Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial arrangements, if any, they have agreed with the Crown Dependencies in recognition of the assistance that UK police and intelligence services provide to such Dependencies.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution each of the Overseas Territories makes to the UK Exchequer in return for the UK Government (1) ensuring their security, and (2) representing their interests abroad.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. The Minister will write directly to the Member with a response shortly.Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last negotiated with each of the three Crown Dependencies the (1) financial, and (2) other, contributions they should make in return for the UK Government (a) ensuring their security, and (b) representing their interests abroad.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The Crown Dependencies are self-governing jurisdictions and do not receive funding from the UK Exchequer. The UK is constitutionally responsible for their defence and international relations, in recognition of which the Crown Dependencies make contributions to the UK Government, either financially (directly and indirectly) or by providing personnel. These contributions are based on longstanding arrangements with the Crown Dependencies that were last amended in 1987 for the Bailiwick of Guernsey, 1994 for the Isle of Man and 1988 for the Bailiwick of Jersey.
The Crown Dependencies’ contributions have not recently been reviewed and there are no plans to review them in the near future.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applicants for (1) British citizenship, and (2) long-term residence in the UK, took the Life in the UK test in (a) Welsh, and (b) Scots Gaelic, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In the last 3 years, there has been one Life in the UK test taken in Welsh, and no tests have been taken in Scots Gaelic.
The test taken in Welsh was a customer applying for British Citizenship.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they calculate the fees for (1) British citizenship, and (2) long-term residence in the UK, applications; and whether those fees are used (a) only to cover the direct expenses incurred from such applications, and (b) to defray the overall Home Office budget.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
All immigration and nationality fees are set taking account of the criteria set out at Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/68
These criteria include the cost of processing the application; the benefits and entitlements provided by a successful application; and, the wider cost of running the Border, Immigration and Citizenship (BIC) System.
Fees from immigration products and services contribute to funding a sustainable BIC System and ultimately reduce the reliance on tax-payer funding. The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under review and ensures they are within the parameters agreed with Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy for contracts with private companies to prohibit those companies from making contributions to (1) political parties, and (2) think tanks by (a) those companies, and (b) their subcontractors; and if so, in what circumstances such a policy is altered.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 require contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures so as to avoid any distortion of competition and to ensure equal treatment of all economic operators.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK residents claimed non-domiciled status in returns to HMRC in the most recent tax year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The number of UK residents who claimed non-domiciled status in returns to HMRC is provided in the table below. Figures are provided for the last ten years, up to 2018-19, the most recent year for which figures are available. The decrease seen between 2015-16 and 2017-18 is explained by the deemed domicile rules introduced in April 2017.
Tax year | UK resident non domiciled individuals |
2009-10 | 82,700 |
2010-11 | 81,000 |
2011-12 | 80,200 |
2012-13 | 82,000 |
2013-14 | 84,300 |
2014-15 | 86,500 |
2015-16 | 85,200 |
2016-17p | 76,500 |
2017-18p | 64,400 |
2018-19p | 64,000 |
p = Figures for the most recent years are provisional and are subject to revision due to late filing of tax returns.
Further statistics and commentary are provided in the HMRC publication “Statistics on non-domiciled taxpayers in the UK” which is available on GOV.UK[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK residents claimed non-domiciled status in returns to HMRC over the past five to 10 years; and whether the number of UK residents claiming non-domiciled status increased or decreased during this period.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The number of UK residents who claimed non-domiciled status in returns to HMRC is provided in the table below. Figures are provided for the last ten years, up to 2018-19, the most recent year for which figures are available. The decrease seen between 2015-16 and 2017-18 is explained by the deemed domicile rules introduced in April 2017.
Tax year | UK resident non domiciled individuals |
2009-10 | 82,700 |
2010-11 | 81,000 |
2011-12 | 80,200 |
2012-13 | 82,000 |
2013-14 | 84,300 |
2014-15 | 86,500 |
2015-16 | 85,200 |
2016-17p | 76,500 |
2017-18p | 64,400 |
2018-19p | 64,000 |
p = Figures for the most recent years are provisional and are subject to revision due to late filing of tax returns.
Further statistics and commentary are provided in the HMRC publication “Statistics on non-domiciled taxpayers in the UK” which is available on GOV.UK[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries have agreed to contribute in (1) naval, or (2) logistical support, terms to the UK’s planned deployment of a Royal Navy carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific region in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
This will be a UK sovereign deployment but importantly it provides the opportunity to work with NATO allies and our global partners. On 19 January we were pleased to announce that the UK and US Governments have signed a Joint Declaration which allows a United States Navy destroyer and a detachment of United States Marine Corps F-35B fast jets to accompany the task group, together with their supporting personnel. Detailed planning continues and we will make a statement to the House in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of Electoral Registration Officers in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, retain complete constituency electoral registers for all periods since (a) 1945, (b) 1970, and (c) 1990.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Government does not hold data on the number of overseas voters, or their distribution by constituency or current country of residence. Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) maintain a register for their own local area, including the number of overseas electors registered in their area.
In its report on the 2019 UK Parliamentary General Election, published on 21 April 2020, the Electoral Commission noted that just over 230,000 people were registered as overseas electors at the time of the general election. The Office for National Statistics also publishes electoral statistics bulletins with some information on overseas electors.
The Government does not hold information on the proportion of EROs that retain complete constituency electoral registers. There is no statutory requirement for EROs to retain previous electoral registers. EROs do however currently keep registers for 15 years to enable them to check the eligibility of those applying to be overseas electors.
The Government is committed to removing the 15 year limit on overseas electors and we will do so in a way that is workable for both voters and electoral administrators.