Earl Attlee

In July 2023 the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Client Board endorsed the R&R Programme Board’s recommended shortlist of R&R delivery options. This included a “full decant” option where both Houses move out of the Palace at the same time (with the Commons prioritised for earlier return) and an option whereby the House of Commons would maintain a “continued presence” in varying locations in the Palace during the works and the House of Lords would move out of the Palace. The Client Board has also requested that a fallback option of enhanced maintenance and improvement forms part of further detailed design work on these options to inform a decision on the preferred way forward in due course, currently expected in 2025.

The Client Board considered it important that more than one option should be subject to further detailed design work and analysis in order to meet the spirit of the new mandate for R&R agreed by both Houses last year and to reflect that members of both Houses have differing views about how the programme can best be delivered.

The implications in such circumstances are detailed in a written answer on 31 March 1993 by the then Attorney General (Sir Nicholas Lyell), as outlined below.

The fundamental consideration remains that individuals should be able to rely on decisions taken by the prosecuting authorities. The policy of the Director of Public Prosecutions is that a decision to terminate proceedings or not to prosecute should not, in the absence of special circumstances, be altered once it has been communicated to the defendant or prospective defendant unless it was taken and expressed to be taken because the evidence was insufficient. In such a case it would be appropriate to reconsider the decision if further significant evidence were to become available at a later date especially if the alleged offence is a serious one.

Special circumstances which might justify departure from this policy include:

(1) rare cases where reconsiderations of the original decision show that it was not justified and the maintenance of confidence in the criminal justice system requires that a prosecution be brought notwithstanding the earlier decision; and

(2) those cases where termination has been effected specifically with a view to the collection and preparation of the necessary evidence which is thought likely to become available in the fairly near future. In such circumstances the CPS will advise the defendant of the possibility that proceedings will be re-instituted. (Official Report, Col’s 200-201).

Following this written answer and further written ministerial statements, the Crown Prosecution Service has produced guidance for prosecutors to follow concerning the exercise of the CPS discretion to institute, reinstitute or continue proceedings after a suspect has been informed by the police or CPS of a decision not to prosecute. The above mentioned Written Statements are detailed below and are published in the Official Report.

WMS – Crown Prosecutors Code - 22 February 2010. Column WS64, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

WMS - Reconsidering a Prosecution Decision (CPS Guidance) - 31 October 2012, Col 15WS, Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve

WMS – Victim’s Right to Review - 5 June 2013, Col 99WS, Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve

The average (mean) salary of a minister of the crown in the House of Lords, including unpaid ministers and excluding accommodation and travel allowances, is £41,490.26.

Ministerial salaries are payable under the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. Details of the salaries and allowances currently paid to Ministers at different ranks can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data

There are no current plans to amend the legislation governing ministerial salaries.

Ministerial salaries are constrained by the Ministerial and other Salaries Act which sets cumulative limits on the total number of salaries that can be allocated to ministers.

Under successive governments a small number of ministers across the Commons and the Lords have been unpaid. The distribution of salaries between ministers in the House of Commons and the House of Lords is a matter for the Prime Minister, who is responsible for the overall organisation of the Executive.

The Cabinet Office does not maintain a central database of sections of Acts of Parliament that have not been commenced. Details of all Acts of Parliament that have received Royal Assent, including their commencement status, are publicly available at legislation.gov.uk.

The rights of access under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the Act") apply to information recorded in any form which is held by a public authority. Correspondence such as letters and e-mails falls within the definition of information. Correspondence sent by members of the House of Lords to the Lord Speaker in his capacity as Lord Speaker would be held by the House of Lords for the purposes of the Act.

Requests for information are considered by the House Administration on a case-by-case basis. Whether correspondence will be disclosed in whole, in part or exempted from disclosure under one or more of the exemptions set out in the Act will depend upon the specific circumstances including the subject matter.

Information provided as part of the Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance process is subject to a high degree of data privacy protections. The DV process is structured to facilitate the safeguarding of national security while maintaining tight control and limited distribution of applicants’ personal data. The DV process conforms to the UK’s data protection legislation.

On the basis of this legislation, personal data can be shared with external agencies such as the police only in specific circumstances. These are:

• where the data subject may have committed a previously undetected criminal offence, or where an offence may be about to be committed;
• where people may be at risk of harm; and
• where action is required to safeguard national security.

