Wednesday

4 March 2015

P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S

(HANSARD)

HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT

WRITTEN STATEMENTS AND

WRITTEN ANSWERS

Written Statements ................................................. 1

Written Answers ..................................................... 4

Vol. 761

No. 112

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Ministers and others who make Statements or answer Questions are referred to only by name, not their ministerial or

other title. The current list of ministerial and other responsibilities is as follows.

Minister Responsibilities

Baroness Stowell of Beeston Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

Lord Wallace of Tankerness Advocate-General for Scotland and Deputy Leader of the House

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local

Government

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Lord Ashton of Hyde Whip

Lord Astor of Hever Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence

Lord Bates Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Whip

Lord De Mauley Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and

Rural Affairs

Lord Deighton Commercial Secretary to the Treasury

Lord Faulks Minister of State, Ministry of Justice

Lord Freud Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions

Baroness Garden of Frognal Whip

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Whip

Earl Howe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health

Baroness Jolly Whip

Baroness Kramer Minister of State, Department for Transport

Lord Livingston of Parkhead Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Lord Nash Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education

Baroness Neville-Rolfe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation

and Skills

Lord Newby Deputy Chief Whip

Baroness Northover Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International

Development

Lord Popat Whip

Baroness Randerson Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Wales Office

Lord Taylor of Holbeach Chief Whip

Baroness Verma Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy and Climate

Change

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Whip

Baroness Williams of Trafford Whip

© Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2015

This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence,

which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/

Written Statements 4 March 2015 Page 1

Written Statements Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Concessionary Coal

[HLWS318]

Baroness Verma: My right honourable friend the

Minister of State for Energy (Matthew Hancock) has

made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I want to update the House on matters concerning the

provision of concessionary fuel entitlements to the miners

of UK Coal Production Ltd (UKC)

On 15 January 2015, UKC submitted to Government a

request for additional public sector funding to extend the

life of its two deep coal mines. Under the company’s

current plans, Thoresby is due to close in August 2015

and Kellingley in December 2015. The support requested

constitutes state aid to the coal sector, which is governed

by Council Decision 2010/787/EU, and is restricted to

facilitating the safe and orderly closure of loss-making

coal mines by 2018 at the latest.

The company’s request is for total additional support of

£338m. Of this, £244m is to cover the mine’s operating

losses prior to closure in 2018 (‘closure aid’ under Article

3 of the Coal Decision), and £94m is aimed at mitigating

the social and environmental impacts of mine closure

(Article 4 aid for ‘exceptional costs’).

I wish to announce now that the Government will

ensure UKC miners receive their concessionary fuel

entitlements.

Energy Council

[HLWS317]

Baroness Verma: In advance of the forthcoming

Energy Council in Brussels on 5 March, I am writing to

outline the agenda items to be discussed.

Under the first item on the agenda the Latvian

Presidency has suggested an exchange of views on the

Strategic Framework for the Energy Union, with a view to

contributing to the discussion and conclusions on the

Energy Union expected at the European Council on 19/20

March. The UK broadly welcomes the Commission’s

Communication setting out a strategy for a ‘resilient

Energy Union with a forward looking Climate Change

Policy’ and considers it a promising start to delivering the

EU reform needed to strengthen Europe’s energy security,

decarbonise cost-effectively and deepen the internal

energy market. The UK will be arguing that the scale of

the challenges ahead requires further ambition and

flexibility and that Member States need to be able to draw

on the full range of low, and lower, carbon technologies

to deliver secure, low carbon and competitive energy,

including renewables, energy efficiency, nuclear, CCS

and gas.

The Council will then hold a policy debate on energy

infrastructure, focusing on measures to promote the

efficient implementation of an interconnected cross-

border energy market, including ending the energy

isolation of Member States. The UK agrees that more

needs to be done by Member States to complete the

Single Market and that particular priority needs to be

given to the facilitation of new interconnection and

investment projects.

The Commission and Presidency will then report on the

current situation in relation to European energy security.

Finally, the Czech delegation is expected to present

proposals on the European Nuclear Energy Forum.

