Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their (1) ministers, and (2) officials, have held discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the rights of EU citizens to stand and vote in Scottish Parliament elections following Brexit; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
UK Government Ministers and officials have held regular discussion with Scottish Government Ministers and officials on the progress of citizens' rights negotiations, which includes the right to stand and vote in municipal elections. There have been official level conversations after each round of negotiations with the EU and Ministerial conversations after the majority of the rounds, including most recently at the British-Irish Council on 10 November.
The UK Government position is that we want EU citizens with settled status, or who are on the pathway to settled status, to retain the right to vote and stand in any UK election which uses the local government register (which includes Scottish Parliamentary elections), so long as the rights of British citizens living in the EU are similarly protected.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on which dates the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU negotiations has met in 2017 to date; and which ministers attended on behalf of (a) the UK Government, and (b) the devolved administrations.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations [JMC(EN)] met in 2017 on 19 January and 8 February.
On 19 January 2017, the following ministers attended:
a. On behalf of the UK Government: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon James Brokenshire; The Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon David Mundell MP; The Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP; The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon David Gauke; Minister of State for Europe and the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP; Minister for Cabinet Office, Rt Hon Ben Gummer MP; and Minister of State for the Department for Exiting the EU, Rt Hon David Jones MP.
b. On behalf of the devolved administrations: from the Scottish Government, The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mike Russell MSP; from the Welsh Government, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Mark Drakeford AM; and from the Northern Ireland Executive, Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Hazzard MLA and Junior Minister, The Executive Office, Alastair Ross MLA.
On 8 February 2017, the following ministers attended:
a. On behalf of the UK Government: The Secretary of State for the Department for Exiting the European Union, Rt Hon David Davis MP; The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon James Brokenshire; The Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon David Mundell MP; The Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP; Minister of State for Europe and the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP; Minister for Cabinet Office, Rt Hon Ben Gummer MP; Minister of State for the Department for Exiting the EU, Rt Hon David Jones MP; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP.
b. On behalf of the devolved administrations: from the Scottish Government, The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mike Russell MSP; from the Welsh Government, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Mark Drakeford AM; and from the Northern Ireland Executive, Minister for Finance, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir MLA and Junior Minister, The Executive Office, Alastair Ross MLA.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the signing of the Transport Community Treaty by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Transport Community Treaty was signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on 19 September 2017. The Government actively supported EU-led efforts to encourage Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to sign up to the Treaty. The Treaty is an important step to improve infrastructure and transport links in BiH and the Western Balkan region.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list the statutory instruments currently in force which were made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, the subject matter of which falls within the departmental responsibilities of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and ensure a functioning statute book on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK. The Bill will convert existing European Union law into domestic law, wherever practical and in that context all relevant legislation is currently being identified and assessed.
The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations and conclusions of the reports, published in October, from the Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Strategic Working Group and the Scottish Fuel Poverty Strategic Working Group which relate to areas of their responsibility.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
Her Majesty’s Government has not made any assessment as fuel poverty is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government.
We are aware of the reports published on 24th October and will consider their findings and recommendations with interest.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to support Bite the Ballot’s National Voter Registration Drive 2016, as well as the efforts by other organisations to engage and register (1) attainers, and (2) young voters, ahead of the elections in May and the EU referendum.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The introduction of online voter registration makes it easier and faster to register to vote. This provided a platform for Bite the Ballot’s National Voter Registration Drive 2016 which made heavy use of on digital media. The Government supported the initiative by encouraging government departments and relevant stakeholders such as local authorities to promote it. Since its introduction, three quarters of applications to register to vote were made online by people aged 16-24. As part of the week long activity, my Rt Hon. Friend the Minister for Constitutional Reform met with representatives of several faith organisations to discuss democratic participation.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made, or plan to make, to the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its September meeting in the case of Hirst No 2.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Following Ministerial attendance at the recent Committee of Ministers meeting, member states agreed to postpone consideration of the UK's position on prisoner voting until December 2015. The UK's ban on prisoner voting stays in place and, as consistently stated, remains a matter for Parliament to determine.