House of Lords Written Answers and Statements

Wednesday
4 March 2015
Vol. 761
No. 112
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
(HANSARD)
HOUSE OF LORDS
OFFICIAL REPORT
WRITTEN STATEMENTS AND
WRITTEN ANSWERS
Written Statements .................................................1
Written Answers .....................................................4
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Ministers and others who make Statements or answer Questions are referred to only by name, not their ministerial or
other title. The current list of ministerial and other responsibilities is as follows.
Minister
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
Lord Wallace of Tankerness
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Astor of Hever
Lord Bates
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Lord De Mauley
Lord Deighton
Lord Faulks
Lord Freud
Baroness Garden of Frognal
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Earl Howe
Baroness Jolly
Baroness Kramer
Lord Livingston of Parkhead
Lord Nash
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Lord Newby
Baroness Northover
Lord Popat
Baroness Randerson
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
Baroness Verma
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Responsibilities
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Advocate-General for Scotland and Deputy Leader of the House
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local
Government
Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office
Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs
Commercial Secretary to the Treasury
Minister of State, Ministry of Justice
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions
Whip
Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health
Whip
Minister of State, Department for Transport
Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills
Deputy Chief Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International
Development
Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Wales Office
Chief Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy and Climate
Change
Whip
Whip
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2015
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which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/
Written Statements
4 March 2015
Written Statements
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Concessionary Coal
[HLWS318]
Baroness Verma: My right honourable friend the
Minister of State for Energy (Matthew Hancock) has
made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I want to update the House on matters concerning the
provision of concessionary fuel entitlements to the miners
of UK Coal Production Ltd (UKC)
On 15 January 2015, UKC submitted to Government a
request for additional public sector funding to extend the
life of its two deep coal mines. Under the company’s
current plans, Thoresby is due to close in August 2015
and Kellingley in December 2015. The support requested
constitutes state aid to the coal sector, which is governed
by Council Decision 2010/787/EU, and is restricted to
facilitating the safe and orderly closure of loss-making
coal mines by 2018 at the latest.
The company’s request is for total additional support of
£338m. Of this, £244m is to cover the mine’s operating
losses prior to closure in 2018 (‘closure aid’ under Article
3 of the Coal Decision), and £94m is aimed at mitigating
the social and environmental impacts of mine closure
(Article 4 aid for ‘exceptional costs’).
I wish to announce now that the Government will
ensure UKC miners receive their concessionary fuel
entitlements.
Energy Council
[HLWS317]
Baroness Verma: In advance of the forthcoming
Energy Council in Brussels on 5 March, I am writing to
outline the agenda items to be discussed.
Under the first item on the agenda the Latvian
Presidency has suggested an exchange of views on the
Strategic Framework for the Energy Union, with a view to
contributing to the discussion and conclusions on the
Energy Union expected at the European Council on 19/20
March. The UK broadly welcomes the Commission’s
Communication setting out a strategy for a ‘resilient
Energy Union with a forward looking Climate Change
Policy’ and considers it a promising start to delivering the
EU reform needed to strengthen Europe’s energy security,
decarbonise cost-effectively and deepen the internal
energy market. The UK will be arguing that the scale of
the challenges ahead requires further ambition and
flexibility and that Member States need to be able to draw
on the full range of low, and lower, carbon technologies
to deliver secure, low carbon and competitive energy,
including renewables, energy efficiency, nuclear, CCS
and gas.
The Council will then hold a policy debate on energy
infrastructure, focusing on measures to promote the
Page 1
efficient implementation of an interconnected crossborder energy market, including ending the energy
isolation of Member States. The UK agrees that more
needs to be done by Member States to complete the
Single Market and that particular priority needs to be
given to the facilitation of new interconnection and
investment projects.
The Commission and Presidency will then report on the
current situation in relation to European energy security.
Finally, the Czech delegation is expected to present
proposals on the European Nuclear Energy Forum.
Infrastructure (Sale of Eurostar)
[HLWS315]
Lord Deighton: My rt hon Friend the Chief Secretary
to the Treasury (Danny Alexander) has today made the
following written ministerial statement.
