Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many fishing vessels are fitted with remote electronic monitoring cameras; what proportion of all fishing vessels this represents; and what, if any, enforcement actions have been taken since their deployment.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The enforcement of fisheries management measures and scientific monitoring of fish stocks are devolved policies. In England, Defra is working on a rolling programme where remote electronic monitoring is phased in across different fisheries in stages.
There is currently one vessel volunteering for the early adopter stage of the large pelagic trawler fishery. Further vessels are taking part in technical trials and scientific research projects. Defra is working to recruit volunteers for further priority fisheries and will work with those volunteers to design and test systems ahead of moving to mandatory requirements.
No enforcement actions have been taken as a result of the deployment of remote electronic monitoring on these vessels. Any infringements seen via remote electronic monitoring will however be acted upon in a proportionate way.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the report published on 21 May by the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit, Saving Babies' Lives Progress Report 2025, what assessment they have made of the proposed future commitments to reduce the rates of (1) stillbirth, (2) neonatal death, and (3) preterm birth, by 2035.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to make sure all women, babies, and families receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, regardless of background, location, or ethnicity.
Whilst there has been good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirth and neonatal death, we know much more needs to be done. We are looking carefully at what comes beyond the National Maternity Safety Ambition to ensure that we take an evidence-based approach, ensuring any targets are backed by action, are women and baby-centered, and focused squarely on tackling inequalities. As part of this, we are currently taking into consideration the recommendations in Sands and Tommy’s Saving Babies’ Lives 2025 Report.
On 23 June we announced a National Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services, which will look at areas where families have repeatedly experienced issues including accountability, leadership and culture, inequalities, listening to women, and how the system responds to failings in care, along with a new Maternity and Neonatal taskforce that will take forward the recommendations of the investigation. We also announced immediate action alongside this, including the development of a maternal care bundle which aims to reduce deaths and serious harm, and reduce inequalities in maternal mortality. The Health Mission and 10-Year Health Plan are also addressing the wider determinants of health and health inequalities.
While we know we need new action to go further, some good progress has been made. NHS England’s Three-Year Plan includes the rollout of version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth. It also includes initiatives to reduce inequalities, such as initiatives that focus on reducing smoking in pregnancy. As of May 2025, 97% of maternity providers in England were on track to fully implement the latest version of this bundle.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the report published on 21 May by the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit, Saving Babies' Lives Progress Report 2025, what assessment they have made of inequalities in (1) pregnancy, and (2) baby loss, by (a) ethnicity, and (b) deprivation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to make sure all women, babies, and families receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, regardless of background, location, or ethnicity.
Whilst there has been good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirth and neonatal death, we know much more needs to be done. We are looking carefully at what comes beyond the National Maternity Safety Ambition to ensure that we take an evidence-based approach, ensuring any targets are backed by action, are women and baby-centered, and focused squarely on tackling inequalities. As part of this, we are currently taking into consideration the recommendations in Sands and Tommy’s Saving Babies’ Lives 2025 Report.
On 23 June we announced a National Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services, which will look at areas where families have repeatedly experienced issues including accountability, leadership and culture, inequalities, listening to women, and how the system responds to failings in care, along with a new Maternity and Neonatal taskforce that will take forward the recommendations of the investigation. We also announced immediate action alongside this, including the development of a maternal care bundle which aims to reduce deaths and serious harm, and reduce inequalities in maternal mortality. The Health Mission and 10-Year Health Plan are also addressing the wider determinants of health and health inequalities.
While we know we need new action to go further, some good progress has been made. NHS England’s Three-Year Plan includes the rollout of version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth. It also includes initiatives to reduce inequalities, such as initiatives that focus on reducing smoking in pregnancy. As of May 2025, 97% of maternity providers in England were on track to fully implement the latest version of this bundle.
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 assessment they have made of the report by the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit, Saving Babies' Lives Progress Report 2025, published on 21 May.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to make sure all women, babies, and families receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, regardless of background, location, or ethnicity.
Whilst there has been good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirth and neonatal death, we know much more needs to be done. We are looking carefully at what comes beyond the National Maternity Safety Ambition to ensure that we take an evidence-based approach, ensuring any targets are backed by action, are women and baby-centered, and focused squarely on tackling inequalities. As part of this, we are currently taking into consideration the recommendations in Sands and Tommy’s Saving Babies’ Lives 2025 Report.
