Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recent comments by the chairman of Accrington Stanley Football Club that "clubs below the Premier League have never been at higher risk", what plans they have to encourage the Premier League to provide financial support to struggling clubs in the English Football League.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Football clubs are often the bedrock of our local communities and it is vital they are protected. That is why the Government has provided an unprecedented financial support package for businesses, which many football clubs have benefitted from.
We have worked closely with football throughout the pandemic, including getting the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) back behind closed doors, which released vital broadcasting revenue. Having spent heavily in the recent transfer window, professional football has the means to support clubs through the pandemic and we continue to urge the EFL and Premier League to finalise a deal as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to change their policy on granting arms export licences to Turkey in the light of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, last updated in a Written Ministerial Statement on 25th March 2014, remains the policy for assessing all licence applications.
We continue to monitor developments in the region closely and will uphold our robust export control regime; an export licence would not be granted if it was inconsistent with any of the Criteria. This includes Criterion 1, which ensures Britain meets her international obligations and commitments, such as the arms embargos on Armenia and Azerbaijan established by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Accounting Officer for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government signed off the decision to let a contract to Faculty; whether the Accounting Officer (1) has confirmed that the contract was subject to open competition, and (2) has set out the reasons for the contract meeting value for money considerations; and if so, whether they will publish those reasons.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The approval of the contract awarded to Faculty was completed in line with the Department’s scheme of Delegated Authority.
The contract was awarded following a robust selection process through the Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud Digital Marketplace in line with its published processes, further details of which can be found (attached) at www.gov.uk/guidance/g-cloud-buyers-guide.
Faculty’s G-Cloud service offered the best fit with the Department’s identified needs. Faculty’s pricing of this service offer was reviewed against alternative suppliers’ prices and was found to be comparable.
The contract is based on the time and materials used to undertake the required services.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Crown Commercial Service was consulted on the decision by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to let a contract to Faculty.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The contract in question was awarded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and there was no requirement for the Department to engage with the Crown Commercial Service prior to the award of this contract. Further details are published on ContractsFinder, in line with the Government's transparency agenda.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie of 18 March (HL2228), whether Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers or their special advisers were aware of the involvement of Quintessentially in the 2016 competitive tender exercise managed by UK Shared Business Services prior to the awarding of the contract.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCO awards and manages its Commercial Contracts in accordance with Government Commercial Function best practice and regularly assesses the maturity of our Commercial operations against the Commercial Operating Standards. This contract is held by the Department For International Trade (DIT).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Government Procurement Service was consulted on the decision by the Department for International Trade to let a contract with Quintessentially.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Quintessentially won a competitive tender in May 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. UKTI was a joint, non-ministerial Government Department reporting to the Secretaries of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The contract was awarded by UK Shared Business Services prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT). DIT took ownership of the former UKTI’s contracts and does not hold a record of whether the Government Procurement Service were consulted (now referred to as the Crown Commercial Service).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Accounting Officer of the Department for International Trade approved the decision by that department to let a contract with Quintessentially; and if so, whether they will publish her reasons for regarding it as value for money.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Services, who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. UKTI was a joint, non-ministerial Government Department reporting to the Secretaries of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The services of the contract with Quintessentially include support to the GREAT Investors Programme through the provision of advice, logistical support and background checks, via a sub-contract to support individual investor visits to the UK. The contract was awarded by UK Shared Business Services in May 2016, prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT). DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the receipts from stamp duty land tax on residential properties sold for over £1 million in each year from 2013–14 to 2018–19.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The table below summarises the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) paid on residential properties valued over £1 million.
Tax year | Stamp Duty Land Tax (£million) |
2013/14 | 1,810 |
2014/15 | 2,155 |
2015/16 | 2,820 |
2016/17 | 2,530 |
2017/18 | 2,845 |
2018/19 | 2,625 |
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards implementing the recommendations of the review of quality assurance of government models, published on 5 March 2013.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The recommendations of the 2013 review of quality assurance of government models continue to be used to drive best practice in this area across government.
Individual government departments are primarily responsible for implementing the recommendations of the review. As an example of the type of action being taken in departments, HM Treasury has a working group of senior analysts (“Strength in Numbers”) responsible for promoting and embedding best practice in modelling and quality assurance, adhering closely to the recommendations set out in the 2013 review. To further ensure high standards, the Government Internal Audit Agency conducts an audit of HMT business-critical models every twelve months. Findings and responses to these feed into the HMT Audit Risk Committee, which support the Permanent Secretary in managing risk, control and governance.
Some recommendations are also being addressed on a cross-government basis. Specifically, in response to Recommendation 7 an expert inter-departmental working group was established. In 2015 this working group produced The Aqua Book: guidance on producing quality analysis for government, which is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-aqua-book-guidance-on-producing-quality-analysis-for-government.
The Working Group has continued to meet approximately monthly with representatives from a number of Departments and Bodies to discuss quality assurance matters, publish quality assurance resources and provide informal advice to members. A number of resources created by Departments in response to the recommendations of the Review have been made available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/aqua-book-resources. These include guidance and research that underpin and complement the Aqua book, QA checklists and templates and other relevant materials and approaches currently used by Departments including the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and the Department for Transport.
Further, the Office for National Statistics has recently established a Modelling Best Practice Unit within its Quality Centre, with the aim of supporting quality assurance in the modelling area across Government; officials from this Centre are members of the previously mentioned Working Group.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in enabling British exporters to conform with wooden packing requirements under International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 following the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra, the Forestry Commission and other relevant UK plant health authorities have established a strong and trusted relationship with the wood packaging material (WPM) sector who understand what actions they will need to take to manage these new international standards for plant health, International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM15). Both the UK WPM industry body Timcon and the EU WPM industry body FEFPEB have released no deal statements to help their members and businesses which use WPM to prepare in the event of a no deal exit. Further, the WPM industry bodies are improving ISPM15 processes and increasing their supply of ISPM15 certified WPM in preparation for EU exit.