I am pleased to inform the House that the government
has agreed the sale of its entire interest in Eurostar
International Limited (“Eurostar”) for £757.1m.
The Autumn Statement 2013 and National
Infrastructure Plan 2013 set out the government’s
ambition to achieve £20 billion from corporate and
financial asset sales by 2020. Eurostar was identified as a
possible candidate for sale and following a competitive
auction process which started in October 2014, the
government have now reached final agreements.
A consortium comprising Caisse de dépôt et placement
du Québec (CDPQ) and Hermes Infrastructure has agreed
to acquire Government’s 40% stake in Eurostar for
£585.1m. In addition, Eurostar has, on closing of the sale
of the Government stake, agreed to redeem HMG’s
preference share, providing a further £172m for the
exchequer.
Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking London,
Ebbsfleet and Ashford with Paris, Brussels, Lille and
other French destinations. Established in 1994 as a
partnership between three railway companies: SNCF,
SNCB and British Rail (subsequently London and
Continental Railways (LCR)), Eurostar became a single,
unified corporate entity owned by three shareholders:
SNCF, SNCB and LCR in September 2010. In June 2014
the ownership of the UK holding transferred from LCR, a
Department for Transport owned company, to HM
Treasury.
The sale receipts will be paid on completion of the
contract, which is expected to happen in the second
quarter of 2015. SNCF and SNCB – the other
shareholders in Eurostar – have the option (the “Preemption Right”) to acquire HMG’s 40% stake for a 15%
premium to the agreed price of £585.1m. Closing of the
sale to the CDPQ and Hermes Infrastructure consortium is
conditional on SNCF and SNCB not exercising the Preemption Right. The transaction is also conditional on
certain regulatory approvals including EU merger
clearance.
Page 2
4 March 2015
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Written Statements
Returning Officers (Indemnity)
[HLWS313]
[HLWS316]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: I am today announcing
Key Performance Targets that have been agreed for the
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre for the period 1
April 2015 to 31 March 2016.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: It is normal practice, when a
government department proposes to undertake a
contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there
is no specific statutory authority, for the Minister
concerned to present a departmental Minute to Parliament
giving particulars of the liability created and explaining
the circumstances; and to refrain from incurring the
liability until fourteen parliamentary sitting days after the
issue of the Minute, except in cases of special urgency.
Returning Officers for UK Parliamentary elections in
England and Wales are appointed under section 24 of the
Representation of the People Act 1983 (“RPA 1983”).
The post is an honorary one, held by the Sheriff of a
county or the Mayor or Chairman of a local council.
However, in practice, under section 28 of the RPA 1983,
the Returning Officer discharges functions through an
Acting Returning Officer, who is usually a senior officer
in the local authority.
In Scotland, under sections 25 and 41 of the RPA 1983,
Returning Officers for UK Parliamentary elections are
appointed local authority officers.
For the purposes of UK Parliamentary elections,
Returning Officers and Acting Returning Officers
throughout Great Britain (referred to below as “ROs” and
“AROs”) are independent officers. They are separate from
both central and local government. As a result, they are
exposed to a variety of legal risks varying from minor
claims for injury at polling booths, to significant election
petitions and associated legal costs.
ROs and AROs make their own arrangements to insure
themselves against any risks they face in taking forward
their statutory duties at local and UK Parliamentary
elections. The cover obtained usually forms part of the
local authority’s own insurance arrangements.
In a small sample of AROs from the Cabinet Office's
Electoral Policy Coordination Group, all provided details
of existing insurance cover in place with the local
authority that extended to cover the AROs conduct in
relation to UK Parliamentary elections. The upper limit of
Officials' Indemnity cover in the sample ranged from £5m
to £15m, with excesses ranging from nil to £500,000.
This insurance mainly sought to cover:
• liability for damages arising out of wrongful acts in
the performance of official duties;
• reasonable legal expenses for defending any
proceedings; and
• costs arising out of holding another election.
While this insurance, coupled with local authority’s
employers and public liability insurance, will cover the
great majority of risks to which ROs and AROs will be
exposed to at UK Parliamentary elections, they could
ultimately be liable for claims of a type not covered by
insurance policies. They could also be liable for claims
that exceed the insurance limits in existing cover.