Infrastructure (Sale of Eurostar)

[HLWS315]

Lord Deighton: My rt hon Friend the Chief Secretary

to the Treasury (Danny Alexander) has today made the

following written ministerial statement.

I am pleased to inform the House that the government

has agreed the sale of its entire interest in Eurostar

International Limited (“Eurostar”) for £757.1m.

The Autumn Statement 2013 and National

Infrastructure Plan 2013 set out the government’s

ambition to achieve £20 billion from corporate and

financial asset sales by 2020. Eurostar was identified as a

possible candidate for sale and following a competitive

auction process which started in October 2014, the

government have now reached final agreements.

A consortium comprising Caisse de dépôt et placement

du Québec (CDPQ) and Hermes Infrastructure has agreed

to acquire Government’s 40% stake in Eurostar for

£585.1m. In addition, Eurostar has, on closing of the sale

of the Government stake, agreed to redeem HMG’s

preference share, providing a further £172m for the

exchequer.

Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking London,

Ebbsfleet and Ashford with Paris, Brussels, Lille and

other French destinations. Established in 1994 as a

partnership between three railway companies: SNCF,

SNCB and British Rail (subsequently London and

Continental Railways (LCR)), Eurostar became a single,

unified corporate entity owned by three shareholders:

SNCF, SNCB and LCR in September 2010. In June 2014

the ownership of the UK holding transferred from LCR, a

Department for Transport owned company, to HM

Treasury.

The sale receipts will be paid on completion of the

contract, which is expected to happen in the second

quarter of 2015. SNCF and SNCB – the other

shareholders in Eurostar – have the option (the “Pre-

emption Right”) to acquire HMG’s 40% stake for a 15%

premium to the agreed price of £585.1m. Closing of the

sale to the CDPQ and Hermes Infrastructure consortium is

conditional on SNCF and SNCB not exercising the Pre-

emption Right. The transaction is also conditional on

certain regulatory approvals including EU merger

clearance.

Page 2 4 March 2015 Written Statements

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

[HLWS313]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: I am today announcing

Key Performance Targets that have been agreed for the

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre for the period 1

April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

The agency’s principal financial target for 2015/16 is to

achieve a minimum dividend payment to the Department

for Communities and Local Government of £1.7 million

as proposed in the business plan for the year.

The agency also has the following targets to achieve:

· Room Hire – To achieve a Capacity Utilisation ratio

of 53%.

· To generate secondary revenue from Audio Visual &

Information Technology services and Catering royalty

which in total equates to a ratio of 90% of room hire

revenue.

· To achieve an overall score for client satisfaction of at

least 90%.

· To receive less than 2 complaints per 100 events held.

The Centre is forecasting an increase in its annual

dividend payment to the Exchequer from £1.5 million in

2014/15 to £1.7 million in 2015/16 which is projected to

rise further over its corporate plan period.

I am also delighted to announce that the Centre has

delivered significant improvements and enjoyed

considerable success over the course of the last two years.

· For the year ending 2014/15 the Centre delivered a

growth in room hire revenue of 17.3% in comparison to

the previous year, a substantial achievement.

· For 2014/15 the Centre also delivered the best trading

results across all income streams since 2009/10 and in one

month, June 2014, delivered the highest occupancy level

and revenue generating month since it opened 29 years

ago.

· In economic terms it is estimated that the Centre

delivered an economic impact to the London and UK

economy of £122 million in 2014/15.

· The Centre remains fully self funding and has invested

wisely in improving its facilities and services and as a

result was awarded the 2014 Gold Award for Best Large

Venue by EVENTIA, the UK’s largest event industry

association.

· The Centre is an increasingly successful profit making

agency, paying an annual dividend which is forecast to

increase again in 2015/16 and in each of the years covered

by its corporate plan.

I would like to offer my congratulations to the Centre’s

management team for their proactive and determined

efforts in modernising and improving this agency and its

performance.

Returning Officers (Indemnity)

[HLWS316]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: It is normal practice, when a

government department proposes to undertake a

contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there

is no specific statutory authority, for the Minister

concerned to present a departmental Minute to Parliament

giving particulars of the liability created and explaining

the circumstances; and to refrain from incurring the

liability until fourteen parliamentary sitting days after the

issue of the Minute, except in cases of special urgency.

