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227995

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2015
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Written Questions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their policy is that all Parliamentary Written Questions should be answered in full in all parts.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL5810
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>As Leader of the House, I have a particular responsibility to encourage departments to be punctual in answering written questions, but the content of each answer is a matter for the minister concerned. All Ministers are accountable to the House for those answers. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.</p><p> </p><p>To inform Ministers in answering questions put to them, the Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, the longstanding rules of this House on Questions for Written Answer (rules that the House reaffirmed in agreeing to the Procedure Committee’s 5<sup>th</sup> Report of the 2014-15 Session) set out that all answers should be complete and comprehensible.</p><p> </p><p>If any member has particular concerns about a response that they have received that they consider does not adhere to these rules, I would encourage them to raise it with me directly.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston grouped question UIN HL5717 question first answered 24/03/2015 13:45:04 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

156522

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2014
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Written Questions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House what steps she takes to ensure the quality of answers to parliamentary questions; and what assessment she has made of the length of time taken to provide them.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL2945
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>It is the responsibility of individual ministers to decide what answers they give to Questions for Written Answer (QWAs), and they are of course accountable to the House for those answers. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members. The Ministerial Code states that <em>“It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”.<br><br></em>As Leader of the House I have a particular responsibility to encourage Ministers and their departments to be punctual in answering written questions. My office immediately approach departments who have not responded to questions after 10 working days, and remain in contact with them until the questions are answered. At the end of this Session I will publish data on the annual performance of departments on their promptness in dealing with QWAs.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston question first answered 03/12/2014 12:49:49 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

450534

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2016
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Northern Ireland Office: Written Questions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House when was the most recent time that she gave guidance to the Northern Ireland Office on the importance of answering parliamentary written questions in full, providing all the information requested.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL5896
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2016 answer text <p>As Leader of the House, I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving full and timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. The content of each answer is a matter for the Minister concerned, and each Minister is responsible to the House for the answers they provide. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.</p><p>The Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, there is a longstanding rule of this House that all answers should be complete and comprehensible. I shall continue to make this guidance clear to all Ministers.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston grouped question UIN HL6043 question first answered 17/02/2016 16:05:06 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

451768

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2016
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Northern Ireland Office: Written Questions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 9 February (HL5480), what discussion she has had with the Northern Ireland Office about answering parliamentary written questions in full.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL6043
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2016 answer text <p>As Leader of the House, I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving full and timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. The content of each answer is a matter for the Minister concerned, and each Minister is responsible to the House for the answers they provide. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.</p><p>The Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, there is a longstanding rule of this House that all answers should be complete and comprehensible. I shall continue to make this guidance clear to all Ministers.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston grouped question UIN HL5896 question first answered 17/02/2016 16:05:06 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

523721

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2016
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Emergencies: Planning
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL7079) and 22 January (HL4982), what guidance she has given to the Northern Ireland Office about answering questions fully and substantially, and in particular providing definitions as requested.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL536
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2016 answer text <p>The position has not changed since I answered the Noble Lord’s question HL6043 on 17 February. That answer is included below for your ease of reference and I have nothing further to add to this.</p><p><em>As Leader of the House, I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving full and timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. The content of each answer is a matter for the Minister concerned, and each Minister is responsible to the House for the answers they provide. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.</em></p><p><em>The Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, there is a longstanding rule of this House that all answers should be complete and comprehensible. I shall continue to make this guidance clear to all Ministers.</em></p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston question first answered 20/06/2016 12:32:04 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

454680

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2016
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Prosecutions: Northern Ireland
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have an agreement or understanding with Sinn Fein (1) not to bring to court republicans on charges relating to tax fraud in South Armagh, or (2) to bring to court members of the Army who were on duty on Bloody Sunday and who now live in Great Britain.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL6430
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2016 answer text <p>The government does not have any such agreements or understandings in place with Sinn Fein.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 04/03/2016 12:11:00 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

178946

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Electricity: Prices
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that companies which supply electricity will reflect reductions in the cost of fuel in their charges to customers.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL4925
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p>All of the major suppliers have reduced their standard variable gas tariffs in recent weeks in response to reductions in the wholesale gas price in 2014, but wholesale electricity prices have not fallen as much over the same period. The price of fixed term deals has continued to fall with the cheapest deal on the market £100 cheaper than the cheapest deal a year ago.</p><p>The Competition and Markets Authority has made clear that it will be looking at the relationship between wholesale costs and retail prices as part of its investigation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 23/02/2015 16:36:34 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

