Asked by: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to decide on the merger of Taunton Deane and West Somerset District Councils.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is currently considering the merger proposal submitted by West Somerset District Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council together with all the representations it has received to date on this matter, and intends as soon as practicable to announce how it is minded to proceed. There will then be a reasonable period for those interested to make further representations before my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State, makes his final decision on whether, subject to Parliamentary approval, to implement the proposal.
Asked by: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to replace or extend their stroke strategy.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The National Health Service in England will continue to build on the successes of the current stroke strategy. There has been significant, sustained improvement in the quality of stroke care over the last decade and we will continue to deliver our ambition for truly world leading care. That is why the NHS rigorously audits the quality of stroke care across the country each year. It means that we now have some of the fastest improvements in hospital recovery rates for stroke and heart attacks in Europe.
Decisions on whether the stroke strategy should be renewed are a matter for NHS England. As NHS England has moved away from disease specific strategies towards guidance that is more cross cutting, and because the stroke strategy remains valid and implementation of it continues, NHS England has no current plans to renew it.
Asked by: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they began to draft legislation to combine the activities of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman with those of the Local Government Ombudsman, whether this work is continuing, and when they expect to introduce such a bill into Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Mobarik
In December 2015 the Government confirmed its intention to bring forward draft legislation to create a Public Service Ombudsman, encompassing the existing jurisdictions of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government Ombudsman. The intention remains to publish a draft Bill in this parliamentary session.
Asked by: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish an affirmative order to amend the law on public footpaths.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
I am unable to confirm a precise date at present. The Government expects to publish an affirmative order later in the session. I would be happy to meet my Noble Friend and other interested peers to discuss progress with the whole package of reform.
Asked by: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the provisions of the Deregulation Bill, rights of way officers have a duty to persuade objectors to a footpath deregulation order agreed by a county council to correct an error in the definitive footpath map in order to prevent an appeal to the Secretary of State.
Answered by Lord De Mauley
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member
Asked by: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which are the oldest three Acts on the statute book; and what is the reason for their retention in each case.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
Legislation.gov.uk lists all of the known Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors.
The three oldest enactments are contained in the 1267 Statute of Marlborough which contains four chapters from that session. The age of an Act does not always indicate its utility; legislation is only repealed where a clear case has been made to do so. The Law Commissions regularly produce reports identifying obsolete and unnecessary legislation.
The Law Commission for England and Wales have recently published a consultation paper proposing the repeal of chapters 4 and 15 of the Statute of Marlborough. The consultation can be found at the following web address:
http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/consultations/general-slr-repeal-proposals.htm