Returning Officers for UK Parliamentary elections in

England and Wales are appointed under section 24 of the

Representation of the People Act 1983 (“RPA 1983”).

The post is an honorary one, held by the Sheriff of a

county or the Mayor or Chairman of a local council.

However, in practice, under section 28 of the RPA 1983,

the Returning Officer discharges functions through an

Acting Returning Officer, who is usually a senior officer

in the local authority.

In Scotland, under sections 25 and 41 of the RPA 1983,

Returning Officers for UK Parliamentary elections are

appointed local authority officers.

For the purposes of UK Parliamentary elections,

Returning Officers and Acting Returning Officers

throughout Great Britain (referred to below as “ROs” and

“AROs”) are independent officers. They are separate from

both central and local government. As a result, they are

exposed to a variety of legal risks varying from minor

claims for injury at polling booths, to significant election

petitions and associated legal costs.

ROs and AROs make their own arrangements to insure

themselves against any risks they face in taking forward

their statutory duties at local and UK Parliamentary

elections. The cover obtained usually forms part of the

local authority’s own insurance arrangements.

In a small sample of AROs from the Cabinet Office's

Electoral Policy Coordination Group, all provided details

of existing insurance cover in place with the local

authority that extended to cover the AROs conduct in

relation to UK Parliamentary elections. The upper limit of

Officials' Indemnity cover in the sample ranged from £5m

to £15m, with excesses ranging from nil to £500,000.

This insurance mainly sought to cover:

• liability for damages arising out of wrongful acts in

the performance of official duties;

• reasonable legal expenses for defending any

proceedings; and

• costs arising out of holding another election.

While this insurance, coupled with local authority’s

employers and public liability insurance, will cover the

great majority of risks to which ROs and AROs will be

exposed to at UK Parliamentary elections, they could

ultimately be liable for claims of a type not covered by

insurance policies. They could also be liable for claims

that exceed the insurance limits in existing cover.

Written Statements 4 March 2015 Page 3

In light of this, the Cabinet Office proposes to provide

ROs and AROs with a specific indemnity for UK

Parliamentary elections to supplement the insurance

policies that have been arranged locally.

The indemnity will fund ROs and AROs for costs

(including reasonable legal costs and reasonable

expenses) incurred in connection with a UK

Parliamentary election, which arise in relation to their

discharge of responsibilities as RO or ARO but fall

outside of the scope of the insurance cover which they

have arranged locally, and where all other forms of

recourse have been exhausted.

The indemnity will be limited to the extent that:

(i) it will not cover any costs which arise in whole or

part from any deliberate or wilful negligence by an

ARO/RO;

(ii) it will not generally cover any excess costs which

the ARO/RO has negotiated on his / her insurance policy

(although individual claims for excess costs will be

judged on their merits);

(iii) it will not cover situations where the ARO/RO’s

insurance policy offers an alternative means of cover;

(iv) it will not cover any reduction, under section 29A

of the Representation of the People Act 1983, in the

amount to which the RO or ARO is entitled for his/her

services;

(v) it will not cover any penalty imposed in relation to a

criminal offence;

(vi) it will not cover any claim relating to the carrying

out of electoral registration duties; and

(vii) it will not cover any claim relating to the use of a

motor vehicle where such use should have been covered

by a valid insurance policy but was not.

The indemnity will cover costs arising in relation to UK

Parliamentary elections, including by-elections, where the

date of the poll is on or before 31 March 2020. Any claim

must be made within 13 months of the poll at the election

to which it relates.

The Government gave similar indemnities in relation to

previous UK Parliamentary general elections.

The likelihood of the indemnity being called is very

low. The volume of claims which have been made at

previous national elections has been very low. So far there

have been no claims against the indemnity given in

respect of the recent European Parliamentary elections on

22 May 2014. The largest claim met under previous

government insurance or indemnity arrangements for a

national election was £24,035.75 at the 2009 European

Parliamentary election. Minor injury and damage claims

met under government insurance or indemnity

arrangements at national elections have amounted to less

than £10,000 over the last decade.

