House of Lords Written Answers and Statements

Thursday
28 May 2015
Vol. 763
No. 1
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
(HANSARD)
HOUSE OF LORDS
WRITTEN STATEMENTS
Written Statements .................................................1
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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
Earl Howe
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Baroness Altmann
Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Bates
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
Earl of Courtown
Lord Dunlop
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Lord Faulks
Lord Freud
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Lord Maude of Horsham
Lord Nash
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Baroness Shields
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
Baroness Verma
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Responsibilities
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office and Department for
Transport
Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions
Whip
Minister of State, Home Office
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate
Change, Wales Office and Whip
Whip
Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scotland Office
Whip
Minister of State, Ministry of Justice
Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions
Deputy Chief Whip and Spokesman for Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs
Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills and Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture Media and
Sport
Chief Whip
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International
Development
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local
Government
Whip
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Written Statements
28 May 2015
Written Statements
Thursday, 28 May 2015
Government's Legislative Programme
[HLWS5]
Baroness Stowell of Beeston: My Rt Hon. Friend the
Leader of the House of Commons has made the following
statement to the House of Commons:
Following yesterday’s State Opening of Parliament, and
for the convenience of the House, I am listing below the
Bills which were announced yesterday:
Armed Forces Bill Bank of England Governance Bill
Buses Bill Charities (Protection and Social Investment)
Bill Childcare Bill Cities and Local Government
Devolution Bill Education and Adoption Bill Energy Bill
Enterprise Bill European Union (Finance) Bill European
Union Referendum Bill Extremism Bill Full Employment
and Welfare Benefits Bill Housing Bill Immigration Bill
Investigatory
Powers
Bill
National
Insurance
Contributions Bill Northern Ireland (Stormont House
Agreement) Bill Police Reform and Criminal Justice Bill
Psychoactive
Substances
Bill
Public
Services
Ombudsman Bill (Draft) Scotland Bill Trade Unions Bill
Votes for Life Bill Wales Bill
The High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill is
also carried over from the last Parliament
Detailed information about each of these Bills can be
accessed
from
the
No.10
website
at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/primeministers-office-10-downing-street
Government's Legislative Programme
(Northern Ireland)
[HLWS2]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: My right hon Friend the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Theresa Villiers)
has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
The First Session UK legislative programme unveiled
in the Queen’s Speech on 27 May contains measures of
relevance to the people of Northern Ireland.
The following is a summary of the legislation
announced in the Queen’s Speech and its proposed
application to Northern Ireland.
The list also identifies the lead Government department.
1. The following Bills will extend to Northern Ireland,
in whole or in part, and deal mainly with
excepted/reserved matters. Discussions will continue
between the Government and the Northern Ireland
Executive to ensure that, where provisions that are
specifically for a transferred purpose are included in any
of these Bills, the consent of the Northern Ireland
Assembly will be sought for them:
Page 1
Finance Bill (HM Treasury)
National Insurance Contributions (HM Treasury)
Bank of England (HM Treasury)
Immigration (Home Office)
Scotland (Scotland Office)
Wales (Wales Office)
Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement)
(Northern Ireland Office)
EU (Referendum) (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
EU (Finance) (HM Treasury)
Investigatory Powers (Home Office)
Psychoactive Substances (Home Office)
Armed Forces (Ministry of Defence)
Votes for Life (Cabinet Office)
2. The following Bills may extend to Northern Ireland
to varying degrees. They may require the consent of the
Northern Ireland Assembly in relation to provisions in the
devolved field:
Full Employment and Welfare Benefits (Department for
Work & Pensions)
Energy (Department of Energy and Climate Change)
Enterprise (The Department for Business, Innovation&
Skills)
Policing and Criminal Justice (Home Office)
Extremism (Home Office)
Discussions will continue between the Government and
the Northern Ireland Executive on those Bills that might
include provisions that require the consent of the Northern
Ireland Assembly
3. The following Bills will have limited or no
application to Northern Ireland:
Housing (Department of Communities and Local
Government)
Education and Adoption (Department for Education)
HS2 (carried over from last Parliament) (Department
for Transport)
Buses (Department for Transport)
Cities and Local Government Devolution (Department
of Communities and Local Government)
Charities (Social Investment and Protection) (Cabinet
Office)
Trade Unions (The Department for Business,
Innovation & Skills)
Childcare (Department for Education)
Government's Legislative Programme
(Scotland)
[HLWS1]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: My right hon Friend the
Secretary of state for Scotland (David Mundell) has made
the following Written Ministerial Statement:
Page 2
28 May 2015
17 of the 24 new Government Bills for this Session of
Parliament contain provisions that apply to Scotland,
either in full or in part.
The Government’s ambitious programme of legislation
will help to create jobs and support working people. It
will reduce the tax burden on the lowest earners and will
ensure there are no rises in VAT or National Insurance
contributions for the next five years, and no rise in the
income tax levels for which the UK Government has
responsibility.
Bringing the different parts of the United Kingdom
together is a priority for the Government. For Scotland we
will meet our commitment to deliver in full the
recommendations of the cross party Smith Commission
on further devolution. The new Scotland Bill will give the
Scottish Parliament wide-ranging new powers, including
greater flexibility to make its own decisions and making it
more accountable for raising the revenue it spends, while
keeping the advantages of being part of the United
Kingdom
Other measures affecting Scotland include a focus on
energy security and support for the North Sea oil and gas
sector and moves to tackle extremism and strengthen
counter-terrorism. The legislative programme also
includes measures to control immigration and to hold a
referendum on membership of the European Union.
