Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks made by the Prime Minister during her trip to China, whether they plan to remove students from immigration figures; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and I will place a copy of their letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish, jointly with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a body to advise them on which powers, currently vested in the EU, could appropriately be devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the completion of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
We are continuing to work closely with the devolved administrations to quickly determine where common approaches will and will not be required in the future. These discussions are guided by the common frameworks principles agreed at JMC(EN) on 16 October https://www.gov.uk/government/news/progress-made-at-eu-talks-with-devolved-governments--2. We know that there will be some areas where we will continue to need common frameworks, but equally some areas where common frameworks would not be needed. The Government expects that the return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision making powers for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish a green paper on which powers currently vested in the EU could appropriately be devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the completion of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments agreed at JMC(EN) on 16 October the principles that will guide how we approach common frameworks in future https://www.gov.uk/government/news/progress-made-at-eu-talks-with-devolved-governments--2. Discussions with the devolved administrations in these areas are ongoing. We do not expect there to be a need for frameworks in all areas currently governed by EU law, and so the Government expects that the return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision making powers for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 23 November (HL Deb, col 285) that in relation to powers vested in the EU, they "would like to devolve as much as we can to the devolved Administrations", whether they will discuss fully with Scottish and Welsh Ministers those areas they are working to devolve; and whether they intend to publish a White Paper setting out such proposals.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has committed to working closely with the devolved administrations on common frameworks, establishing them only where they are needed and identifying areas that could be released from the temporary competence arrangement in time for exit day. These discussions are ongoing, guided by the principles agreed between the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments at the last meeting of Joint Ministerial Committee (European Negotiations).
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the undertaking given in paragraph 20 of the October 2013 Memorandum of Understanding that they would “involve the devolved administrations as fully as possible in discussions about the formulation of the UK’s policy position on all EU and international issues which touch on devolved matters”, whether they plan to involve Scottish and Welsh Ministers directly in decision-making concerning such discussions.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The UK Government has been clear that the devolved administrations should be fully engaged in preparations for the UK’s exit from the EU. The Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations facilitates engagement and collaboration on EU Exit. In addition to the formal structures of the Joint Ministerial Committee, constructive bilateral engagement with the devolved administrations on a wide range of policy areas related to EU Exit continues at both Ministerial and official level.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK Governance Group has taken a view on which legislative powers currently vested in the EU should be transferred to Wales or Scotland on departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government is continuing discussions with the devolved administrations, working through the relevant areas of EU law to determine where common approaches will and will not be required, and the different forms that common approaches could take. The common framework principles agreed at the Joint Ministerial Committee (European Negotiations) are guiding these discussions. The Government expects that the return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision making powers for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how often the UK Governance Group has met in 2017.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The UK Governance Group brings together under one command the Cabinet Office Constitution Group, the Scotland Office, the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland and the Wales Office. This Group leads the UK Government’s work on constitutional and devolution issues, and is the primary source of advice to UK Government Ministers and Departments for this area.
Activities and performance of the Group are reported in the Cabinet Office annual report and the annual reports of the other departmental constituent parts of the Group.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish regular reports of the meetings of the UK Governance Group established in June 2015 to lead work on constitutional and devolution issues.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The UK Governance Group brings together under one command the Cabinet Office Constitution Group, the Scotland Office, the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland and the Wales Office. This Group leads the UK Government’s work on constitutional and devolution issues, and is the primary source of advice to UK Government Ministers and Departments for this area.
Activities and performance of the Group are reported in the Cabinet Office annual report and the annual reports of the other departmental constituent parts of the Group.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to update the Memorandum of Understanding with the devolved administrations, published in October 2013, in order to take account of relevant issues affecting devolution which have arisen in the last four years.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government recognises the need to review the Memorandum of Understanding with the devolved administrations. The decision to review the Memorandum of Understanding must be taken with the agreement of the four participating administrations - the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Baroness Goldie on 17 October (HL Deb, col 511) on the update on the Brexit negotiations, whether they will undertake to ensure that meaningful discussions with Welsh Ministers at informal meetings will be held at the next available meeting of the appropriate joint ministerial committee.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Joint Ministerial Committee (Plenary) (JMC(P)) and (EU Negotiations) (JMC(EN)) consist of representatives from the UK Government and each of the devolved administrations. Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales, attends meetings of JMC(P). Mark Drakeford AM, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government in the Welsh Government, has attended every meeting of JMC(EN).