Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to the UK of assisting Irish banks and financial institutions during the financial crisis; and whether the cost of such assistance and money provided has been repaid.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Government did not provide any direct financial assistance to banks or financial institutions headquartered in Ireland during the financial crisis.
Ulster Bank, which is headquartered in Dublin, is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group and indirectly benefitted from the recapitalisation of its parent company in 2008-9.
In 2010, Parliament authorised a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion to be lent to the Irish Government as part of a wider international assistance package. Disbursements were made in 8 tranches between 2011 and 2013. Principal repayments will begin in April 2019 and the Government expects the loan to be repaid on time and in full with interest. The most recent statutory report on the loan was laid in Parliament on 15 October 2018 and is available to view online.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement in November 2018 that they intend to centrally fund Freestyle Libre glucose flash monitors, what plans they have to widen access to other diabetes technologies.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
A range of diabetes technologies and methods of glucose monitoring, such as continuous glucose monitoring or blood glucose test strips, will continue to be available to those meeting the relevant clinical criteria.
One of the long standing and fundamental principles of the National Health Service is that the best way to address local challenges is through clinically-led decision-making, as close to patients as possible.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning diabetes services. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence, and take into account national guidelines. This should include consideration of access to diabetes technologies such as FreeStyle Libre.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answers by Lord Keen of Elie (HL Deb, col 706) and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice (HC Deb, col 248) on 23 January, whether there are penalty clauses in the contractual arrangements with their IT system supplier; and if so, what are the effects of such clauses.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
There are penalty clauses within the contract in question, these penalties are financial and are based on contractually agreed performance criteria.
Dependent on the nature of the incident or contractual breach, additional commercial remedies exist, these include rights of step-in or termination.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Irish citizens’ will retain their right to vote in certain UK elections after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The rights of Irish citizens to vote in UK elections will remain unaffected after the UK leaves the European Union.
The long standing eligibility of Irish citizens who are resident in the UK to register for and vote in elections in the UK is a result of the historical and close political ties between the two countries and is currently enshrined in the Representation of the People Act 1983. The reciprocal arrangement on voting rights between the United Kingdom and Ireland is entirely separate to membership of the European Union.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Barran on 18 December (HL Deb, col 1697), whether they will seek specific advice from the College of Policing on appropriate guidance on exceptional circumstances justifying the naming a deceased person before charge.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice Guidance on Media Relations covers the exceptional circumstances and processes by which a suspect’s name may be released before charge. In May 2018, the College updated this guidance to make clear that it also applies where allegations are made against deceased persons.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will invite HM Inspector of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service to analyse and report on the timeliness of the investigations into and prosecutions for sexual offences concerning girls in Huddersfield and other northern towns and cities.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) is already inspecting the child protection work of every police in England and Wales through its National Child Protection Inspections. As part of these inspections HMICFRS will continue to inspect against forces’ awareness of and response to child sexual abuse and exploitation, including how well the service helps and protects vulnerable children and investigates these crimes.
The investigations in Huddersfield are ongoing and are an operational matter for the local police. It is for the police and Crown Prosecution Service to investigate allegations and build cases for prosecution. These parts of the criminal justice system are independent of government and it is a vital principle that police carry out their duties free from political interference.
It is for the locally elected Police and Crime Commissioner to decide how best to hold his force to account and commission a review if he considers it appropriate.
In addition, in March 2015 the Home Office established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to consider the extent to which institutions – including the police – have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The Inquiry has announced an investigation examining institutional responses to the sexual exploitation of children by organised networks.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 11 October (HL Deb, col 184), whether any government departments or their agencies charge interest rates to borrowers of 6.2 per cent or above.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government has issued many loans over the years and interest rates have varied considerably over time. Given this, details of all loans issued and the rates applied are not held centrally by HM Treasury.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by the Earl of Courtown on 9 October (HL Deb, cols 9–11), how they are encouraging Clinical Commissioning Groups, including Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group, to make available free flash glucose monitoring devices.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
In January 2018, NHS England issued guidance in the form of a letter, dated 30 January 2018, to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) concerning the provision of glucose monitoring devices. The guidance states that the treatment of diabetes and the provision of glucose monitoring devices is a service commissioned by individual CCGs. Local CCGs are responsible for deciding how they allocate resources dependant on the needs of their local population. A copy of this letter is attached.
The South East London Area Prescribing Committee, of which NHS Southwark CCG is a member, has published an updated interim position statement relating to FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring, which is attached. Mechanisms are currently being put in place to support delivery of a local implementation plan. It is not possible to place an exact date for completion of the local implementation plan. However, it is anticipated that eligible patients will be able to access FreeStyle Libre on the National Health Service in south east London in autumn 2018.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 17 July (HL9180), what is the process for collecting the Heavy Goods Vehicle Levy (HGV) levy from lorries from the Republic of Ireland; and what assessment they have made of whether, and if so to what extent, lorries from the Republic of Ireland evade the HGV levy.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Lorry drivers from the Republic of Ireland pay for the HGV Levy in the same ways as users from other countries. The levy can be paid online, at a number of official Point of Sale (PoS) locations, at driver self-serve facilities offered by some operators and through a number of booking agents. The majority of levy purchases are via the HGV Levy website.
The overall compliance rate for foreign vehicles is high, according to figures collected by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in Great Britain, at 95%. The Department for Transport has not produced equivalent compliance rates by country of origin, but there are indications that vehicles from Ireland in Great Britain have a very similar compliance rate compared to vehicles from other countries.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the European Commissioner for Competition to set up a system to ensure that large industries that have substantial operations in EU countries, but pay a large part of their taxes elsewhere, pay appropriate taxes in the EU countries where their operations are based.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK has led global efforts to tackle multinational tax avoidance.
We were at the forefront of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, which sought to address gaps and mismatches in the international tax system and align tax with economic substance.
We have swiftly implemented the project’s recommendations in domestic legislation, introducing a new restriction on the deductibility of multinationals’ interest expense and rules to prevent multinationals exploiting differences in how countries tax financial instruments and entities.
We worked closely with the EU Commission and other Member States on the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, which seeks to implement the recommendations of the BEPS project and ensure a coordinated response in the EU to tackling tax avoidance by multinationals.
We are engaging constructively with the EU Commission’s recent proposals on digital taxation, which seek to better ensure that digital businesses pay tax in the countries in which they generate value.