Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on the labelling of meat from the non-stun slaughter of animals.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government encourages the highest standards of welfare at slaughter, would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, and also respects the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.
There are no domestic or European Regulations that require the labelling of Halal or Kosher meat, but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government expects industry to provide consumers with the necessary information for them to make an informed choice about their food.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 4 March (HL Deb, col 490) that they would launch a consultation on the licensing of firearms and issues relating to medical records by the summer recess, whether they are on track to meet that commitment; and if not, when they intend to begin that consultation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government intends to launch a consultation on statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, including the arrangements for the provision of medical information, very shortly.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the process of appointing a new Governor for the Turks and Caicos Islands, they will consider the importance of promoting and encouraging tourism and businesses in that sector in those Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recruitment process looks for the best candidate who can demonstrate they have the skills to meet the challenges of the position of Governor. The position is advertised across the civil service. The Governor as Her Majesty The Queen's representative has responsibility for security, external affairs and defence. Although the locally elected Government is responsible for tourism and business, Governors of course have an important role to play in supporting the prosperity of the Overseas Territories.
As has been the established practice since 2002, I wrote to the Turks and Caicos Islands Premier last September asking for her views on the qualities and expertise needed for a new Governor.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures will be in place to ensure that (1) eggs, and (2) egg products, imported into the UK after the UK leaves the EU meet the same environmental and animal welfare standards that are adhered to currently.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government shares the British public’s high regard for the environment and for animal welfare, and our current import requirements for eggs and for egg products will continue to apply when we leave the EU.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Chief Constables in England and Wales must be in receipt of a medical report for a firearms licence applicant prior to granting or renewing a firearms licence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) number of GPs who have refused to provide medical information to support a firearms licence application, and (2) reasons for such refusals.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of encoded reminders that have been placed on the patient records of firearms licence applicants following the grant or renewal of a firearms licence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fees charged by GPs to provide medical information to support a firearms licence application.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what trade protections will be in place on (1) egg, and (2) egg product, imports from countries outside the EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government recognises the importance of eggs as an affordable and nutritious food for UK consumers. The UK egg industry has led the way in promoting high welfare standards, which the Government is committed to maintaining along with our existing high food standards for all imports.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 12 April a temporary tariff regime would apply to all UK imports from countries with which no trading arrangement is in place, including the EU.
In setting that temporary regime the Government has sought to strike a balance between the impacts on consumers and producers. No duty would apply to eggs or egg products.
The temporary tariff policy would only apply for up to 12 months. During the 12 month period, the Government will work with industry and remain responsive to businesses and consumers. We will consider exceptional changes where clear evidence is provided against the criteria set out by the five principles of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018.
After this, the Government intends to introduce a long term tariff regime. This would be developed over the course of the next 12 months following an appropriate public consultation process with interested stakeholders, including the egg sector.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the progress made to date in combatting fly tipping.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government is committed to tackling fly-tipping. In recent years we have ensured that local authorities have the necessary powers to tackle fly-tipping. We have given local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small scale fly-tipping and enhanced local authorities’ and the Environment Agency’s ability to search and seize the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.
Earlier this year we also consulted on giving local authorities and the Environment Agency the power to issue fixed penalty notices to householders who fail in their duty of care and pass their waste to fly-tippers. A further announcement will follow later this year. We will also support local authorities in raising householders’ awareness of their duty of care and update the Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice to inform householders better about how to ensure their waste is disposed of properly.
As part of the Government’s Resource and Waste Strategy (due to be published before the end of the year), we are developing a strategic approach to waste crime. This will include further measures to tackle fly-tipping, including enhancing local-level partnership working and working with the court system to strengthen sentences to act as an effective deterrent.
Defra annually publishes fly-tipping statistics for England. The statistics for 2016/17 showed local authorities dealt with 1,002,000 fly-tipping incidents. The statistics for 2017/18 will be published on Thursday 15 November.