Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether shipping businesses operating out of Northern Ireland will be able to access the decarbonisation support funds made available under the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
UK SHORE funding is open to organisations in all four nations of the UK, including Northern Ireland which is subject to the Windsor Framework. There has been at least one project involving businesses from Northern Ireland in each round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions, and we anticipate Northern Irish businesses will apply for both the seventh round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC7) and second round of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI2). For full details of the subsidy control and eligibility criteria, prospective applicants will be able to seek further information from Innovate UK who are running roadshow events on the funding across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition with the Windsor Framework’s rules on state aid.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
UK SHORE funding is open to organisations in all four nations of the UK, including Northern Ireland which is subject to the Windsor Framework. There has been at least one project involving businesses from Northern Ireland in each round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions, and we anticipate Northern Irish businesses will apply for both the seventh round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC7) and second round of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI2). For full details of the subsidy control and eligibility criteria, prospective applicants will be able to seek further information from Innovate UK who are running roadshow events on the funding across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.
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 what plans they have to introduce a set of core standards for agri-food imports to ensure both fair competition for farmers and quality for consumers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare.
As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, the Government will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. Defra recognises concerns about methods of production which are not permitted in the UK.
While production methods vary in line with different climates, diseases and other contextual reasons, the Government will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, we will be prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors.
This reflects the Government’s commitment to uphold our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards, areas in which the UK is a world leader.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 with UK commitments to dynamically align with EU pesticide standards as part of the future UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 makes amendments to assimilated law for three areas of chemical regulation: GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR), GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemical Substances and Mixtures Regulation (GB CLP); and the Export and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Regulation (GB PIC). The changes being made are set out in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) response to its consultation that ran between 23 June 2025 and 18 August 2025. HSE is committed to minimising divergence with the EU across all regimes.
GB BPR is now included in the negotiations between UK and the EU on a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. Until the agreement is concluded, the changes to GB BPR made by this instrument are necessary to resolve critical issues in the GB biocides regime which could otherwise lead to a large group of biocidal products and active substances being removed from the GB market. The implications for GB BPR will be further analysed when the final shape of the Agreement is known.
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 potential merits of including a dementia diagnosis pathway in the Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In developing the Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Frailty and Dementia, we are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with frailty and dementia.
We will consider what interventions should be supported to improve diagnosis waiting times, which we know are too long in many areas. We are considering all options to help reduce variation, including reviewing metrics and targets.
We will also review existing guidance and literature, including the Dementia 100 pathway assessment tool, which continues the work of the Dementia Care Pathway and covers all elements of the Well Pathway, including diagnosis.
We are working to develop the content of the framework as soon as possible and we will keep partners updated on progress and timings as this work unfolds. We are committed to publishing an interim product in September this year to feed into National Health Service and local government planning cycles, and will aim to publish the full MSF by the end of this calendar year.
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 appointments they have made to the task and finish groups responsible for developing the modern service frameworks for (1) dementia, and (2) frailty; what meetings those groups have held to date; and when those groups plan to meet next.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework Task and Finish Group is an advisory body to offer insight and guidance, helping to shape the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia by drawing on expertise from across the health and care system. It will be co-chaired by:
We are unable to confirm the names of others invited to join the task and finish groups at this time, as we are still awaiting confirmation that they have accepted the invite. The first meeting is scheduled for 25 March 2026, and these meetings will occur monthly. We are working to develop the content of the framework as soon as possible and we will keep partners updated on progress and timings as this work unfolds.
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 when the communiqué for the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs meeting held on 5 February will be published on gov.uk.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The communiqué was published on 5 March 2026 at Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs communiqués - GOV.UK.
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 diagnostic and performance data will be collected by services as part of the modern service framework for frailty and dementia, and whether this data will be reported publicly.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In developing the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, we are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with frailty and dementia.
As part of this exercise, we will consider what interventions and performance data should be supported to improve care for those living with dementia and frailty. We are considering all options to help reduce variation and to improve care, including reviewing metrics, data, and targets.
We are working to develop the content of the framework as soon as possible and we will keep partners updated on progress and timings as this work unfolds.
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 measures will be included in the modern service framework for frailty and dementia to address current waiting times, and whether this will include a specific target for referral-to-treatment waiting times.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In developing the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, we are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with frailty and dementia.
As part of this exercise, we will consider what interventions should be supported to improve diagnosis waiting times, which we know are too long in many areas. We are considering all options to help reduce variation, including reviewing metrics and targets.
We are working to develop the content of the framework as soon as possible and we will keep partners updated on progress and timings as this work unfolds.
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 ensure transparency and accountability in evaluation of the modern service framework.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In developing the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, we are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with dementia and frailty.
We are working to develop the content of the framework as soon as possible and we will keep partners updated on progress and timings as this work unfolds. We will also consider how best to evaluate the implementation of the modern service framework.