This statement provides a summary of the
Government’s new legislative programme and its
application to Scotland. It does not include draft Bills.
At present the only bill that triggers the need for a
Legislative Consent Motion under the Sewel Convention
is the Scotland Bill. However, it is possible that the need
for consent may arise as bills are prepared for
introduction.
The Government is committed to the principles of the
Sewel Convention, and we will continue to work
constructively with the Scottish Government to secure
consent for Bills that contain provisions requiring the
consent of the Scottish Parliament.
The Bills listed in section 1 will apply to Scotland,
either in full or in part, on introduction. Section 2 details
Bills that will not apply in Scotland at introduction. In
addition to the new bills listed below there will also be a
Finance Bill and the HS2 Bill from the last Session will
be taken forward.
Section 1: New legislation applying to the United
Kingdom, including Scotland (either in full or in part);
Scotland Bill
Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill
Energy Bill
Immigration Bill
Enterprise Bill
Trade Unions Bill
Wales Bill
Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill
EU Referendum Bill
Written Statements
Investigatory Powers Bill
Psychoactive Substances Bill
Extremism Bill
National Insurance Contributions Bill
Bank of England Bill
European Union (Finance) Bill
Votes for Life Bill
Armed Forces Bill
Section 2: New legislation that will not apply in
Scotland
Childcare Bill
Housing Bill
Education and Adoption Bill
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill
Police Reform and Criminal Justice Bill
Buses Bill
Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill
Government's Legislative Programme
(Wales)
[HLWS3]
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: My right hon Friend
the Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb) has
made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
The Government’s First Session legislative programme
announced in the Queen’s Speech on 27 May contains a
wide range of measures that will apply to Wales, either in
full or in part.
The following Bills and draft Bills will extend to Wales
in whole or in part:
Wales Bill (Wales Office)
Scotland Bill (Scotland Office)
Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill
(Northern Ireland Office)
Psychoactive Substances Bill (Home Office)
European Union Referendum Bill (Foreign and
Commonwealth Office)
Charities (Protection and Social Investment Bill)
(Cabinet Office)
Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill
(Department for Work and Pensions)
Finance Bill (HM Treasury)
National Insurance Contributions Bill (HM Treasury)
Energy Bill (Department of Energy and Climate
Change)
Immigration Bill (Home Office)
Enterprise Bill (Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills)
Trade Unions Bill (Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills)
Extremism Bill (Home Office)
Written Statements
28 May 2015
Investigatory Powers Bill (Home Office)
Police Reform and Criminal Justice Bill (Home Office)
Armed Forces Bill (Ministry of Defence)
European Union (Finance) Bill (HM Treasury)
Bank of England Bill (HM Treasury)
Votes for Life Bill (Cabinet Office)
The following Bills will not extend to Wales:
Housing Bill (Department of Communities and Local
Government)
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill
(Department for Communities and Local Government)
Childcare Bill (Department for Education)
Education and Adoption Bill (Department for
Education)
Buses Bill (Department for Transport)
Discussions will continue with the Welsh
Government on Bills that might include provisions
that require the consent of the National Assembly for
Wales or Welsh Ministers.
Safety at HM Naval Base Clyde
[HLWS4]
Earl Howe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State
for Defence (Mr Michael Fallon) has made the following
Written Ministerial Statement.
I am informing the House at the earliest opportunity on
the investigation of each of the claims made by Able
Seaman William McNeilly about the operational
effectiveness, safety and security of our nuclear deterrent.
Having now completed our investigation, and having
consulted with the appropriate regulatory and operating
authorities, I can assure the House that neither the
operational effectiveness of our Continuous at Sea
Deterrent nor the safety of our submariners or members of
the public have been compromised.
Page 3
The Naval Service operates its submarine fleet under
the most stringent safety regime, which is subject to
independent scrutiny. The Naval Service does not put a
submarine to sea unless it is safe to do so, and there are
appropriate procedures in place to deal with any issues
that may arise during its deployment. There are robust
regulatory mechanisms, both within the Ministry of
Defence (MOD) but independent of the Royal Navy and,
externally with the Office of Nuclear Regulation, to
ensure this. The MOD is also held to wider account by
Parliament.
Able Seaman McNeilly published his comments
following his first submarine deployment. He was under
training, and his access and exposure to activities and
material on board were appropriate to his security
clearance. We have found no evidence that he raised any
concerns with colleagues on board or with the Chain of
Command: had he done so, the more senior and
experienced submariners would have been able to explain
how the boat operated and why McNeilly’s concerns were
unfounded. A number of the issues he raised did not occur
during his patrol.
Most of McNeilly’s concerns proved to be either
factually incorrect or the result of mis- or partial
understanding; some drew on historic, previously known,
events none of which had compromised our deterrent
capability and, where appropriate, from which lessons had
been learned to develop our procedures as part of a
continuous improvement programme. Only one of the
allegations remains to be fully examined – the allegation
that e-cigarettes were being used within the submarine.
No independent corroboration of this has been found but
even if it were true, there is clear evidence that their use
did not put the safety of the boat at risk.
Able Seaman McNeilly was arrested having not
reported for duty after a period of leave. He was released
the next day, but confined to a specified location in
Portsmouth while interviews were conducted. He is being
afforded the duty of care that we give all our personnel, is
in contact with his family, and is still in the employ of the
Royal Navy.
Index to Statements
Written Statements................................................. 1
Government's Legislative Programme ................. 1
Government's Legislative Programme (Northern
Ireland) ................................................................. 1
Government's Legislative Programme (Scotland) 1
Government's Legislative Programme (Wales) .... 2
Safety at HM Naval Base Clyde ........................... 3