Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public appointments are made directly by the Secretary of State for Defence.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As specified in the Public Appointment Order in Council, 15 November 2023, 2023-2-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf (independent.gov.uk), the Secretary of State for Defence is responsible for public appointments to the following public bodies and offices:
Armed Forces Pay Review Body
Defence Nuclear Safety Expert Committee
Departmental Board for the Ministry of Defence (non-executive members)
Independent Medical Expert Group
Independent Monitoring Board for the Military Corrective Training Centre
Nuclear Research Advisory Council
Oil and Pipelines Agency
Royal Air Force Museum
Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons
Service Complaints Ombudsman
Service Police Complaints Commissioner
Single Source Regulations Office
Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public appointments are made directly by the Secretary of State for Education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Public appointments made by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education are published on the Public Appointment Order in Council; please see the attached document. The appointments are publicly announced on GOV.UK and can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-non-executive-appointments. The order includes those roles where official sign off by the King and/or the Prime Minister is required.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker during the past 14 years in respect of which public bills that started in the House of Commons has a motion been tabled to decline to give the bill a second reading in the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There have been five such cases since 2010, including the motion on 29 January 2024 relating to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. The other four bills, along with the dates they were debated on second reading, were the Health and Social Care Bill (11-12 October 2011); the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill (3-4 June 2013); the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill (4 November 2014); and the Illegal Migration Bill (10 May 2023).
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public appointments are made directly by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The statutory basis for public appointments is set out in the Public Appointments Order in Council 2023, which lists public appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and includes those identified as being made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, listed as entries under the Department of Health and Social Care. A copy of the document is attached.
When the order is next updated by Cabinet Office, it will also include public appointments to the board of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, which are made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is also responsible for making the following public appointments, which are not regulated by the Commissioner:
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, chair and non-executive members;
- UK Health Security Agency, chair and non-executive members; and
- NHS Pensions Board, chair only.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 6 December (HL701), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, how much money has been spent to date on the Crewe leg (Phase 2a) of HS2.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As noted in the Parliamentary Report published in November 2023, to date £1bn (2019 prices) has been spent on the Phase 2a leg of HS2.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 26 October (HL10766), how much money has been spent to date on the Crewe leg (Phase 2a) of HS2.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This is set out in the latest Parliamentary Report on HS2. The Department will continue to work with HS2 Ltd to bring early / enabling site activities to a safe stop and conclude any land remediation activities for the handing back of sites.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 22 November (HL278), whether the Prime Minister's commitment to deliver new rail schemes "far more quickly" than the scrapped Manchester leg of HS2, as set out in their Network North published in October (CP 946), applies to the lines from (1) Burton to Leicester, and (2) Stoke to Leek.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the Network North announcement, the Government has committed to delivering both schemes, both of which could be delivered quicker than Phase 2b of HS2 which was due to complete in 2041.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which members of His Majesty's Government are not in receipt of a ministerial salary.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The full list of ministers can be found on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-november-2023
The ministers currently appointed who are not in receipt of a ministerial salary are: Richard Holden MP, Rt Hon John Glen MP, Baroness Nevile-Rolfe DBE CMG, Lord Ahmad, Rt Hon Lord Benyon, the Earl of Minto, Lord Bellamy KC, Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale OBE MP, Andrew Griffith MP, Viscount Camrose, Lord Markham CBE, Rt Hon Earl Howe CBE, Lord Johnson CBE, Lord Offord of Garvel, Baroness Barran MBE, and Baroness Swinburne.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 26 October (HL10766), how much money has been spent to date on the Manchester leg of HS2.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information related to the spend to date on HS2, including Phase 2b Western Leg, was provided in the most recent Parliamentary Report published in November 2023.
To date, £0.7bn (2019 prices) has been spent on the Phase 2b Western Leg of the HS2 Programme. This funding was used to prepare the Phase 2b Western Leg Bill. Following the Network North announcement, Government is now considering options to repurpose this Bill in order to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail.
The Department for Transport remains committed to providing regular updates to Parliament on the progress of the Programme with a further update expected in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 63 in the Department of Transport's document Network North published in October (CP 946), what is (1) the estimated cost, and (2) the estimated completion date, for the lines from (a) Burton to Leicester, and (b) Stoke to Leek.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the Network North announcement, the Department for Transport is in the early stages of planning next steps, including delivery timelines, for individual schemes and is working closely with Network Rail and other delivery partners to develop and deliver on Government priorities. Further information will be set out in due course.