Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the potential merits of permitting the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register all children eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register all children eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence base they have used for their claim that the oil and gas industry supports 200,000 jobs, which subsectors are represented by that figure, and how many of those are (1) wholly, and (2) majority, reliant on the oil and gas industry.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact assessment for the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill uses figures from Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) 2022 annual workforce insights report to show how many jobs are supported by the Oil and Gas sector in the UK. This report highlights that there were approximately 200,000 jobs supported by the industry in 2021 and the report includes a breakdown of jobs by sector, and whether they are direct, indirect or induced.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the expected grade of the oil reserves in licensed but undeveloped fields in the North Sea basin; and what estimate they have made of the likelihood of the oil from these fields being used domestically in the UK as opposed to being exported.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The grade of oil in most undeveloped discoveries in the UK sector of the North Sea and elsewhere on the UK Continental Shelf would vary from field to field. The decisions around the sale of both crude and finished petroleum products are commercial decisions given the international nature of oil markets.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was exported in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Due to the interconnected nature of gas pipeline infrastructure and the consequent mixing of UK continental shelf (UKCS) production and imports it is not possible to determine what proportion of indigenously produced gas is exported.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of oil and gas extracted from UK territorial waters was extracted by companies headquartered in the UK in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government does not specifically track the headquarters of oil and gas licensees operating on the UK Continental Shelf. However, it is a requirement that all licence holders must be UK registered, either as a company or as a branch of an overseas company.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of existing oil and gas fields within the UK’s territorial waters is owned by companies headquartered in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government does not specifically track the headquarters of oil and gas licensees operating on the UK Continental Shelf. However, it is a requirement that all licence holders must be UK registered, either as a company or as a branch of an overseas company.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a full list of documents that pregnant women applying for Healthy Start can submit as proof of pregnancy.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The NHS Business Services Authority deliver the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Pregnant applicants need to self-declare their pregnancy in the application form, no further documents are required as proof of pregnancy.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Net zero policy tracker: March 2023 update by Green Alliance, published on 17 March; and in particular, what assessment they have made of the finding that only 28 per cent of emissions reductions needed to reach net zero by 2050 are covered by confirmed policies.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Net Zero Growth Plan sets out the package that will meet carbon budgets. The Government has met every Carbon Budget to date and through the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan has set out quantified proposals and policies to exceed Carbon Budgets 4 and 5 and 97% of Carbon Budget 6.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the 'polluter pays' principle will apply to the oil spill in Poole; and if it does not, what plans they have to extend the principle to include such incidents of accidental environmental damage.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The polluter pays principle does apply to the oil spill in Poole. Claims by those suffering financially from this oil spill can be made to Perenco’s insurers. Perenco have opened an email address which potential claimants can use.
When the law allows public bodies may be able to reclaim costs resulting from the response and recovery operations. Those agencies likely to reclaim costs include the Environment Agency (EA), Natural England and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. The EA has statutory powers to recover costs from an environmental incident, in line with the polluter pays principle, and always seeks to recharge where possible.