The agency’s principal financial target for 2015/16 is to
achieve a minimum dividend payment to the Department
for Communities and Local Government of £1.7 million
as proposed in the business plan for the year.
The agency also has the following targets to achieve:
· Room Hire – To achieve a Capacity Utilisation ratio
of 53%.
· To generate secondary revenue from Audio Visual &
Information Technology services and Catering royalty
which in total equates to a ratio of 90% of room hire
revenue.
· To achieve an overall score for client satisfaction of at
least 90%.
· To receive less than 2 complaints per 100 events held.
The Centre is forecasting an increase in its annual
dividend payment to the Exchequer from £1.5 million in
2014/15 to £1.7 million in 2015/16 which is projected to
rise further over its corporate plan period.
I am also delighted to announce that the Centre has
delivered significant improvements and enjoyed
considerable success over the course of the last two years.
· For the year ending 2014/15 the Centre delivered a
growth in room hire revenue of 17.3% in comparison to
the previous year, a substantial achievement.
· For 2014/15 the Centre also delivered the best trading
results across all income streams since 2009/10 and in one
month, June 2014, delivered the highest occupancy level
and revenue generating month since it opened 29 years
ago.
· In economic terms it is estimated that the Centre
delivered an economic impact to the London and UK
economy of £122 million in 2014/15.
· The Centre remains fully self funding and has invested
wisely in improving its facilities and services and as a
result was awarded the 2014 Gold Award for Best Large
Venue by EVENTIA, the UK’s largest event industry
association.
· The Centre is an increasingly successful profit making
agency, paying an annual dividend which is forecast to
increase again in 2015/16 and in each of the years covered
by its corporate plan.
I would like to offer my congratulations to the Centre’s
management team for their proactive and determined
efforts in modernising and improving this agency and its
performance.
Written Statements
4 March 2015
In light of this, the Cabinet Office proposes to provide
ROs and AROs with a specific indemnity for UK
Parliamentary elections to supplement the insurance
policies that have been arranged locally.
The indemnity will fund ROs and AROs for costs
(including reasonable legal costs and reasonable
expenses) incurred in connection with a UK
Parliamentary election, which arise in relation to their
discharge of responsibilities as RO or ARO but fall
outside of the scope of the insurance cover which they
have arranged locally, and where all other forms of
recourse have been exhausted.
The indemnity will be limited to the extent that:
(i) it will not cover any costs which arise in whole or
part from any deliberate or wilful negligence by an
ARO/RO;
(ii) it will not generally cover any excess costs which
the ARO/RO has negotiated on his / her insurance policy
(although individual claims for excess costs will be
judged on their merits);
(iii) it will not cover situations where the ARO/RO’s
insurance policy offers an alternative means of cover;
(iv) it will not cover any reduction, under section 29A
of the Representation of the People Act 1983, in the
amount to which the RO or ARO is entitled for his/her
services;
(v) it will not cover any penalty imposed in relation to a
criminal offence;
(vi) it will not cover any claim relating to the carrying
out of electoral registration duties; and
(vii) it will not cover any claim relating to the use of a
motor vehicle where such use should have been covered
by a valid insurance policy but was not.
The indemnity will cover costs arising in relation to UK
Parliamentary elections, including by-elections, where the
date of the poll is on or before 31 March 2020. Any claim
must be made within 13 months of the poll at the election
to which it relates.
The Government gave similar indemnities in relation to
previous UK Parliamentary general elections.
The likelihood of the indemnity being called is very
low. The volume of claims which have been made at
previous national elections has been very low. So far there
have been no claims against the indemnity given in
respect of the recent European Parliamentary elections on
22 May 2014. The largest claim met under previous
government insurance or indemnity arrangements for a
national election was £24,035.75 at the 2009 European
Parliamentary election. Minor injury and damage claims
Page 3
met under government insurance or indemnity
arrangements at national elections have amounted to less
than £10,000 over the last decade.
