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 Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received from the Welsh Assembly any formal indication of its intention to reconsider withholding legislative consent to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill; and if such consent continues to be withheld, what action they intend to take.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The December 2017 interim report on legislative consent from the Welsh Assembly’s External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee recommends “that the Assembly withhold its consent for the Bill in its current form” but notes that “this is an interim report and, should the Bill be amended, [the committee] will issue a further report.”
We continue to have positive discussions with the devolved administrations and legislatures to find an agreed approach to clause 11 of the Bill and we intend to bring forward amendments during the Bill’s Lords stages. We are committed to achieving legislative consent for this vital piece of legislation.
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 HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the UK compares with the Republic of Ireland, Canada and New Zealand in the provision of personal credit to its citizens.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government has not made a formal assessment of this kind.
The Bank for International Settlements publishes international comparisons of credit provision. In the latest figures from Q2 2017, total credit to the non-financial sector as a percentage of GDP was 281.0 in the UK, 345.2 in the Republic of Ireland, 296.0 in Canada, and 208.3 in New Zealand.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they have given to credit unions in the UK in the last two financial years.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government is committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector. Over the last two financial years, the government has done this by:
Announcing at Autumn Budget 2017, that where a credit union’s membership conditions are based on locality, a credit union will be able to increase the number of potential members it can have to from 2 to 3 million. The legislation to make this change was laid in November 2017 and comes into force in April 2018.
Announcing at Autumn Statement 2016 that, from 2018, an existing scheme which incentivises credit union membership in communities at risk of being targeted by loan sharks, will be expanded. This uses funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act from convicted loan sharks.
Contributing £600,000 to an initiative developed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Young Enterprise, to start savings clubs in primary schools and educate young children in the benefits of saving. Lifesavers works with local credit unions to help run savings clubs with schoolchildren, and is currently being piloted in six primary schools.
Providing funding for the Credit Union Expansion Project, delivered by the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd. In 2017, three credit unions with a total membership of 16,500 began using an online banking platform provided by this project.
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 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will hold formal meetings with ministers for each devolved administration as to the background, experience and skills expected of any person appointed by the devolved administrations to enable industrial issues pertaining to each of those countries to be articulated effectively in the proposed independent Industrial Strategy Council.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Industrial Strategy Council will be independent. It will be responsible for putting the right evaluation and reporting structures in place and make recommendations to government on industrial strategy.
We will begin the process to establish the Council as soon as possible. We expect Council members will be invited on the basis of their expertise, experience and skills. We expect the Council’s membership to be multidisciplinary and include leading business men and women, investors, economists and academics with wide ranging knowledge of local, national and international perspectives. Our aim is for it to start work in spring 2018.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to the proposed independent Industrial Strategy Council, whether representatives from the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be appointed.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Industrial Strategy Council will be independent. It will be responsible for putting the right evaluation and reporting structures in place and make recommendations to government on industrial strategy.
We will begin the process to establish the Council as soon as possible. We expect Council members will be invited on the basis of their expertise, experience and skills. We expect the Council’s membership to be multidisciplinary and include leading business men and women, investors, economists and academics with wide ranging knowledge of local, national and international perspectives. Our aim is for it to start work in spring 2018.
Asked by: Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to the proposed independent Industrial Strategy Council referred to in their white paper, Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future, by what date they expect to have such a body appointed.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Industrial Strategy Council will be independent. It will be responsible for putting the right evaluation and reporting structures in place and make recommendations to government on industrial strategy.
We will begin the process to establish the Council as soon as possible. We expect Council members will be invited on the basis of their expertise, experience and skills. We expect the Council’s membership to be multidisciplinary and include leading business men and women, investors, economists and academics with wide ranging knowledge of local, national and international perspectives. Our aim is for it to start work in spring 2018.
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).