Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the timetable for the review by the NHS and Public Health England on the impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities; and what data they will publish before that review is completed.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England (PHE) has been asked by the Chief Medical Officer to review the potential that some ethnic minority groups are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The findings of the Review will be published at the end of May.
NHS England publishes data of deaths broken down by ethnicity and PHE is planning to include data by ethnicity in its weekly COVID-19 surveillance report.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in using conducting asylum interviews and other procedures at Asylum Screening Units through remote means; and how many cases have been processed remotely.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We take the wellbeing of asylum seekers extremely seriously and we are adjusting processes and procedures to ensure asylum claims can be registered in a safe way that adheres to social distancing guidance – with in person contact and travel requirements for the asylum registration process being minimised.
Asylum in the UK should continue to be sought at the first available opportunity, however for those who have failed to claim on arrival, or whose circumstances have changed since arrival the Home Office has temporarily introduced additional locations to register claims. These are temporary arrangements which will be kept under review to align with HMG guidance.
An overview of key changes and messages are outlined below.
Following guidance from Public Health England, we have cancelled all face-to-face substantive asylum interviews. We are continuing to explore ways to conduct interviews over video link.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their guidelines on personal protective equipment for frontline medical staff are (1) based on expert medical advice and evidence or (2) also based on economic or other factors.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The guidance on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by health and social care workers is based on expert reviews and advice from the Department’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) as well as literature reviews by Health Protection Scotland. The guidance is updated regularly, in line with emerging evidence.
Public Health England has not undertaken an economic assessment of the PPE guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they started to (1) collect, and (2) publish data relating to the ethnicity of those infected with COVID-19; and for what reasons this did not start at the beginning of the pandemic in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Data on those infected with COVID-19 are collected by Public Health England (PHE) for new diagnoses and hospitalised patients. Standard recording practice across laboratory systems requires recording of only minimal data (such as date of birth and name) as these records are not intended for disease surveillance purposes.
PHE has begun a rapid review to better understand how COVID-19 may be having an impact on different ethnic groups. As part of this review, PHE is matching thousands of laboratory records of COVID-19 cases to other health records to draw down accurate data on ethnicity, age, sex and geographical region. The first results will be published by the end of May.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they made to the government of China (1) prior to, and (2) subsequent to, the global outbreak of COVID-19 with respect to the regulation or closure of ‘wet’ markets.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Wet markets exist all around the world. All wet markets should follow best practice on hygiene and safety to avoid health issues, whether in China or elsewhere and that should include safe sourcing of animal and other products.
The UK has always been at the forefront of international efforts to ensure global trade in wild animals is sustainable and well regulated, including through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). We are investing over £36m between 2014 and 2021 and last year pledged a further £30 million over three years to crack down on the abhorrent illegal trade in animals and plants.
On 24 February 2020 China's National People's Congress announced a ban on the trade and consumption of wildlife for food. We welcome this decision and urge China to ensure it is strictly enforced so that all meat for sale is sustainably and legally sourced and poses no threat to human health. We have been in regular contact with the Chinese authorities since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, including a phone conversation between the Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Wang-Yi on 20 March.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals at immigration detention centres and other accommodation for asylum seekers have reported COVID-19 symptoms; how severe the symptoms have been in these cases; and what medical treatment has been provided.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There are currently no individuals within the immigration detention centre estate showing symptomatic signs of COVID-19. There have been three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the immigration detention centres since the outbreak began, none of whom were hospitalised. Information about the severity of these cases or what medical treatment has been provided is not centrally collected and neither is information on individuals in other accommodation for asylum seekers.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to implementing the recommendations of the report by the Museums Association Museums Taskforce: Report and Recommendations, published in March 2018, and in particular encouraging national museums to partner with regional institutions by loaning them national collections.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In 2017 the government published the Mendoza Review of Museums in England. My department continues to work on implementing the recommendations of that review, which were aimed at creating an environment in which museums could flourish. As part of this work we have considered a number of more recent publications and reports regarding museums issues and my officials have met with the Museums Association to discuss their work.
In August last year, my department delivered on a key recommendation from the Mendoza Review by publishing the first annual National Museums Partnership Report. This report provides an overview of the partnerships of 17 national UK museums, revealing how museum partnerships benefit parties on both sides as well as audiences and wider society. Further data will be released this year, and in future iterations we are keen to reflect a more rounded picture including data on regional museum activity DCMS continues to work with the national museums, Arts Council England, and other partners to support collaborative working.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making the display of food hygiene ratings mandatory in England.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is operated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Food businesses covered by the scheme are provided with stickers showing their rating. Those in Wales and Northern Ireland are already required by law to display the stickers at their premises, while those in England are encouraged to do so.
The FSA has put together an evidence-based case for the necessary legislation which is expected to be submitted for ministerial consideration early this year.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what figures they hold on the number of (1) tourism attractions, (2) high street retailers, (3) railway stations, and (4) UK airports, that offer drinking water refill points.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government recognises the importance of making drinking water more readily available in public places, as a means of reducing single-use plastic bottles. As laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Resources and Waste Strategy, we are already taking action in this area
Ministers have supported transport hubs, particularly railway stations and airports, to offer free water refill points. Although the Government does not collect the precise data requested, we have seen positive responses from Network Rail and rail operators. We are also pleased that around half of the UK’s international airports now have water fountains enabling customers to refill their own water containers.
The Government is also supporting water companies, high street retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs to offer new refill points for people to top-up water bottles free in every major city and town in England. The water industry is developing a network of refill points through its Refill app, managed by City to Sea. There are now over 27,000 refill points available on the app, which is used by an average of 20,000 people each month and is estimated to have saved over 100 million single use bottles from entering our waste stream in 2019.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in partnership with relevant businesses, to reduce the use of plastics in hotels.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December 2018, sets out our plans to reduce, reuse and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster - that is why we are working towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out various proposals that will help businesses, including hotels, reduce their use of single-use plastics. These include the introduction of a deposit-return scheme for drinks containers, bans on some of the most commonly littered single-use plastics such as drink stirrers, and extension of the carrier bag charge to all retailers.
The Government also supports the UK Plastics Pact (UKPP), a collaborative initiative to create a circular system that keeps plastic in the economy and out of the natural environment. UKPP members are working towards four key targets by 2025, including to eliminate the use of unnecessary single-use plastics. The UKPP has more than 120 business members, including many from the retail and hospitality sectors.