Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will introduce secondary legislation to bring section 102 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 into force.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Section 102 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 will expand the special regard duties on decision makers for designated heritage assets. We intend to commence this section at the same time as the new decision-making test under section 93 which involves the introduction of National Development Management Policies. We will consult on draft National Development Management Policies in due course.
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government for each Government department, from January to June, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Between January and June 2019, 414 Explanatory Memoranda on EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny.
During this period there were 37 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before parliamentary scrutiny procedures had been completed. In compiling these statistics a further 4 overrides were identified which were not included in the previous written answer for the period July-December 2018 (HL13200). They are included in this latest table.
As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instruments were fast-moving and sensitive Common Foreign and Security Policy/EU restrictive measures proposals where there were 32 such instruments adopted before scrutiny could be completed.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1 & b). House of Lords override | (2 & c). House Commons override | (a).No. of overrides in both Houses at same time | Total no. of overrides |
Cabinet Office | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office* | 31 | 33 | 31 | 33 |
HM Revenue & Customs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
International Trade | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Transport | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
HM Treasury | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Home Office** | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Totals | 37 | 41 | 37 | 41 |
*3 overrides occurred between July-December 2018
**Override occurred between July-December 2018
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each government department, from July to December 2018, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Between July and December 2018, 350 Explanatory Memoranda on EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny.
Across both Houses there were 35 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed.
As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instruments were fast-moving and sensitive Common Foreign and Security Policy/EU restrictive measures proposals where there were 27 such instruments adopted before scrutiny could be completed.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1 & b). House of Lords override | (2 & c). House Commons override | (a).No. of overrides in both Houses at same time | Total no. of overrides |
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 24 | 20 | 16 | 28 |
HM Treasury | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Totals | 30 | 26 | 21 | 35 |
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each government department, from January to June 2018, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Between January and June 2018, 572 Explanatory Memoranda on EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny.
Across both Houses there were 35 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed.
As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instruments were fast-moving and sensitive Common Foreign and Security Policy/EU restrictive measures proposals where there were 32 such instruments adopted before scrutiny could be completed.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1 & b). House of Lords override | (2 & c). House Commons override | (a).No. of overrides in both Houses at same time | Total no. of overrides |
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 32 | 31 | 30 | 33 |
Totals | 34 | 33 | 32 | 35 |
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each government department, from July to December 2017, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Between July and December 2017, 508 EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny.
Across both Houses there were 95 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed by either one or both Scrutiny Committees.
In each case the Government explained to the Scrutiny Committees why it was important for the proposal to be supported before clearance had been provided. This period of reporting coincided with the extended period in the new Parliament before the European Scrutiny Committee in the House of Commons was re-appointed on 30 October 2017 and only began meeting again on 13 November to scrutinise documents. As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instrument was fast-moving and sensitive CFSP and EU restrictive measures where there were 66 such instruments adopted before scrutiny could be completed.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1 & b). House of Lords override | (2 & c). House of Commons override | (a). No. of overrides in both Houses at the same time | Total no. of overrides |
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
Defence | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 4 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 52 | 70 | 51 | 71 |
International Development | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
International Trade | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
HM Revenue and Customs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
HM Treasury | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Work and Pensions | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 63 | 94 | 62 | 95 |
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each Government department, from July to December 2016, on how many occasions a scrutiny reserve resolution in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons, was overridden; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, or (b) either House.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
Between July and December 2016, 557 Explanatory Memoranda on EU documents were submitted for scrutiny.
Across both Houses there were 33 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed by either one or both Scrutiny Committees.
In each case the Government explained to the Scrutiny Committees why it was important for the proposal to be supported before clearance had been provided. As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instrument were fast-moving and sensitive EU restrictive measures where there were 22 such instruments (67% of the total number) adopted before scrutiny could be completed.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1). House of Lords Override | (2). House of Commons override | (1). No. of overrides in both Houses | (2). Total no. of overrides |
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office* | 22 | 26* | 22 | 26 |
HM Treasury** | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
International Trade | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 25 | 33 | 25 | 33 |
* In addition to the formal overrides listed here, there were 40 occasions when Council Decisions were adopted prior to scrutiny by the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee due to their limite marking (ie internal EU limited distribution marking for content not intended to be in the public domain).
** An override on the Proposal for a Council Directive laying down rules against tax avoidance practices that directly affect the functioning of the internal market, was identified to have occurred at the 27 June 2016 ECOFIN, after the answer had been published for the override figures for January-June 2016 (HL 1405).
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each government department, from January to June 2016, on how many occasions the scrutiny reserve resolution in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons, was overridden, and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (1) both Houses, or (2) either House.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
Between January and June 2016, 484 Explanatory Memoranda on EU documents were submitted for scrutiny.
There were 37 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed by either one or both Scrutiny Committees.
