Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 19 December 2016 concerning the total amount of donations made by the Government and the NHS to charities, whether they have plans to review their policy of not collating this information centrally, and how they plan to communicate to taxpayers the extent to which their taxes are being used to support charities.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
There are no formal plans to review government policy on donations.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 12 July (HL1134), and in the light of the resignation of the UK ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, what steps they will take to ensure that all civil servants, including those employed in the diplomatic service, will work to carry out the decision to leave the EU.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Civil Service Code requires civil servants to support the government of the day in developing and implementing its policies. This applies to all Government policies, including carrying out the decision to leave the European Union. The same requirement is set out in the Code of Conduct for members of the Diplomatic Service.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they contribute to the EU to support political parties, movements or campaigns across the member states; and how much financial support British political parties, movements or campaigns receive from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, and not to individual programmes within it.
Financial support from the European Parliament is available to political parties at European level, in the form of operating grants. These grants cannot be used to fund national parties or candidates. Full details of the amounts awarded to European-level political parties are published by the European Parliament [1].
We are focussed on securing the best possible deal for the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union. Once we have left it will be for the United Kingdom to decide how taxpayers' money is spent.
[1] Data on grants paid since 2004 is attached.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 2 December (HLWS306) concerning Government grant standards, what was the total amount of donations made by Government departments and the NHS to charities in each of the last five years for which records are available.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The information requested is not collated centrally.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 21 October (HL2113) concerning the right to vote in local elections, whether, following the departure of the UK from the EU, decisions as to who will be entitled to vote in UK local elections will be taken by Parliament, not the EU.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Government is clear that, following our withdrawal from the EU, control of our laws will be brought back to Parliament. All options for our future relationship with the EU are being considered ahead of the negotiations
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what instructions they have given to all ministers of the Crown and senior civil servants to work to facilitate an early and effective withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
A new Department for Exiting the European Union has been established by the Prime Minister. The Department will lead the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK, working closely with the UK’s devolved administrations, Parliament, and a wide range of other interested parties on this approach. Officials and ministers will work closely with other departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Trade and others, to ensure the British public and business interests get the best possible deal when the UK leave the EU.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage public bodies, including the BBC, to recruit and promote individuals based on merit alone, and to move away from any affirmative action policies that may be in use.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
All public appointments to the boards of public bodies are made on merit and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, the Rt Hon Peter Riddell. The boards of non-departmental public bodies should ensure that the body’s rules for recruitment and management of staff provide for appointment and advancement on merit. These requirements also apply to the BBC.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is legal for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to advertise and provide access to the Government's referendum leaflet on its main website and whether any costs involved are additional to, or part of, the total spending on producing and distributing the leaflet.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
Gov.uk provides a range of Government information, including links to the eureferendum.gov.uk website which sets out information for the public in order to ensure they are able to make an informed decision on 23rd June.
It is legal for Government to do so and there are no additional costs associated with this. These links will be removed at the start of the restricted 28 day period.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 3 July 2014 (HL280) about the expenses of former Prime Ministers, and in the light of the ruling of the Freedom of Information Tribunal in the case of Gabriel Webber v Information Commissioner (EA/2015/0194) that the disclosure of details of expenses paid to former Prime Ministers would not breach confidence nor invade privacy, whether they will commit to full transparency regarding former Prime Ministers' allowances including the costs of providing security.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is considering the Tribunal’s judgement in this matter, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to Sir John Chilcot to encourage him to publish his report before 23 June 2016.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
In his letter of 28 October 2015 to the Prime Minister, Sir John Chilcot said that he hopes to be in a position to agree a publication date for his report in June or July of this year. The timing of publication is a matter for the independent Inquiry.