Parliamentary Q&A

Written questions allow  Members of the Houses of Parliament to ask for information on the work, policy and activities of Government departments, related bodies and their administration.

As a member of the House of Lords from 2000 until early 2015, Lord Ashcroft was entitled to ask questions and the minister responsible for the area involved had to address them. Lords’ Questions, which are similar to Parliamentary Questions (PQs) in the House of Commons, are effectively tools for obtaining information from the Government that is not already in the public domain. Sometimes a question, and its answer, leads to a short debate in the House of Lords on the topic that has been raised. Lord Ashcroft used to ask questions on issues that interest him including defence, gallantry, education and overseas territories.

ERITREA 16 March 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the “Leaked Memo, Ethiopia’s Destabilizing Policy Against Eritrea” issued by the Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations on 2 July 2014. Read Answer
SURVEILLANCE 9 March 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 20 February (HL4795), whether there have been any instances where such surveillance equipment has been used by any foreign government to monitor opposition parties. Read Answer
ERITREA 6 March 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the statement by His Excellency Mr Girma Asmerom, Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations, on agenda item 68 (b,c): Promotion and Protection of Human Rights during the Interactive Dialogue of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea at the Third Committee of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Read Answer
PRIMARY EDUCATION: FREE SCHOOL MEALS 3 March 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the success of the free school lunch programme for the under-sevens. Read Answer
TAX AVOIDANCE 25 February 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they consider to be the difference between tax avoidance and aggressive tax avoidance. Read Answer
PANAMA 20 February 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether surveillance equipment has been provided by the United Kingdom to the government of Panama; and if so, for what purpose. Read Answer
MILITARY DECORATIONS 20 January 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 December 2014 (HL3258), whether any gallantry medals have been awarded but not gazetted in the last 15 years. Read Answer
EU BUDGET: CONTRIBUTIONS 20 January 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 15 December 2014 (HL3255), why the repayment conditions were not agreed in advance of the European Commission announcing the additional contribution to the European Union Budget; and what contingency planning they had undertaken to prepare for such an additional repayment demand. Read Answer
ENTRY CLEARANCES: NEPAL 15 January 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 8 December 2014 (HL3326) and 18 December 2014 (HL3645), how many applications from Nepal were received in 2014 in Delhi and how many of these were approved. Read Answer
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 14 January 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a Freedom of Information request which would exceed the financial threshold can be validly submitted on the basis that the enquirer pays the excess so that the information is provided. Read Answer
DIEGO GARCIA 13 January 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 17 June 2014 (HL126), with regard to the use of Diego Garcia for rendition flights, what is the latest situation in relation to such flights. Read Answer
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: FRAUD 12 January 2015
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the quality of service and value-for-money provided by Capita in operating the National Benefit Fraud Hotline. Read Answer
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