Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports by (1) the Department for Transport, (2) the Department of Health, (3) the Department for Education, (4) the Ministry of Justice, (5) the Ministry of Defence, and (6) the Government, have been made on the implementation and progress towards their policy of those Departments adopting a presumption in favour of offsite construction by 2019; and whether any such reports have been published.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The requested contractual information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as these contracts are awarded by departments and their delivery bodies.
Since the announcement of the presumption in favour of off-site construction, the government has continued to drive the agenda of modernising construction by working with the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as publishing documents such as The Construction Sector Deal and Transforming Infrastructure Performance, which outlines the government’s plan to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and boost construction sector productivity.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of the offsite construction contracts which have been awarded by (1) the Department for Transport, (2) the Department of Health, (3) the Department for Education, (4) the Ministry of Justice, and (5) the Ministry of Defence, in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, and (c) 2019.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The requested contractual information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as these contracts are awarded by departments and their delivery bodies.
Since the announcement of the presumption in favour of off-site construction, the government has continued to drive the agenda of modernising construction by working with the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as publishing documents such as The Construction Sector Deal and Transforming Infrastructure Performance, which outlines the government’s plan to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and boost construction sector productivity.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether either the proposed (1) Nature for Climate Fund or (2) Blue Planet Fund will be open to UK Overseas Territories.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is committed to supporting the unique biodiversity of the Overseas Territories, which contain over 90% of the UK family’s total endemic species.
A summary of responses to 2019’s call for evidence on safeguarding the environment in the British Overseas Territories will be published shortly. This will be used to inform decisions on future public funding and support, which to date has supported important conservation work in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments in the Territories. In addition, last year the UK announced an extension to the Blue Belt Programme (BBP) until 2021, with a further £7 million to provide ongoing support for protection of the diverse marine ecosystems present around the Overseas Territories.
The ocean supports the livelihoods of one in every ten people, including some of the poorest and most vulnerable worldwide. Recognising the link between ocean health and its effect on the development prospects of the most disadvantaged communities, this Government will establish a £500 million Blue Planet Fund (BPF).
Financed from the Official Development Assistance Budget, the BPF will help ODA-eligible countries. The fund seeks to protect their marine resources from key human-generated stressors including plastic pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. This new financing will build on the success of the BBP, embracing the wider ocean’s role in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The scope of the Nature for Climate Fund is under development, but as set out in our manifesto, the Fund will help to drive a step change in tree planting, peatland restoration and nature recovery in England.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many trees they estimate were planted in each of the last six quarters for which figures are available in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland; whether this is in line with their commitment to plant 11 million trees in this Parliament; and if not, what steps they will take to meet that target.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government remains committed to planting 11 million trees in this Parliament, 2017 to 2022. Woodland creation is a key activity of our 25 Year Environment Plan.
The Forestry Commission routinely publish statistics on planting rates as part of their Corporate Performance Indicators.
The published figures which report on new planting of woodland in England supported by the Countryside Stewardship, part of the Rural Development programme for England, are based on the area of grant claims approved for payment and are reproduced in the table below:
Period (Quarter) | Woodland Area (hectares) | Tree Numbers |
Jan - Mar 2019 | 69 | 113,000 |
Oct – Dec 2018 | 227 | 366,000 |
July - Sept 2018 | 477 | 748,000 |
April – June 2018 | 245 | 380,000 |
Jan – March 2018 | 99 | 159,000 |
Oct – Dec 2017 | 105 | 181,000 |
Government’s support for this woodland creation has predominantly been from the Countryside Stewardship scheme. Further Government support has been through the Environment Agency and National Forest Company.
In the Autumn Budget the Government announced an additional £60 million for tree planting initiatives, comprising £10 million to fund urban tree planting and £50 million for a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme. This will add to other new planting in the pipeline, supported by the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund, the Woodland Carbon Fund and Government’s kick start investment in the Northern Forest.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the prevention Green Paper will be published; and whether preventing increasing disease burden among progressive conditions will be examined in the Green Paper.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Green Paper on Prevention will be published later this year. We are considering a number of policy options for the Prevention Green Paper and will be mindful of the burden of progressive conditions.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what engagement activity they are planning for the prevention Green Paper; and when they expect such activity to begin.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
In the Prevention Vision document, Prevention is better than cure, we committed to publishing a Prevention Green Paper setting out Government plans on prevention in more detail. Planning for this Green Paper is now underway, and officials will be working with a range of external partners and other Government departments on the content. Full details will be available later this year, when the Green Paper is published.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve secondary prevention for people with long-term conditions.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The National Health Service has a wide range of secondary prevention services aimed at detecting diseases early and either halting or slowing their progression. This includes many long-term conditions.
The focus on prevention including secondary prevention has been strengthened with the publication of Prevention is Better than Cure, the Government’s vision document in November 2018 and the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan in January 2019.
Prevention is Better than Cure, focuses on both preventing disease and supporting patients to manage conditions most effectively where they have arisen. A copy is attached. The Long Term Plan includes several new actions to help people with long-term conditions, with a particular focus on the communities and groups of people most affected by these problems.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reports by OTB Engineering, published in January, and Michael Byng, published in July 2017 on the Short-Mined Tunnel alternative proposal to the HS2 Phase One route at Wendover; and whether they will place copies of both reports in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport has not received a report by OTB engineering published in January 2019 regarding the HS2 Phase One route at Wendover.
The July 2017 report into the Wendover mined tunnel proposal was considered by the Department for Transport after copies of the report were provided to the Secretary of State by members of both Houses from July 2017. Department for Transport Ministers communicated their assessment to those members from October 2017 onwards.
It is not appropriate for private correspondence between Ministers and members of either House to be placed in either Library without their consent.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when initial findings are anticipated from the gastroenterology Getting It Right First Time workstream; and whether that workstream will make recommendations about inflammatory bowel disease services.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) gastroenterology pilot visits will begin in April 2019, to test the data packs. Once cleared, these data packs will be sent to all English trusts and visits to these trusts will commence in June 2019. While initial findings will start to become clear in autumn 2019, GIRFT does not release its recommendations until the publication of the National report, which, after feedback from key stakeholders including the British Society of Gastroenterology, is scheduled to be released in summer 2020.
GIRFT will be looking at all areas of gastroenterology, including areas relevant to patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, it is too early to say what specific recommendations will be made in each area.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) review, and (2) update, the NICE guidelines for the management of (a) Crohn’s disease, and (b) ulcerative colitis.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for reviewing and updating its guidelines as new evidence becomes available.
NICE’s clinical guidelines for the management of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis were both reviewed in 2017 and are both in the process of being updated.
The Crohn’s disease guideline update focuses on postsurgical maintenance of remission, whilst the ulcerative colitis guideline update focuses on medicines used to induce remission in people with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis and treating acute severe ulcerative colitis.
NICE expects to publish its updated guidelines for both conditions in May 2019.