Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 24 March (HL5621), whether they have commissioned an industry-led assessment of the impact of gambling advertising.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have set the gambling industry a clear task to do more to work together to ensure that gambling advertising and sponsorship is appropriate, responsible and does not exacerbate harm. The Betting and Gaming Council has since commissioned an advertising report which will be published in due course. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all key stakeholders to inform next steps in this space and ensure effective measures are in place to protect those at risk.
Strengthened measures on socially responsible incentives (SRI) are being delivered through the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). As the statutory regulator, the implementation date is a matter for the Gambling Commission and the rationale for its decision was set out in their formal response to the SRI consultation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the new rules increasing the safety and simplicity of consumer promotional offers in gambling cannot be introduced sooner than 19 December.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have set the gambling industry a clear task to do more to work together to ensure that gambling advertising and sponsorship is appropriate, responsible and does not exacerbate harm. The Betting and Gaming Council has since commissioned an advertising report which will be published in due course. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all key stakeholders to inform next steps in this space and ensure effective measures are in place to protect those at risk.
Strengthened measures on socially responsible incentives (SRI) are being delivered through the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). As the statutory regulator, the implementation date is a matter for the Gambling Commission and the rationale for its decision was set out in their formal response to the SRI consultation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 24 March (HL5621), what are the parameters of the task they have set the gambling industry to raise standards, and how this work will be monitored.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I set out in my speech at the GambleAware Annual Conference, the industry can and should do more to work together to ensure that gambling advertising and sponsorship is appropriate, responsible and does not exacerbate harm. This includes the need for an assessment of current levels of gambling advertising across the full range of channels. The Betting and Gaming Council has commissioned an advertising report which will be published in due course. We will closely consider any findings to inform next steps.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the risk of drought in England this summer, following reports from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology that reservoir levels are 10 per cent less full than they should be.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has declared Prolonged Dry Weather status in Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, and Northeast areas. Drought plans have been activated in these areas to help mitigate any dry weather impacts. Water company reservoir levels in northern and central England are below storage levels expected for the time of year.
The National Drought Group, including the water minister, met on the 7 May to coordinate the strategic management of drought across government, regulators, water industry, and stakeholders. Frequency of these meetings have increased due to the current dry weather situation. Specific actions include:
An updated irrigation prospect report has been published to inform the agriculture community of the current water resources situation to help farmers plan their water needs for the summer. The Environment Agency has also issued some restrictions on abstraction licences to protect river flows where these are low.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the White Nile river remains open as a humanitarian supply corridor into Upper Nile in South Sudan.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians, and the safety and security of aid workers in our engagement with the Government of South Sudan and other regional partners. On 27 March, alongside the Troika and other likeminded partners, we called for de-escalation following rising violence. The Minister of State for International Development raised the issue of humanitarian access when she met South Sudan's Foreign Minister on 16 April in the margins of the Sudan Conference, and our Ambassador in Juba called for a ceasefire when he met with South Sudan's President Kiir on 14 May. The UK continues to support our UN partners to advocate for access to those displaced by the current conflict and to continue to deliver a humanitarian response in Upper Nile.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce specific legal protection for chalk streams.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Chalk Streams will be prioritised as part of the record £11 billion of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during Price Review 2024, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050, we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.
The Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support farmers in the light of dry conditions this spring.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain that has frequently demonstrated its ability to adapt when required.
The Met Office’s 3-month weather outlook for May, June, and July indicates near average rainfall is most likely for the UK but with a slightly higher than normal chance of wet weather. Defra is aware of the current concerns around the ongoing dry conditions. However, it is too early to understand the impact of this period of dry weather on livestock, horticulture and crop plantings, and the subsequent impact this may have on yield and quality later in the year at harvest time.
We continue to engage and work closely with the industry and to monitor the weather impacts on domestic food production, through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), which was established by Defra and the Devolved Administrations to monitor the UK market across all key agricultural commodities.
The Government is also engaged with research on climate change and adaptation measures through our work with the Met Office Hadley Centre Food Farming and Natural Environment (FFNE) service.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 5Rights Children and AI Design Code, and what steps they are taking to assess the impact of AI on children.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the importance of this issue and welcomes proposals on how to ensure technology keeps children safe. The Government engages with a range of stakeholders on the impact of AI, including child safety organisations and experts.
Regarding the impact of AI, the majority of AI systems are regulated by existing regulators, a range of which have specific measures for protecting children. The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children, who will be protected from both illegal content, and legal content which is nonetheless harmful to children, including where that content is AI generated.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the advice to parents from primary schools in St Albans to ban smartphones for children under 14 years old; and whether they plan to ban smartphones for children under 14 years old nationwide.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is committed to keeping children safe online. The Department for Education’s ‘Mobile Phones in Schools’ guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks. We expect all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.
We are focused on implementing the Online Safety Act which will protect children from both illegal and legal but nonetheless harmful content, including pornography and violent content. We continue to keep under review all evidence of options to protect children online.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the Gambling Commission complies with its obligations under the Gambling Act 2005, including taking regulatory action against operators if necessary to protect vulnerable people from harm.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Gambling Commission is an independent regulator, but as the sponsoring department we have a number of channels available to assess the Commission’s delivery against its objectives and duties, including regular meetings with the Commission’s senior leadership. There are a range of regulatory interventions that the Commission is able to make, and the outcomes of this regulatory action are published on its website. Since 2016/17, the Commission has taken over 100 enforcement actions, and this has resulted in more than £207 million in fines and regulatory settlements being paid by gambling operators.