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1059189

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2019
	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	Parliamentary Session
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House when she expects the current session of Parliament to end.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL13578
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>A date for the prorogation of the current session has not yet been set. The length of the first session was extended to give Parliament more time to consider the crucial legislation relating to Brexit.</p> answering member printed Baroness Evans of Bowes Park question first answered 20/02/2019 11:32:10 answering member 4329 label Biography information for Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1109868

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2019
	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	Closure Motions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House how many times the closure motion has been moved in the House of Lords in the last 20 years; and on what dates.
	tabling member printed	Lord Brabazon of Tara
	uin	HL15060
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2019 answer text <p>In the last 20 years the closure motion has been moved in the House of Lords 13 times: on 22 July 1999; 6 October 2003; 17 January 2011; 19 January 2011; 21 October 2011; 31 January 2014; 15 March 2019; and six times on 4 April 2019.</p> answering member printed Baroness Evans of Bowes Park question first answered 09/04/2019 15:21:52 answering member 4329 label Biography information for Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
	tabling member	3493 label Biography information for Lord Brabazon of Tara

1126072

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Buildings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the cost has been of the move by IPSA to new premises in central London; and what assessment was made of the potential merits of moving the organisation to a cheaper location outside London.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	253493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>I have asked IPSA to reply.</p><p>IPSA moved into new office premises at 85 Strand in March 2019. The forecasted cost of this move is £732,900. This budget was approved by the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA in January 2018. IPSA’s Annual Accounts for the 2018-19 financial year are being finalised and will be laid in Parliament in November. The Speaker’s Committee will have an opportunity to scrutinise this and other expenditure.</p><p>After reviewing properties on the market, the offices selected met IPSA’s criteria and offered the best value for money to the taxpayer over the long term, with competitive running cost over the life of the lease after completing initial fit-out work. Locations outside of London were considered. IPSA concluded that basing IPSA’s office in London and within reasonable distance of Parliament would ensure that IPSA can provide a better support to MPs and their staff, including regular meetings between them and their IPSA account managers.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/05/2019 12:40:18 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1123862

	registered interest
	date	30/04/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Members: Allowances
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what involvement did the Speaker's committee had in the formulation of the new claims system for hon. Members' allowances.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	249206
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>As part of its role to approve IPSA’s Estimate, in March 2016, the Speaker’s Committee approved funds for a wide-ranging improvement programme, including plans for a new IT system, IPSA Online. This took into account longstanding feedback from MPs and their staff about the need to modernise and improve IPSA’s systems and processes. In subsequent years, the Speaker’s Committee has scrutinised progress on this programme via the annual Estimate approval process, as well as other formal and informal updates.</p><p>The Speaker’s Committee had no direct input into the design of IPSA Online, but has received regular updates on the key features of the system and IPSA’s plans for engagement and training activities.</p><p>More generally, IPSA engaged with MPs and staff members throughout the development of IPSA Online through activities including surveys, meetings, usability testing and training sessions, in order to take account of their needs and preferences. IPSA is committed to ongoing liaison with MPs and their staff to gain further feedback on the new system now that it has been launched.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 07/05/2019 13:23:15 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1126071

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2019 to Question 249206 on Members: Allowances, what the (a) forecast and (b) final cost was of the new IPSA IT system; and what assessment was made of additional costs that would be incurred by MPs' staff to work on the new system.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	253492
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>I have asked IPSA to reply.</p><p>The original April 2016 business case for IPSA’s new IT system, IPSA Online, estimated a cost of £4.641 million. At that time, IPSA expected the programme to be completed in 2017-18. The full costs of the system are now forecast to be £8.253 million.</p><p>The increase in cost was due in part to the unexpected General Election of June 2017 which diverted all IPSA work for up to nine months to supporting MPs who left or joined parliament, and increased supplier costs. Costs also increased following our change of suppliers in September 2018 to improve the quality of IPSA’s IT support. IPSA also spent longer than anticipated on testing the new system so that IPSA could have confidence that it would be fully secure and free of technical problems. The increases in cost have been partly mitigated by savings elsewhere in IPSA’s budget.</p><p>The new system administers MPs’ pay and business costs more efficiently and effectively, providing improved support to MPs and their staff while saving taxpayers’ money. MPs and their staff will benefit from these improvements by being able to access information and make changes to their staffing budget or office leases without needing to contact IPSA staff. They can now also access IPSA’s system directly through their secure parliamentary digital account without an additional logon. MPs and staff no longer need to send IPSA paper receipts and invoices through the post, but can scan and photograph them and upload them to IPSA digitally. The new system can also reimburse MPs’ staff directly rather than via the MP. On the basis of the experience so far, IPSA estimate that MPs will need to spend around 30 per cent less time overall on the new system than they did on the old one.</p><p>However, IPSA recognise that many MPs and their staff still need to get used to the new system. IPSA are therefore conducting group and one-to-one training in Parliament and have staff available on the phone to answer queries. IPSA are putting on more such training sessions in response to demand, with a regular presence in Portcullis House.</p><p>IPSA will shortly conduct a survey to gather more feedback about the new system, with plans for further improvements in due course. IPSA will report to the Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA later in the year on the overall costs and benefits of IPSA Online.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 20/05/2019 12:41:32 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1083652