On 23 June we announced a National Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services, which will look at areas where families have repeatedly experienced issues including accountability, leadership and culture, inequalities, listening to women, and how the system responds to failings in care, along with a new Maternity and Neonatal taskforce that will take forward the recommendations of the investigation. We also announced immediate action alongside this, including the development of a maternal care bundle which aims to reduce deaths and serious harm, and reduce inequalities in maternal mortality. The Health Mission and 10-Year Health Plan are also addressing the wider determinants of health and health inequalities.
While we know we need new action to go further, some good progress has been made. NHS England’s Three-Year Plan includes the rollout of version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth. It also includes initiatives to reduce inequalities, such as initiatives that focus on reducing smoking in pregnancy. As of May 2025, 97% of maternity providers in England were on track to fully implement the latest version of this bundle.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the closure of sandeel fisheries in the English North Sea is permanent.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In March 2024, and following a public consultation, the UK and Scottish Governments closed English waters of the North Sea and all Scottish waters to sandeel fishing. The closure will shield sandeel as an essential food source for commercially valuable fish, threatened seabird populations and for marine mammals. The EU has raised a dispute that the UK’s decision to prohibit fishing for sandeel within UK waters is not compliant with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The Permanent Court of Arbitration found the UK was successful in three of four claims including Scotland successfully defending the permanent closure of fishing for sandeel in Scottish waters. The Arbitration Tribunal determined there was a procedural error in the decision-making process to close English waters to sandeel fishing, in that, the UK did not have sufficient due regard to the EU and the principle of proportionality, as required by the TCA. The Government is presently bringing the UK into compliance with the tribunal’s ruling.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the ruling of the Arbitration Tribunal in The EU v The UK [Permanent Court of Arbitration Case 2024-45], on what date they submitted the measures they have taken to comply with the ruling of the tribunal to the EU.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is currently taking steps to come into compliance and will be notifying the EU of the measures the UK has taken in due course. As part of the decision-making process, it is important that the UK considers the Tribunal’s ruling and that the policy decision weighs and balances considerations in relation to the adjustment period, and also the outcomes agreed between the EU and UK on 19th May as part of the UK-EU Summit.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted a comparative analysis of the approaches taken by the UK and Scottish Governments on the closure of sandeel fisheries in their respective territorial waters.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is presently considering its response to the Tribunal’s ruling and I cannot therefore comment in detail on the work we are doing to bring the UK into compliance.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility for the respiratory syncytial virus vaccination to include people aged over 80, clinical risk groups, and immunocompromised populations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meeting of 5 February 2025, the Department confirmed that any extension to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme, including to those aged 80 years old and above as well as other groups, would require an impact and cost effectiveness analysis.
Based on the burden data and the real-world studies, the JCVI considered that extending the programme required more evidence on the duration of protection, and how this might impact cost effectiveness.
The JCVI met again on 4 June 2025 and RSV was one of the agenda items discussed. Minutes of the JCVI’s meetings are usually published within six weeks, and are publicly available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
The committee keeps all vaccine programmes under review and will continue to update its advice as new evidence emerges. The Department will consider any future JCVI advice on who should be offered an RSV immunisation.
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 assessment they have made of the Food Standards Agency’s position on the use of added nitrites in processed meats; and whether they intend to review current UK food additive regulations in line with evolving EU standards
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports the stance of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is the regulator for food safety in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The FSA considers that the existing levels of these approved food additives provide sufficient protection for consumers. The FSA is aware of the changes made by the European Union, but has no plans to alter the maximum levels currently in legislation, because they remain important preservatives in a range of foods. As with all food additives, they have undergone safety assessments before authorisation and have been subject to various reviews both at a national and international level.
The Government advises consumers to reduce overall meat consumption, both red meat and cured meats, as part of a healthy balanced diet.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from lenders asking for higher funding limits under the Growth Guarantee Scheme, and what plans they have to extend funding limits for lenders under the Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government and the British Business Bank maintain constant dialogue with Growth Guarantee Scheme Delivery Partners to ensure the terms and capacity of the Scheme remain appropriate. With the announcement of resources to facilitate an additional £500 million of lending through the Scheme to businesses affected by turbulence in global trade, the British Business Bank are working with Delivery Partners on how best to allocate this additional capacity. Funding allocations for future years are subject to negotiation.