Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
The Senior Deputy Speaker what plans there are to conduct a public consultation on the removal of the statue of Oliver Cromwell from outside the Palace of Westminster.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster belongs to the House of Commons. Any such action in relation to the statue will therefore be for the House of Commons to determine.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct a public consultation on removing the statue of Robert Clive on King Charles Street in Westminster.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are no plans for a public consultation on removing the statue of Robert Clive on King Charles Street in Westminster.
The Government does not propose to remove statues or memorials on its property. We believe it is always legitimate to examine and debate Britain’s history, but removing statues is not the right approach.
The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations, who had different perspectives and different understandings of right and wrong. But those statues play an important role in teaching us about our past, with all its faults.
The Government therefore believes that we should use heritage to educate people about all aspects of Britain’s complex past, good and bad, rather than airbrushing history.
Historic England, as the Government’s adviser on the historic environment, have set out why they believe removing difficult and contentious parts of the historic environment risks harming our understanding of our collective past. They and other heritage funding bodies invest significantly in improving public access to historical objects, providing contemporary interpretation of them and supporting diverse heritage projects around the country.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government required the issue of any ministerial directions, or expressed any concerns as accounting officer, in respect of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s decisions relating to the Northern and Shell Corporation’s planning application for the development of Westferry Printworks.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
No.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what communication they had, if any, with the Mayor of Tower Hamlets about Northern and Shell's planning application for Westferry Printworks.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published regularly and can be found at the following link on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data
The Secretary of State declined to discuss the application with both the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and the developers.
The Planning Inspector’s Report sets out a schedule of representations received by the Inspector. Special Advisers did not meet with the developers or local authority. Officials in MHCLG had no meetings and received no communications from executives of Northern and Shell.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) meetings, and (2) communications, took place between the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Richard Desmond in (a) 2019, and (b) 2020; and whether they will place the records of these meetings and communications in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published regularly and can be found at the following link on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data
The Secretary of State declined to discuss the application with both the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and the developers.
The Planning Inspector’s Report sets out a schedule of representations received by the Inspector. Special Advisers did not meet with the developers or local authority. Officials in MHCLG had no meetings and received no communications from executives of Northern and Shell.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) meetings, and (2) communications, took place involving special advisers and officials of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and executives of the Northern and Shell Corporation in (a) 2019, and (b) 2020; and whether they will place the (i) participant lists, and (ii) records, of these meetings and communications in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published regularly and can be found at the following link on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data
The Secretary of State declined to discuss the application with both the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and the developers.
The Planning Inspector’s Report sets out a schedule of representations received by the Inspector. Special Advisers did not meet with the developers or local authority. Officials in MHCLG had no meetings and received no communications from executives of Northern and Shell.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was made aware that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government met Richard Desmond in November 2019 prior to the Department's decisions in respect of the Northern and Shell Corporation’s planning application for the development of Westferry Printworks. [T]
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Planning Ministers act in accordance with the MHCLG Guidance on Planning Proprietary Issues. This guidance is published (attached) on gov.uk and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5998/2091742.pdf
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government informed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of his previous contacts with (1) Richard Desmond, and (2) executives of the Northern and Shell Corporation, prior to the Department's decisions in respect of the Northern and Shell Corporation in the past year; and if so, what action was taken in response.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Planning Ministers act in accordance with the MHCLG Guidance on Planning Proprietary Issues. This guidance is published (attached) on gov.uk and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5998/2091742.pdf
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any conflicts of interest relating to Lord Deighton’s appointment to a government position on 18 April 2020 and his commercial work, including his chairmanship of Heathrow Airport Ltd, and whether they intend to publish these assessments.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Lord Deighton has kindly agreed to be an unpaid advisor to help the Government with the COVID-19 response. He is leading the Government’s efforts to secure sufficient critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensure this gets to where it is needed. As part of this, he will drive forward coordination of the end-to-end process design and manufacture of new domestic PPE supplies.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Commissioner for Public Appointments advised on the appointment of Lord Deighton to his government post on 18 April, and whether they will publish that advice.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Lord Deighton has kindly agreed to be an unpaid advisor to help the Government with the COVID-19 response. He is leading the Government’s efforts to secure sufficient critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensure this gets to where it is needed. As part of this, he will drive forward coordination of the end-to-end process design and manufacture of new domestic PPE supplies.