Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much it cost to place the advert in Le Monde on 23 October entitled Brexit—31st October.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Information relating to individual adverts in specific locations is only obtainable at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the advert placed in Le Monde on 23 February entitled Brexit—31st October cost.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Her Majesty’s Government did not place any adverts in Le Monde on 23 February.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adverts they have placed in newspapers in EU27 countries alerting businesses to Brexit on 31 October; and what was the total cost of those adverts.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
“Get Ready for Brexit” campaign activity has taken place in all 27 EU countries to make sure citizens and businesses have the facts they need to know about the steps they need to take to be ready for when the UK leaves the EU.
The overall costs of the public information campaign will be published monthly on a rolling basis as part of routine government transparency.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last met the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to discuss the effects of a no-deal Brexit; and what was the outcome of those discussions.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
We are working closely with businesses across the country to help ensure they are prepared for the UK leaving the EU on the 31st October, whatever the circumstances. This includes regular engagement with the automotive industry by both BEIS ministers and officials to discuss plans for no-deal.
Details of ministerial meetings with external bodies are published on the Gov.uk website of the relevant Department.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 4 July (HL16607), whether they will now answer the question put, namely what recent considerations they have given to making it a requirement that all new homes be fitted with solar panels.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have launched a consultation on options for a meaningful and achievable increase to the energy efficiency standards for new homes to be introduced through the Building Regulations in 2020, as a stepping stone to meeting our commitment to introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025. Our preferred option for 2020 would achieve a 31% reduction in carbon emissions for an average home. We expect this would be achieved by homes being built with high fabric standards alongside the use of low-carbon heating, such as a heat-pump, or renewables technology, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.
The Building Regulations set minimum energy performance standards for new homes and non-domestic buildings, but do not prescribe the technologies, materials or fuels to be used, allowing builders the flexibility to innovate and select the most practical and cost-effective solutions in particular circumstances. For example, many roofs are not suitable for solar PV panels because of visual amenity, age, strength, or orientation of the property. It would therefore be implausible for Government to enforce a blanket requirement to deploy solar PV panels on every new home.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the inquiry into the leaking of confidential messages from Sir Kim Darroch will conclude.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 12 July, the Metropolitan Police Service announced it would be carrying out an investigation under the terms of the Official Secrets Act. That investigation is on-going.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to introducing legislation to require wet wipes and similar products to list the proportion of plastics in their composition.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government recognises the importance of introducing requirements to inform and influence consumers on the appropriate use and disposal of products containing plastic. The Resources and Waste Strategy published in December 2018 makes commitments to develop mandatory labelling requirements and this work is underway. This includes wet wipes.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent consideration they have given to making it a requirement that all new homes be fitted with solar panels.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Building Regulations set minimum energy performance standards for new homes and non-domestic buildings. They are deliberately couched in performance terms and do not prescribe the technologies, materials or fuels to be used. For example, many roofs are not suitable for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels because of roof design, age, strength, or building orientation. It would therefore be implausible for a blanket requirement to deploy solar PV on every roof.
We are, however, planning to consult later this year on an uplift to the Building Regulations energy efficiency standards where there are safe, practical, cost-effective, and affordable opportunities to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which countries, in order of priority, they wish to conclude trade deals post-Brexit; and what estimate they have made, if any, of the likely timescale of concluding such deals.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our priority is to be in a position to begin formal negotiations with key partners after we leave the EU, and to then make progress towards substantive agreements, so long as such agreements work for the whole of the UK. We have completed public consultations on potential future free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and on the UK’s potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). We plan to publish Government responses for each of the four consultations before any formal negotiations begin.
Trade agreements vary in shape, scope and form, and there is no “average” timeframe for completion. For example, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada took seven years to negotiate, the China-Switzerland FTA took two, but the USA-Jordan FTA negotiations only four months. The Government is clear that its objective is to negotiate the best possible FTAs for the whole of the UK, in the interests of business and consumers.
While we are looking to forge new agreements, the Government is also seeking continuity for our existing EU trade agreements as we leave the EU. A list of all signed trade continuity agreements is available on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Baroness Quin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the Bar Council, (2) the Law Society, and (3) other interested organisations about the impact of Brexit on the cross-border enforcement of civil judgments.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government has engaged regularly with the Law Society, the Bar Council and other interested representatives of the legal profession since the referendum about the impact of Brexit on all aspects of civil judicial cooperation, including the cross-border enforceability of judgments. This has included regular Ministerial meetings and senior official conversations and attending a variety of roundtables and events.
In addition, the Department asked the sector to lead a dedicated group, the Brexit Law Committee, to provide a forum through which the Government and the legal and business sectors could discuss legal and commercial issues arising out of EU exit. This Committee includes representatives of both the Law Society and the Bar Council, and representatives from other legal organisations, and business groups.