Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords will seek advice from the clerks of both Houses on any changes to procedures for considering secondary legislation.
Answered by Baroness Stowell of Beeston
The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):
Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.
Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).
The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.
Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.
Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they had with the Head of the Civil Service prior to setting up the review of House of Lords powers being undertaken by Lord Strathclyde.
Answered by Baroness Stowell of Beeston
The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):
Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.
Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).
The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.
Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.
Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will (1) produce a (a) Green Paper, and (b) White Paper, and (2) consult with Parliament, prior to recommending any legislative changes to parliamentary procedures following Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords.
Answered by Baroness Stowell of Beeston
The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):
Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.
Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).
The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.
Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.
Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current government-placed advertising campaigns, broken down by issue or purpose of advertisement.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
The latest government campaigns running as of March 2015 are listed below.
Campaign Name, as of March 2015 |
Alcohol |
Apprenticeships |
Blood Transplant |
Britain is GREAT |
Broadband Vouchers |
Business is GREAT |
Care and Support |
Change4Life – Sugar Swaps |
Child Maintenance |
Consumer Awareness |
Cyber Streetwise |
Drug Drive |
Energy Switching |
Exporting is GREAT |
Family Mediation |
Fire Kills |
Growth Deals |
Guaranteed Growth Bonds |
Help to Buy |
Holidays at Homes are GREAT |
Marriage Allowance |
National Citizens Service |
One Army |
Organ Transplant |
Penionwise |
Recruitment |
Right to Buy |
Rise Above |
Rugby World Cup |
Scotland Campaign |
Shared Parental Leave |
Small Business Digital Capabilities |
Smokefree |
Start4Life |
State Pension Top Up |
Superfast Broadband |
Tax-Free Savings |
Teacher Recruitment |
Traineeships |
Universal Credit |
Ultra Low Emission Vehicles |
Workplace Pensions |
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of government-placed advertising, including information and advice advertisements, in each of the last five years, broken down by issue or purpose of advertisement.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
My Department is responsible for cross-Government communication as set out in the Annual Government Communication Plan. As part of our long-term economic plan we have substantially reformed Government communications since the 2010 General Election, abolishing the Central Office of Information and ensuring that Government communications activity is better coordinated and more effective.
Thanks to these reforms we have halved the cost to taxpayers of government communications since the 2010 General Election.
The NAO has confirmed that Government made savings of £378 million in each of the last two financial years on proactive paid-for communications, compared to a 2009-10 baseline. This is based on proactive (paid-for) communications spend of £589m in 09/10, £216m in 12/13 and £210m in 13/14.
My department regularly publishes data on: www.data.gov.uk showing how public money has been spent and how government is performing against its objectives and goals. Information on individual Departments advertising budgets and spend is not held centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of government-placed advertising, including information and advice advertisements, in each of the last five years in (1) print media, (2) television, and (3) radio, broken down by government department.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
My Department is responsible for cross-Government communication as set out in the Annual Government Communication Plan. As part of our long-term economic plan we have substantially reformed Government communications since the 2010 General Election, abolishing the Central Office of Information and ensuring that Government communications activity is better coordinated and more effective.
Thanks to these reforms we have halved the cost to taxpayers of government communications since the 2010 General Election.
The NAO has confirmed that Government made savings of £378 million in each of the last two financial years on proactive paid-for communications, compared to a 2009-10 baseline. This is based on proactive (paid-for) communications spend of £589m in 09/10, £216m in 12/13 and £210m in 13/14.
My department regularly publishes data on: www.data.gov.uk showing how public money has been spent and how government is performing against its objectives and goals. Information on individual Departments advertising budgets and spend is not held centrally.