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, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 24 March (HL6409), whether they will publish a comprehensive list of the bodies and individuals from whom they have received views opposed to the planned siting of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Those opposed to the scheme were able to submit their comments to Westminster City Council. All comments are publicly available on the planning inquiry website.
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 whether they will list the bodies who are supportive of the planned siting of the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens has cross-party support and the endorsement of every living Prime Minister.
As an indication of wider support 31 oral representations were made in favour of the proposal at the 2020 public inquiry, including from Holocaust survivors and their families, Rt Hon David Cameron, Rt Hon Gordon Brown, the Chief Rabbi, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Archbishop of Canterbury, academics, educators and others. A full list of witnesses is available from the Planning Inspector’s Report on the Gov.UK website. More than 3,000 individuals expressed their support through the local community engagement exercise run by the Big Ideas community interest company.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what categories of people are exempt from prescription charges; and what percentage of the population this represents.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Exemption from National Health Service prescription charges is available to those who:
- are in receipt of certain benefits;
- are pregnant or recently had a baby and hold a valid exemption certificate;
- are aged 60 years old and over;
- are aged under 16 years old, or 16,17 or 18 years old and in qualifying full-time education;
- get a War Pension and the prescription is for the accepted disablement; and
- have one of the listed medical conditions and hold a valid exemption certificate.
In addition, the NHS Low Income Scheme help with health costs on an income-related basis. Those who qualify for full help under this scheme will receive free prescriptions.
Approximately 60% of the population are exempt from prescription charges. Data on the breakdown by exemption type by population is not centrally held.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were prosecuted for prescription fraud in the last financial year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
No prosecutions were undertaken for prescription charge fraud in 2021/22.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current charge for a prescription; and what was (1) the total revenue from prescription charges in the last financial year, and (2) the cost of collecting those charges.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The National Health Service prescription charge for each medicine or appliance dispensed is £9.35. In 2021/22, the total revenue from prescription charges was £651,964,000. Information on the cost of collecting those charges is not collected centrally.
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 25 January (HL4866), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, whether the UK has the necessary (1) facilities, and (2) workforce, to increase the number of Challenger tank if required; and where they would be built.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land are the prime contractor for the currently agreed Challenger 3 upgrades and assembly will be completed in their Telford site.
In line with the Defence Secretary's statement on 16 January 2023, the number of Challenger 3 remains under review to ensure the Army's Main Battle Tank fleet is sufficient to meet Defence's needs.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect HMS Prince of Wales to return to active service; and who will bear the costs of the necessary repairs.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
HMS PRINCE OF WALES is expected to commence her operational programme, as planned, in Autumn 2023. However, an issue has also been identified with her port shaft and to prevent a similar defect occurring, rectification of this issue is expected to be completed prior to her planned departure.
The defects with HMS PRINCE OF WALES shafts are not believed to be a Class issue and HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH continues to undertake Strike Carrier duties until 2024 when HMS PRINCE OF WALES will take over as Very High Readiness Strike Carrier.
The cost of repairs and responsibility for payment has not yet been established and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further while investigations are ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK has the necessary (1) facilities, and (2) workforce, to increase the number of Challenger tank if required.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
In line with the Army’s Future Soldier plan, the Army will be structured to deliver two Armoured Regiments based on the Challenger tank. Workforce, infrastructure, and equipment planning will support this structure as well as delivering the upgrades from Challenger 2 to Challenger 3.
In reviewing the number of Challenger 3 conversions, the Army will also need to consider the implications of such a review on the decisions and capability priorities made in Future Soldier.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of additional taxpayers who will have to complete Capital Gains tax returns as a result of the proposed reduction in threshold, (2) the amount of additional tax revenue that is likely to be raised, and (3) the extra cost of administration that will be required as a result of those changes.
Answered by Baroness Penn
A measure was announced at Autumn Statement 2022 to reduce the annual exempt amount (AEA) for capital gains tax (CGT) to £6,000 for tax year 2023 to 2024, with a further reduction to £3,000 for tax year 2024 to 2025 and subsequent tax years.
In 2024 to 2025, 260,000 individuals and trusts are estimated to be brought into the scope of CGT as a result of the measure.
However, some of those taxpayers brought into the scope of CGT would already have been expected to complete the capital gains tax supplementary pages within Self Assessment for the following reasons:
The amount of additional tax revenue that is expected to be raised as a result of the measure is set out in the table below:
Tax Year | 2022 to 2023 | 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | 2026 to 2027 | 2027 to 2028 |
Exchequer impact (£million) | 0 | +25 | +275 | +425 | +435 | +440 |
These figures are set out in table 5.1 of Autumn Statement 2022 and have been certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. More details can be found in the policy costings document published alongside Autumn Statement 2022 which is available on the gov.uk website.
A cost in the region of £100,000 will be incurred in delivering the relevant IT changes to support safe implementation of this measure. HMRC also expects to receive additional contact from customers who require support as a result of this change.
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 scale of military accommodation held in reserve for possible reservists or a requirement for mobilisation; and what assessment they have made as to whether a part of this accommodation could be used to house migrants and asylum seekers on a temporary basis.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold accommodation vacant to utilise in the mobilisation of reserves. Under HMT guidelines the Ministry of Defence is obligated to dispose of surplus estates, an obligation we are fulfilling through the Defence Estates Optimisation portfolio and other estate rationalisation programmes.