Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the enforcement of the restrictions put in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic have been targeted (1) in areas with lower compliance, and (2) where COVID-19 infections are rising; and if so, where are those areas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 30 September, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published its latest report on the police use of Covid-19 enforcement notices issued under all emergency health protections. The data showed that between 27 March and 21 September, 18,912 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) were issued by police forces in England and Wales between 27 March and 21 September.
The data in the report provides an analysis of the rationale for issuing a FPN and a breakdown of issuance by police force. Data related to those individuals or businesses in receipt of more than one fixed penalty notice, for any reason, is not provided by the NPCC in its report and is not held by the Home Office.
Each force is operationally independent and will respond accordingly to local needs as part of a multi-agency approach with partners including PHE and local authorities. Any region-specific enforcement activity is a matter for individual police forces.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fixed penalty notices have been issued to those refusing to comply with any restrictions put in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 30 September, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published its latest report on the police use of Covid-19 enforcement notices issued under all emergency health protections. The data showed that between 27 March and 21 September, 18,912 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) were issued by police forces in England and Wales between 27 March and 21 September.
The data in the report provides an analysis of the rationale for issuing a FPN and a breakdown of issuance by police force. Data related to those individuals or businesses in receipt of more than one fixed penalty notice, for any reason, is not provided by the NPCC in its report and is not held by the Home Office.
Each force is operationally independent and will respond accordingly to local needs as part of a multi-agency approach with partners including PHE and local authorities. Any region-specific enforcement activity is a matter for individual police forces.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional support they have provided to women affected by domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
A key Government priority is to ensure victims of domestic abuse can get the right support when they need it during the pandemic.
The?Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has allocated £10 million in emergency funding for safe accommodation services.??This fund is supporting 166 organisations to provide bed spaces for those affected by domestic abuse, ensuring that refuges remain open and more victims can access life-saving support during the pandemic. The Department also enabled local authorities to book additional rooms in temporary accommodation through a centralised service, helping more victims access safe accommodation. We have also provided £4.8 billion in additional funding to help local authorities respond to COVID-19 spending pressures, including support for domestic abuse services.
In addition, Home Office are providing £2 million for community-based domestic abuse services impacted by the outbreak and the?Ministry of Justice are providing £25?million?to help victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the community access support services during the coronavirus outbreak.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they evaluate (1) the results, and (2) the accuracy, of COVID-19 tests; what percentage of those tests are accurate, both positive and negative; and how many people have had to be retested.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy to renew their commitments to nutrition (1) at, or (2) before, the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth summit.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are still assessing options for any new commitment to nutrition now that both the Olympic pledging event and the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit have been postponed. We await further details of the new format for the Summit. We will continue to invest in programmes to address malnutrition beyond 2020 and we will continue to work with the Government of Japan to ensure the future Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit is a success.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 19 May (HL4100), when they will provide an update on their plans for UK investment to prevent and treat malnutrition.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK remains committed to preventing and treating malnutrition as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. We will continue to invest in programmes to address malnutrition beyond 2020 and we will continue to work with the Government of Japan to ensure the future Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit is a success.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that hospitals and other healthcare providers in England follow NHS England guidelines to (1) risk assess, and (2) redeploy where possible, BAME staff who are working on the COVID-19 frontline; and what assessment they have made of the implantation of those guidelines.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Guidance for all black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) colleagues working in the National Health Service has been published online by NHS England. This is in addition to information from NHS Employers on COVID-19 and the prioritisation and management of risk, including ethnicity.
NHS England will be sharing a framework of resources to support systems, trusts, commissioners and primary care teams to implement the actions listed in their online blog post, ‘A note for all BAME colleagues working in the NHS’. We would expect all NHS trusts to follow and take account of any guidance that is issued and to disseminate it as appropriate to the relevant departments or clinical areas to action and take forward as necessary.
Public Health England’s review will analyse available data on health outcomes for NHS staff, to develop a better understanding of how the virus affects frontline workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many companies they have requested to manufacture personal protective equipment since 1 January; and what new contracts they have placed (1) inside, and (2) outside, the UK to manufacture such equipment since that date.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As of 15 May, over 13,000 businesses have contacted the Government with offers of help on supplying personal protective equipment (PPE). Many are related to the manufacture of PPE for the National Health Service and care sectors, a vast majority of which we are taking forward, predominantly from United Kingdom based companies but also including multinational companies. Some offers were not progressed due to financial and capability considerations.
The Department engages directly with potential manufacturers to qualify and prioritise the opportunity, based on availability of and access to raw supplies, lead-times to manufacture, and other commercial considerations. Product prototypes are submitted to a Technical Product Review process, to ensure they meet essential health, safety and quality standards for PPE. Financial due diligence and fraud prevention measures are also undertaken, after which the Department can contract with the manufacturer.
Lord Deighton is leading the Government’s efforts to secure sufficient PPE and ensure this gets to where it is needed. He is also driving forward coordination of the end-to-end process design and manufacture of new domestic PPE supplies. As at 15 May, the Department has entered into contract and placed orders with eight manufacturers to provide millions of items of PPE products to the National Health Service and carers. The volumes will increase in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition globally.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Services to address food insecurity and malnutrition are part of DFID’s immediate response to COVID-19 in many of the countries where we work.
We are supporting UNICEF to make sure life-saving supplies to treat acute malnutrition continue to reach children at most risk across the Sahel as well as in Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen. We are also using programmes in agriculture, social protection and humanitarian assistance to tackle the factors driving COVID-19 induced food insecurity. We are a major funder of existing multilateral programmes in these areas. We have also committed £15 million to the World Food Programme’s recent urgent appeals.
In all cases we continue to put the poorest and most marginalised at the heart of our programmes to address the immediate and underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition, including in the face of COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure (1) the continuation, and (2) the provision, of Nutrition for Growth funding at the start of 2021.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Global commitments to nutrition made at the 2013 Nutrition for Growth Summit come to an end this year. Continued investment to prevent and treat malnutrition is important, particularly as countries face worsening levels of malnutrition in the face of COVID-19.
DFID is assessing options for the UK commitment now that both the Olympic pledging event and the main Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit have been postponed. The UK remains committed to preventing and treating malnutrition as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children. We will provide an update on our plans in due course.