However, the possibility of a successful claim in the

future cannot be ruled out. The potential risk associated

with election petitions could be significant. For example,

the costs for the Winchester election petition in 1997,

following the general election of that year, amounted to

£250,000. If a petition involving an ARO or RO went to a

full trial and ran for several days it is conceivable that the

bill for legal costs could run into millions of pounds. It is

also conceivable that there could be more than one

occurrence associated with a single election. The costs of

an election petition might not be completely covered

through existing insurance arrangements and may require

the indemnity to be called upon.

The indemnity is therefore unlimited. If the liability is

called, provision for any payment is likely to be met from

the Consolidated Fund.

The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If,

during the period of fourteen parliamentary sitting days

beginning on the date on which this Minute was laid

before Parliament (or, if there are fewer than fourteen

such sitting days in this Parliament, the period ending

with the last sitting day in this Parliament), a Member

signifies an objection by giving notice of a Parliamentary

Question or by otherwise raising the matter in Parliament,

final approval to proceed with incurring the liability will

be withheld pending an examination of the objection.

UK Statistics Authority (2011 Census)

[HLWS314]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Right Honourable

friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster

General (Francis Maude) has made the following Written

Ministerial Statement:

The UK Statistics Authority has published the General

Report of the 2011 Census.

The General Report is the official, and comprehensive,

account of the 2011 Census in England and Wales. It

reviews the entire census operation and provides a wealth

of detail about how the census was carried out and what

lessons have been learned.

It is aimed at both the experienced and occasional user

of census data, but it is hoped the wider public may also

find the Report useful and informative.

This General Report is being laid before both Houses of

Parliament pursuant to the Census Act 1920.

Page 4 4 March 2015 Written Answers

Written Answers Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Banks: Finance

Asked by Lord Mendelsohn

To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what level the

average leverage ratio becomes of concern to Ministers;

and whether they use the 6.2 average in the first quarter

of 2007 as a benchmark for risk in the banking sector.

[HL5095]

Lord Deighton: The Government is bringing forward

secondary legislation to grant the Financial Policy

Committee (FPC) of the independent Bank of England

new powers of direction with regards to a leverage ratio

framework.

Macro-prudential decisions must be insulated from

political concerns, which is why the FPC has

responsibility for macro-prudential regulation. It is for the

FPC to decide what the appropriate calibration of its

leverage ratio framework is.

Budgets: Scotland

Asked by The Marquess of Lothian

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of

current proposals for further devolution to Scotland,

what parts of the budget statement they will regard as

being exclusively of Scottish interest. [HL5186]

Lord Deighton: The Budget is relevant to the whole of

the United Kingdom. Specific policy announcements in

the Budget may be limited in their application in Northern

Ireland, Scotland and Wales, if they relate to policy

responsibilities which have been devolved.

The next Budget will be presented to Parliament on

Wednesday the 18 th of March.

Child Trust Fund

Asked by Lord Naseby

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they

expect to issue the detailed guidance to parents and

guardians concerning the transfer of Child Trust Fund

Accounts to Junior ISAs. [HL5148]

Lord Deighton: The Government is currently

legislating to permit the transfer of funds from a Child

Trust Fund to a Junior ISA from 6 April. Parents and

guardians will be able to access information concerning

transfers at GOV.UK, as well as from account providers

and consumer advice websites and organisations in due

course.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Asked by Baroness King of Bow

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many

complaints the Housing Ombudsman Service has dealt

with in each of the past four years; and how many of

those were upheld or refused in each year. [HL5060]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It has been a number

years since the Housing Ombudsman Service had a

system where complaints where upheld or refused. The

terms of reference for the Housing Ombudsman Service

were changed on the 1 April 2013 to reflect the Localism

Act 2011 and in preparation for this the Housing

Ombudsman Service changed the dispute handling

process, which now focuses on local and early resolution.

