Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to make changes in the 2021 Census to the questions on (1) religion, and (2) ethnicity, used in the 2011 Census of England and Wales; and if so, what any such changes are.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Census (England) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/560) set out the questions for Census 2021 in England and include facsimiles of the paper questionnaires. The religion question is the same as that asked in the 2011 Census. For the ethnic group question, two substantive changes to the question used in 2011 have been made:
a new tick-box response option for ‘Roma’
a write-in option for those selecting ‘African background’ within the ‘Black, Black British, Caribbean or African’ high-level category.
People can still declare another religion or ethnicity, even if it is not a tick-box response option.
The parallel Census (Wales) Regulations 2020 were made by Welsh Ministers and laid before the Welsh Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of people who responded to the questions on ethnicity in the 2011 Census of England and Wales by identifying as Arab when considering recommending appointments to the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested is not centrally held. The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent and advisory non-departmental public body.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement, published on 20 December 2018, constitutes a treaty for the purposes of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As outlined in the Explainer for the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement, published on the 20 December 2018 on the gov.uk website, it will be subject to the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRaG).
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what responsibility, if any, they have for ensuring that comprehensive road maps of cities are available including details of no right turns.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Local authorities are responsible for managing their road networks, including implementing measures such as right turn bans. It is for them to ensure these and other traffic restrictions are properly signed on-street so that drivers are aware of them. Drivers are responsible for ensuring they follow the rules of the road and are not in breach of any restrictions.
The Department for Transport has no responsibility for producing road mapping. Commercial mapping companies are responsible for ensuring the maps they produce are accurate.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Sugg on 19 June, (HL Deb, col 1933), what new procedures the introduction of a "major road network from 2020" will encompass; and whether this will change the procedures in relation to the proposed Hickleys Corner underpass on the A31 in Farnham.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Last December the Department launched a consultation on ‘Proposals for the creation of a Major Road Network’ which closed on 19th March 2018.
Proposals included dedicating a portion of the National Roads Fund to invest in bypasses, road widening and other road improvements on the Major Road Network.
A formal consultation response will be published during summer 2018 prior to the launch of the Major Road Network (MRN) programme before the end of the year.
Once launched, it will be for the relevant local authority, working with other regional partners, to make the case for MRN funding for particular schemes. In the case of the proposed Hickleys Corner underpass on the A31 in Farnham, the relevant local authority is Surrey County Council.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they have provided to local authorities to provide (1) temporary, and (2) permanent, accommodation for survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire; and whether that support is expected to meet all the additional costs.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
To date the government has committed to providing funding to Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to provide the following support to those who have permanently lost their homes as a result of the fire:
Funding for the cost of hotel accommodation provided whilst offers of permanent and temporary accommodation are being made.
Funding to meet the rental costs and core utility bills in temporary and permanent accommodation once residents are able to leave hotels. This will ensure all residents will not pay rent or utility bills until July 1st 2019.
Additionally, my Department has made a further £6 million available to RBKC for use in supporting residents needs beyond housing. This is helping to fund food allowances, support for funeral expenses and other hardship payments where the council deem them appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the legal costs (1) incurred to date, and (2) likely to be incurred, in relation to the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry; and how much of those costs will be met by the public purse.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Prime Minister has made clear that survivors, families of victims and local residents affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy will have government funding for legal representation. The Prime Minister’s notice of determination to the Inquiry, published on 22 August confirms this. The Inquiry will publish details of legal costs in due course.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement made by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 November (HL Deb, col 46), what actions they are taking within the UN to ensure that action is taken to allow the immediate provision of supplies to Yemen; what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia regarding ending their blockade of Yemen; whether a timescale has been established for such action to be taken; and whether, given the UK's alliance with Saudi Arabia, they have any plans to review licences for arms supplies to that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation and calls for all parties to immediately provide unhindered commercial and humanitarian access. The Prime Minister met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia during her visit to Riyadh on 29 November and was clear on the importance of a resolution to the conflict and humanitarian and commercial access to all of Yemen. The Foreign Secretary raised the urgency of the humanitarian situation with the Crown Prince on 23 November and has also spoken with the Secretary-General of the UN.
On 22 November, the Saudi-led Coalition announced that they would allow humanitarian flights and shipments to resume. We welcome progress towards reopening the ports in Hodeidah, Salif and Sana'a airport. A small number of humanitarian and commercial vessels have been able to berth at these ports. To prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, more needs to be done and quickly. The UK will continue pressing at the very highest levels for complete and unhindered commercial and humanitarian access to all of Yemen.
The UK Government takes its arms export licensing responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that the pound sterling does not fall below parity with the euro.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK has an inflation target, not an exchange rate target, and the government does not express a view on the level of the exchange rate. The value of sterling adjusts flexibly in response to economic conditions and market forces.
Asked by: Lord Lea of Crondall (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, if the UK were to remain in the EEA by joining EFTA after leaving the EU, the annual cost to the UK in terms of liabilities to the EU would remain the same as if the UK had remained in the EU; and if not, what is their estimate of the reduction or increase in that cost.
Answered by Lord Bates
The arrangements for withdrawal from the EU, including any financial or subsequent trading arrangements with the EU, will be a matter for the withdrawal agreement as part of the Article 50 process. The UK government is committed to working with the EU to reach a fair arrangement for Britain’s exit and the best deal for UK taxpayers.