However, the possibility of a successful claim in the
future cannot be ruled out. The potential risk associated
with election petitions could be significant. For example,
the costs for the Winchester election petition in 1997,
following the general election of that year, amounted to
£250,000. If a petition involving an ARO or RO went to a
full trial and ran for several days it is conceivable that the
bill for legal costs could run into millions of pounds. It is
also conceivable that there could be more than one
occurrence associated with a single election. The costs of
an election petition might not be completely covered
through existing insurance arrangements and may require
the indemnity to be called upon.
The indemnity is therefore unlimited. If the liability is
called, provision for any payment is likely to be met from
the Consolidated Fund.
The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If,
during the period of fourteen parliamentary sitting days
beginning on the date on which this Minute was laid
before Parliament (or, if there are fewer than fourteen
such sitting days in this Parliament, the period ending
with the last sitting day in this Parliament), a Member
signifies an objection by giving notice of a Parliamentary
Question or by otherwise raising the matter in Parliament,
final approval to proceed with incurring the liability will
be withheld pending an examination of the objection.
UK Statistics Authority (2011 Census)
[HLWS314]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Right Honourable
friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster
General (Francis Maude) has made the following Written
Ministerial Statement:
The UK Statistics Authority has published the General
Report of the 2011 Census.
The General Report is the official, and comprehensive,
account of the 2011 Census in England and Wales. It
reviews the entire census operation and provides a wealth
of detail about how the census was carried out and what
lessons have been learned.
It is aimed at both the experienced and occasional user
of census data, but it is hoped the wider public may also
find the Report useful and informative.
This General Report is being laid before both Houses of
Parliament pursuant to the Census Act 1920.
Page 4
4 March 2015
Housing Ombudsman Service
Written Answers
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Banks: Finance
Asked by Lord Mendelsohn
To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what level the
average leverage ratio becomes of concern to Ministers;
and whether they use the 6.2 average in the first quarter
of 2007 as a benchmark for risk in the banking sector.
[HL5095]
Lord Deighton: The Government is bringing forward
secondary legislation to grant the Financial Policy
Committee (FPC) of the independent Bank of England
new powers of direction with regards to a leverage ratio
framework.
Macro-prudential decisions must be insulated from
political concerns, which is why the FPC has
responsibility for macro-prudential regulation. It is for the
FPC to decide what the appropriate calibration of its
leverage ratio framework is.
Budgets: Scotland
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of
current proposals for further devolution to Scotland,
what parts of the budget statement they will regard as
being exclusively of Scottish interest. [HL5186]
Lord Deighton: The Budget is relevant to the whole of
the United Kingdom. Specific policy announcements in
the Budget may be limited in their application in Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales, if they relate to policy
responsibilities which have been devolved.
The next Budget will be presented to Parliament on
Wednesday the 18 th of March.
Child Trust Fund
Asked by Lord Naseby
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they
expect to issue the detailed guidance to parents and
guardians concerning the transfer of Child Trust Fund
Accounts to Junior ISAs. [HL5148]
Lord Deighton: The Government is currently
legislating to permit the transfer of funds from a Child
Trust Fund to a Junior ISA from 6 April. Parents and
guardians will be able to access information concerning
transfers at GOV.UK, as well as from account providers
and consumer advice websites and organisations in due
course.
Written Answers
Asked by Baroness King of Bow
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many
complaints the Housing Ombudsman Service has dealt
with in each of the past four years; and how many of
those were upheld or refused in each year. [HL5060]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It has been a number
years since the Housing Ombudsman Service had a
system where complaints where upheld or refused. The
terms of reference for the Housing Ombudsman Service
were changed on the 1 April 2013 to reflect the Localism
Act 2011 and in preparation for this the Housing
Ombudsman Service changed the dispute handling
process, which now focuses on local and early resolution.
