Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to offer tenancies to former tenants of Grenfell Tower who had unlawfully sublet their flats at a profit to persons not entitled to social housing.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have given a commitment that all households who were living in Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk immediately before the fire will be offered a lifetime tenancy in social housing. The Government is supporting the council to deliver this commitment. This includes all those who were resident in Grenfell Tower at the time of the tragedy and recognises the exceptional circumstances they faced.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they received any forewarnings of financial difficulties at Carillion PLC.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government constantly monitors the health of all of its strategic suppliers and reviews its contingency plans as necessary. Carillion publicly issued profit warnings on three occasions.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost to the UK of aid given in connection with the recent hurricanes and storms in the Caribbean and South-Western United States.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided £92 million of funding in response to the damage inflicted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and is matching public donations to the British Red Cross Appeal up to £3 million. On 27 November the Prime Minister announced a further £70 million package of recovery and reconstruction support for the affected Overseas Territories. This will be delivered over the next three years and will be supplemented by up to £300 million of loan guarantees.
£72 million of the immediate response and early recovery funding has been allocated to the UK Overseas Territories. This is being managed through the cross-Whitehall Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and is being delivered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development (DFID), the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Department of Health. In addition £20 million of official development assistance has also been allocated from the DFID budget for the response to the impact in Barbuda and Dominica.
The £70 million long term recovery and reconstruction package will also be governed by the CSSF.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government upon which departmental budget the costs of UK aid given to persons and institutions damaged in the recent hurricanes and storms in the Caribbean and South-Western United States has been allocated.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided £92 million of funding in response to the damage inflicted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and is matching public donations to the British Red Cross Appeal up to £3 million. On 27 November the Prime Minister announced a further £70 million package of recovery and reconstruction support for the affected Overseas Territories. This will be delivered over the next three years and will be supplemented by up to £300 million of loan guarantees.
£72 million of the immediate response and early recovery funding has been allocated to the UK Overseas Territories. This is being managed through the cross-Whitehall Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and is being delivered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development (DFID), the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Department of Health. In addition £20 million of official development assistance has also been allocated from the DFID budget for the response to the impact in Barbuda and Dominica.
The £70 million long term recovery and reconstruction package will also be governed by the CSSF.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any part of the costs of aid given in connetion with the recent hurricanes and storms in the Caribbean and South-Western United States has come from the budget of the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I refer my noble Friend, the noble Lord Tebbit, to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster), in the House of Commons on 28 November 2017 to Question number 115053.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 20 October (HL1876), how many UK citizens are currently being held without charge in other EU Member States.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Consular Directorate's case management system records British nationals detained overseas, where cases have been reported to us. British national detainees are divided into two categories – those who have been sentenced and those who are yet to be sentenced. It does not have a breakdown of the latter and we cannot provide numbers of those who are yet to be charged.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have sought, or will seek, a valuation of the buildings and office spaces (1) owned, (2) rented, and (3) leased, by the EU wherever located; and what share of those assets have been financed by the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK makes contributions to the EU budget as a whole, rather than financing individual projects or assets.
The arrangements for withdrawal from the EU, including financial matters, will be a matter for the negotiations as part of the Article 50 process. The government is committed to working with the EU to determine a fair settlement for Britain’s exit and the best deal for UK taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK citizens are currently held in prisons in England and Wales (1) in detention without charge, and (2) without a date set for trial; and how many non-UK EU citizens are similarly detained.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
UK citizens are not normally detained in prison without charge. The number of UK citizens on remand awaiting trial as of 30 June 2017 was 5,242. It is not possible to state the numbers of these individuals who do not have a date set for trial because this data is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Individuals who are subject to extradition for charges brought by other jurisdictions can be held in prison pending extradition. As at 30 June 2017, the number of people in prison pending extradition was 105, of which 84 were non-UK EU nationals.
Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) who have served a sentence may continue to be held in prison beyond their sentence end date under immigration powers pending removal from the United Kingdom. As at 30 June 2017, the number of FNOs held in prison under immigration powers was 448 (including 122 non-UK EU nationals).
The Government is absolutely committed to increasing the number of FNOs removed from our prisons, and any foreign national who comes to our country and is sentenced to prison should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. Increasing removals is one of our top priorities and all FNOs sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office at the earliest opportunity to be considered for deportation.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they (1) have taken, and (2) intend to take, to support UK victims of IRA attacks that used Gaddafi-supplied Semtex and weapons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary raised the issue of compensation for the victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism during his meeting with Prime Minister Serraj in Tripoli on 4 May 2017 and again on his most recent visit in August. He emphasised again the importance the UK places on this issue and encouraged the Libyan authorities to engage with UK victims' groups and their representatives. Prime Minister Serraj expressed sympathy with those who had suffered from the previous regime, but it was also clear from his discussion with the Foreign Secretary that the Libyan Government continues to face numerous challenges and that progress on the issue of compensation is likely to remain slow. We continue to make clear to the Libyan authorities that this is a priority issue for the UK. We will continue to raise the subject of legacy at every opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether HMRC collects any revenue from football club transfer payments.
Answered by Lord Bates
Football transfer fees are subject to VAT according to the normal rules. Any profits made by football clubs are subject to Corporation Tax in the usual way. Payments made to players as part of their transfer, such as signing-on fees, are taxable as earnings.