Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times a Prime Minister has visited one of His Majesty's prisons since 2010, and in which years.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
This information is not centrally collated. However, information on the Prime Minister’s official visits can be found on the gov.uk website as part of the government’s transparency agenda.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the storage, disposal or re-use of any serviceable inflatable craft or similar craft used by cross-Channel migrants.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided to PQ HL7826 on 23/05/23.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how long they expect the construction of the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens will take; and what proportion of those Gardens they estimate will be occupied by the Centre (1) during construction, and (2) on completion.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The construction phase is expected to last around three years. Provision will be made to ensure as much of Victoria Tower Gardens as possible is open to users during construction works.
The design uses around 7.5 per cent of the area of Victoria Tower Gardens.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for regulating whether publicly listed companies should hold hybrid annual general meetings which enable shareholders to attend either in person or participate digitally.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Companies Act 2006 permits hybrid annual general meetings to be held. The format of annual general meetings is a matter for companies and their shareholders.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current ratio of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence against the total number of service personnel; and how this ratio compares with (1) the United States, and (2) France.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The table below details the total number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilians by year from April 2019 - April 2023.
As of 1 January 2023, the total of both MOD Civilians full time equivalent (FTE) and military service personnel stood at 213,590, of which 28% (60,288) were civilians.
Data for the United States and France is not held by MOD, therefore comparative data is not available.
MOD Total Civilians by Year, April 2019 - April 2023, FTE.
Year | 1April 2019 | 1 April 2020 | 1 April 2021 | 1 April 2022 | 1 April 2023 |
MIOD Total Civilians | 57,760 | 58,523 | 60,005 | 59,903 | 60,645 |
1. These figures include all MOD Civilians, including MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas, Trading Fund and Executive Agencies, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Locally engaged civilians.
2. Figures are full time equivalent (FTE).
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civilians have been employed by the Ministry of Defence in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The table below details the total number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilians by year from April 2019 - April 2023.
As of 1 January 2023, the total of both MOD Civilians full time equivalent (FTE) and military service personnel stood at 213,590, of which 28% (60,288) were civilians.
Data for the United States and France is not held by MOD, therefore comparative data is not available.
MOD Total Civilians by Year, April 2019 - April 2023, FTE.
Year | 1April 2019 | 1 April 2020 | 1 April 2021 | 1 April 2022 | 1 April 2023 |
MIOD Total Civilians | 57,760 | 58,523 | 60,005 | 59,903 | 60,645 |
1. These figures include all MOD Civilians, including MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas, Trading Fund and Executive Agencies, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Locally engaged civilians.
2. Figures are full time equivalent (FTE).
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual budget of the Competition and Markets Authority; and how many people it employs.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The CMA resource budget for the 2023/24 financial year is £122m, and as of April 30th 2023 the CMA employed 898 staff.
The CMA publishes its Annual Report and Accounts publicly and will publish the accounts for 2022/2023 soon. Previous CMA Annual Reports and Accounts can be found online.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual budget of Natural England; and how many people it employs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
In 2022/23, Natural England’s (NE) annual budget allocation was £190m (this increased to £226.9m by the end of the financial year). NE has received an increased allocation of £260m in 2023/24. NE staff in post as of September 2022 is 2,769 Full Time Equivalents (FTE), with a cap of 2,980 FTE for the next two financial years.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to increase the amount of school pupils visiting the UK from EU countries, particularly France, by removing the passport requirement that is currently in place.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
At the summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
We are currently working through the details of implementation; and more information, including timescales, will be provided in due course.
This agreement with France will help to strengthen and maintain educational and cultural links with our closest continental neighbour. We will keep the position under review and ensure that we continue to operate our border in the UK’s best interests.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 1 February (HL4865), whether they have now established the cost of the repairs to HMS Prince of Wales; who is expected to pay those costs; and what is their current estimate of the date on which HMS Prince of Wales will return to active service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
We remain committed to ensuring HMS Prince of Wales (PWLS) commences her operational programme, as planned, in Autumn 2023. This will include operational flying training and trials.
During this period the focus has been on achieving repairs whilst maximising opportunities for capability upgrades to ensure PWLS is prepared to become the UK Very High Readiness Strike Carrier in 2024. These upgrades have been conducted in parallel to ensure efficiency and value for money.
The estimated cost of repairs are expected to be approximately £25 million, however responsibility for payment has not yet been established therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further.