Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the withdrawal of copper wire land lines because of the roll out of full fibre does not leave some homes and schools without access to communication, emergency messages or 999 calls in the event of a power cut which disables both their home power and the power supply to local mobile phone masts.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The analogue landline system, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately-owned telecoms network and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry. The industry’s decision to upgrade the PSTN is due to necessity, as the network is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure, with some telecoms companies finding it difficult to source certain spare parts required to maintain or repair connections. Therefore, keeping customers on the ageing PSTN system presents risks in itself.
DSIT officials engage with Communications Providers on a regular basis to understand the plans they have in place for the transition. Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, has also issued guidance on how telecoms companies should fulfil their regulatory obligations in the event of a power cut.
This guidance states that providers should have at least one solution available that enables access to emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage in the premises. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them, such as longer life battery back-up units, 4G enabled handsets or satellite enabled communication units. The DSIT Secretary of State also asked Ofcom to review the general resilience of telecommunications services in the event of prolonged power outages. In response, in December 2023, Ofcom launched a consultation on the resilience of the sector that includes a separate call for input on power backup for mobile radio access networks. The consultation stated that 65% of power outages lasted for less than 1 hour.
In December 2023, DSIT agreed a Charter of Commitments with the UK’s leading Communications Providers to secure additional commitments to protect vulnerable consumers through the transition process. As part of the Charter, Communication Providers have agreed to work towards going beyond the standard minimum of one hour resilience.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on vulnerable people in remote rural areas of the loss of telephone contact during power cuts; and what plans they have to review their policy of withdrawing telephone land lines from some rural properties given the experience during recent storms.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The telecoms industry is retiring the Public Switched Telephone Network as the old technology reaches the end of its serviceable life, with landlines being replaced by Voice over Internet Protocol services. The decision to upgrade the telephone network has been taken by the telecoms industry and not the Government. Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, has issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that their VoIP customers have access to the emergency services during a power outage. This guidance was prepared following consultation with Ofgem and the industry, looking at data on average power outages among other factors.
This guidance states that providers should have at least one solution available which enables access to emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage in the premises, and that the solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk because they are dependent on their landline. This might include relying on the mobile network, which has a high degree of power resilience, or using a battery back-up unit to provide power. Ofcom’s full guidance is available on its website here.
As part of our standard procedure for large incidents, DCMS is working with Ofcom and the telecoms sector to complete a Post-Incident Review on the response to Storm Arwen. Similarly, BEIS as the Lead Government Department for energy is undertaking its own review; both these reports will identify lessons and develop actions to improve responses for future events.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue guidance to local authorities about the control of badgers in (1) cemeteries, and (2) burial grounds.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In England, licences - for the purpose of preventing serious damage to land, or any other form of property - to kill or take badgers, or to interfere with a badger sett are granted by Natural England (NE). NE is authorised, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to grant licences for this purpose.
In situations where badgers are causing damage to cemeteries or burial grounds, NE can provide case-specific advice to the local authority if requested, and this may include a site visit where this would be beneficial. If the damage is caused by foraging activities, then advice will normally relate to preventive measures that do not require a licence, such as the use of fencing and other proofing. Where the sett itself is causing damage to graves, then an application for a licence to exclude badgers from the sett may be appropriate.
Licences will only be granted where there are no satisfactory alternatives, the action to be licensed is proportionate to the scale of the problem and the licensed action will contribute to resolving the problem.
General guidance on the protection afforded to badgers and licensing activities impacting badgers is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/badgers-protection-surveys-and-licences.
Defra has no current plans to issue any further guidance to local authorities about the control of badgers in cemeteries or burial grounds.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 15 July (HL Deb, col 1945), what were the principal elements in the estimated £60 million a year in increased revenue from the operation of the proposed new East Coast Mainline timetable.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the proposed timetable London North Eastern Railway (LNER) passenger numbers are expected to increase as a result of shorter journey times between key destinations, supporting the Government’s decarbonisation plans. It will also enable the addition of 30 per cent more trains per hour and these additional services would provide a significant increase in capacity creating opportunities for increased revenue.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to consult church organisations covered by the Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (England) Order 2010 as part of the Planning for the Future consultation; and what plans they have to change the exemptions under that Order.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Following the Planning for the Future White Paper consultation last year on changes to the planning system, the Government continues to engage with a wide range of stakeholders as we develop our detailed proposals. This includes reforms to the planning framework for listed buildings to ensure their significance is conserved while allowing, where appropriate, sympathetic changes to support their continued use and address climate change.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date and at what time the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (North East of England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1010) (1) were laid before Parliament, (2) came into force, and (3) were published on the legislation.gov.uk website; and if they were not so published by 8am on 18 September, why not.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (North East of England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1010) were laid 5:30pm on 17 September 2020, came into force on 18 September 2020 and published online shortly before 5:41pm on 17 September 2020.
These Regulations were subsequently amended by the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Protected Areas) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1019), which came into force on 22 September 2020.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the registration process administered by the Office for Students following the denial of registration to Spurgeon's College in respect of financial sustainability; and what plans they have, if any, to review that process.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department is unable to comment on individual cases related to the Office for Students (OfS) registration. The department supports the OfS as an effective independent regulator in its aim of safeguarding a fair market for students of all backgrounds to undertake higher education. Neither the department nor our ministers can intervene in judicial reviews of the decisions of the OfS.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision, if any, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service has made for courts to sit in prisons when a prisoner refuses either to attend court or to take part in a video link between a prison and a court.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
A decision that a court should sit within a prison when a defendant refuses to attend court in person or by video link is for the judiciary. If such a decision is made HMCTS , in conjunction with HMPPS Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service makes the necessary arrangements.
The Court has no legal power to direct a prison officer (including a Governor) to use force or to compel a prisoner to attend court.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the implications of the Paris Agreement for policy on the opening of new coal mines; what has been their response to any such representations; and what assessment they have made of the decision of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales to reject a mine application by reference to the Paris Agreement and climate change.
Answered by Lord Henley
We receive regular representations regarding the implications of the Paris Agreement for tackling climate change. In response, we are clear that the UK is committed to delivering the ambition of the Paris Agreement. The Climate Change Act committed the UK to reducing emissions by at least 80% compared to 1990 levels and we are phasing out the use of unabated coal for electricity generation by 2025. In response to the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C, we have asked the Climate Change Committee to advise on whether further action is needed. No specific assessment has been made of the New South Wales decision noting that planning decisions for new mines are a matter for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Lord Beith (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to ensure the continuation of flights between the UK and Norway after the UK leaves the EU; and whether any UK–Norway air services agreement has been concluded.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
As part of prudent contingency planning for a no-deal scenario, officials in my Department are working closely with their counterparts in the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. We have agreed the detail of arrangements to ensure that, in a no deal scenario, air services will continue to operate and we expect a deal to be signed in the next few days.