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61253

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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: Security
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask the Chairman of Committees whether he will initiate a debate in the House of Lords before any decision is taken to privatise the security arrangements of the House.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL213
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>The following information about decisions on the new security contract arrangements was published in March 2014:</p><p>“In March 2015, the current contract with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to provide armed protection, policing and security officer functions will expire. Over the last year, the Security Arrangements Renewal Programme (SARP) Board has been working to analyse options and make a recommendation on new contract arrangements to be introduced next year. That recommendation was endorsed by the Lords House Committee and the Commons Commission.</p><p>The agreed recommendation is that the two Houses should renegotiate with the MPS to continue to provide security officer functions, armed protection and policing, whilst moving the provision of the search and screening function for the three main public entrances (Black Rod's Garden, Cromwell Green and Portcullis House) to a specialist commercial provider. The Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Parliaments have now written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner requesting new arrangements from 2015, and a commercial procurement for search and screening will start soon.</p><p>This is a major contract for Parliament, both in terms of its financial value and its central role in ensuring the security of parliamentarians, employees and visitors to the Parliamentary Estate. As well as continuing to benefit from the expertise and experience of the Metropolitan Police officers and staff, new search and screening arrangements at the busiest public entrances will be better able to provide the greater flexibility and scalability needed to meet Parliament's changing requirements for public access”.</p><p>Discussions with the Metropolitan Police Service on future arrangements are continuing. Security matters are not discussed on the floor of the House and the House Committee has agreed to the initial approach taken by the Security Arrangements Renewal Programme Board. That Committee will be further consulted during the process. I have no plans to initiate a debate on the floor of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Sewel question first answered 18/06/2014 17:07:15 answering member 2124 label Biography information for Lord Sewel
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

61255

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Constituencies: Scotland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the event that Scottish voters opt for an independent Scotland, what plans they have in relation to the status of Scottish constituencies at the 2015 general election.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL215
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2014 answer text <p>If the people of Scotland vote to leave the UK, the UK would continue in its current form and with its existing Parliament, laws, institutions and responsibilities for governing Scotland up to the point that independence were given legal effect, unless the UK Parliament were to pass legislation to change existing arrangements. It would be for the UK Parliament to determine, in the event of a ‘yes' vote, what, if any changes should be made to existing arrangements.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 23/06/2014 16:20:06 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

60572

registered interest
date	09/06/2014
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Subsidies
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Newby on 6 May (WA 314), what is their estimate of the average additional weekly cost of food to United Kingdom families arising from membership of the Common Agricultural Policy.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>As stated in the previous response to WA 314, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) calculates the annual monetary value of gross transfers from EU consumers arising from policies underpinning the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The OECD estimates that EU consumers faced higher food prices equivalent to approximately €16 billion in 2012. This equates to 4% of consumption expenditure on agricultural commodities (at farm gate prices), and compares to an average 71% in the late 1980s.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Agricultural commodity prices are a key factor in determining food retail prices but other factors are also important, such as energy prices and exchange rates. Therefore the impact of CAP on consumers' weekly cost of food will be less than the 4% figure reported above.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There is no agreed OECD methodology to disaggregate estimates to individual EU member states, so these figures are not available at the UK level.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord De Mauley question first answered 18/06/2014 17:09:07 answering member 2202 label Biography information for Lord De Mauley
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

60573

registered interest
date	09/06/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	EU Enlargement
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister's comments in Brussels on 27 May that Brussels was "too big and too busy" indicate that they intend to oppose any further expansion of the European Union.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The Prime Minister, my Rt. Hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron)'s comment was that Brussels is “too big and too bossy”. He was referring to the need for the EU to reform to become less interfering and more competitive, flexible and democratically accountable. He was not pronouncing on the EU's territorial size.</p><p>The UK continues to be a strong supporter of enlargement based on firm but fair conditionality, focussing on key concerns shared by many Member States, particularly around the rule of law. Enlargement has proved a huge driver of peace, prosperity and progress across our continent.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 17/06/2014 15:47:20 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

60576

registered interest
date	09/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that the European Union Fourth Railway Package is likely to preclude nationalisation or re-nationalisation of national railways as a whole or in part.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL165
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2014 answer text <p>The proposals published by the European Commission on 30 January 2013 would, if adopted, strengthen requirements for the formal separation of infrastructure manager and train operator responsibilities. The proposals make no assumption about the status of the infrastructure manager. They do, however, require the competitive tendering of rail public service contracts in most circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>There is no particular bar on public companies competing for such tenders, and exemptions to tendering are proposed for small networks and in emergency situations.</p><p> </p><p>The Italian Council Presidency (Jul-Dec 2014) intends to start Member State level Working Groups about the market opening proposals in July. As these proposals are still under discussion it is too early to say what we think the effect is likely to be.</p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 16/06/2014 11:18:01 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