The table below shows the data from 2011 to the 31

March 2013, categorised as follows:

2011 2012 January to March 2013

Number of Complaints

Received

5,739 6,757 1,675

Number of

Complaints

Investigated Formally

641 577 77

Maladministration 147 123 10

No

Maladministration

371 316 44

The table below shows the data from 1 April 2013 to

December 2014, categorised as follows:

April to December

2013

2014

Cases Received 4,619 7,688

Cases Locally

Resolved

4,395 7,604

Of the Cases Locally

Resolved, number of

complaints resolved locally

5,429 8,017

Cases Formally

Resolved

224 84

Of the Cases Formally

Resolved, number of

complaints resolved locally

231 79

Of the Cases Formally

Resolved, number of complaints resolved

formally

211 49

Written Answers 4 March 2015 Page 5

April to December

2013

2014

Of the Cases Formally

Resolved, where the complaint was

resolved at a formal

level, the number of complaints that were

maladministration

119 21

Of the Cases Formally Resolved, where the

complaint was resolved at a formal

level, the number of

complaints that were no maladministration

91 25

Inheritance Tax

Asked by Lord Campbell-Savours

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will

list all the exemptions from inheritance tax. [HL5197]

Lord Deighton: A full list of all inheritance tax reliefs

and exemptions was published by the Office of Tax

Simplification as part of their review into tax reliefs [1] .

The list is as follows:

Relief/exemption title

A&M trusts, Bereaved Minor Trusts, 18-25 Trusts, Pre-78 Protective

Trusts, Pre-81 Disabled Trusts and Employee Benefit Trusts

Acceptance in Lieu

Agricultural property relief

Allowance for other tax liabilities

Alternatively secured pension funds - deferral of charge

Annual exempt amount (£3,000)

Armed forces - death in service

Armed forces - medals and decorations for gallantry or valour

Business property relief

Cash options under approved annuity schemes

Changes to the deceased's estate

Charge on participators in close companies

Chevening Estate & Apsley House

Co-morientes (simultaneous deaths)

Compensation paid to Nazi victims

Conditional exemption

Conditional exemption and relevant property trusts

Corporation sole

Relief/exemption title

Dispositions allowable for income tax

Dispositions for benefit of employees

Dispositions for maintenance of family

Dispositions in respect of pension benefits

Dispositions in respect of pensions

Dispositions not intended to provide gratuitous benefit

Double charges relief

Double taxation agreements

Employee-ownership trusts

Estate duty on gifts to the nation

Estate duty transitional

Excluded property

Exclusion of benefit reserved by donor

Expenses occurred abroad

Failed PETs gifted for national purposes

Fall in value relief for transfers within 7 years of death

Foreign armed forces pay and moveable property

Foreign currency accounts

Foreign-owned works of art

Funeral expenses

Gifts for national purposes

Gifts of land to housing associations

Gifts on marriage and civil partnership

Gifts to charities

Gifts to political parties

Government savings of persons domiciled in the Channel Islands or

the Isle of Man

Government securities owned by non-United Kingdom domiciled

persons

Grant of agricultural tenancy

Heritage maintenance funds

Land in habitat schemes

Leftover alternatively secured pension funds paid to charity

Life tenant becoming entitled to settled property

Lloyd’s premium trusts

Loss on sale relief (buildings)

Loss on sale relief (shares)

Newspaper and employee trusts

Nil rate band for chargeable transfers not exceeding the threshold (£325,000)

Page 6 4 March 2015 Written Answers

Relief/exemption title

No gratuitous benefit and grants of agricultural tenancy (temporary charitable trusts)

Normal gifts out of income

Open ended investment companies and authorised unit trusts

Overseas pensions

Payment of income

Payment of income (temporary charitable trusts)

Pension schemes

Potentially exempt transfers

Private treaty sales

Property held on trust for bereaved minors or person aged 18-25

Quick succession relief

Reduced rate of tax for relevant property charges

Reduced rate of tax for temporary charitable trusts charges

Registered pension schemes trust charges

Reversionary interests

Reverter to settlor

Reverter to settlor's spouse

Scottish agricultural leases

Small gifts exemption

Spouse / civil partner relief

Taper relief

Trade or professional compensation funds

Transfer to employee trusts

Transferable nil rate band

Trust property becomes excluded property

Trust property distributed in first quarter of the year

Trustees costs and expenses

Trustees costs and expenses (temporary charitable trusts)