In each case the Government explained to the Scrutiny Committees why it was important for the proposal to be supported before the scrutiny process could be completed or where the Committees were unable to provide a waiver for the Government to support the proposal whilst retaining the issue under scrutiny. As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instrument were fast-moving EU restrictive measures where there were 27 such instruments (73% of the total number) which were adopted before scrutiny could be completed.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1). House of Lords Override | (2). House of Commons override | (1). No. of overrides in both Houses | (2). Total no. of overrides |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office* | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
Business, Innovation and Skills | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Home Office | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Justice | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Work and Pensions | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 36 | 35 | 34 | 37 |
* In addition to the formal overrides listed here, there were 27 occasions when Council Decisions were adopted prior to scrutiny by the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee due to their limite marking (ie internal EU limited distribution marking for content not intended to be in the public domain).
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each government department, from July to December 2015, on how many occasions the scrutiny reserve resolution in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons, was overridden, and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (1) both Houses, or (2) either House.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Between July and December 2015, 434 Explanatory Memoranda on EU documents were submitted for scrutiny. There were 54 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed by either one or both Scrutiny Committees. In each case the Government wrote to the Scrutiny Committees to explain the reasons why it was important for the Government to support the proposal before the scrutiny process could be completed or where the Committees were unable to provide a waiver for the Government to support the proposal whilst retaining the issue under scrutiny. As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instrument were fast-moving EU restrictive measures where there were overrides on 40 such measures (74 per cent of the total number) of which 12 measures addressed the situation in Iran.
The figures requested are set out below:
Department | (1). House of Lords Override | (2). House of Commons override | (1). No. of overrides in both Houses | (2). Total no. of overrides |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 42 | 44 | 41 | 45 |
HM Treasury | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Food Standards Agency | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 50 | 53 | 49 | 54 |
I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 29 July 2015 (HL1633) which presented the figures for overrides for the period January-June 2015. That answer contained two errors. In a letter dated 16 September 2015 to the Chairs of the two Scrutiny Committees, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), undertook to correct the errors when providing figures for the period July-December 2015. One Foreign and Commonwealth Office override on the Council decision extending the mandate of the EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina had been counted twice. This brings the overall total down from 90 to 89. The total in the House of Lords (54) is unchanged since the Committee cleared that proposal before adoption, but it does reduce the number declared for the House of Commons from 86 to 85. The answer also stated that the 39 measures (the largest category of the total) were the Common Foreign and Security Policy restrictive measures. A recalculation has shown the figure to be 38. The earlier answer also highlighted an unresolved issue of whether an override needed to be recorded against a Commission Communication on the Paris Protocol (‘A Blueprint for tackling Global Climate Change beyond 2020’) because discussion with the European Scrutiny Committee had at that stage not been concluded. It was subsequently agreed that agreement of the document did not need to be recorded as a scrutiny override.
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each government department, from January to June 2015, (1) on how many occasions the scrutiny reserve resolution in the House of Lords was overridden, (2) on how many occasions the scrutiny reserve resolution in the House of Commons was overridden, (3) in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses or (b) either House.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government strongly supports an effective Parliamentary scrutiny system and will always seek to avoid breaching the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution. Where this is not possible, the Government will continue to account for the circumstances of each override in writing to the Committees.
Between January to June 2015, 368 Explanatory Memoranda were submitted. Of the 90 overrides in this period, 73 (81 per cent) of overrides occurred after the dissolution of Parliament when one or both Houses were unable to carry out their scrutiny function. Of the 90 overrides across both Houses, 39 were on fast-moving EU restrictive measures including 11 measures to address the situation in Ukraine.
The figures requested are set out in the table below, which excludes reference to a Commission Communication on the Paris Protocol (‘A Blueprint for tackling Global Climate Change beyond 2020’) because discussion with the European Scrutiny Committee has not yet concluded whether this constitutes an override.
Department | (1). House of Lords Override | (2). House of Commons override | (a). No. of overrides in both Houses | (b). Total no. of overrides |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 46 | 47 | 42 | 51 |
HM Treasury | 1 | 30 | 1 | 30 |
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Ministry of Justice | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Home Office | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Transport | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 54 | 86 | 50 | 90 |
Asked by: Lord Boswell of Aynho (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of the Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union to the UK Statistics Authority and its associated agencies, broken down by (1) staff time, (2) printing costs, (3) running of engagement events, (4) witness expenses, (5) publicity of the reports, and (6) any and all other associated costs.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
The statistics element of the Balance of Competences Review was included within the cross-cutting report on Voting, Consular and Statistics, which was led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The following information relates to the UK Statistics Authority's costs associated with contributing to the report.
(1) A full breakdown of staff time and associated travel / subsistence costs could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, but the staff cost of the Review was borne within existing budgets.
(2) The UK Statistics Authority contributed £1385.00 towards printing and publication costs.
(3) The UK Statistics Authority did not run any engagement events.
(4) Across the whole of the Balance of Competences Review witness expenses amounted to approximately £2,255.00, which were borne by the FCO.
(5) The UK Statistics Authority did not incur any costs publicising the reports.
(6) There were no other associated costs.