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532361

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Non-domestic Rates
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees whether any members of the House have been asked to provide written consent for their Parliamentary emails to be monitored by MessageLabs antivirus software.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL958
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2016 answer text <p>All users, including Members, agree to abide by Parliament’s Acceptable Use Policy every time they log on to the Parliamentary Network. This policy makes clear that the Parliamentary Digital Service provides systems to protect Parliamentary users (and the network) from malicious attack.</p><p>The Messagelabs service is an important part of the infrastructure protecting Members and the wider Parliamentary Network against malicious attack. It is a fully automated scanning service which scans for and blocks emails that are potential vectors for cyber-attack. It also scans for and quarantines emails that are suspected spam, again using fully automated systems. It does not involve any other form of monitoring of the content of parliamentary email.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 14/07/2016 12:43:34 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

76601

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2014
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Peers: Attendance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees how many, and which, Members of the House of Lords have not attended a sitting of the House since the last General Election.
	tabling member printed	Lord Ashcroft
	uin	HL945
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p>Fifty-four peers who were Members of the House of Lords at the time of the last General Election have not attended a sitting of the House since then. This figure includes six Members who hold disqualifying judicial offices, three Members who resigned under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (one of whom has since died), two Members who have retired under the informal retirement scheme, twenty-two Members who have taken leave of absence, twenty Members who have died and one who has not yet taken the oath (having been disqualified until the end of June 2014). A list of their names has been placed in the Library of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Sewel question first answered 22/07/2014 16:46:38 answering member 2124 label Biography information for Lord Sewel attachment 1 file name Members of the House of Lords at the time of the last General Election have not attended a sitting of the House since then.pdf title MembersListNotAttendedSinceGeneralElection
	tabling member	2568 label Biography information for Lord Ashcroft

58567

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2014
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	House of Lords: Food
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees what proportion of the food used in the House of Lords is (1) grown in the home counties; and (2) drawn from organic and whole-food sources.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL92
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The House of Lords does not draw any of its food from organic sources nor is any of the food offered categorised as “whole-food”. Fruit and vegetables used by the House sourced from the home counties are set out in the table below. Free-range chicken served in the House is mostly from Gloucestershire and Essex. The Salt Marsh lamb is from the Romney Marsh in Kent.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Produce</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Source county</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asparagus</p></td><td><p>Hampshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Beetroot</p></td><td><p>Bedfordshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bramley apple</p></td><td><p>Cambridgeshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cauliflower</p></td><td><p>Kent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Herbs (potted)</p></td><td><p>Hampshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jacket potatoes</p></td><td><p>Hertfordshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New potatoes</p></td><td><p>Kent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Raspberries</p></td><td><p>Sussex</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Red potatoes</p></td><td><p>Kent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Spring greens</p></td><td><p>Cambridgeshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Strawberries</p></td><td><p>Kent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tomatoes (gourmet)</p></td><td><p>Sussex</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Vitelotte potatoes</p></td><td><p>Kent</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Sewel question first answered 17/06/2014 16:40:59 answering member 2124 label Biography information for Lord Sewel
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

518797

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	North Korea: Overseas Aid
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees what is the capital value for which (1) ermine robes, and (2) other garments, used by Peers and Officers of the House during the State Opening of Parliament are insured.
	tabling member printed	Lord Tyler
	uin	HL91
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>The capital value of Members’ robes donated to the House is £217,453 (as reported in the House of Lords Resource Accounts: <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2015/HL-resource-accounts-2014-15.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2015/HL-resource-accounts-2014-15.pdf</a>). No public money was spent on acquiring these robes. The Administration does not capitalise other garments used by Members and staff of the House during the State Opening of Parliament. The House is self-insuring.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 06/06/2016 15:51:10 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming attachment 1 file name HL-resource-accounts-2014-15.pdf title House of Lords resource accounts 2014-15
	tabling member	225 label Biography information for Lord Tyler

518796

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Asylum: Deportation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees what have been the (1) security, and (2) other, costs to the House administration in preparing for and conducting the State Opening of Parliament in each of the last five years.
	tabling member printed	Lord Tyler
	uin	HL90
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>State Opening is the major ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar and the Estate is significantly reconfigured for hosting it. Its traditions date back as far as the sixteenth century and it is the only regular occasion when the three constituent parts of Parliament meet: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The event is broadcast to the nation by the main UK TV channels and also to many international networks with high viewing figures across the globe.</p><p>The security costs to the House administration in preparing for and conducting the State Opening of Parliament in each of the last five years are set out in the table below. These figures are additional to the fixed cost base for police officers and staff, tasked daily with protecting the Parliamentary Estate. They are indicative, due to the complex nature of police officer and staff allocation for a large scale operation.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Amount (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>c.15,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>17,234</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>10,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>15,814</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>c.15,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Estimates of other costs are set out in the table below. These include supply and fit of additional structures, preparations of the interior, additional lighting, move and reinstallation of the vehicle security barrier, construction costs of reconfiguring the Lords chamber and Royal Gallery, building media facilities within the Palace of Westminster, storage of equipment throughout the year, and other domestic and administrative costs.</p><p>The costs for 2016 are based on estimates only at this stage, because not all invoices have yet been received from relevant suppliers. Some costs are annual rather than tied to a particular State Opening of Parliament; these annual costs have been attributed to the next State Opening.</p><p>Since 2015, a proportion of overtime has been captured specifically in relation to the State Opening of Parliament. This accounts for the apparent steep increase in overall ‘other’ costs for that and the subsequent year, but it should be noted that these costs always existed, but were assigned to separate budgets.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Amount (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>251,341</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>261,504</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>280,707</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>325,937</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>c.326,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The House of Lords pays a proportion of these costs, many of which are costs from services shared with the House of Commons. This information does not represent the full cost of State Opening, as costs will also have been incurred by other bodies, which may include Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Household.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 06/06/2016 16:51:48 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	225 label Biography information for Lord Tyler