Trustees costs, payment of income, no gratuitous benefit, grants of agricultural tenancy and reduced rate of charge for A&M trusts,

Bereaved Minor Trusts, 18-25 Trusts, Newspaper and Employee

Trusts, Pre'78 Protective Trusts & Pre 81 Disabled Trusts

Trusts with vulnerable beneficiaries - annual limit

Unilateral double taxation relief

Voidable transfers

Waiver of dividends

Waiver of remuneration

Woodland relief

[1] The OTS report and full list of reliefs, allowances and exemptions

is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-reliefs-review

Asked by Lord Campbell-Savours

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will

list all classes of assets which are subject to relief from

inheritance tax. [HL5198]

Lord Deighton: The classes of assets which qualify for

inheritance tax reliefs are as follows:

For business relief –

a business or interest in a business,

shares in an unlisted company,

shares controlling more than 50% of the voting rights in

a listed company,

land, buildings or machinery owned by the deceased

and used in a business they were a partner in or

controlled,

land, buildings or machinery used in the business and

held in a trust that it has the right to benefit from.

For agricultural relief –

land or pasture that is used to grow crops or to rear

animals,

growing crops,

stud farms for breeding and raising horses and grazing,

trees that are planted and harvested at least every 10

years,

land not currently being farmed under the Habitat

Scheme or a crop rotation scheme,

the value of milk quota associated with the land,

some agricultural shares and securities,

farm buildings, farm cottages and farmhouses.

For woodlands relief – the value of timber in a

woodland

Further details about inheritance tax reliefs can be

found on the Gov.uk website.[1]

[1] https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/inheritance-tax-

reliefs

Asked by Lord Campbell-Savours

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they

have made of the effect on receipts to the Exchequer of

the abolition of inheritance tax and the taxing of

recipients of inherited wealth at the recipients' marginal

rate of tax. [HL5199]

Lord Deighton: The information requested is not

available.

Japan Tobacco: Ballymena

Asked by Lord Empey

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they

intend to support the designation of the JTI Gallaher

factory site and surrounding area in Ballymena, County

Antrim as an Enterprise Zone with enhanced capital

Written Answers 4 March 2015 Page 7

allowances, following the company’s decision to cease

operations. [HL5232]

Baroness Randerson: The economic pact, Building a

Prosperous and United Community, set out that the

Government would be willing to consider designating

sites within Northern Ireland as locations with access to

enhanced capital allowances should the Executive

propose them and subject to affordability.

Judaism

Asked by Baroness Tonge

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the

Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 10

February (HL4418), whether they intend to ask Jewish

faith leaders in the United Kingdom to make clear the

ideals of Judaism in respect of religious extremism.

[HL5113]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Her Majesty's

Government expects all faiths' leaders to robustly

challenge extremism in all its forms, wherever they find

it.

Loans

Asked by Lord Mendelsohn

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance

they have given to the Bank of England in bringing

forward curbs on leveraged lending. [HL5094]

Lord Deighton: On 26 November 2013, the Chancellor

requested that the Financial Policy Committee (FPC)

undertake a review of the leverage ratio and its role in the

regulatory framework.

Treasury officials were consulted on the terms of

reference for the review. The terms of reference were

made publicly available on the Bank of England’s

website.

On 31 October 2014, following almost a year of work

and extensive consultation with stakeholders, the FPC

published its response, the Review of the leverage ratio.

The Review recommended that the FPC be given new

powers of direction over the leverage ratio framework for

the UK banking sector.

The Government has brought forward a statutory

instrument to grant the FPC these powers.

Loans: Ukraine

Asked by The Earl of Sandwich

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the

Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 17 February

(HL4697), whether United Kingdom government

ministers have been involved in financial negotiations

(1) between the government of Ukraine and the

European Union, and (2) between the government of

Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund; and, if

so, what assessment they have made of the package of

financial support offered to Ukraine to date. [HL5093]

Lord Deighton: The Ukrainian authorities have been in

direct negotiations with the International Monetary Fund

(IMF) to agree a new package for financial assistance.

The IMF will present its proposals for financial assistance

for Ukraine to its Executive Board in the coming weeks,

which the Government will consider as part of the normal

process of decision-making on IMF lending.

