Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many OneWeb launches have taken place since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the halting of launches by the Russian Soyuz; from what locations they were launched; and using what launch vehicle.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the time of writing, no launches of OneWeb satellites have taken place since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The next launch is currently scheduled for 23 October 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India, using a Launch Vehicle Mark 3 developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current value of their interest in OneWeb.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The value of the Government’s holding in OneWeb as at 31 March 2022 is £376m which is accounted for under the equity method of accounting and represents the latest point at which the Government valued the investment. The original equity investment was for £374m.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their sale of interest in OneWeb to Eutelsat of France was approved under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The merger between OneWeb and Eutelsat is subject to UK and international regulatory approvals, including under the National Security and Investment Act 2021. The Government does not comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 18 July (HL1670), what alternatives they are considering to mutual recognition of disabled persons' Blue Badges by Spain.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In Spain, recognition of disabled parking cards issued outside of the European Union is at the discretion of the local authority responsible for parking enforcement.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which EU countries they have negotiated mutual recognition of the disabled persons blue parking badges.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on Gov.uk.
Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 17 May (HL32), when they last discussed mutual recognition of the disabled persons blue parking badges with the government of Spain; and what outstanding issues are preventing mutual recognition.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At a recent discussion with Spain, Blue Badge recognition was considered as part of wider negotiations on a driving licence exchange agreement but ultimately this was not an appropriate mechanism and the Government is considering alternatives.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether membership of the Commonwealth is open to any country; and what is the eligibility criteria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries. Membership is open to any country subject to meeting the criteria. The Membership criteria can be found here: https://thecommonwealth.org/about/joining. The most recent countries to join were Togo and Gabon, who joined at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali last month (June).
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to entering into a mutual recognition agreement with the government of Kosovo regarding driving licences; and what, if anything, is preventing the completion of such an agreement.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Holders of driving licences issued in Kosovo who become resident in or are visiting Great Britain can drive cars and motorcycles for up to one year from the date they arrive. To continue driving after this period Kosovan drivers must apply for a provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and practical driving test.
The UK does exchange driving licences with certain countries but Kosovo is not currently a designated country. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received a request from the Embassy of Kosovo to consider a possible reciprocal driving licence exchange agreement and will provide the necessary information to progress this.
The recognition and designation of a country for licence exchange purposes depends on it having satisfactory arrangements in place for the issue of driving licences. This means that driving tests and licensing procedures are required to be comparable with our own here in Great Britain. Applications are subject to the assessment of testing and licensing standards, consultation, introduction of legislation and conclusion of an agreement for reciprocity.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with regional authorities in Spain regarding mutual recognition of disabled persons blue parking badges; and what progress has been made in those discussions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Blue Badge recognition between countries has to date been based on informal arrangements. The Department for Transport continues to work towards reciprocal provision for Blue Badge holders but does not provide a commentary on the status of these negotiations.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for OneWeb to obtain an alternative to the Russian Soyuz launch facility.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Following successful conversations earlier this year, OneWeb recently announced agreements with SpaceX and New Space India to launch satellites from alternative launch facilities in lieu of planned (now cancelled) Soyuz launches.
These launches are subject to the relevant regulatory clearances.