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101262

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Reading Station
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 13 October (HL1928), what assessment they have made of the compliance with the standards required by the Governance for Railway Investment Projects process in the redevelopment of Reading Station, in particular as regards (1) the provision of large printed timetables, (2) the visibility and positioning of platform number signs on the platforms, (3) the visibility and positioning of indicator screens, (4) the detailing of intermediate stations on concourse indicator screens, (5) the presence of staff to provide information to passengers, and (6) weather protection.
tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
uin	HL2467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The implementation of the Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) process is the responsibility of Network Rail and it are responsible for meeting all relevant standards.</p><p> </p><p>Network Rail has however, advised me that:</p><p> </p><p>1) The station operator; First Great Western has decided not to specify the provision of large printed timetables.</p><p> </p><p>2) The platform number signs are standard size signs and are positioned to not interfere with signal sighting along platforms. The signs are identical in size to those that were hung from the previous canopies.</p><p> </p><p>3) The indicator screens are an industry standard with this particular type widely used throughout the Great Western route. Equipment on platforms must be mounted a minimum of 2.5m above the platform to comply with standards.</p><p> </p><p>The location of the indicators were carefully selected to avoid being at the foot of escalators and stairs and positioned in areas where passengers can congregate without affecting the flow along the various platforms and around the station.</p><p> </p><p>4) The indicator screens on each platform contain full details of all stopping points for that train, whereas the ‘summary of departures screens’ show final destinations.</p><p> </p><p>5) The staffing levels on Reading station are the responsibility of by First Great Western. A significant number of additional customer assistants have now been employed by First Great Western to cater for the enlarged station.</p><p> </p><p>6) The design of the new canopies has had to take into account the need of future electrification. As a consequence the canopy is higher and set back behind the platform edge.</p><p> </p><p>However, observations made during periods of rainfall since May 2013 clearly show that if passengers are standing behind the yellow line will generally remain dry. Obviously the further back from the edge of the platform, the more likely to remain dry they will be.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 06/11/2014 15:47:43 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

101263

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Mediterranean Sea
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 15 October (HL1977), what is the evidence for their view that United Kingdom support for search and rescue operations to prevent refugees and migrants drowning in the Mediterranean encourages "more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing".
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Search and rescue operations are the responsibility of individual national governments. Since Italy launched its Mare Nostrum operation in October 2013, there has been an unprecedented increase in illegal migration in the Mediterranean and a fourfold increase in deaths.</p><p>The operation has been drawn closer and closer to the Libyan shore, as traffickers have taken advantage of the situation by placing more migrants in unseaworthy boats on the basis that they will be rescued and taken to Italy.</p><p>But many are not rescued, which is why we believe that the operation is having the unintended consequence of placing more lives at risk, and why EU Member States have unanimously agreed that the operation should be promptly phased out. However, any decisions on search and rescue operations are ultimately for the Italian Government and it is of course vital that this phasing out is well-managed and well-publicised.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 11/11/2014 16:50:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101264

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Forced Marriage Protection Orders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued since the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2469
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Forced marriage is an appalling crime and should not be tolerated.</p><p> </p><p>Since the 2007 Act came into force on 25 November 2008 and up to the end of June 2014, 719 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made.</p><p> </p><p>We have also created a new criminal offence that will enable faster and more effective action to be taken against those who breach forced marriage protection orders by forcing someone to get married against their will. This offence is designed to prosecute individuals who force somene to get married against their will; the person who has been forced to get married will not be prosecuted.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 11/11/2014 16:49:11 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101265

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Russia: Ukraine
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 suggestion by the government of Russia that the European Union act as guarantor in respect of money owed by Ukraine to Russia for gas supplies; and whether any consideration has been given to how such a scheme would be funded.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL2470
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p><strong>Ukraine and Russia agreed a deal regarding the supply of gas on 30 October 2014 under which Ukraine will reprioritise funding to which it already has access under its IMF-led programme. The EU is not acting as guarantor to this deal.</strong></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 17/11/2014 14:35:27 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

101266

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	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 risk and impact of people spending their pensions irresponsibly following changes to the system to allow them to receive a lump sum; and whether they are going to take any steps further to assist pensioners to manage their finances.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2471
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government believes that individuals should be trusted with their pension savings; it should not be for the state to dictate how someone spends their savings in retirement.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new right to free and impartial guidance at retirement will help savers make confident and informed decisions on how they use their pension savings, making sure that they are clear on their retirement income options before they make any decisions about what to do with their savings.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 10/11/2014 17:42:22 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

