Lord Brabazon of Tara

In the last 20 years the closure motion has been moved in the House of Lords 13 times: on 22 July 1999; 6 October 2003; 17 January 2011; 19 January 2011; 21 October 2011; 31 January 2014; 15 March 2019; and six times on 4 April 2019.

We encourage all users of public services to go to gov.uk, the official website for government information and services.

The Cabinet Office is working with Google and other search engine providers to address the problem of misleading websites advertising on their search engines. Work with other bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Which? continues to raise awareness of this issue and ensures action is taken where appropriate.

After detailed analysis of the 31 recommendations made by the AAIB to the CAA, 28 were implemented and another was partially implemented. The CAA's initial response to the AAIB’s recommendations, including any resulting changes to requirements or operational procedures, were published in their publication CAP593 ‘Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) Recommendations: Progress Report 1990’.

Recommendations are not tracked once implemented as routine regulatory oversight arrangements will then apply.Changes to legal requirements or guidance introduced as a result of a recommendation may be superseded as aircraft design, technology and legislation develops.

Her Majesty’s Government are aware of concerns regarding passengers attempting to retrieve or remove cabin baggage from the aircraft during an emergency evacuation. The Department for Transport are working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and our international partners at the European Aviation Safety Agency to review the current requirement for passenger briefings.

In advance of any amendments to European Aviation Regulations, the CAA will be publishing a Safety Notice on the management of passengers and cabin baggage in the event of an aircraft evacuation.

Designation of a country is based on an assessment of driver training and testing standards in that country to ensure that they are comparable with those in this country. A full assessment is carried out prior to the designation of each country. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) requests relevant information about the country’s testing and licensing systems. This is then passed to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for consideration and approval. If the decision is made to designate the country, the law is then amended to include the new country.

The table below shows when each designated country was fully assessed:

When reviewing these arrangements the DVLA contacts each country and requests updated information about the country’s testing and licensing systems. When changes are identified, information is passed to the DVSA for further consideration and approval.

A review of Canada, Falkland Islands, Monaco, Republic of Korea and Zimbabwe was carried out in January 2014 and the remaining designated countries (Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Switzerland) are currently under review. To date, it has not been necessary to refer a designated country to the DVSA for full reassessment.

In the last 10 years the Faroe Islands (2007) and Andorra (2013) have been designated for driving licence exchange in Great Britain. To date, only one country has been de-designated, this was Kenya in 2002.

The Government has no plans to change the £10 Christmas Bonus.

This information is not available.

Both Pensioners and working age people in receipt of certain benefits receive the Christmas Bonus. Christmas Bonus payments are usually automatically generated based on receipt of a qualifying benefit. The cost of doing this is not separately identifiable from the administrative costs of the qualifying benefits.

The Christmas Bonus was introduced in 1972 and was £10. In current (October 2015) prices, the value of the 1972 Christmas Bonus was £115.41.

The Department is aware of a problem with third-party websites presenting themselves as legitimate providers of Government services. The Government has taken robust steps to tackle misleading websites, routinely monitoring unofficial sites and reporting any cases of specious advertisements to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and National Trading Standards (NTS). This helps to ensure that only official European Health Insurance Card application websites appear at the top of Internet search results.

The Government has also set up a webpage to enable members of the public to report misleading websites and lodge a complaint with Google and other search engine providers. Such customer insight forms an important aspect of representations made by Government authorities to the ASA and NTS in the continued effort to tackle misleading websites.

Public Health England (PHE) and its predecessor organisations first issued advice on these matters to the then Department for Trade and Industry in October 1997 suggesting that laser products on general sale to the public should be limited to Class 1 or Class 2. This advice is still relevant. Trading Standards Officers use existing powers under the General Product Safety Regulations to take enforcement action against traders in the United Kingdom supplying high-power laser products, which are usually Class 3B or Class 4.

Following the publication of the paper in the journal Eye, PHE organised a workshop on 20 June 2014. This brought together two of the authors of the paper and stakeholders from across Government, the police and experts on the health implications of exposure to laser beams. PHE agrees with the journal article that it is important parents are aware of the risks of laser products to their children. It was felt that the most appropriate course of action was a campaign to increase awareness of the risks associated with the use of these lasers, including the likelihood that the power in the laser beam could be significantly higher than stated. PHE is now preparing additional material to inform the public.

The ability to impair the vision of a pilot or a vehicle driver depends on the colour of the laser beam, the ambient light conditions and the task being undertaken. Although Class 1 or Class 2 lasers are unlikely to impair the vision of a pilot, under specific conditions, they can cause distraction, glare and afterimages to drivers targeted at close range. Therefore, any inappropriate use of a laser, irrespective of the laser classification, should be taken seriously.

Information on Home Office attendance at Immigration & Asylum Tribunal hearings is not collated centrally by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Any decision to allow an Asylum appeal is made by a Judge based on the merits of each case.