The table below shows the data from 2011 to the 31
March 2013, categorised as follows:
2011
2012
January to
March 2013
Number of
Complaints
Received
5,739
6,757
1,675
Number of
Complaints
Investigated
Formally
641
577
77
Maladministration
147
123
10
No
Maladministration
371
316
44
The table below shows the data from 1 April 2013 to
December 2014, categorised as follows:
April to December
2013
2014
Cases Received
4,619
7,688
Cases Locally
Resolved
4,395
7,604
Of the Cases Locally
Resolved, number of
complaints resolved
locally
5,429
8,017
Cases Formally
Resolved
224
84
Of the Cases Formally
Resolved, number of
complaints resolved
locally
231
79
Of the Cases Formally
Resolved, number of
complaints resolved
formally
211
49
Written Answers
4 March 2015
April to December
2013
2014
Page 5
Relief/exemption title
Dispositions allowable for income tax
Dispositions for benefit of employees
Of the Cases Formally
Resolved, where the
complaint was
resolved at a formal
level, the number of
complaints that were
maladministration
119
Of the Cases Formally
Resolved, where the
complaint was
resolved at a formal
level, the number of
complaints that were
no maladministration
91
21
Dispositions for maintenance of family
Dispositions in respect of pension benefits
Dispositions in respect of pensions
Dispositions not intended to provide gratuitous benefit
25
Double charges relief
Double taxation agreements
Employee-ownership trusts
Estate duty on gifts to the nation
Inheritance Tax
Asked by Lord Campbell-Savours
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will
list all the exemptions from inheritance tax. [HL5197]
Lord Deighton: A full list of all inheritance tax reliefs
and exemptions was published by the Office of Tax
Simplification as part of their review into tax reliefs [1] .
The list is as follows:
Relief/exemption title
A&M trusts, Bereaved Minor Trusts, 18-25 Trusts, Pre-78 Protective
Trusts, Pre-81 Disabled Trusts and Employee Benefit Trusts
Acceptance in Lieu
Agricultural property relief
Estate duty transitional
Excluded property
Exclusion of benefit reserved by donor
Expenses occurred abroad
Failed PETs gifted for national purposes
Fall in value relief for transfers within 7 years of death
Foreign armed forces pay and moveable property
Foreign currency accounts
Foreign-owned works of art
Funeral expenses
Gifts for national purposes
Gifts of land to housing associations
Allowance for other tax liabilities
Alternatively secured pension funds - deferral of charge
Gifts on marriage and civil partnership
Gifts to charities
Annual exempt amount (£3,000)
Gifts to political parties
Armed forces - death in service
Government savings of persons domiciled in the Channel Islands or
the Isle of Man
Armed forces - medals and decorations for gallantry or valour
Business property relief
Cash options under approved annuity schemes
Changes to the deceased's estate
Charge on participators in close companies
Chevening Estate & Apsley House
Government securities owned by non-United Kingdom domiciled
persons
Grant of agricultural tenancy
Heritage maintenance funds
Land in habitat schemes
Leftover alternatively secured pension funds paid to charity
Life tenant becoming entitled to settled property
Co-morientes (simultaneous deaths)
Lloyd’s premium trusts
Compensation paid to Nazi victims
Loss on sale relief (buildings)
Conditional exemption
Loss on sale relief (shares)
Conditional exemption and relevant property trusts
Newspaper and employee trusts
Corporation sole
Nil rate band for chargeable transfers not exceeding the threshold
(£325,000)
Page 6
4 March 2015
Relief/exemption title
No gratuitous benefit and grants of agricultural tenancy (temporary
charitable trusts)
Normal gifts out of income
Open ended investment companies and authorised unit trusts
Overseas pensions
Payment of income
Payment of income (temporary charitable trusts)
Pension schemes
Potentially exempt transfers
Private treaty sales
Property held on trust for bereaved minors or person aged 18-25
Quick succession relief
Reduced rate of tax for relevant property charges
Reduced rate of tax for temporary charitable trusts charges
Registered pension schemes trust charges
Reversionary interests
Reverter to settlor
Reverter to settlor's spouse
Scottish agricultural leases
Small gifts exemption
Spouse / civil partner relief
Taper relief
Trade or professional compensation funds
Transfer to employee trusts
Transferable nil rate band
Trust property becomes excluded property
Trust property distributed in first quarter of the year
Trustees costs and expenses
Trustees costs and expenses (temporary charitable trusts)
Trustees costs, payment of income, no gratuitous benefit, grants of
agricultural tenancy and reduced rate of charge for A&M trusts,
Bereaved Minor Trusts, 18-25 Trusts, Newspaper and Employee
Trusts, Pre'78 Protective Trusts & Pre 81 Disabled Trusts
Trusts with vulnerable beneficiaries - annual limit
Written Answers
[1] The OTS report and full list of reliefs, allowances and exemptions
is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-reliefsreview
Asked by Lord Campbell-Savours
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will
list all classes of assets which are subject to relief from
inheritance tax. [HL5198]
Lord Deighton: The classes of assets which qualify for
inheritance tax reliefs are as follows:
For business relief –
a business or interest in a business,
shares in an unlisted company,
shares controlling more than 50% of the voting rights in
a listed company,
land, buildings or machinery owned by the deceased
and used in a business they were a partner in or
controlled,
land, buildings or machinery used in the business and
held in a trust that it has the right to benefit from.