As I noted in my Written Answer to HL4697, the

Government strongly supports providing financial

assistance to Ukraine from the European Union and the

International Monetary Fund, accompanied by appropriate

policy conditionality.

Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill

Asked by Lord Trefgarne

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis they

consider that the provisions of the Lords Spiritual

(Women) Bill comply with the terms of the European

Convention on Human Rights, given the impact of the

bill on male diocesan bishops. [HL5062]

Lord Faulks: The Bill is fully compliant with the

European Convention on Human Rights. Both Strasbourg

and domestic case law has established that the right to

participate in the work of the House of Lords does not

engage the Articles of the Convention.

Manure

Asked by Baroness Tonge

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their

assessment of the purposes of the European Union

Directive on the nitrogen content of manure used in

agriculture. [HL5237]

Lord De Mauley: European Directive 91/676/EEC

seeks to protect water from pollution by nitrates from

agricultural sources. Some types of manure contain up to

30kg of nitrogen per tonne of manure. Nitrogen from

manure can leach from soil in the form of nitrates and can

pollute our water bodies, affecting the quality of our

drinking water. Agriculture accounts for 50-60% of

nitrate pollution in our waters. We therefore believe that it

is important that it is controlled and that the objective of

the European Directive in restricting the land application

of manure is sound. However, we recognise that such

restrictions can affect farm productivity and

competitiveness. While the Directive gives a steer to

Member States over the types of measure to be adopted, it

does allow a certain amount of discretion over the exact

nature of the rules. We have therefore adopted rules that

take account of agricultural practices in this country and

are as cost effective as possible, supporting agriculture as

well as protecting the environment. In the longer term, we

believe nitrate pollution would be better managed through

the more integrated approach to water pollution adopted

in the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

Page 8 4 March 2015 Written Answers

Non-domestic Rates

Asked by Lord Tope

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many

businesses have received assistance through the small

business rate relief scheme. [HL5119]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Approximately 600,000

businesses are benefitting from Small Business Rate

Relief with approximately 400,000 paying no rates at all.

Measures in the Localism Act made it easier for small

firms to claim the business rate relief to which they are

entitled. We announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an

extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates

bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and

2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-

16. That includes amongst other things:

• the doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further

year (2015-16);

• increasing the temporary discount for shops, pubs and

restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 from

£1,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16;

We have also given authorities powers to grant their

own local discounts and we now fund 50% of any local

discount granted.

We also announced at Autumn Statement that we will

review the future structure of business rates. The review

will report by Budget 2016.

Personal Independence Payment

Asked by Baroness King of Bow

To ask Her Majesty’s Government in relation to how

many of the 441,900 Personal Independence Payment

claims cleared by the Department of Work and

Pensions between April 2013 and December 2014 an

application for mandatory reconsideration was made; of

those, how many initial decisions were overturned; of

those in which mandatory reconsideration was

unsuccessful how many appeals to the Social Security

and Child Support Tribunal were made; and of those

how many appeals were successful. [HL5061]

Lord Freud: The information requested on mandatory

reconsiderations is not currently available.

The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK

Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish

statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest

opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on

mandatory reconsideration relating to Personal

Independence Payment when they are ready. The release

of information will be pre-announced in line with United

Kingdom Statistics Authority release protocols.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics on appeals to the

Social Security and Child Support Tribunal published in

December 2014 showed that between July and September

2014 there were 796 Personal Independence Payment

appeals cleared at Hearing, of which 339 (43%) were

revised in the appellant’s favour. The MoJ statistics are

available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-

gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-

september-2014

Planning Permission

Asked by Lord Tope

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they

expect to make betting shops and payday loan shops

into a separate planning use class; and if so, when.

[HL5121]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have consulted on a

range of planning measures to support our high streets,

including requiring a planning application for the change

of use to a betting shop or pay day loan shop. An

announcement on the outcome of the Technical

consultation on planning will be made in due course.