671155

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2017
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Union Learning Fund
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how much money was paid to the Union Learning Fund last year, and in total since its inception; (2) which trade unions were provided with assistance from the fund last year; (3) how much was provided in each case; and (4) whether they have plans to end these payments or re-assess their efficacy.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL4556
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2017 answer text <p>The Union Learning Fund (ULF) is administered by Unionlearn (the TUC's learning organisation). In the 2015-16 financial year, approximately £11m of funding was allocated to support the ULF.</p><p>As set out in the reply of 8 December 2015 to the Right Honourable Lord’s previous Parliamentary Question (HL3882) on this matter, the ULF was established in 1998 and funding has been provided by a number of different Departments. Between 1998-99 and 2006-07, around £70m of funding was allocated to support the ULF. Since 2006, the ULF has been administered by Unionlearn and around £116m in total has been distributed to ULF projects in respect of the financial years 2007-08 to 2015-16.</p><p>The total amount of funding received by all trade unions from the ULF for the financial year 2015-16 is set out in the table below.</p><p>The Department is currently in the process of finalising the grant agreement for Unionlearn and the ULF projects for the financial year 2017-18.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>ULF Funding 2015-16</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Union</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> Actual Amount Received 2015-16 </strong> <strong> £ </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>AEGIS</p></td><td><p>247,495</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen</p></td><td><p>305,573</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Association of Teachers and Lecturers</p></td><td><p>122,615</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union</p></td><td><p>130,530</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bakers and Allied Food Workers Union</p></td><td><p>349,793</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Britannia Staff Union</p></td><td><p>190,977</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Community</p></td><td><p>183,930</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Communication Workers Union</p></td><td><p>364,208</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>EQUITY</p></td><td><p>119,712</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fire Brigades Union</p></td><td><p>505,317</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>GMB Midlands</p></td><td><p>290,985</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>GMB North West</p></td><td><p>230,056</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>GMB Southern</p></td><td><p>396,720</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>GMB Yorkshire &amp; North Derbyshire</p></td><td><p>306,367</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National Association of Stable Staff</p></td><td><p>50,017</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National Union of Journalists</p></td><td><p>71,736</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Public and Commercial Services Union</p></td><td><p>742,964</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Professional Footballers' Association</p></td><td><p>234,129</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Prison Officers' Association</p></td><td><p>702,404</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal College of Midwives</p></td><td><p>193,808</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal College of Nurses</p></td><td><p>170,149</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers</p></td><td><p>342,416</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists</p></td><td><p>188,914</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (National)</p></td><td><p>254,702</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (Anfield)</p></td><td><p>126,038</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (Hinkley)</p></td><td><p>276,209</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Unison National</p></td><td><p>554,859</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Unison Northern</p></td><td><p>371,393</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Unite</p></td><td><p>1,885,648</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Unity</p></td><td><p>52,910</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>United Road Transport Union</p></td><td><p>188,832</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers</p></td><td><p>743,088</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Staff Union West Bromwich Building Society</p></td><td><p>49,873</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 20/01/2017 13:33:55 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

714333

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2017
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define (1) public schools, (2) grammar schools, (3) academy schools, and (4) high schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL6354
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2017 answer text <ol><li>‘Public school’ is not a term set out in legislation, but is used commonly to refer to an ‘independent school,’ as defined with Section 463 of the Education Act 1996.</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>‘Grammar schools’ are the 163 schools which were designated as such within the Education (Grammar School Designation) Order 1998 (as amended). Originally all grammar schools were maintained grammar schools, however, 140 have now become wholly selective academies.</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="3"><li>Academy schools are State funded independent schools, as defined in Section 1A of the Academies Act 2010 (as amended).</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="4"><li>‘Higher school’ is not a term set out in legislation, but is used commonly to refer to a ‘secondary school’ that caters mainly for key stage 4 pupils and perhaps key stage 5 pupils.</li></ol><p> </p><p>The attached table provides the full definition of each type of school as set out in legislation.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 30/03/2017 16:30:47 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash attachment 1 file name Definition_of_different_types_of_school (HL6354).docx title Definition_of_different_types_of_school
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

747414

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether all government funded bodies are required to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe guidelines on human rights, and if so who monitors their compliance.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL378
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2017 answer text <p>Under international law, the United Kingdom has undertaken to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Human Rights Act 1998 gives further effect in domestic law to certain rights and freedoms drawn from the Convention, called the Convention rights. Section 6(1) of the Act makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right. Under section 6(3), “public authority” is defined as including a court or tribunal, and “any person certain of whose function are functions of a public nature”; but does not include either House of Parliament or a person exercising functions in connection with proceedings in Parliament. Section 73(2) of the Care Act 2011 additionally specifies that a provider of regulated care and support that has been arranged or paid for by a local authority or Health and Social Care trust is also to be taken as exercising a function of a public nature for the purposes of the Human Rights Act. Any allegation that a public authority has acted incompatibly with a Convention right may be brought to court as specified in section 7 of the Act.</p><p> </p><p>Guidelines produced by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe are not legally binding.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 17/07/2017 15:17:45 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird