Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for regulating whether publicly listed companies should hold hybrid annual general meetings which enable shareholders to attend either in person or participate digitally.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Companies Act 2006 permits hybrid annual general meetings to be held. The format of annual general meetings is a matter for companies and their shareholders.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current ratio of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence against the total number of service personnel; and how this ratio compares with (1) the United States, and (2) France.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The table below details the total number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilians by year from April 2019 - April 2023.
As of 1 January 2023, the total of both MOD Civilians full time equivalent (FTE) and military service personnel stood at 213,590, of which 28% (60,288) were civilians.
Data for the United States and France is not held by MOD, therefore comparative data is not available.
MOD Total Civilians by Year, April 2019 - April 2023, FTE.
Year | 1April 2019 | 1 April 2020 | 1 April 2021 | 1 April 2022 | 1 April 2023 |
MIOD Total Civilians | 57,760 | 58,523 | 60,005 | 59,903 | 60,645 |
1. These figures include all MOD Civilians, including MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas, Trading Fund and Executive Agencies, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Locally engaged civilians.
2. Figures are full time equivalent (FTE).
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civilians have been employed by the Ministry of Defence in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The table below details the total number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilians by year from April 2019 - April 2023.
As of 1 January 2023, the total of both MOD Civilians full time equivalent (FTE) and military service personnel stood at 213,590, of which 28% (60,288) were civilians.
Data for the United States and France is not held by MOD, therefore comparative data is not available.
MOD Total Civilians by Year, April 2019 - April 2023, FTE.
Year | 1April 2019 | 1 April 2020 | 1 April 2021 | 1 April 2022 | 1 April 2023 |
MIOD Total Civilians | 57,760 | 58,523 | 60,005 | 59,903 | 60,645 |
1. These figures include all MOD Civilians, including MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas, Trading Fund and Executive Agencies, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Locally engaged civilians.
2. Figures are full time equivalent (FTE).
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual budget of the Competition and Markets Authority; and how many people it employs.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The CMA resource budget for the 2023/24 financial year is £122m, and as of April 30th 2023 the CMA employed 898 staff.
The CMA publishes its Annual Report and Accounts publicly and will publish the accounts for 2022/2023 soon. Previous CMA Annual Reports and Accounts can be found online.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual budget of Natural England; and how many people it employs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2022/23, Natural England’s (NE) annual budget allocation was £190m (this increased to £226.9m by the end of the financial year). NE has received an increased allocation of £260m in 2023/24. NE staff in post as of September 2022 is 2,769 Full Time Equivalents (FTE), with a cap of 2,980 FTE for the next two financial years.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to increase the amount of school pupils visiting the UK from EU countries, particularly France, by removing the passport requirement that is currently in place.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
At the summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
We are currently working through the details of implementation; and more information, including timescales, will be provided in due course.
This agreement with France will help to strengthen and maintain educational and cultural links with our closest continental neighbour. We will keep the position under review and ensure that we continue to operate our border in the UK’s best interests.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 1 February (HL4865), whether they have now established the cost of the repairs to HMS Prince of Wales; who is expected to pay those costs; and what is their current estimate of the date on which HMS Prince of Wales will return to active service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We remain committed to ensuring HMS Prince of Wales (PWLS) commences her operational programme, as planned, in Autumn 2023. This will include operational flying training and trials.
During this period the focus has been on achieving repairs whilst maximising opportunities for capability upgrades to ensure PWLS is prepared to become the UK Very High Readiness Strike Carrier in 2024. These upgrades have been conducted in parallel to ensure efficiency and value for money.
The estimated cost of repairs are expected to be approximately £25 million, however responsibility for payment has not yet been established therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 24 March (HL6409), whether they will publish a comprehensive list of the bodies and individuals from whom they have received views opposed to the planned siting of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Those opposed to the scheme were able to submit their comments to Westminster City Council. All comments are publicly available on the planning inquiry website.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will list the bodies who are supportive of the planned siting of the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens has cross-party support and the endorsement of every living Prime Minister.
As an indication of wider support 31 oral representations were made in favour of the proposal at the 2020 public inquiry, including from Holocaust survivors and their families, Rt Hon David Cameron, Rt Hon Gordon Brown, the Chief Rabbi, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Archbishop of Canterbury, academics, educators and others. A full list of witnesses is available from the Planning Inspector’s Report on the Gov.UK website. More than 3,000 individuals expressed their support through the local community engagement exercise run by the Big Ideas community interest company.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what categories of people are exempt from prescription charges; and what percentage of the population this represents.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Exemption from National Health Service prescription charges is available to those who:
- are in receipt of certain benefits;
- are pregnant or recently had a baby and hold a valid exemption certificate;
- are aged 60 years old and over;
- are aged under 16 years old, or 16,17 or 18 years old and in qualifying full-time education;
- get a War Pension and the prescription is for the accepted disablement; and
- have one of the listed medical conditions and hold a valid exemption certificate.
In addition, the NHS Low Income Scheme help with health costs on an income-related basis. Those who qualify for full help under this scheme will receive free prescriptions.
Approximately 60% of the population are exempt from prescription charges. Data on the breakdown by exemption type by population is not centrally held.