Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the ministerial responsibilities of each of the three Lords ministers for the Department for Business and Trade.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I have responsibility for Investment. My noble Friends, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Offord of Garvel) is the Minister for Exports, and the Minister of State (The Earl of Minto) is the Minister for Regulatory Reform.
Further details of each Minister’s responsibilities can be found on the Department’s GOV.UK home page under ‘Our Ministers’: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-and-trade.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what regulations cover the retrofitting of headlights to vehicles; and when those regulations were last updated.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended govern the in-use fitment and maintenance of vehicle headlamps and were last updated in 2019. To minimise the risk of glare these regulations require that approved vehicle lamps are fitted only with approved light sources, including LEDs.
International activity is ongoing at the United Nations and proposals to amend headlamp aiming criteria are expected to be agreed in April, together with requirements for mandatory automatic headlamp levelling.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what regulations apply to retrofitting car headlights with LED bulbs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended govern the in-use fitment and maintenance of vehicle headlamps and were last updated in 2019. To minimise the risk of glare these regulations require that approved vehicle lamps are fitted only with approved light sources, including LEDs.
International activity is ongoing at the United Nations and proposals to amend headlamp aiming criteria are expected to be agreed in April, together with requirements for mandatory automatic headlamp levelling.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with international partners to develop and introduce improved headlamp aiming requirements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended govern the in-use fitment and maintenance of vehicle headlamps and were last updated in 2019. To minimise the risk of glare these regulations require that approved vehicle lamps are fitted only with approved light sources, including LEDs.
International activity is ongoing at the United Nations and proposals to amend headlamp aiming criteria are expected to be agreed in April, together with requirements for mandatory automatic headlamp levelling.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many drivers have reported problems with their eyesight to the DVLA in the last 10 years; and what proportion of those have had their driving licences withdrawn as a result.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
During the period 1 March 2013 and 28 February 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency recorded 623,078 drivers as having an eyesight condition. During this period, 19,766 drivers recorded as having an eyesight condition had their driving licence revoked, or their licence application refused. However, it is not possible to say if all of these revocations/refusals were due to eyesight or another medical condition.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 18 October 2022 (PBC Deb 18 October 2022 col 789) where he stated that "the Government and I will engage in discussion with RICS about this in the coming weeks before further stages of the Bill", how many meetings have taken place between ministers and the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS); what subjects were discussed at those meetings; and what steps they took as a result of those discussions.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Details of ministerial meetings are set out quarterly on gov.uk.
Further to those publications, senior officials and I met with the Earl of Lytton, the Chief Executive and the Chair of RICS on 7 February 2023 to discuss RICS' concerns regarding the clause.
Subsequently senior officials have met with RICS to discuss this further.
The Secretary of State also met with the CEO of RICS on 23 November 2022 as part of a wider meeting which included mortgage lenders. This meeting related to opening up the mortgage market for property affected by building safety.
I am happy to meet with the noble Baroness to discuss this further.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) ONS data showing an increase in the relative affordability of alcohol compared to fruit juice, and (2) the implications of this trend for their planned duty freeze on alcoholic drinks.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government will continue to assess the impact of its decisions on alcohol duties, including the duty freeze until 1 August 2023, and aims to balance its public health objectives with support for businesses.
The alcohol duty reforms will tax all alcohol according to strength for the first time from 1 August 2023. This will make low cost high ABV drinks, such as white ciders, more expensive and reduce the affordability of drinks more associated with alcohol harm.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that alcohol harm rates do not increase following the increase in relative affordability of alcohol compared to fruit juice and other non-alcoholic drinks, given the link between alcohol affordability and harm.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We continue to monitor the impact of the alcohol affordability on alcohol consumption and associated harms. The reforms of alcohol duty will, for the first time, tax all alcohol according to strength, helping to target problem drinking by taxing products associated with alcohol-related harm at a higher rate of duty. These reforms will be implemented from 1 August 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place of the Monitoring Committee set up under the (Rwandan) Migration and Economic Development Partnership; and whether its minutes will be published.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
A full meeting of the Monitoring Committee is being planned and details on this will be set out in due course. As set out in the terms of reference, the Monitoring Committee will produce a summary report for publication once a year.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to creating new regulations on car headlight glare, in the light of the number of drivers reporting problems with dazzling, particularly from LEDs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Regulations are already in place to help prevent headlamps, including those using LED technology, from causing dazzle and glare. Vehicle manufacturers must supply evidence that their new vehicles comply with international road vehicle approval regulations and the requirements applied to headlamps define maximum and minimum intensity, light pattern and position on the vehicle. In addition, domestic legislation prohibits the use of headlamps that cause undue dazzle or discomfort for other road users and headlamp aim is checked at the annual MOT test.
Police recorded collision statistics in Great Britain do not show any discernible trend over time that would suggest an underlying road safety issue linked to advances in lighting technology. The Department’s officials continue to support international activity reviewing the relevant vehicle lighting standards.