In the event that, for example, the Crown Prosecution Service is pursuing a criminal trial against an individual, one or more of these conditions may be met. In such circumstances judicial authorities will submit a formal application to the data controller for disclosure. Such applications are scrutinised on a case by case basis and strict conditions are placed on the degree to which personal data is shared and with whom.

National Grid procure the Black Start service from providers that have the capability to start main blocks of generation from an on-site auxiliary generator, without reliance on external site supplies. It is not a requirement for all UK power stations to have this capability.

In the event of a Black Start, the service would require the provider to start up its main generator(s) and deliver power to start up sections of the National Transmission System and distribution network.

The tariffs applied by the EU on goods manufactured by China will vary according to the precise product being imported. The EU’s tariff schedule contains in excess of 9000 separate tariff lines on which separate duties are imposed. The table below shows the average Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs imposed by the EU on imports from China for broad product groups. However, in addition to MFN tariffs, additional tariffs may apply to some specific products if anti-dumping or anti subsidy measures are in place.

Further details on the tariffs which apply to specific products can be found at the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff.

Over 200 EU tariffs applied to imports of certain information technology goods and some medical equipment will be eliminated as a result of the successful conclusion in December 2015 of negotiations to expand the Information Technology Agreement.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) carried out a market study in 2001 on consumer IT goods and services, including the printer cartridge market. It noted that consumers may find it difficult to identify which printer manufacturer had the cheapest price overall - this included the upfront price of the printer and the price of cartridges over the life of the machine. The OFT worked with the industry to introduce a labelling scheme which allowed consumers to identify how many pages they could expect to print with a cartridge. This allows consumers to consider both the purchase price and the running costs of the printer.

The Competition and Markets Authority took over the competition functions of the OFT in 2014.

The commemorations for the 400th Mayflower anniversary are being organised by a partnership of organisations called the Mayflower 400, who are ultimately responsible for organising and delivering the commemorations.

UK Government, primarily through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has provided some financial support to the Mayflower 400’s programme. This is demonstrated by the £750,000 funding that DCMS has provided through VisitEngland, which will help to ensure a strong legacy for the commemorations. In 2015, DCMS provided £35,000 to invest in the Mayflower museum and in 2019, DCMS awarded £3.5m through the Cultural Development Fund for digital product development.

As the Secretary of State said at the second reading of the Data Protection Bill on the 5th March, The Government is clear that these amendments would undermine high-quality journalism and our free press and risks causing serious damage to local newspapers, who play such a vital role in our democracy.

The Malvern Hills Trust, also known as the Malvern Hills Conservators, is not considered to be a public body.

The UK provided 3% of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) budget in 2013. UNHCR records show that in April 2014 1.5% of UNHCR staff were UK citizens.

The agreed industry scale rate for lorry drivers’ overnight subsistence is not uprated in line with inflation. Normally the relevant industry body, in this case the Road Haulage Association, would approach His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to discuss changing the industry rate. If individual haulage operators think the industry rate is inadequate, they would need to provide evidence to HMRC that drivers are incurring expenses that exceed the current benchmark rate to have a bespoke rate agreed.

Employers can choose to reimburse drivers for the actual subsistence costs incurred when staying away from home, rather than pay the set benchmark scale rate.

The cost for police to escort abnormal loads to Transpennine Route Upgrade worksites, when required, is included within crane hire companies’ costs to the consortium. The Department does not hold information on the breakdown of crane suppliers’ costs or the number of movements they undertake.

I can confirm that the TransPennine Route Upgrade programme is wholly funded by central government.

The agreed industry scale rate for lorry drivers’ overnight subsistence allowance is currently £34.90, or 75% of this figure (£26.20) where the driver uses a sleeper cab. These are the maximum amounts that can be paid free of Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions under the agreed industry scale rate.

There is no commitment to uplifting agreed industry scale rates in line with inflation. In order to seek an increase in the rate, haulage operators would need to provide evidence to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that drivers are incurring expenses that exceed the current benchmark rate.

Alternatively, employers can reimburse drivers for their actual travel costs incurred when staying away from home rather than pay the set benchmark scale rate.

The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of vehicles that are operated by West Yorkshire Police.