516999

	registered interest
	date	03/05/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	House of Lords: Publications
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees how much the <i>Members' Personal Safety and Security</i> pamphlet cost to produce and distribute to members.
	tabling member printed	Lord Palmer
	uin	HL8154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2016 answer text <p>The Lords Members’ Personal Safety and Security booklets cost £673.02 to design and print. We take the security of Members extremely seriously and regularly update our advice and guidance on the steps they can take to help keep themselves, their staff and their families safe. This was a longstanding, routine update on a booklet which has previously existed in a number of different editions.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 11/05/2016 11:15:27 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	3192 label Biography information for Lord Palmer

516998

	registered interest
	date	03/05/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Hereditary Peers: By-elections
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to the Written Answer by the Chairman of Committees on 28 April (HL7763), what was the total cost for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) for the recent hereditary peer by-election following the death of Lord Avebury, and what, in particular, was the cost of ERS supervising and conducting the count on 19 April.
	tabling member printed	Lord Grocott
	uin	HL8153
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2016 answer text <p>The total cost to the House of Lords for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) in respect of the recent Liberal Democrat hereditary peers’ by-election was £300. This includes VAT at 20%.</p><p>As with other by-elections, there was one fee for all services provided. There was no separate fee for the cost of ERS supervising and conducting the count.</p><p>When the need for a by-election arises ERS are engaged to administer and supervise the by-election and provide assurance that it conforms to good electoral practice.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 12/05/2016 11:13:52 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	276 label Biography information for Lord Grocott

515888

	registered interest
	date	26/04/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Acts: Publishing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees what are the implications of the vote in the House of Commons on 20 April in favour of retaining vellum for the printing of record copies of public Acts of Parliament.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL7954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2016 answer text <p>The House Committee considered this matter at its meeting on 3 May. The Committee agreed that, in response to the letter from the Clerk of the House of Commons about the debate, I should write to the Chairman of the House of Commons Administration Committee in the following terms:</p><p>“I am writing further to the backbench debate on printing record copies of public Acts of Parliament on vellum. I have consulted the House of Lords House Committee in preparing this reply.</p><p>As you know, this House agreed in 1999 to move to printing Acts of Parliament on archival paper instead of vellum. We are persuaded that printing on archival paper is a more appropriate use of public funds, and that the case for continuing to print on vellum is not made.</p><p>If, in the light of the debate, the House of Commons wishes to arrange a contract for printing record copies of public Acts on vellum then the House of Lords Administration will gladly share experience of managing the legacy contract to assist you in making any such arrangements. I am sure you will appreciate that this House does not wish to contribute financially to any future printing on vellum. It is also important that we ensure the longevity of any public Acts, as the Clerk of the Parliaments must certify a record copy of them.</p><p>Perhaps at our next regular meeting it would be possible for us to discuss some of the points made in the debate. I am, as ever, grateful to you for all your help in this matter.”</p><p>I wrote accordingly on 4 May.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 10/05/2016 15:00:16 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

514323

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Hereditary Peers: By-elections
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees what fees were paid, if any, to Electoral Reform Services for conducting each of the last four Hereditary Peers By-elections.
	tabling member printed	Lord Steel of Aikwood
	uin	HL7813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2016 answer text <p>The table below shows the date of the count of the last four Hereditary Peers By-elections for which invoices have been received and the amount paid to Electoral Reform Services in respect of each.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Date of count</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Amount paid to Electoral Reform Services</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>7 July 2015</p></td><td><p>£950</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>16 September 2015</p></td><td><p>£950</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20 October 2015</p></td><td><p>£950</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>24 November 2015</p></td><td><p>£950</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Amounts are exclusive of VAT. The table does not include a recent by-election in respect of which Electoral Reform Services has provided services but not yet sent an invoice.</p><p>In addition to the services they provide in administering and supervising by-elections, engaging Electoral Reform Services provides assurance that by-elections conform to good electoral practice.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 27/04/2016 14:05:52 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	949 label Biography information for Lord Steel of Aikwood

513889

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2016
	answering body	The Lord Chairman of Committees
	answering dept id	200
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Chairman of Committees (HoL)
	hansard heading	Hereditary Peers: By-elections
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees, in the light of the publication on 19 April of the result of the Hereditary Peers By-election, whether he will publish the contract with Electoral Reform Services to supervise and conduct the poll and count.
	tabling member printed	Lord Grocott
	uin	HL7763
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2016 answer text <p>The House has engaged Electoral Reform Services (ERS) to assist with each hereditary peers’ by-election. When the need for a by-election arises ERS are engaged under a standing agreement to administer and supervise the by-election and provide assurance that it conforms to good electoral practice.</p> answering member printed Lord Laming question first answered 28/04/2016 11:30:21 answering member 2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming
	tabling member	276 label Biography information for Lord Grocott