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Written Question
House of Lords: Ministers
Friday 5th January 2024

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 19 December 2023 (HL856), what is the average annual salary of a minister of the crown in the House of Lords, including unpaid ministers and excluding accommodation and travel allowances.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The average (mean) salary of a minister of the crown in the House of Lords, including unpaid ministers and excluding accommodation and travel allowances, is £41,490.26.

Ministerial salaries are payable under the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. Details of the salaries and allowances currently paid to Ministers at different ranks can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data


Written Question
House of Lords: Ministers
Tuesday 19th December 2023

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the Ministerial and Other Salaries Order 2008 to ensure that holding ministerial office in the House of Lords is not predicated on access to a private income in order to maintain a standard of living commensurate with those roles and responsibilities.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

There are no current plans to amend the legislation governing ministerial salaries.

Ministerial salaries are constrained by the Ministerial and other Salaries Act which sets cumulative limits on the total number of salaries that can be allocated to ministers.

Under successive governments a small number of ministers across the Commons and the Lords have been unpaid. The distribution of salaries between ministers in the House of Commons and the House of Lords is a matter for the Prime Minister, who is responsible for the overall organisation of the Executive.


Written Question
Legislation
Tuesday 12th December 2023

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which sections of which Acts of Parliament that have received Royal Assent since May 2010 have not been commenced by Ministers.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office does not maintain a central database of sections of Acts of Parliament that have not been commenced. Details of all Acts of Parliament that have received Royal Assent, including their commencement status, are publicly available at legislation.gov.uk.


Written Question
Lord Speaker: Freedom of Information
Wednesday 29th July 2020

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether (1) letters, and (2) e-mails, from members of the House of Lords to the Lord Speaker, in his capacity as Lord Speaker, can be released as result of a request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if so, what steps are being taken to ensure that the Lord Speaker is able to be informed confidentially of the views of members of the House while the restrictions are in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith

The rights of access under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the Act") apply to information recorded in any form which is held by a public authority. Correspondence such as letters and e-mails falls within the definition of information. Correspondence sent by members of the House of Lords to the Lord Speaker in his capacity as Lord Speaker would be held by the House of Lords for the purposes of the Act.

Requests for information are considered by the House Administration on a case-by-case basis. Whether correspondence will be disclosed in whole, in part or exempted from disclosure under one or more of the exemptions set out in the Act will depend upon the specific circumstances including the subject matter.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Vetting
Monday 18th June 2018

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances information gathered during the developed vetting security clearance process can be released to the police or the Crown Prosecution Service.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

Information provided as part of the Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance process is subject to a high degree of data privacy protections. The DV process is structured to facilitate the safeguarding of national security while maintaining tight control and limited distribution of applicants’ personal data. The DV process conforms to the UK’s data protection legislation.

On the basis of this legislation, personal data can be shared with external agencies such as the police only in specific circumstances. These are:

  • where the data subject may have committed a previously undetected criminal offence, or where an offence may be about to be committed;
  • where people may be at risk of harm; and
  • where action is required to safeguard national security.

In the event that, for example, the Crown Prosecution Service is pursuing a criminal trial against an individual, one or more of these conditions may be met. In such circumstances judicial authorities will submit a formal application to the data controller for disclosure. Such applications are scrutinised on a case by case basis and strict conditions are placed on the degree to which personal data is shared and with whom.


Written Question
Public Consultation
Monday 22nd January 2018

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance is made available to Ministers regarding the need to maintain, and appear to maintain, an open mind during Government policy consultations.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

There is no firm guidance on this matter as each consultation is different; some will make a call for evidence on a topic and others will seek views on the details of a new Government policy. The Consultation Principles (copy attached), which are published on Gov.uk, stress the importance of targeting consultations at a full range of people, businesses and voluntary bodies affected by the policy. The guidance notes that departments should consider targeting specific groups and ensure they are aware of the consultation and can access it.


Written Question
Acts
Wednesday 20th December 2017

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, since the State Opening of Parliament in 2010, how many (1) orders, and (2) regulations, have been made to commence either sections or complete Acts (a) less than 12 months, (b) between 12 and 24 months, (c) between 24 and 36 months, and (d) more than 36 months, after Royal Assent.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

Commencement orders and regulations are available on the legislation.gov.uk website. The Government does not hold a central record detailing these commencement orders and regulations to enable the information requested to be provided.


Written Question
Acts
Thursday 14th December 2017

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what precedents there are for undertaking a consultation exercise before commencing a section of an act of Parliament, other than one dealing with secondary or delegated legislation under the relevant act.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

A revised set of consultation principles was published in 2016 to give clear guidance to government departments on consultations. These principles are attached to this answer.

These do not provide exact criteria for when consultations should and should not be undertaken, as it is important to consider the specific circumstances for each policy. The Government is committed to engaging with the public and other interested parties through formal and informal consultation, in the most appropriate manner for the policy in question.


Written Question
Construction: Aggregates
Thursday 9th June 2016

Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many distinct issues have been stated by Ministers to be a "priority" in this Parliament.

Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley

Single Departmental Plans set out the priorities to be delivered by each Government department under the Government's programme. These Plans can be found on gov.uk.