Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of the ongoing utility of the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention following recent developments in Eastern and Northern Europe.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention) continues to play an important role in protecting civilians from harm caused by anti-personnel landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, the UK’s commitment to it remains unwavering. We continue to encourage countries to join the Ottawa Convention, subscribe to its provisions; and discourage States from using anti-personnel landmines.
His Majesty's Government has noted that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have stated their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty. The UK acknowledges and shares concerns about the security environment in the region as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We also acknowledge that it is the sovereign right of those countries to make this decision. The UK will work to mitigate impacts on vital arms control and disarmament norms, while continuing to engage bilaterally on the actions States plan to take.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants attended COP29 in Baku in November 2024.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The full list of UK delegates who attended COP29 was 448 and was published by the UNFCCC, along with other country delegations. It can be found on the UNFCCC website. The number of UK delegates that attended COP28 was 674.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what in their guidance for cost-benefit analysis is the current monetary value of a life year.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Green Book provides a figure of £70,000 for the value of a Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY). This is expressed in 2020-21 prices.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to issue the latest consultation on a code of practice for parking charges and debt recovery fees.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities. This government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector and will announce its plans for the new Code in due course.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 11 February (HL4960), what is the reason for the delay between the close of the consultation on hydrogen-powered off-road construction vehicles, and the development of an amendment to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In light of the responses received during the consultation process, a decision was made to adapt the approach to hydrogen safety in the proposed amendment for both Non-Road Mobile Machinery and agricultural equipment. Since the consultation closed, the department has taken the time to liaise closely with manufacturers and other regulators to work through the detail.
In addition, policy development of the amendment was paused over the general election period in line with government practice. This legislation is due to be laid in April 2025.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many full driving licences are held in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The latest information available shows that on 15 February, there were 42,549,993 driving licence records held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency where the licence holder has full driving entitlement.
These figures are for driving licence holders in Great Britain only. Driver licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
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.