For agricultural relief –
land or pasture that is used to grow crops or to rear
animals,
growing crops,
stud farms for breeding and raising horses and grazing,
trees that are planted and harvested at least every 10
years,
land not currently being farmed under the Habitat
Scheme or a crop rotation scheme,
the value of milk quota associated with the land,
some agricultural shares and securities,
farm buildings, farm cottages and farmhouses.
For woodlands relief – the value of timber in a
woodland
Further details about inheritance tax reliefs can be
found on the Gov.uk website.[1]
[1] https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/inheritance-taxreliefs
Asked by Lord Campbell-Savours
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they
have made of the effect on receipts to the Exchequer of
the abolition of inheritance tax and the taxing of
recipients of inherited wealth at the recipients' marginal
rate of tax. [HL5199]
Lord Deighton: The information requested is not
available.
Unilateral double taxation relief
Voidable transfers
Waiver of dividends
Waiver of remuneration
Woodland relief
Japan Tobacco: Ballymena
Asked by Lord Empey
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they
intend to support the designation of the JTI Gallaher
factory site and surrounding area in Ballymena, County
Antrim as an Enterprise Zone with enhanced capital
Written Answers
4 March 2015
Page 7
allowances, following the company’s decision to cease
operations. [HL5232]
so, what assessment they have made of the package of
financial support offered to Ukraine to date. [HL5093]
Baroness Randerson: The economic pact, Building a
Prosperous and United Community, set out that the
Government would be willing to consider designating
sites within Northern Ireland as locations with access to
enhanced capital allowances should the Executive
propose them and subject to affordability.
Lord Deighton: The Ukrainian authorities have been in
direct negotiations with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) to agree a new package for financial assistance.
The IMF will present its proposals for financial assistance
for Ukraine to its Executive Board in the coming weeks,
which the Government will consider as part of the normal
process of decision-making on IMF lending.
As I noted in my Written Answer to HL4697, the
Government strongly supports providing financial
assistance to Ukraine from the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund, accompanied by appropriate
policy conditionality.
Judaism
Asked by Baroness Tonge
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 10
February (HL4418), whether they intend to ask Jewish
faith leaders in the United Kingdom to make clear the
ideals of Judaism in respect of religious extremism.
[HL5113]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Her Majesty's
Government expects all faiths' leaders to robustly
challenge extremism in all its forms, wherever they find
it.
Loans
Asked by Lord Mendelsohn
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance
they have given to the Bank of England in bringing
forward curbs on leveraged lending. [HL5094]
Lord Deighton: On 26 November 2013, the Chancellor
requested that the Financial Policy Committee (FPC)
undertake a review of the leverage ratio and its role in the
regulatory framework.
Treasury officials were consulted on the terms of
reference for the review. The terms of reference were
made publicly available on the Bank of England’s
website.
On 31 October 2014, following almost a year of work
and extensive consultation with stakeholders, the FPC
published its response, the Review of the leverage ratio.
The Review recommended that the FPC be given new
powers of direction over the leverage ratio framework for
the UK banking sector.
The Government has brought forward a statutory
instrument to grant the FPC these powers.
