Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total number of UK citizens resident outside the UK (1) who are eligible to vote in UK parliamentary elections under the present rule which bars British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years from voting, and (2) who would be eligible following the extension of the right to vote to all adult UK citizens resident abroad.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Approximately 1.4 million British citizens living overseas have been registered to vote in the UK in the past 15 years and are therefore eligible to register to vote in UK parliamentary elections as overseas electors.
There are no official statistics on the number of adult British citizens resident abroad. We estimate, however, that there are a total of 4.9 million British citizens overseas who have previously lived in the UK and are of voting age.
The Government is considering the appropriate legislative vehicle to deliver votes for life, which is a manifesto commitment, and we will make an announcement on our intentions in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of UK citizens who are dual nationals; of those, how many are estimated to be living in the UK; and what are the ten countries estimated to host the largest numbers of UK citizens with dual nationality living abroad.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the breakdown of UK citizens living abroad by their country of residence; and what estimate they have made of the proportion of UK citizens who hold dual nationalities.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support further micro-hydropower schemes on rivers within the UK as part of a transition to renewable energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Meeting net zero is likely to lead to electricity demand doubling by 2050 as other sectors are electrified which will require a generation mix based primarily on renewables. The government acknowledges the valuable contribution of hydropower to the UK energy mix over many decades, including at times when other renewables do not generate. Most hydro capacity was installed during the last century in Scotland, with a smaller amount in Wales and England. Most of these installations are still operating.
Government schemes have supported hydro over many years. Hydro is a mature technology and sites for large projects have generally been exhausted, leaving only smaller schemes to be developed. It should be noted that projections from the comprehensive review for small hydro deployment were met five years early. Introduced last year, the Smart Export Guarantee gives small scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as hydro, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what studies they have commissioned on the potential contribution that the harnessing of hydropower from rivers may make to the UK's energy requirements.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hydropower accounts for almost 2% of total electricity generation in the UK with a capacity of almost 2GW. Studies in Scotland, England and Wales indicate that there is a maximum remaining technical potential of around 1.5GW for small-scale hydro across these countries, with the majority in Scotland. Economic and environmental constraints mean that in practice the viable remaining resource is less than 1GW or 1% of total electricity generation capacity.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so, when, they will lay before Parliament the Framework for Data Processing by Government document, as provided for in section 191 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Data Protection Act 2018 gives the Secretary of State a discretionary power to publish a Framework for Data Processing by Government, which contains guidance about the processing of personal data in connection with the exercise of government functions. The Act requires the Secretary of State to consult the Information Commissioner and other persons he considers appropriate when developing the Framework, and to lay the final version in Parliament before it comes into effect. A laying date has not been set and no decisions have been taken about the nature of any further consultation.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to section 191(5) of the Data Protection Act 2018, which other persons may the Secretary of State “consider it appropriate to consult” before preparing the Framework for Data Processing by Government document and laying it before Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Data Protection Act 2018 gives the Secretary of State a discretionary power to publish a Framework for Data Processing by Government, which contains guidance about the processing of personal data in connection with the exercise of government functions. The Act requires the Secretary of State to consult the Information Commissioner and other persons he considers appropriate when developing the Framework, and to lay the final version in Parliament before it comes into effect. A laying date has not been set and no decisions have been taken about the nature of any further consultation.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are confident that the supply of weapons by Gulf states to Libyan forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar do not include transfers from supplies originally sourced from the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, which includes Criterion One concerning the United Kingdom's international obligations to enforce certain arms embargoes, and Criterion Seven concerning the risk of equipment's diversion to an undesirable end-user or end-use. The Government can and does respond flexibly to changing or fluid international situations and is able suspend or revoke licences as necessary when circumstances require.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of investment in Leeds Station, as proposed in the Leeds Integrated Station Masterplan, on future economic growth in (1) Leeds, (2) the Leeds City Region, (3) Yorkshire, and (4) the wider Northern Powerhouse.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is continuing to work with Leeds City Council on their ambitious plans for the redevelopment of Leeds Station to support wider economic growth and to develop the case for contributions from a number of potential funding sources, alongside other funding from commercial developments, including those associated with the Network Rail station.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the resources available to music education hubs.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The work of music education hubs is evaluated in an annual report by Birmingham City University and published by Arts Council England. The most recent report, attached, was published in October 2018. It shows that the hubs taught over 700,000 children to play a musical instrument, as part of whole class ensemble teaching, in 2016-17. The hubs provided individual lessons for over 157,000 children, lessons in small groups for over 238,000 children and lessons in larger groups for over 145,000 children. They also supported or delivered over 16,000 musical ensembles.
We are refreshing the National Plan for Music Education and, as part of this, we will be considering the roles of the music education hubs and how best their work should be evaluated.
Earlier this year, we announced additional funding for music education hubs, providing them with an extra £490,000 for 2018-19 and an additional £840,000 for 2019-20. The increases in funding recognise a range of pressures on hubs, including pressures linked to teacher pay. The department’s public consultation to gather evidence on the impact of increased contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) for all TPS employers, which included the initial proposal to fund music education hubs for 2019-20, closed on 12 February 2019. Final funding decisions will be made in due course when consultation evidence has been reviewed. Funding for music education hubs beyond March 2020 is a matter for the forthcoming Spending Review.