Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the penalties for (1) serious, and (2) fatal, injuries caused by (a) cyclists, (b) e-cyclists, and (c) drivers of e-scooters.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are considering bringing forward legislation to introduce new offences concerning dangerous cycling, to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour.
Additionally, as e-scooters are currently classed as motor vehicles, a range of motoring offences and penalties already apply for using an e-scooter illegally and/or irresponsibly. Users can face criminal prosecution, be fined up to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. The Department for Transport is working closely with the Home Office and the police to ensure that the future regulations for e-scooters enable effective enforcement against illegal use.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for a national grid for water to ensure that those parts of England with sufficient water can supply water to areas that are water stressed.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The concept of a national grid for water has been assessed previously and has been discounted on the basis of cost and practicalities. Unlike gas and electricity, the infrastructure needed for a national grid is considerable as water is heavy, difficult and costly to move. It remains the case that often, local sources of water are better value economically and environmentally than moving water over long distances, which is carbon and energy intensive.
However, there are many existing transfers of water linking parts of the country. For example, the Environment Agency operates a transfer of water from north of Cambridge to Essex to benefit farmers and water companies. Water companies such as United Utilities transfer water from the Lake District to Manchester keeping the city in water. Water companies must look closely at ways of sharing water across their existing networks and by building new links when they prepare their statutory water resource management plans (WRMPs). The current draft WRMPs and regional water resource plans consulted on earlier this year include further development of connections, incrementally building wider and more integrated networks, as well as some regional transfers of water, where these are best value options for customers, society and the environment.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increase in standing charges on household electricity bills on households; and the extent to which this may be impacting on inflation.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Standing charges are capped under the price cap, set by Ofgem, and ensure millions of households pay a fair price for their energy. The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers. The standing charge reflects the on-going costs that fall on a supplier to provide and maintain a live supply to a customer.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of major housing developments in contributing to sewage spills into combined sewers where the standard of the pipes falls below acceptable environmental standards.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In August 2022 the Government launched the most ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows in water company history – the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. This plan was published alongside an Impact Assessment.
The Government has reviewed making Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) mandatory in new developments and will do this through the implementation of Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. We are now looking at how best to implement, considering scope, threshold and process, while also being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector. There will be a public consultation later this year with implementation expected during 2024.
The approach to managing and avoiding flood risk is also set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, underpinned by our planning guidance, applies to all sources of flooding, including from overwhelmed sewers and drainage systems. The Framework expects local planning authorities to plan for the development and infrastructure required in their area, including infrastructure for wastewater and utilities. They should work with other providers, such as sewerage companies, to assess the quality and capacity of infrastructure and its ability to meet forecast demands.
The Government has made a commitment, as part of its reform package under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to consult on whether or not we should make water companies statutory consultees on certain planning applications, and if so, how best to do this. It will be important that water companies engage local planning authorities on the right applications at the right time so they can input effectively and not slow down the application process.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make water companies statutory consultees in major housing developments.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Whilst we generally resist adding new statutory consultees to the planning application process, the Government has made a commitment, as part of its reform package under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to consult on whether or not we should make water companies statutory consultees on certain planning applications, and if so, how best to do this. It will be important that water companies engage local planning authorities on their applications at the right time so they can input effectively and not slow down the application process.
The approach to managing and avoiding flood risk is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, underpinned by our planning guidance. This applies to all sources of flooding, including from overwhelmed sewers and drainage systems. The Framework expects local planning authorities to plan for the development and infrastructure required in their area, including infrastructure for wastewater and utilities. They should work with other providers, such as sewerage companies, to assess the quality and capacity of infrastructure and its ability to meet forecast demands.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of incidents of disruptive air passengers and their impact on airlines and the travelling public; and what steps they intend to take to reduce such incidents.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Incidents of disruptive air passengers remain rare. The Government’s view is that the existing legislation and industry powers to deal with disruptive passengers, including financial penalties are robust enough to deal with disruptive passengers.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the UK chemical industry of simultaneously (1) adapting to the UK REACH programme, and (2) maintaining compliance with the EU REACH programme, insofar as it is necessary for trade with the EU; and what the impact has been on exports of chemicals in the past three years.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The most significant cost associated with the transition to UK REACH relates to registration. The estimated cost to industry of this is £2bn over six years; however, this estimate is uncertain and actual costs would be a matter of commercial negotiation. In response to this, we are exploring alternative arrangements for UK REACH transitional registrations, aiming to significantly reduce industry costs whilst ensuring high standards to safeguard public health and the environment. This work is still in progress, including working with industry stakeholders to better assess the practical and cost implications of different options, for example through regulators and industry volunteers preparing model dossiers. The requirements for the registration of novel chemicals to EU or UK REACH remain the same. We do not hold information on the costs faced by firms in complying with regulatory regimes outside Great Britain. Although values of chemical exports are increasing, this is not generally reflected in volume, suggesting that inflationary pressures are contributing to the figures.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what services are currently offered by mobile service Post Offices in rural areas; and whether they will ensure that all services offered by Post Offices, such as such as the ability to deposit cash by small businesses, are replicated.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Government protects the branch network by setting minimum access criteria and protects services, including cash and banking services, by setting minimum services to be provided at post offices across the country. This ensures that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office.
Outreach Post Offices are used in communities or when it is not possible to open a full-time branch due to lack of premises or retailers in the local area. Outreaches provide a full range of services including cash and banking services.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use Overseas Patrol Squadron vessels to monitor hostile activity in the UK's fisheries and against vulnerable undersea assets in regions such as the North Sea.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence constantly monitors activity within UK waters and its Economic Exclusion Zone to counter and deter detected threats.
The Royal Navy's Batch 1 Offshore Patrol Vessels, of the Overseas Patrol Squadron, are frequently used on a high readiness basis in UK waters to undertake domestic security tasks, including escorting foreign warships through UK waters. This is in addition to the Fleet Ready Escort and other persistently available Royal Navy platforms.
The Government takes the security and resilience of undersea infrastructure, including cables, interconnectors, and pipelines, very seriously. These are critical to our national infrastructure, and we monitor the full range of threats and risks.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many actions have been brought by small-scale growers of fruit and vegetables against alleged unfair practices pursued by supermarkets following the recent interruptions to the supply chain; and how many of these actions have culminated in fines where growers were found to have been disadvantaged by the supermarkets.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government does not hold such information. The Groceries Code Adjudicator enforces the Groceries Supply Code of Practice which ensures the 14 largest grocery retailers treat their direct suppliers, including suppliers of fruit and vegetables, lawfully and fairly. Any direct supplier to a regulated retailer that is experiencing issues should contact the GCA whose details are available on the GOV.UK website.