Loans: Ukraine
Asked by The Earl of Sandwich
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 17 February
(HL4697), whether United Kingdom government
ministers have been involved in financial negotiations
(1) between the government of Ukraine and the
European Union, and (2) between the government of
Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund; and, if
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill
Asked by Lord Trefgarne
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis they
consider that the provisions of the Lords Spiritual
(Women) Bill comply with the terms of the European
Convention on Human Rights, given the impact of the
bill on male diocesan bishops. [HL5062]
Lord Faulks: The Bill is fully compliant with the
European Convention on Human Rights. Both Strasbourg
and domestic case law has established that the right to
participate in the work of the House of Lords does not
engage the Articles of the Convention.
Manure
Asked by Baroness Tonge
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their
assessment of the purposes of the European Union
Directive on the nitrogen content of manure used in
agriculture. [HL5237]
Lord De Mauley: European Directive 91/676/EEC
seeks to protect water from pollution by nitrates from
agricultural sources. Some types of manure contain up to
30kg of nitrogen per tonne of manure. Nitrogen from
manure can leach from soil in the form of nitrates and can
pollute our water bodies, affecting the quality of our
drinking water. Agriculture accounts for 50-60% of
nitrate pollution in our waters. We therefore believe that it
is important that it is controlled and that the objective of
the European Directive in restricting the land application
of manure is sound. However, we recognise that such
restrictions can affect farm productivity and
competitiveness. While the Directive gives a steer to
Member States over the types of measure to be adopted, it
does allow a certain amount of discretion over the exact
nature of the rules. We have therefore adopted rules that
take account of agricultural practices in this country and
are as cost effective as possible, supporting agriculture as
well as protecting the environment. In the longer term, we
believe nitrate pollution would be better managed through
the more integrated approach to water pollution adopted
in the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).
Page 8
4 March 2015
Non-domestic Rates
Asked by Lord Tope
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many
businesses have received assistance through the small
business rate relief scheme. [HL5119]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Approximately 600,000
businesses are benefitting from Small Business Rate
Relief with approximately 400,000 paying no rates at all.
Measures in the Localism Act made it easier for small
firms to claim the business rate relief to which they are
entitled. We announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an
extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates
bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and
2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 201516. That includes amongst other things:
• the doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further
year (2015-16);
• increasing the temporary discount for shops, pubs and
restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 from
£1,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16;
We have also given authorities powers to grant their
own local discounts and we now fund 50% of any local
discount granted.
We also announced at Autumn Statement that we will
review the future structure of business rates. The review
will report by Budget 2016.
Personal Independence Payment
Asked by Baroness King of Bow
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in relation to how
many of the 441,900 Personal Independence Payment
claims cleared by the Department of Work and
Pensions between April 2013 and December 2014 an
application for mandatory reconsideration was made; of
those, how many initial decisions were overturned; of
those in which mandatory reconsideration was
unsuccessful how many appeals to the Social Security
and Child Support Tribunal were made; and of those
how many appeals were successful. [HL5061]
Lord Freud: The information requested on mandatory
reconsiderations is not currently available.
The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK
Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish
statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest
opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on
mandatory reconsideration relating to Personal
Independence Payment when they are ready. The release
of information will be pre-announced in line with United
Kingdom Statistics Authority release protocols.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics on appeals to the
Social Security and Child Support Tribunal published in
December 2014 showed that between July and September
2014 there were 796 Personal Independence Payment
appeals cleared at Hearing, of which 339 (43%) were
revised in the appellant’s favour. The MoJ statistics are
Written Answers
available
here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-andgender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-toseptember-2014
Planning Permission
Asked by Lord Tope
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they
expect to make betting shops and payday loan shops
into a separate planning use class; and if so, when.
[HL5121]
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have consulted on a
range of planning measures to support our high streets,
including requiring a planning application for the change
of use to a betting shop or pay day loan shop. An
announcement on the outcome of the Technical
consultation on planning will be made in due course.
Private Education: Vetting
Asked by Lord Lexden
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
arrangements they are making to ensure that
independent schools are in a position to comply with
their statutory responsibilities to check that staff are not
prohibited from involvement in the management of an
independent school. [HL5245]
Lord Nash: The Department for Education is in
discussion with the Disclosure and Barring Service about
ways in which schools can do this with the minimum
additional burden, and it is hoped that a process will be in
place soon. At present no barring directions have been
made under the regulations made in 2014 under section
128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.
