Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 27 June 2016 (HL662), what progress has been made with their consideration of honorary titles for the spouses of women members of the House of Lords; and for same sex spouses and civil partners of members of the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government is sympathetic to those who are seeking to change the current system of courtesy titles, and has considered this complex issue. However, resolving this difficult matter is not a priority for the current Parliamentary session.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in the WebRoots Democracy report, <i>Democracy 2:0: Hitting refresh on the Digital Democracy Commission</i>; and what assessment they have made of its call to make political education compulsory in schools.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government notes the recommendations in The Institute for Digital Democracy’s report ‘Democracy 2:0: Hitting refresh on the Digital Democracy Commission’ and thanks them for their work in this very important area. The subject of citizenship has been part of the national curriculum for secondary maintained schools since 2002. One of the aims of citizenship education is to ensure that young people acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government. New statutory programmes giving schools greater freedom over how to teach their Citizenship curriculum, including the aspects of political literacy, have already been established, taking effect in September 2014. In addition, The Government also has a range of free learning resources, such as Rock Enrol!, that aim to engage young people in the democratic system and can be used in an educational setting.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 23 January (HL4523), whether they intend to commission any new projects to carry forward the Official History programme.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
As the Noble Friend knows from my answer to his written question, there are a number of Official Histories currently being produced. The Government will decide on new history projects when the current programme has been completed.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether plans have been made to continue the Official History programme.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
I refer the Noble Lord to the reply given by Lord Gardiner of Kimble during a QSD on Official Histories on 10 December 2015.
Following the recent publication of the Official History of the Cabinet Secretaries by Ian Beesley, the Government is now working towards the publication of several more previously-announced volumes, including the second volume of the Official History of the Civil Service, further volumes of the Official Histories of the UK’s relationship with the European Union, the Joint Intelligence Committee and the nuclear deterrent, and the first volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System in the near future.
As well as official histories, the Cabinet Office have also recently worked with Sir Anthony Seldon on a history of the Cabinet Office, published on the occasion of the department's centenary in December. In addition to this, the acclaimed online government history project continues with regular updates at https://www.gov.uk/government/history.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the new Lord Chancellor meets the criteria for appointment laid down in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
Appointments of Government Ministers and the Lord Chancellor are for the Prime Minister to recommend to Her Majesty. I would note that Section 2 of the 2005 Act explicitly states that the Prime Minister may take into account experience as a Minister of the Crown and as a member of either House of Parliament when deciding whether a person is qualified by experience to be Lord Chancellor.
I would also refer the noble peer to the speech by the Lord Chief Justice at the swearing in of the Lord Chancellor, which provides background on the Lord Chancellor’s experience, but also the historical context of those who have had custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, including its first female keeper back in 1253.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider releasing papers relating to Lord Denning's Report on the Profumo affair earlier than 2048.
Answered by Baroness Mobarik
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen gave to Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield on 14 September 2016.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to respond to the Constitution Committee’s report, <i>Inter-governmental relations in the United Kingdom</i>, published on 27 March 2015.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
I would like to thank the Constitution Committee for their report ‘Intergovernmental relations in the UK’ which was published in March 2015. As the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster noted in his initial response to the Committee, the report was timely as it followed the launch of a joint review of intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom which was commissioned by the Prime Minister and heads of the Devolved Administrations at the Joint Ministerial Committee Plenary JMC(P) meeting in December 2014.
The review was undertaken by senior officials within each of the four administrations and the recommendations have been considered. It is anticipated that the review’s findings will be considered at the next Plenary meeting of the JMC later this year. The Committee has agreed that the Government issue a full response to its report following the JMC(P) meeting.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the size of the Privy Council on 13 July; and how many appointments had been made to it up to that date since 11 May 2010.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The information is set out in the table below.
Date | Number of Privy Counsellors |
13th July 2016 | 657 |
Appointments since 11th May 2010 | 179 |
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer given by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 9 June (HL Deb, col 817), how the consideration of honorary titles for the spouses of women members of the House of Lords will be conducted; whether same sex spouses and civil partners will be included in the exercise; and when that exercise will be completed.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government recognises that there are some intrinsic inequalities within the courtesy titles system as it relates to honorifics. We have sympathy with those who are seeking to resolve such inequalities and we are looking into the process around courtesy titles, including in relation to same sex spouses and civil partners. The resolution of these inequalities is a very complex issue and we are at an early stage. We will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue the Official History Programme; and if so, how.
Answered by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given by my Noble Friend Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 10 December 2015.