Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Callanan on 6 February (HL Deb col 1082), when the Department for Transport industry engagement forum will next meet to discuss the impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on that industry.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This forum is next scheduled to meet on 14th March.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 7 February (HL5154), what is the upper age limit for screening for bowel cancer; and whether those who have been screened in the past but have now passed the previous upper age limit for screening will be invited to re-apply under the new rules.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme is currently offered to people between the ages of 60 years old and 74 years old. The programme is expanding to make it available to everyone aged 50 years old to 59 years old, this is happening gradually over four years and started in April 2021.
If people over the age of 74 years old have concerns about bowel cancer, they should speak to their general practitioner who will determine the best course of actions to take.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether, in view of the disquiet over the cost and other aspects of the Peers' Entrance works, any way exists for the issue to be brought to the floor of the House for debate, with a possibility of cancelling or referring back for further consideration these proposals.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The strong advice to all members is that debating the drivers behind specific security projects, and the plans to address security weaknesses, should not be raised in any public forum as to do so may heighten the security threat.
Members are always welcome to contact the Director of Security to discuss any security-related concerns privately.
The Peers’ Portico project has been approved by the Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House who, as Accounting Officers and Corporate Officers, are legally accountable for ensuring the safety of all members, staff and visitors on the Parliamentary Estate as a whole. Before coming to their decision, they considered professional security advice, the external professional security validation of that advice, and the views of members on the Commission, the Services Committee, the Finance Committee and members more widely. Ultimately it is not the House that makes the final decision because security is a bicameral issue, and legal responsibility for safety sits with the Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review the role and powers of the Official Solicitor to prevent the holder of that office from seeking to free persons imprisoned under industrial relations legislation as part of (1) their ongoing review of industrial relations legal framework, or (2) any forthcoming industrial relations legislation.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulances, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action, reducing risk to life and ensuring the public can still get to work.
The Government is not planning to imminently introduce any further primary legislation in this area. The Government continually keeps the UK’s trade union legislation under review.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take into account the outcome of the Midland Cold Storage Ltd v Bernard Steer and others case of 1972 in their (1) ongoing review of the industrial relations legal framework, and (2) consideration of sanctions under any forthcoming legislation on industrial relations.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulances, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action, reducing risk to life and ensuring the public can still get to work.
The Government is not planning to imminently introduce any further primary legislation in this area. The Government continually keeps the UK’s trade union legislation under review.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Callanan on 19 December (HL Deb col 947) in which he said that "75 per cent of workers in this country are not in trade unions", what assessment they have made of whether there is a link between (1) levels of union membership, and (2) levels of workforce care and HR practices, in the private sector versus the public sector.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Statistics on trade union membership, including proportion of public and private sector employees who belong to a union are published on Gov.uk.
Trade unions can have a constructive role to play in representing their members’ interests. Strikes, however, should always be a last resort given the impact that they have on the public and we would always encourage unions to exhaust all other avenues to resolve disputes before taking this step.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 29 November (HL3471), which said that the outturn for winter fuel payments for the year 2020/21 was £1,958 million in nominal terms, whether they have considered making winter fuel payments a taxable benefit; and if so, what estimate they have made of the tax yield that would result.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government has no plans to make Winter Fuel Payments taxable, and as such no analysis has been undertaken to estimate how much this would raise.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 22 November (HL3405), what plans they have, if any, to give an indication of (1) a timetable for the commencement of the independent review into the causes of disputes between those with parental responsibility and those responsible for the care or medical treatment of critically ill children, (2) details of the membership of the review, and (3) terms of reference for the review, which is due to report by 1 October 2023.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We expect the commissioning process to be completed in the coming weeks. While the review will not have a fixed membership, it will engage with a range of interested or affected people and organisations. This will include health professionals and the families of critically ill children, to ensure it develops a balanced evidence base for identifying solutions. The organisation undertaking the review will be asked to publish its terms of reference shortly after it has been commissioned.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Kamall on 8 September (HL Deb, col 272), whether they will provide an update on the progress of commissioning an independent review into the causes of disputes between those with parental responsibility and those responsible for the care or medical treatment of critically ill children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently examining the commissioning process for the review and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to maintain their decision to increase alcohol duty this year, and (2) to devise a strategy to bring the tax back in line to the level it was in 2010.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government keeps the duty rates under review during its yearly budget process and aims to balance the impact on businesses with its public health objectives.
On 17 October, the Chancellor announced a reversal of almost all of the tax measures set out in the Growth Plan that have not been legislated for in Parliament. This included the freeze of alcohol duty rates from 1 February 2023.
The alcohol duty uprating decision and interactions with the wider reforms to alcohol duties under the Alcohol Duty Review will be considered in due course.