46428

registered interest
date	01/04/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of President Obama's statement on 26 March that "Kosovo only left Serbia after a referendum was organised".
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL6525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/04/2014 answer text <p>The point that President Obama was making is that the situations in Crimea and Kosovo are not comparable. Kosovo's independence followed a humanitarian crisis, nearly nine years of UN administration, and the failure of a long period of inclusive, internationally sponsored negotiations on Kosovo's final status. Kosovo thus declared independence only after other options were exhausted, and by the decision of a parliament that had been assembled through a free and fair vote conducted under UN supervision. None of these conditions apply in Crimea.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 14/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

46429

registered interest
date	01/04/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee's report (HL Paper 157) on the Housing Benefit (Habitual Residence) Amendment Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/539) noting that the measure was announced by the Prime Minister in the Financial Times, and that no consultation followed; and what steps they will take to prevent future practice of that kind and to ensure that measures are announced by the appropriate Secretary of State.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL6526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Department for Work and Pensions has noted the report of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. The Prime Minister covered a strategy to manage several aspects of migration at a national and international level. This inevitably engaged the work of a large number of Government Departments simultaneously. Follow up details have been announced by the relevant Secretaries of State. In particular, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced the detail as to how and when this Department would implement the measures to restrict access to Housing Benefit for EEA jobseekers in January 2014.</p><p> </p><p>Officials have engaged with a wide range of parties on the detail of policy and implementation since January. Although urgency procedures were used with both the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) and the Local Authority Associations (LAAs), the draft proposals were informally discussed with SSAC at their 5th March meeting <a href="http://ssac.independent.gov.uk/meetings/" target="_blank">http://ssac.independent.gov.uk/meetings/</a>. There has also been constructive engagement with Local Authorities on the detail of implementation and new procedures to be adopted. The Department will continue this engagement to monitor the implications and operation of this measure, including through formal SSAC consultation, which was announced on 7 April 2014 following formal referral to them on 2 April 2014. <a href="http://ssac.independent.gov.uk/news/press-releases/07-04-14.pdf" target="_blank">http://ssac.independent.gov.uk/news/press-releases/07-04-14.pdf</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

46430

registered interest
date	01/04/2014
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of their package of sanctions towards Russia, they intend to instruct Centrica to cancel their agreement with Gazprom to supply the United Kingdom with gas; and if so, what will be the consequences for United Kingdom gas supplies and energy prices.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL6527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2014 answer text <p>The international community has sent a clear, strong, consistent message to Russia. The sanctions we have imposed to date are having an impact. The European Council is clear that it will respond with further wide-ranging measures if there is any further destabilisation in Ukraine by Russia.</p><p> </p><p>The contract between Gazprom and Centrica is a commercial matter. It relates to a small part of total gas supply to the UK. While the contract is with a Russian company, the gas can be sourced from anywhere in the European network. The UK is not dependent on Russian energy imports and this contract does not alter that.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 08/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

46431

registered interest
date	01/04/2014
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the financial impact, in terms of percentage of United Kingdom food prices, of the United Kingdom's participation in the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy; and what is their assessment of the overall effect on the United Kingdom economy if the Common Agricultural Policy were abandoned.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL6528
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cost EU consumers approximately €16 billion in 2012 as a result of higher food prices. This equates to 4% of consumption expenditure on agricultural commodities (at farm gate prices).</p><p>The Government does not have estimates of the effect of abandoning the current CAP programme. However studies are available from 2009 which estimated the impact of removing aspects of the CAP policies and budgets that were in place at the time:</p><p>1) Modelling commissioned by Defra estimated the impact of phasing out direct payments in CAP and liberalising agricultural trade. The results vary by sector, ranging from a negligible impact expected on UK cereal production and prices to around a 25% reduction in beef prices and production.</p><p>2) A European Commission study estimates the impact of eliminating direct payments and liberalising trade. The results showed a 6% reduction in land use and a 30% reduction in land prices across Europe. However the impact on agro-food production was modest and food price changes ranged from a 33% fall in beef, to just a 1% fall for milk and eggs.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord De Mauley question first answered 16/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 2202 label Biography information for Lord De Mauley
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

46432

registered interest
date	01/04/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they envisage that the United Kingdom can maintain its influence in the European Union if it remains outside a reformed eurozone.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL6529
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/04/2014 answer text <p>As set out in the coalition programme for government, the UK will not be joining or preparing to join the European Single Currency in this Parliament. The UK can continue to be outside the euro and remain influential within the EU, as we are now. We work closely with member states on the key issues of the day– improving Europe's competiveness, the single market, trade, taking tough action on Iran – and euro area members are often our closest allies. We have also been clear that as the euro area reforms, any new arrangements must work for those outside the single currency as well as those within it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 14/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon