Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether Members are no longer offered OneDrive; if so, on whose authority; and why.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
There are no plans to remove OneDrive from Members. A configuration change made to the OneDrive service designed to enhance parliamentary information security had an unintended impact on the ability of Members to use OneDrive. This change has now been reversed and we are grateful to the noble Lord and others for drawing this to our attention.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to review 1.6 million Personal Independence Payments (PIP) claims as a result of the court ruling in January CP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC), whether all those who had been reviewed for continued eligibility of PIP in 2016 and 2017 will be informed if they will be further re-assessed.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
As outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018 (HLWS767) my Department is carrying out an administrative exercise to identify anyone who may be entitled to more support under Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as a result of the MH and RJ judgments.
The Upper Tribunal judgment of CP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC) was heard after RJ and the Tribunal therefore considered RJ when it made its decision.
All claimants will be notified if we have reviewed their case. Claimants whose PIP award increases will receive backdated payments. This will either be from the date of the judgement(s) or the start of their PIP award, if this was after the judgment.
Decision makers will consider the MH judgment for all PIP decisions made since 28th November 2016. They will also consider the RJ judgment for all PIP decisions made since 9th March 2017. This will include claims which have been disallowed after the date of the judgment(s).
As additionally outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018, I am committed to updating the House regularly and a statement on progress of this exercise will be tabled in the autumn.
In regard to timing this is a very complex exercise and of substantial scale. We absolutely understand the urgency of this work, but we are also committed to carrying it out safely and correctly to ensure claimants receive the payments they are entitled to.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to review 1.6 million Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims as a result of the court ruling in January CP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC), how many individuals in receipt of PIP who had been re-assessed for continued eligibility have been further re-assessed; how many remain to be further re-assessed; and when the process will be completed.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
As outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018 (HLWS767) my Department is carrying out an administrative exercise to identify anyone who may be entitled to more support under Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as a result of the MH and RJ judgments.
The Upper Tribunal judgment of CP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC) was heard after RJ and the Tribunal therefore considered RJ when it made its decision.
All claimants will be notified if we have reviewed their case. Claimants whose PIP award increases will receive backdated payments. This will either be from the date of the judgement(s) or the start of their PIP award, if this was after the judgment.
Decision makers will consider the MH judgment for all PIP decisions made since 28th November 2016. They will also consider the RJ judgment for all PIP decisions made since 9th March 2017. This will include claims which have been disallowed after the date of the judgment(s).
As additionally outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018, I am committed to updating the House regularly and a statement on progress of this exercise will be tabled in the autumn.
In regard to timing this is a very complex exercise and of substantial scale. We absolutely understand the urgency of this work, but we are also committed to carrying it out safely and correctly to ensure claimants receive the payments they are entitled to.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to review 1.6 million Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims as a result of the court ruling in January CP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC), how many of those in receipt of PIP who have been further re-assessed since February have been informed of the outcome.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
As outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018 (HLWS767) my Department is carrying out an administrative exercise to identify anyone who may be entitled to more support under Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as a result of the MH and RJ judgments.
The Upper Tribunal judgment of CP v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP): [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC) was heard after RJ and the Tribunal therefore considered RJ when it made its decision.
All claimants will be notified if we have reviewed their case. Claimants whose PIP award increases will receive backdated payments. This will either be from the date of the judgement(s) or the start of their PIP award, if this was after the judgment.
Decision makers will consider the MH judgment for all PIP decisions made since 28th November 2016. They will also consider the RJ judgment for all PIP decisions made since 9th March 2017. This will include claims which have been disallowed after the date of the judgment(s).
As additionally outlined in the Written Statement of 25 June 2018, I am committed to updating the House regularly and a statement on progress of this exercise will be tabled in the autumn.
In regard to timing this is a very complex exercise and of substantial scale. We absolutely understand the urgency of this work, but we are also committed to carrying it out safely and correctly to ensure claimants receive the payments they are entitled to.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many felling licences have been issued by Forestry Commission England in each quarter since 2015; and how many hectares those licences cover.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Forestry Commission’s record of the number of felling licences granted and the area of land these covered from 2015 to date is reproduced in the table below.
Period | Number of Licences granted | Area of land covered (hectares) |
2015 |
|
|
Q1 (Jan - March) | 598 | 5083 |
Q2 (April - June) | 523 | 4990 |
Q3 (July - Sept) | 562 | 6384 |
Q4 (Oct - Dec) | 611 | 7398 |
2016 |
|
|
Q1 (Jan - March) | 574 | 17040 |
Q2 (April - June) | 603 | 13036 |
Q3 (July - Sept) | 880 | 13329 |
Q4 (Oct - Dec) | 681 | 14795 |
2017 |
|
|
Q1 (Jan - March) | 942 | 19665 |
Q2 (April - June) | 787 | 15132 |
Q3 (July - Sept) | 799 | 23448 |
Q4 (Oct - Dec) | 687 | 13898 |
2018 |
|
|
Q1 (Jan - March) | 694 | 14526 |
Q2 (April - June) | 669 | 13043 |
The above table does not include felling approved on the Public Forest Estate which is exempt from the requirement for a licence or felling approved in legacy English Woodland Grant Schemes.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many members of House of Lords staff are paid more than the Prime Minister.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
One member of House of Lords staff, the Clerk of the Parliaments, is paid more than the Prime Minister. The Clerk of the Parliaments’ salary is linked to the Judicial Salary Group, as published each year by the Government. In 2017-18, the relevant salary group, JG4, was set at £181,566.
Full details of the salaries of all House of Lords Management Board members are published in the remuneration report in each year’s Annual Report and Resource Accounts, which is available on the website: https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-lords-administration/how-the-lords-is-run/business-and-financial-information/business-plans-annual-reports-and-accounts/
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what representations, if any, he has made to Westminster City Council about ensuring members of the House have access to the footpath across College Green.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
College Green is owned by the House of Commons, with access to it controlled by Black Rod, or the Yeoman Usher acting as Black Rod’s deputy, on behalf of the House of Commons. I have not therefore made any representations to Westminster City Council about ensuring members of the House of Lords have access to the footpath across College Green.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost to the Exchequer of the value respectively of (1) Capital Gains Tax relief, (2) Inheritance Tax relief, (3) Income Tax relief, and (4) Business Rate relief given to forestry and upland land ownerships over the past five years.
Answered by Lord Bates
An estimate of Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, Income Tax and business rate reliefs pertaining to forestry and upland land in particular, over the last five years, is not available. These are part of wider reliefs that are available to business owners.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many individuals are employed by (1) the House of Lords, and (2) by the House of Lords jointly with the House of Commons.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
At the end of Q1 2018, the Administration of the House of Lords had 607 employees. This equates to a full time equivalent (FTE) workforce of 513.4 staff. Of these staff, 46 (44.43 FTE) were employed in the Parliamentary Archives and the Parliamentary Procurement and Commercial Service, both of which provide a service to the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) is a joint department of both Houses. In June 2018, the total number of PDS staff was 456 (442.83 FTE). While there are a number of other offices or departments providing a bicameral service, those staff are not employed by the House of Lords Administration.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether the House of Lords is subject to all aspects of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The House of Lords is a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The provisions of the Act apply to recorded information held by the House of Lords Administration, except for information described in the Freedom of Information (Parliament and National Assembly for Wales) Order 2008 which is available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1967/pdfs/uksi_20081967_en.pdf.