanitarian response for Syria for relief items such as food and shelter for those affected by the crisis, including children. Of the £500 million, 6.4% (£32 million) has been specifically earmarked for the education, psychosocial support and protection of children affected by the conflict.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contact they have had with the government of Jordan about refugees from Syria; whether such contact is made on a regular basis as refugee inflows continue; whether that government has requested any aid; and if so what has been given.[HL2306]
Baroness Northover: The UK recognises the tremendous generosity of Jordan and other countries in the region for the role they are playing hosting refugees fleeing the crisis in Syria. DfID is in regular contact with the Government of Jordan and international partners about rising needs for both refugees and host communities. The Secretary of State for International Development has visited Jordan twice this year and most recently discussed the situation with Jordanian and international colleagues at the UN General Assembly last month.
The Government of Jordan has requested financial support through the UN consolidated appeal process. To date the UK's contribution is £500 million, and £83 million of this has been committed to humanitarian assistance in Jordan.
Taxation: Corporation Tax
Question
Asked by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated revenue from corporation tax paid by larger companies; and what is the revenue collected from businesses which are subject to the lower rate of corporation tax in business rates.[HL2302]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) releases National Statistics on an annual basis, providing information on Corporation Tax (CT) receipts and liabilities.1 In line with the latest published CT liability figures, shown for 2010-11 and released in October 2013, the following table breaks down the total CT liability by the rates at which CT is charged on companies' chargeable profits2:
| Small Profits Rate | Marginal Small Profits Rate | Main Rate | Total CT liability | |
Figures shown for companies with accounting periods ending in 2010-11
An estimate of the total amount of business rates paid by companies classified as paying corporation tax at the small profits rate could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Business rates are collected by individual local authorities and it would involve considerable effort to identify and match the relevant data from HMRC systems to these sources.
1http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/ct-receipts/corporation-tax- statistics.pdf
2Table 11.1B http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/ct-receipts/ corporation-tax-statistics.pdf