Private Education: Vetting

Asked by Lord Lexden

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what

arrangements they are making to ensure that

independent schools are in a position to comply with

their statutory responsibilities to check that staff are not

prohibited from involvement in the management of an

independent school. [HL5245]

Lord Nash: The Department for Education is in

discussion with the Disclosure and Barring Service about

ways in which schools can do this with the minimum

additional burden, and it is hoped that a process will be in

place soon. At present no barring directions have been

made under the regulations made in 2014 under section

128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.

Asked by Lord Lexden

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they

are taking to ensure that independent schools are not

found to be in breach of statutory regulations as a result

of the introduction of retrospective prohibition checks

on teaching staff. [HL5247]

Lord Nash: From 5 January 2015, the independent

school standards require that schools check both existing

and new teaching staff to determine whether a prohibition

order or interim prohibition made by the Secretary of

State exists for any member of their teaching staff.

The checks are only retrospective in the sense that

schools must confirm that existing staff, as well as new

appointments, are not subject to a prohibition order. The

prohibition order regime began in April 2012, and the

standard does not distinguish between staff appointed

before or after 5 January 2015, so existing staff should be

checked too. We believe that this is entirely justified. The

teacher standards which form the basis of the prohibition

regime apply to independent schools, and it would be

invidious if a school was able to continue employing a

prohibited member of staff simply because he or she was

Written Answers 4 March 2015 Page 9

appointed before 2015. When a school is inspected, it

should be able to demonstrate that it has either completed

these checks (which can be done through the National

College’s Easy Access system) or is well on the way to

completion. If a school cannot do so, regulatory action is

likely to follow.

Taxation: Domicil

Asked by Lord Myners

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many

taxpayers designated as non-domiciled in the United

Kingdom owe that status to inheritance as a result of a

parent or grandparent having been born outside the

United Kingdom; and whether they have estimated the

value of the United Kingdom tax forgone by that

category of non-domiciled persons. [HL5072]

Lord Deighton: The information requested is not

available.

Asked by Lord Myners

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will

consider allowing non-domicile tax status to pass

through maternal inheritance rather than paternal

inheritance alone or whether they will consider

discontinuing inheritance as a qualifying condition for

non-domicile tax status. [HL5076]

Lord Deighton: Domicile is a question of common law

rather than tax law. In England domicile passes through

the paternal line where parents are married. Where the

parents are not married, domicile passes through the

maternal line.

The Government has no current plans to change the

rules on domicile as they apply for tax purposes but the

Chancellor keeps all taxes under review to a Budget

timetable.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the

Written Answer by Baroness Randerson on 24 February

(HL4928) concerning the "on the runs", on what date,

how and by whom loyalists were notified of the

scheme; and if they were not notified, how they were

expected to take part in the process. [HL5271]

Baroness Randerson: Chapter 8 of the Hallett Report

sets out the extent of public knowledge of the

administrative scheme, and Appendix 9 provides a

selection of the most pertinent references to the

administrative scheme in the public domain.

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the

report of the Hallett review into the "on the runs"

scheme was made public; and on what date the scheme

started. [HL5272]

Baroness Randerson: The Hallett Report was

published on 17 July 2014. Chapter 4 of the Hallett

Report describes the evolution of the administrative

scheme.

Index to Statements and Answers

Written Statements ................................................. 1

Concessionary Coal .............................................. 1

Energy Council ..................................................... 1

Infrastructure ........................................................ 1

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre ................. 2

Returning Officers (Indemnity) ............................ 2

UK Statistics Authority (2011 Census.................. 3

Written Answers ..................................................... 4

Banks: Finance ..................................................... 4

Budgets: Scotland ................................................. 4

Child Trust Fund .................................................. 4

Housing Ombudsman Service .............................. 4

Inheritance Tax ..................................................... 5

Japan Tobacco: Ballymena ................................... 6

Judaism ................................................................. 7

Loans .................................................................... 7

Loans: Ukraine ..................................................... 7

Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill ............................... 7

Manure .................................................................. 7

Non-domestic Rates.............................................. 8

Personal Independence Payment .......................... 8

Planning Permission ............................................. 8

Private Education: Vetting ................................... 8

Taxation: Domicil ................................................. 9

Terrorism: Northern Ireland ................................. 9