Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the expenditure incurred by public inquiries in each of the last five years.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Published costs for inquiries can be found on inquiry websites, as well as in the National Archives.

Public Inquiries shed light on injustices of the past, provide a means for victims and survivors to finally have their voices heard, and can help to rebuild trust in national institutions. The Government also recognises that there is growing criticism of the cost of inquiries, and is considering whether there are changes that could enable inquiries to deliver outcomes and enable lessons to be learnt more swiftly and at lower cost. This is a substantial piece of work, led by the Cabinet Office, that will aim to improve how we identify wrongs, and get to the truth more quickly. We will continue to keep Parliament updated on this important subject.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 22 October (HL10990), whether "the settings of Heritage Assets" may include views from a distance, and whether the word "assets" by definition alone includes a setting.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The ‘setting of a heritage asset’ is defined in the glossary of the National Planning Policy Framework. National planning policy seeks to protect the significance of a heritage asset which is defined as deriving not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence, but also from its setting.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 3 November (HL11277), whether the gardens of Leaden Hall fall within the description as part of a nationally significant setting to be protected as defined by the National Planning Policy Framework.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the definition of ‘the setting of a heritage asset’ in the National Planning Policy Framework, its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. It is therefore for the decision maker to decide what the setting of a particular heritage asset is when considering a relevant planning application.

Found: Lord Patten, what is your take?

Found: Isabel Hilton OBE, Lord Patten of Barnes, and MI6 Oral Evidence