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Written Question
UK Trade with EU: Exports
Friday 2nd December 2022

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to return the level of exports from to UK to countries in the EU to the exports level prior to the UK leaving the EU.

Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The EU is a vital export destination for British businesses, with exports to the EU totalling £298 billion in the 12 months to the end of June 2022.

The Government’s refreshed Export Strategy helps businesses at every stage of exporting and our Export Support Service is a single point of access digital enquiry service, assisting business in trading with the EU. In addition, the Department for International Trade has around 300 trade experts across Europe, including a dedicated Trade Commissioner for the continent, and we will have facilitated almost 500 activities and events to support UK exporters between April 2022 and March 2023.


Written Question
Artificial Sweeteners
Monday 7th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what further steps they will take to encourage the greater use of Stevia in food and drink as a replacement for processed sugar.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No specific assessment has been made. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is aware that some businesses use artificial or other non-caloric sweeteners, including Stevia, to lower the sugar content of their products. It is an individual business decision to decide if and how the product is used, subject to legislation.


Written Question
Artificial Sweeteners
Monday 7th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for promoting the use of Stevia as an alternative to processed sugar.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No specific assessment has been made. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is aware that some businesses use artificial or other non-caloric sweeteners, including Stevia, to lower the sugar content of their products. It is an individual business decision to decide if and how the product is used, subject to legislation.


Written Question
Bread: Sugar
Monday 25th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the legislation to replace the Bread and Flour Regulations will (1) reduce, or (2) ban, sugar added in the making of manufactured bread.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Defra alongside the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Northern Ireland and Wales, Food Standards Scotland, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments are currently conducting a review of The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and The Bread and Flour (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1998 to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose, supporting industry while protecting consumers. To assist the review, Defra convened a technical working group made up of a wide range of relevant stakeholders to help identify and explore issues around the regulations which cover the compositional requirements of bread and flour. We will consult on potential legislative changes to the Bread and Flour Regulations.

The Sugar Reduction Programme (2016-2020) led by Public Health England challenged businesses across all sectors of the food industry to reduce the amount of sugar in foods that contribute most to children's sugar intakes. This does not include bread but does include cake, biscuits and morning goods (e.g. buns, pastries etc).


Written Question
Diabetes: Health Education
Monday 25th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of patients who joined the Diabetes Prevention programme between 2018 and 2019 failed to complete the course; and what steps they are taking to improve completion rates.

Answered by Lord Kamall

The information is not collected in the format requested as the NHS Diabetes Prevention programme is of nine months’ duration, where patients may commence support at any point during a calendar year. Completion rates are not collected on a yearly basis. However, data is collected for reference periods to identify cohorts of service users who have completed the programme within a specific time.

Providers of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme are updating session availability to support increased convenience and reduce waiting times. The support available for participants is being amended to encourage continued engagement outside of sessions such as meetings with a health coach and facilitated peer support groups.


Written Question
Community Safety Partnerships
Friday 18th March 2022

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of Community Safety Partnerships in England and Wales are using the Cardiff Model (A&E) data to identify serious violence hotspots; whether they have plans to extend the usage of this data; and what is the timetable for that extension.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

This government recognises the benefits of using the Cardiff Model to identify serious violence hotspots. That is why we continue to encourage all Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) to meet the expectation to work with local hospitals to implement the sharing of appropriate health data to tackle serious violence, as detailed in the 2018 Serious Violence Strategy for England and Wales. At this time, data on the percentage of CSPs using this model is not held centrally.


Written Question
NHS: Anniversaries
Wednesday 29th September 2021

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why they did not mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS in 2018 with the creation of a National NHS Charity; and why they intend to mark the 75th anniversary in 2023 with the creation of such a charity.

Answered by Lord Kamall

We have no plans to create a national National Health Service charity. There are currently 241 charities in the United Kingdom which collectively raise £1 million a day for the NHS. NHS Charities Together is the national umbrella organisation of which all NHS charities are members.


Written Question
Social Prescribing
Wednesday 15th September 2021

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the timetable for the rollout of social prescribing plans as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Over 1,500 social prescribing link workers are now in place and we are continuing to work towards the target of at least 900,000 people referred to social prescribing by 2023/24. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently working on plans beyond the NHS Long Term Plan metrics to ensure social prescribing is fully embedded and sustainable in primary care.


Written Question
Rehabilitation
Tuesday 20th July 2021

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 19 February (HL13296), whether work on producing a cross-addiction strategy has now resumed; and if so, when such a strategy will be published.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Work on developing the addiction strategy will commence later this year and we expect this to be published in 2022. This will build on current Departmental work related to drugs, alcohol and gambling addiction.


Written Question
Climate Change: Population
Tuesday 30th March 2021

Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the report by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, published on 2 February, what steps they will take in response to the contribution of global population growth to climate change.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The independent Dasgupta Review explores a range of actions it argues are needed to protect the environment and our prosperity. The Government will examine the Review's findings closely, call on international partners to do the same, and will respond formally in due course. The review focuses on biodiversity, rather than climate change and carbon emissions.

It is growth in levels of consumption driven by unsustainable development that influences carbon emissions, and increases climate change, rather than population growth itself.

The UK supports many low income countries to plan for population growth and harness a demographic dividend, including through UK aid investments in voluntary family planning and 12 years of quality education. Effective investments in health and education can also build the adaptive capacity of communities to respond to climate change.