101267

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Gender: Equality
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the gap between men and women in the workplace, in the light of the World Economic Forum report on Britain's ranking in respect of gender equality.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2472
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>As a result of steps already taken by this government, there are now more women in employment than at any previous time. There are now 711,000 more women in employment and 157,000 fewer women unemployed than in May 2010. The proportion of businesses that are led by women is increasing. In 2012, 20% of SMEs were either run by women or by a team that was over 50% female, an increase from 14% in 2008. Unprecedented progress has also been made in equality on company boards, with the latest data showing 22.8% of FTSE 100 Directors are now female, up from 12.5% in February 2011.</p><p> </p><p>The government continues to bring forward a range of measures to further improve equality between men and women in the workplace: a new system of shared parental leave will be implemented from April 2015, a significant step towards changing workplace culture; and almost 2m families will benefit from new tax free childcare scheme from autumn 2015, worth up to £2,000 per child.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Garden of Frognal question first answered 11/11/2014 14:08:01 answering member 3842 label Biography information for Baroness Garden of Frognal
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

101268

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Sexual Offences
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the cost to the Exchequer to date of those parts of Operation Yewtree where (1) the defendant has been acquitted, or (2) a decision has been taken not to proceed with any further action in relation to the defendant.
tabling member printed	Lord Smith of Finsbury
uin	HL2473
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The Home Office does not collect information of this kind. Like all investigations led by the police, Operation Yewtree is an operational matter – in this case for the Metropolitan Police Service.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 04/11/2014 14:50:59 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	186 label Biography information for Lord Smith of Finsbury

101269

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judges: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual budget for the training of district judges (magistrates' courts) and deputy district judges (magistrates' courts) for each of the last five years, and for the current year.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2474
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>The responsibility for the training of District Judges (magistrates’ courts) and deputies lies with the Lord Chief Justice as head of the judiciary and is exercised through the Judicial College.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to fully separate the budget figures between the DJ(MC)s and deputies as some continuation training events are attended jointly. Where it is possible to show separation it has been done.</p><p> </p><p /> <p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Attending</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Sub Totals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total (£000s)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£185</p></td><td><p><strong>£185</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£22</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£162</p></td><td><p><strong>£184</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£23</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£205</p></td><td><p><strong>£228</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£20</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DJ</p></td><td><p>£83</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£133</p></td><td><p><strong>£236</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£31</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£137</p></td><td><p><strong>£168</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£28</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£122</p></td><td><p><strong>£150</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures reflect a half-day sitting fee paid to DDJ(MC) attending training. However, recent Court decisions require the College to pay a full day’s sitting fee to certain fee-paid judiciary whilst attending training seminars, and this is not reflected in these figures. [For previous years the College paid a half-day sitting fee whilst attending training.]</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 12:02:40 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

101270

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lay magistrates were asked to step down by advisory committees in the last year for which there are data on the ground of failing to maintain the required competences; and how many magistrates each year undergo appraisal.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2475
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The assessment of magistrates’ competence is a matter for the local Bench Training and Development Committee (BDTC), which reports to the advisory committee for the local justice area. Where the BDTC has concluded that a magistrate has failed, over a period of time, to reach the required standard the advisory committee may make a recommendation to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice that the magistrate should be removed from office.</p><p> </p><p>The process for removing a magistrate on such a basis is managed by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. One magistrate has been removed from the magistracy during the last year for failing to maintain the required competences.</p><p> </p><p>Magistrates are appraised on their performance once every three years for each jurisdiction (adult court, family court, youth court) in which they sit. Appraisals are carried out locally by trained appraisers in line with a nationally approved framework. On account of the three-yearly cycle, roughly a third of the approximately 21,000 magistrates in England and Wales could expect to undergo appraisal in any given year.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 11/11/2014 16:54:55 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

101271

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much HM Courts and Tribunal Service has spent on the expenses of magistrates undergoing training or development not provided by the Judicial College in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those expenses costs were taken up by travel.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The table below provides details of expenditure by HM Courts and Tribunals Service on the expenses of magistrates undergoing local training or development in each of the last five years.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Period</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Travel &amp; Subsistence </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Loss of Earnings (Financial Loss Allowance) </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total *</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£628,566</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£284,231</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£912,797</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£525,091</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£188,745</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£713,837</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£405,888</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£159,786</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£565,674</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£456,120</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£145,741</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£601,861</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£374,554</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£94,646</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£469,200</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>* Figures may not sum to total due to rounding</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The training consists of the minimum annual provision which has to be provided to Magistrates as agreed between the Judicial College and HMCTS. It also includes any training deemed necessary by each Magistrates Area Training Committee (MATC).</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to break down the travel expenses separately, due to the way the information is recorded on the database.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 12:00:17 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham