Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the Sentencing Bill with Article 2 of the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have carried out an assessment of the compatibility of the Bill with Article 2 of the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Windsor Framework.
The Government is currently appealing the scope and operation of Article 2 of the Windsor Framework before the higher Courts.
It is the Government’s view that [the Bill] is compatible with the Protocol and the Framework.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent the provisions of the Sentencing Bill which relate to the removal of foreign criminals from the United Kingdom will apply to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The current deportation regime applies in Northern Ireland as it does in the rest of the UK. It is the government’s view that deportation powers are consistent across the UK and that clause 42 will apply UK wide.
We will do everything we can to remove foreign criminals and protect the public in Northern Ireland and all other parts of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the provisions of the Sentencing Bill which relate to the removal of foreign criminals from the United Kingdom are compatible with Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have carried out an assessment of the compatibility of the provisions in the Sentencing Bill which relate to the removal of foreign criminals from the UK with Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.
The Government is currently appealing the scope and operation of Article 2 of the Windsor Framework before the higher Courts.
However, it is the Government’s view that the provisions are compatible with Article 2.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a modern service framework for respiratory health.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.
The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government which provisions of the Sentencing Bill will not apply to Northern Ireland, and why.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The issue of justice is one that is a transferred matter under the devolution settlement. Ministry of Justice officials have engaged officials in the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to a range of Bill measures and amendments that apply in Northern Ireland. A Legislative Consent Motion is not required with respect to Northern Ireland.
Provisions that will apply to Northern Ireland include sentences with fixed licence period, deportation of foreign criminals and the Service Justice System.
The Explanatory Notes for the Bill contain a comprehensive table which outlines the parts of the Bill which apply to Northern Ireland and which do not. This is available on the Bill Page on the Parliament website.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for publishing the secondary legislation following the enactment of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Powers in the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 have already been used to introduce secondary legislation. The Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors (Amendment and Transitional) Regulations 2025 was the first statutory instrument to be laid (13 October). Other secondary legislation will follow, after appropriate consultation, as is required by the Act. As announced in the Budget, this includes consulting in early 2026 on proposals to tackle the prevalence of unsafe products sold online and streamline the processes for enforcement.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include training on the implementation of the duty in section 19 of the Environment Act 2021 to have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement in the new cycle of the Statutory Instrument Capability Programme due to launch in November.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Training is available to all civil servants on the environmental principles duty. The Statutory Instrument Capability Programme is a series of monthly seminars designed to advise civil servants on the management of Statutory Instruments, including the role of Impact Assessments.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent findings from Which? that nearly 800 products for sale on online marketplaces were similar or identical to items already flagged as unsafe by the Office for Product Safety and Standards in the past year, whether they plan to introduce a duty for online marketplaces to tackle unsafe products sold on their platforms; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market. However, it continues to be too easy for non-compliant goods to be made available to UK consumers online. The Government has therefore introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025. The Act allows us to introduce clear and proportionate obligations on online marketplaces to improve consumer safety and ensure fair market competition.
We have committed to consult on proposals to modernise these responsibilities in early 2026. This will build upon best practice to create an effective and proportionate regulatory framework.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the Department for Transport’s consideration of a review of L-Category licensing, as referred to by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport in February at the Motorcycle Industry Association annual conference; and when they expect to publish further details on the review’s scope and timetable.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering plans to review the existing requirements for motorcycle training, testing, and licensing that take account of both long-standing plans in the Department for Transport and the Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency, and proposals received from the motorcycle sector. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. We intend to publish the Strategy this year.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Sentencing Code in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Sentencing Code came into force in December 2020 and was the product of a Law Commission project that involved extensive public consultation. Prior to its creation sentencing procedural law was significantly convoluted, spanning across multiple different pieces of legislation. The Code consolidated the law in this area, helping make it more accessible.
More broadly, the Government keeps the sentencing framework under regular review. In October 2024, we commissioned the Independent Sentencing Review, led by former Lord Chancellor Rt. Hon. David Gauke. The Sentencing Bill, currently being considered before Parliament, implements many of the Review’s recommendations.