Asked by Lord Lexden
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they
are taking to ensure that independent schools are not
found to be in breach of statutory regulations as a result
of the introduction of retrospective prohibition checks
on teaching staff. [HL5247]
Lord Nash: From 5 January 2015, the independent
school standards require that schools check both existing
and new teaching staff to determine whether a prohibition
order or interim prohibition made by the Secretary of
State exists for any member of their teaching staff.
The checks are only retrospective in the sense that
schools must confirm that existing staff, as well as new
appointments, are not subject to a prohibition order. The
prohibition order regime began in April 2012, and the
standard does not distinguish between staff appointed
before or after 5 January 2015, so existing staff should be
checked too. We believe that this is entirely justified. The
teacher standards which form the basis of the prohibition
regime apply to independent schools, and it would be
invidious if a school was able to continue employing a
prohibited member of staff simply because he or she was
Written Answers
4 March 2015
Page 9
appointed before 2015. When a school is inspected, it
should be able to demonstrate that it has either completed
these checks (which can be done through the National
College’s Easy Access system) or is well on the way to
completion. If a school cannot do so, regulatory action is
likely to follow.
parents are not married, domicile passes through the
maternal line.
The Government has no current plans to change the
rules on domicile as they apply for tax purposes but the
Chancellor keeps all taxes under review to a Budget
timetable.
Taxation: Domicil
Terrorism: Northern Ireland
Asked by Lord Myners
Asked by Lord Laird
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many
taxpayers designated as non-domiciled in the United
Kingdom owe that status to inheritance as a result of a
parent or grandparent having been born outside the
United Kingdom; and whether they have estimated the
value of the United Kingdom tax forgone by that
category of non-domiciled persons. [HL5072]
Lord Deighton: The information requested is not
available.
Asked by Lord Myners
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will
consider allowing non-domicile tax status to pass
through maternal inheritance rather than paternal
inheritance alone or whether they will consider
discontinuing inheritance as a qualifying condition for
non-domicile tax status. [HL5076]
Lord Deighton: Domicile is a question of common law
rather than tax law. In England domicile passes through
the paternal line where parents are married. Where the
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the
Written Answer by Baroness Randerson on 24 February
(HL4928) concerning the "on the runs", on what date,
how and by whom loyalists were notified of the
scheme; and if they were not notified, how they were
expected to take part in the process. [HL5271]
Baroness Randerson: Chapter 8 of the Hallett Report
sets out the extent of public knowledge of the
administrative scheme, and Appendix 9 provides a
selection of the most pertinent references to the
administrative scheme in the public domain.
Asked by Lord Laird
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the
report of the Hallett review into the "on the runs"
scheme was made public; and on what date the scheme
started. [HL5272]
Baroness Randerson: The Hallett Report was
published on 17 July 2014. Chapter 4 of the Hallett
Report describes the evolution of the administrative
scheme.
Index to Statements and Answers
Written Statements................................................. 1
Concessionary Coal .............................................. 1
Energy Council ..................................................... 1
Infrastructure ........................................................ 1
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre ................. 2
Returning Officers (Indemnity) ............................ 2
UK Statistics Authority (2011 Census.................. 3
Written Answers ..................................................... 4
Banks: Finance ..................................................... 4
Budgets: Scotland ................................................. 4
Child Trust Fund .................................................. 4
Housing Ombudsman Service .............................. 4
Inheritance Tax ..................................................... 5
Japan Tobacco: Ballymena ................................... 6
Judaism ................................................................. 7
Loans .................................................................... 7
Loans: Ukraine ..................................................... 7
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill ............................... 7
Manure.................................................................. 7
Non-domestic Rates.............................................. 8
Personal Independence Payment .......................... 8
Planning Permission ............................................. 8
Private Education: Vetting ................................... 8
Taxation: Domicil................................................. 9
Terrorism: Northern Ireland ................................. 9