Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the presence of (1) Armenian armed forces, and (2) other irregular groups, in Nagorno-Karabakh in violation of the clauses of the Trilateral Ceasefire Agreement of 10 November 2020.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Although the UK Government is aware of these reports we have not made an assessment on their reliability. However, the UK Government remains concerned by reports of ceasefire violations in Nagorno-Karabakh and deeply regrets the loss of life caused by exchanges of fire between the parties to the conflict. During his meetings with the Azerbaijani Ambassador on 29 March and the Armenian Ambassador on 31 March, the Minister for Europe and Americas reinforced the urgent need for a diplomatic solution to ongoing tensions in the region to ensure stability and security.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to make representations to the government of Armenia in relation to sharing data on landmines with the government of Azerbaijan; and (2) to provide support to the government of Azerbaijan in clearing landmines from land regained by that country during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 14 June the Minister for the European Neighbourhood spoke to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov. She welcomed the return of Armenian prisoners of war/detainees by the Azerbaijani Government and the subsequent handover of mine maps by the Armenian Government. We continue to monitor the situation and understand from Azerbaijani government reports that as of 9 June 2021, 27 Azerbaijanis have been killed and over 100 injured by explosive remnants of war. We are deeply concerned by this ongoing loss of civilian life.
The UK Government continues to urge both countries, most recently at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on 3 June, to work together to ensure that humanitarian organisations have unimpeded access to the region and that de-mining maps are urgently provided to ensure the safety of civilians. Last week the MOD sent Counter Explosives Experts to survey parts of Azerbaijan worst effected by unexplored ordnance to understand how the UK can best support Azerbaijan in this area.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of bad leavers from Save As You Earn schemes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme is a tax-advantaged employee share scheme offered by the Government.
A “bad leaver” from a SAYE scheme is a participant that does not meet the good leaver provisions as defined in the legislation at paragraph 34 of Schedule 3 to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
HMRC collects data at the points at which employees enter or leave SAYE schemes but this does not directly include data on “bad leavers”.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total value of savings held by bad leavers participating in Save As You Earn schemes, before they exited, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme is a tax-advantaged employee share scheme offered by the Government.
A “bad leaver” from a SAYE scheme is a participant that does not meet the good leaver provisions as defined in the legislation at paragraph 34 of Schedule 3 to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
HMRC collects data at the points at which employees enter or leave SAYE schemes but this does not directly include data on “bad leavers”.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total value forfeited in share growth as a result of participants in Save As You Earn schemes exiting as bad leavers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme is a tax-advantaged employee share scheme offered by the Government.
A “bad leaver” from a SAYE scheme is a participant that does not meet the good leaver provisions as defined in the legislation at paragraph 34 of Schedule 3 to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
HMRC collects data at the points at which employees enter or leave SAYE schemes but this does not directly include data on “bad leavers”.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total (1) cost of running the County Court Bailiffs service, and (2) receipts from licences and permits for High Court Enforcement Officers in each of the last five years for which data is available.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
(1)The information requested is not held centrally (2)High Court Enforcement Officers are appointed by the Senior Master of the Queen’s Bench Division at the High Court, to carry out enforcement within certain postal districts. The Ministry of Justice does not receive any money from this appointment process.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - 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 case for introducing reforms to the UK's corporate insolvency framework after the UK went from 13th to 14th in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings in respect of resolving insolvencies.
Answered by Lord Henley
In May 2016 the Government published its Review of the Corporate Insolvency Framework consultation. The consultation contained a package of proposals to improve the rescue opportunities for financially-distressed companies. A summary of responses to the consultation was published in September 2016.
Following the publication of the summary of responses, the Government has continued to engage with a range of interested parties to further discuss and explore issues raised in responses to the consultation. This further engagement will ensure that any reforms, if necessary, will be fit for purpose and best achieve the Government’s aims of rescuing distressed but viable businesses, preserving economic value and saving jobs.
The Government will set out the way forward for the proposals in its response later this year.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the possible barriers to resolving cross-border insolvencies post-Brexit, what assessment they have made of the case for reforming the UK's corporate insolvency framework to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
Answered by Lord Henley
The exact future relationship between the EU and UK on civil judicial cooperation, including the recognition of insolvency and restructuring procedures and judgments, is subject to negotiations with our EU partners. It is in the interests of the UK and the EU that there continues to be an effective, and fit for purpose, framework for resolving cross-border legal disputes. The Government has made clear that an effective framework of civil judicial cooperation is an important part of the deep and special partnership we want to establish with the EU.
The Government keeps the UK's corporate insolvency framework under review to ensure it is fit for purpose and in May 2016 published its Review of the Corporate Insolvency Framework consultation. A summary of responses to that consultation was published in September 2016 and the Government will set out the way forward for the proposals in its response later this year.
The Government is currently consulting on a package of insolvency and corporate governance measures to strengthen the responsibilities of directors of companies that are in or approaching insolvency in order to reduce the risk of major company failures and to ensure the UK remains one of the best places to start and grow a business. The consultation is open until 11 June 2018.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the EU's Insolvency, Restructuring and Second Chance Directive.
Answered by Lord Henley
The proposed Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks, second chance and insolvency measures is currently still under negotiation in Brussels. Given this stage of the process and the ongoing negotiations on withdrawal from the EU, it is not possible to say whether, if adopted by the EU, the provisions would be implemented in the UK.
Similar proposals to those in the draft Directive were consulted on by the Government in the Review of the Corporate Insolvency Framework consultation published in May 2016. The consultation contained a package of proposals to improve the rescue opportunities for financially-distressed companies. A summary of responses to the consultation was published in September 2016 and the Government will set out the way forward for the proposals in its response later this year.
Asked by: Lord Flight (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to remove the requirement for private providers of purpose-built student accommodation who are part of an approved national code to be subject to house in multiple occupation licensing.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government consulted on the effectiveness of the code in assuring acceptable management practices and standards as part of our consultation on extending mandatory licensing of HMOs. We acknowledged as part of our response, that a significant number of consultees were satisfied with the code as being a means of ensuring acceptable management practices and standards in student accommodation. However, membership of a code alone does not guarantee that the student accommodation meets local standards set by a local authority and therefore should not necessarily provide an exemption from HMO licensing.
Educational establishments have a duty of care defined by statutory obligations, for example through the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, that they must fulfil, both in the provision of education and accommodation to its students. They are also subject to regulation by an independent regulator, the Office for Students. However, private companies are not subject to the same levels of regulation and therefore should not be exempted from House in Multiple Occupation licensing.
Therefore, the Government does not have plans to remove requirements for private providers of purpose-built student accommodation who are part of an approved national code to be subject to houses in multiple occupation licensing.