Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many arm's-length bodies they have set up since the General Election in July 2024, and what estimate they have made of the annual cost of each of these bodies.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office maintains records and oversight of formally established Arm’s Length Bodies. There are a number of Arm’s Length Bodies currently going through the process of being established. No new ALBs have been formally established since 4 July 2024.
In a speech last week, the Prime Minister also announced that the Government is committed to cutting bureaucracy across the state, in order to focus government on the priorities of working people and shift money to the frontline. As part of this, the Prime Minister announced the abolition of the arms-length body NHS England.
The Chancellor has also announced a new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, including by simplifying regulatory structures. As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, Departments will be considering where there may be benefits from merging, consolidating or rationalising the regulators they sponsor. We have already announced that we will consolidate the Payment Systems Regulator, primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and consolidate the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Director of Labour Market Enforcement into the Fair Work Agency (FWA)
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for returning to the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for overseas aid, as set out by the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, following their decision to cut overseas aid to 0.3 per cent of gross national income.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains committed to returning to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) when fiscal circumstances allow, in line with the International Development Act 2015.
We will return to 0.7 per cent when, on a sustainable basis, the government is not borrowing money for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling. The Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within the Parliament.
The Government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7 per cent GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce honorary titles for (1) spouses of female peers, and (2) same-sex spouses of male peers; and what consideration they have given to the perception of discrimination in the current practice where only female spouses of male peers are granted such titles.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government notes this particular issue whereby spouses of female peers and same-sex spouses of male peers are not granted a courtesy title.
Whilst the Government is sympathetic to the principle, there are no plans for wider reform in this area. The Government is focused on delivering its manifesto commitments to reform of the House of Lords.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the level of growth expected during this parliament as a result of the expansion of Heathrow Airport to three runways.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Expanding Heathrow would have significant growth benefits. These include:
• Billions invested into the economy, with the potential to create over 100,000 jobs, according to the current Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS)
• Strengthening Heathrow’s status both as a global passenger hub and as the UK’s largest air freight hub by volume
• Major benefits for passengers, including lower fares and reduced delays and opportunities for a greater choice of airlines and destinations
A recent report from Frontier Economics suggested a third runway could increase potential GDP by 0.43% in 2050, with 60% of the economic boost from Heathrow expansion going to areas outside London and South-East.
The government expects to see progress being made on Heathrow expansion during this parliament and will introduce a Planning and Infrastructure Bill to speed up and streamline the planning process and accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the level of growth expected during this parliament as a result of the expansion of Gatwick Airport to two runways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
An application for a Development Consent Order has been made by Gatwick Airport Limited to bring their existing Northern runway into routine use alongside their main runway.
The Planning Inspectorate submitted its recommendation report to the Department for Transport on 27 November 2024 and the Secretary of State for Transport has until the 27 February 2025 to make a decision.
As this is a live planning application, it would not be appropriate to comment.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Apple Hearing Aid feature is not currently permitted in the UK although it is allowed in many other countries.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We published guidance on the 16 January 2025 to clarify the regulatory position and set out case studies on the sale of hearing aids to support people to access innovative devices.
Apple have publicly stated that they intend to launch the hearing aid functionality in the United Kingdom within weeks.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many pensioner households were in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment in 2024; and how this compares with the figure for 2023.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For Winter 2023 to 2024, the number of households paid a Winter Fuel Payment was 8.5 million. For further details, please visit Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
The number of households in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment for Winter 2024 to 2025 is not yet available. Official Winter Fuel Payment statistics for Winter 2024 to 2025 are expected to be released by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many outstanding claims for Pension Credit there were at the end of 2024.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Outstanding Pension Credit claims totalled 92,400 at the end of week commencing 23rd December 2024. This includes 8,500 advanced claims. Advanced claims are where the application can be started up to 4 months before reaching State Pension age. We do not hold this information at regional level.
Please note, the data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to raise awareness among small and medium-sized enterprises of the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and of the benefits of membership, including by reference to the size and growth of the CPTPP market.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has an extensive programme of engagement to raise awareness of CPTPP, an agreement comprising over 500 million people and a combined GDP of £12 trillion in 2023, when including the UK, among small and medium-sized enterprises.
We aim to reach as many businesses as possible to ensure they have the knowledge needed to take advantage of the commercial opportunities afforded to them in CPTPP markets. This includes running over 60 webinars, workshops, roundtables and events for, and often in partnership with, UK businesses.
The Department has also published 70+ practical CPTPP guides on great.gov.uk, aimed at supporting SMEs.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a unit within the Civil Service dedicated to promoting trade with parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the CPTPP as a bloc.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has a dedicated team focused on the implementation of the CPTPP Agreement now it has entered into force. They work closely with the Free Trade Agreement Utilisation (FTAU) team who exist to promote the benefits of the UK’s FTAs. To coincide with entry into force of CPTPP, the department published 70+ new guides for exporters on great.gov.uk. There is an ambitious programme of business engagement on CPTPP which included over 50 DBT-led events across October and November. Following entry into force, FTAU will continue to deliver practical support in utilising the agreement, including through workshops and webinars.