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept id	90
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
	hansard heading	Members: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask The Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if the Committee will undertake a survey of hon. Members on the (a) cost and (b) resources allocated by hon. Members to responding to e-mails from (i) 38 Degrees and (ii) other campaigning organisations; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
	tabling member printed	Ian Murray
	uin	229668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2019 answer text <p>The Independent Parliamentary Standard Authority (IPSA) was established to ensure MPs have the funding and support they need to conduct their parliamentary duties effectively. IPSA is also responsible for setting the level of the MPs’ Staffing Budget and for periodically consulting on all aspects of its expenses scheme, including on Members’ staff expenditure. At these times, Members and others are invited to respond to IPSA’s consultations and to suggest amendments to its scheme.</p><p>It is for individual MPs themselves to decide how their own staffing arrangements best support their work and how they respond to campaigning organisations such as 38 Degrees.</p><p>In respect of oversight of IPSA’s budgets, the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is in place to approve its annual estimates of resources. In addition, the Administration Committee meets representatives from IPSA to consider its support for Members and the way it operates its scheme.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Mr Charles Walker question first answered 14/03/2019 15:04:11 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
	tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

1105970

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Forests: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt. hon. Member for Meriden, what steps the church takes to ensure that its forestry plantations in Scotland avoid monoculture plantings.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	238376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>In order to comply with the Forestry Stewardship Council, UK Woodland Assurance Scheme and UK Forestry Standards, forests must contain a maximum of 75% primary species. Latest figures for forests in Scotland managed by the Church Commissioners show that they contain around 65% Sitka spruce, though that percentage was higher when the forests were first planted in the 1960s and 1970s. The remainder comprises native broadleaves and other conifer species such as Scots pine, Norway spruce, Douglas fir and open ground. Open ground makes up approximatley 19% of the area under management and mostly comprises native grasses, water (ponds, streams and rivers), heather and rock outcrops. The Church Commissioners will achieve at least 5% native broadleaves by the end of the first rotation.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 01/04/2019 16:29:35 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1104926

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Church of England: Lewisham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England has a financial interest in (a) Tidemill Green and (b) the site of Old Tidemill School in Deptford.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
	uin	236555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England, the Church Commissioners and the Diocese of Southwark have no financial interest in the site of the former parish church of Christ Church, Deptford.</p><p>The land was sold by the Church Commissioners in 1937. The parish of Christ Church was merged with St Nicholas Church in 1936 to form the parish of St Nicholas with Christ Church. Following significant bomb damage, the Christ Church buildings were demolished in 1937 and the site sold to the London Borough of Lewisham. Housing and a school building now occupy the majority of the site</p><p> </p><p>At the point of sale to the Borough of Lewisham, the usual covenants were placed on a small section of the property which formed the site of the former Church. This covenanted area is outside of the area currently used as a wildlife garden and the school. The covenanted area is to be found at the back of Frankham House. No restrictions were placed on the rest of the property to the north of Reginald Road.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 27/03/2019 13:24:14 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1082286

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christ Church College
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, when she expects the internal investigation into complaints against the Dean of Christ Church college Oxford to conclude.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	228586
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2019 answer text <p>Uniquely, Christ Church Oxford is a joint foundation comprising both College and Cathedral.</p><p>The independent tribunal to investigate a complaint against the conduct of the Dean is taking place under the statutes of Christ Church, not under Church legislation. <br>Neither the Church Commissioners nor the wider Church of England have any role in setting the timetable or terms of reference for the tribunal. <br>I am given to understand that the last scheduled hearing is currently timetabled for early July and await the outcome of that process.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 11/03/2019 16:37:54 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1125718

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christianity: Africa
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to tackle the persecution of Christians in African countries; and what steps the Church of England is taking with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to highlight the persecution of Christians in those countries.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	252642
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England mission agencies are supporting partner churches and communities in Africa to help them address the challenges of inter-religious living. The submission by the Church of England and the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales to the Foreign Secretary’s independent review into persecuted Christians sets out recommendations as to the steps that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can take to support Christian communities and other religious whose right to freedom of religion or belief is being impinged.</p><p>The submission from the Church of England can be read here: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archbishopofcanterbury.org%2Fnews%2Flatest-news%2Fanglicans-and-catholics-make-joint-submission-foreign-office-review-persecuted&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7Cc99ba4c953fc4ca29a1708d6d7b3ab1b%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C636933563999961576&amp;sdata=lkYPUg7yohrUb1SDkrGiN6VIxDlSumjLs1CdRxzmz2I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/news/latest-news/anglicans-and-catholics-make-joint-submission-foreign-office-review-persecuted</a></p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/05/2019 15:04:45 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon