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Written Question
Edward Heath
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 11 March (HL Deb col 1806) when, and in what form, he will “report back” to the House about inquiries that are to be made by Home Office officials.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

I will return to the House in due course after receiving advice from officials on the considerations of whether the type of review of Operation Conifer the noble Lord calls for is necessary, possible and/or viable.


Written Question
Domestic Abuse: Children
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether all police forces in England, including the Metropolitan Police, work with independent schools in implementing Operation Encompass, through which schools and police work together in safeguarding children at risk from domestic abuse.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Operation Encompass is currently active in all 43 police forces across England and Wales. Implemented on a voluntary basis by police forces, the scheme works by directly connecting the police with schools. When officers have attended a domestic abuse incident, police share the information with a school’s trained Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) before the start of the next school day, so that appropriate support can be given at the earliest possible opportunity.

Aligned with police forces’ operational independence, each police force operates the scheme differently, in terms of the notification pathway and which institutions receive notifications. Importantly, the scheme does not discriminate on what type of schools these notifications should be sent to.


Written Question
Sir Edward Heath
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 17 January (HL Deb col 466), whether the Home Secretary has had the opportunity to read the relevant section of Hansard for that date; and what was his response.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Having considered the Hansard record of the debate of 17 January 2024 titled Sir Edward Heath: Operation Conifer, the Government has no plans to commission a review of either the conduct of the investigation into allegations made against Sir Edward Heath or the findings of that investigation.

The Operation Conifer investigation has already been subject to considerable external scrutiny, and its Summary Closure Report emphasises that no inference of guilt should be drawn from the fact that, had he been alive, Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution concerning seven allegations to obtain his account of events.


Written Question
Mike Veale
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 17 January (HL Deb col 463), when and in what circumstances Mr Mike Veale, former chief constable for Wiltshire, agreed that the manner in which he publicised allegations against Sir Edward Heath was “inappropriate”.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The reference to Mr Veale agreeing that the manner in which he publicised allegations against Sir Edward Heath was “inappropriate” was paraphrased from articles in The Guardian newspaper on 5 October 2017.

The Guardian reported that ‘, the chief constable, Mike Veale, finally acknowledged it a mistake that tainted the investigation by implying the presumption of guilt’ and Veale apologised for an appeal for complainants to come forward being made outside Heath’s house in August 2015, which critics said would encourage false claims.’


Written Question
Telegraph Media Group
Thursday 4th January 2024

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to scrutinise the record and policies of the United Arab Emirates on women’s rights and LGBT rights in the course of the review of the bid by Redbird IMI for acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group (TMG), in view of the potential impact of such an acquisition on journalists and employees at TMG.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice on 30 November 2023 in relation to the anticipated acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by RedBird IMI on the grounds of the need for accurate presentation of news, and free expression of opinion, in newspapers.

The Notice triggers a requirement for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to report to the Secretary of State on jurisdictional and competition matters, and for Ofcom to report on the specified media public interest considerations. Ofcom and the CMA have now both launched invitations for public comment, and will report to the Secretary of State on the issues specified in the Notice by midnight on 26 January 2024.

Ofcom will carry out such investigations as it considers appropriate. Exactly how it undertakes its role to report to the Secretary of State on the public interest is a matter for Ofcom.


Written Question
Telegraph Media Group
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 30 November to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice regarding the proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group (TMG), what steps are being taken to assess the views of individual employees of TMG and the Spectator Magazine as to the proposed purchase of the publications by Redbird IMI.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Public Interest Intervention Notice only applies to the anticipated acquisition of Telegraph Media Group. The Notice triggers a requirement for the Competition and Markets Authority to report to the Secretary of State on jurisdictional and competition matters, and for Ofcom to report to her on the specified media public interest considerations. These are the need for accurate presentation of news, and free expression of opinion, in newspapers.

The legislation provides that Ofcom will carry out such investigations as it considers appropriate. Exactly how Ofcom undertakes its role to report to the Secretary of State on the public interest is a matter for Ofcom.


Written Question
Telegraph Media Group
Tuesday 19th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 4 December (HCWS86) relating to the sale of the Telegraph Media Group (TMG), whether they plan to ensure that steps are not taken to integrate the business with any other enterprise; which organisation they have employed for this purpose; and whether they intend to provide information about the remuneration of the three independent Directors of TMG.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

On 1 December 2023, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport made an Order under Schedule 7 to the Enterprise Act 2002 for the purpose of preventing pre-emptive action relating to the anticipated acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by RedBird IMI.

This Order has been made to prevent actions by the parties to the merger which might prejudice the process or impede the Secretary of State’s ability to protect the public interest during the period in which the Public Interest Intervention Notice issued under the Order in relation to the proposed acquisition is in force. The Order prohibits the transferral of the ownership of the business without the Secretary of State’s prior written consent. It also requires the parties to ensure that steps are not taken to integrate the business with any other enterprise, to take action to ensure that no significant changes are made to the management and oversight of the business, and to do what is within their power to ensure that key editorial staff in the business are not removed or transferred without the Secretary of State’s prior written consent, or that they are at least encouraged to remain.

HM Government has not employed any organisation with regard to enforcing the terms of this order.


Written Question
Private Education: VAT
Wednesday 4th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scope under existing law for levying VAT on the fees charged by independent schools with charitable status.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has no plans to make changes to the VAT regime for independent schools. The VAT regime does not treat school fees differently based on whether schools have charitable status or not. All school fees are exempt from VAT.

The government has made no assessment of the scope under existing law for levying VAT on the fees charged by independent schools with charitable status. Other organisations, including EDSK, Baines Cutler Consulting, and Oxford Economics have published their own assessments related to this issue.

It is also worth noting that in practice, VAT on school fees would be passed on to parents. Schools would be required to pay the difference between the VAT they have charged to parents and the VAT they have themselves paid to other businesses.


Written Question
Mike Veale
Monday 12th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 22 May (HL Deb cols 599–602), when the misconduct case against Mr Mike Veale is expected to conclude.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Arrangements concerning the establishment of Mike Veale’s misconduct hearing are a matter for the Cleveland PCC, and the management of the hearing itself is the responsibility of the appointed independent Legally Qualified Chair (LQC).


Whilst the Government is aware that Mr Veale has been referred to a hearing, misconduct proceedings are rightfully conducted independently of Government, meaning we do not hold information including any determined timescales for holding or concluding a specific misconduct hearing.


Written Question
Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad
Tuesday 2nd May 2023

Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the provisions of Part 2 of the Elections Act 2022 relating to overseas electors will be brought into force.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The secondary legislation to deliver the overseas electors change is expected to be made and come into force in January 2024.