Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 January (HL4187), what assessment they have made of the pace at which international applicants are registered by the General Medical Council for the purposes of enabling them to become economically independent and reducing the shortfall of trained personnel in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the pace at which international applicants are registered by the General Medical Council (GMC) for the stated purposes.
All medical practitioners wishing to practise in the United Kingdom must be registered with the GMC and hold a licence to practise. The GMC is statutorily independent of the Government and sets the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to its register. This ensures registrants are safe to practise, and that patients receive a high standard of care.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce legislation to enable hydrogen-powered off-road construction vehicles to be able to move locations via the public highway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Following a consultation that closed in April 2024, the Department for Transport is developing an amendment to The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 to allow hydrogen-powered off-road machinery to be used on the road. Legislation is expected to be introduced alongside publication of the Government’s response to the public consultation in April.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the cost to date for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry; and what estimate they have made of the future budget in each of the next two years.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is important that lessons are learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is independent of government and it is right that we allow the Chair to continue her important work. The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work, and she has been clear in her intention to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry publishes quarterly financial reports outlining the cost to date of the Inquiry. As of the end of Quarter 2 for 2024/25, the total expenditure of the Inquiry is £124.18m. New Q3 costs will be published in the usual way.
Additionally, the Cabinet Office regularly publishes government costs in responding to the Inquiry. From the start of the 2023/24 financial year to the end of Q2 2024/25, the government response costs total £64.6m.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost per unit of the new single living accommodation block at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; and where were the units manufactured.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The new Single Living Accommodation (SLA) block at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) provides 53 en-suite single bedspaces for Senior Ranks, with utilities, drying rooms, a kitchen and furnished communal space.
While this information is not held in the format requested, the overall contract value for the new SLA block at RMAS was £10.91 million; project cost capture does not split the cost into a single bedspace. The SLA block was manufactured in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy regarding the appointment of representatives of workers on to public boards and advisory bodies.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The appointments of worker representatives onto public boards and advisory bodies are dependent on the legislation associated with its membership and follow the appropriate public appointments recruitment processes.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of individuals qualified to install solar panels onto the roofs of domestic properties; and how many individuals are currently in training for this occupation.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold this information.
Alongside the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, The Office for Clean Energy Jobs published an evidence annex that assessed the skills challenges for the Clean Energy Mission, including solar. This will be used with wider evidence and engagement to support skills planning and ensure that the UK has the workforce needed to become a clean energy superpower.
The Solar Taskforce has been focusing on identifying and taking forward the actions needed to deliver a resilient, high skilled, well-paid solar workforce. The resulting Solar Roadmap is due for publication in Spring 2025.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of qualified insulation installers in the country.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not have an exact figure for the number of individual qualified insulation installers operating in the market. However, to be able to work on the Government’s energy efficiency schemes, a business installing fabric insulation must be registered with TrustMark to ensure compliance with PAS 2035/2030. As of January 2025, there are around 900 insulation installer businesses registered with TrustMark that can work on the Government’s energy efficiency schemes. The Government is working with the sector to improve our understanding of the retrofit supply chain to support delivery of the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to remove copycat third-party websites that re-sell government services.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2024 the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) Takedown Service resolved over 2.3 million attacks of which 57,000 directly targeted HMG brands. The NCSC Takedown Service reduces the return on investment for attackers by removing sites and blocking any attack to infrastructure. As part of the Takedown Service, members of the public can report a scam website [https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-website]. The NCSC also offers a suspicious email reporting service which links into the Takedown Service, this analyses emails and when they are found to contain links to malicious sites, seeks to disrupt them. The email reporting service is report@phishing.gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to facilitate medically qualified individuals from abroad who have been granted leave to remain in the UK having their qualifications recognised so that they can be recruited into the NHS workforce.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All medical practitioners wishing to practise in the United Kingdom must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and hold a licence to practise. The GMC is statutorily independent of the Government and sets the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to its register. This ensures registrants are safe to practise, and that patients receive a high standard of care.
Information on the process for joining the GMC’s register and tailored support for international applicants can be found on its website.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the number of individuals in England on the parliamentary electoral register, and what percentage this represents of the number of those eligible to vote.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Office for National Statistics publishes annual electoral statistics. Its most recent report, published in April 2024, shows that the numbers of parliamentary electors registered to vote in England stood at 38,969,669.
There are no official statistics on, or Government estimates of, the numbers eligible to vote in parliamentary elections in England but not registered. The best available estimate, produced by the Electoral Commission in 2023, is that the parliamentary register in England is 86% complete.