Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time between passing the army recruitment process and receiving a job offer.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There is no waiting time between passing the Army recruitment process and receiving a job offer as job offers are given at the point that a candidate completes the Army recruitment process.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what class, of naval ships will be required in the Channel to tackle illegal migrant crossings.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Royal Navy currently utilises one Class One Offshore Patrol Vessels (from three on rotation), six Archer Class P2000 Patrol Boats, three held at Ramsgate and three held at Portsmouth and a pair of Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) in support of Defence primacy for responding to small boat migration in the channel. As announced by the Prime Minister, primacy will transfer back to the Home Office from 31 January 2023. In anticipation of this, the Home Office will procure a number of Crew Transfer Vessels to replace the capacity provided by Royal Navy assets.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) nurses, and (2) GPs, there are per head of population in England.
Answered by Lord Markham
This information is not held in the format requested. However, as of September 2022, there were 58.5 full time equivalent nurses per 10,000 head of population in England. This includes nurses in Hospital and Community Health Services and general practice settings. This excludes nurses working in social care, the voluntary sector or in the private sector. As of September 2022, there were 6.5 full time equivalent doctors working in general practice per 10,000 head of population in England.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to give the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland the power to change the date of the local elections in that country to avoid the counting of votes clashing with Coronation Day.
Answered by Lord Caine
The Government already has the power to change the date of local elections by order under section 84 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is considering options to ensure people in Northern Ireland can celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III while ensuring the smooth running of the democratic process.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of remote electronic monitoring of UK fishing vessels.
Answered by Lord Benyon
As part of our commitment to delivering a world class fisheries management system, Defra is developing a set of proposals for expanding the use of remote electronic monitoring (REM) in English waters.
Defra is using a strong evidence-base to assess which fisheries and monitoring priorities we should focus on. This will help us to maximise the potential of this technology and ensure that it complements other marine and fisheries reforms, such as fisheries management plans.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support students who have online problem gambling issues.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
A variety of initiatives are in place across the gambling regulatory framework, health services, and the educational curriculum to protect young people, and the wider public, from harmful gambling and to raise awareness of its risks.
The Gambling Commission requires all gambling operators to make information available to customers on how to gamble safely and how to access information on problem gambling and the support available. Most operators direct people to the charity GambleAware’s begambleaware.org site, which contains a wide range of information for everyone on risks, as well as links to advice and support, including the 24-hour National Gambling Helpline. The NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling' also covers common indicators which suggest that people may be experiencing harmful gambling, as well as advice and links to treatment services.
In addition, support is provided specifically for children and young people. To prevent children and young people from suffering gambling-related harm later in life, since 2020 children have been taught about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, as part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England. The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust charity provides free training for university staff and students’ unions and maintains a bespoke student website dedicated to help protect university students and young people from gambling harm.
In 2019, DCMS secured a commitment from industry to contribute £100 million over four years to problem gambling treatment. NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are also continuing work to improve and expand specialist treatment services, with up to 15 new NHS clinics set to open by 2023/24.
His Majesty’s Government is closely considering the protections in place for children and young adults as part of the scope of its wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act to ensure they are fit for the digital age. A White Paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform will be published in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British military personnel have been assigned to support the training of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There are currently 1,000 British military personnel assigned to training the Armed Forces of Ukraine under Op INTERFLEX at sites in the UK. Other training is provided on an ad hoc basis with personnel committed accordingly.
British military personnel are performing various roles to support the training, including direct instruction, but also providing logistics, medical support, communications, as well as command and control.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they have allocated to end veteran rough sleeping before 2025.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness for England are collected on a quarterly basis and show levels of veteran homelessness are currently low. For January to March 2022, 510 households owed a homelessness duty included a member with a support need due to service in the Armed Forces, which represents less than 1% of all households owed a homelessness duty.
All data returns via the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection submitted by local authorities are validated and cross checked and late returns are chased to ensure overall response is as complete and accurate as possible. The department works closely with local authorities to review the quality of submitted data to drive continued improvements.
In September 2022 we published our 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good' Strategy, backed by significant funding. This includes extending our flagship Rough Sleeping Initiative to 2025, so that local areas can provide the tailored support needed to end rough sleeping, including veteran rough sleeping, over the next three years.
We are also helping people, including veterans, into longer-term settled accommodation through the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to improve the quality of data-gathering on the number of veterans who are (1) homeless, or (2) at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness for England are collected on a quarterly basis and show levels of veteran homelessness are low.
All data returns via the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection submitted by local authorities are validated and cross checked and late returns are chased to ensure overall response is as complete and accurate as possible. The department works closely with local authorities each quarter to review the quality of submitted data to drive continued improvements.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with Northern Ireland ministers regarding economic growth and development.
Answered by Lord Caine
Northern Ireland benefits enormously from the strength and security provided by being an integral part of the UK - the world’s sixth largest economy.
The UK Government has regular discussions with Northern Ireland Executive ministers on a range of topics, including economic growth and development.
The UK Government continues to work to boost economic growth in Northern Ireland, including through the allocation of £400 million funding under the New Deal for Northern Ireland, in the ongoing £617 million City and Growth Deal programme, and through allocations of the Levelling Up Fund and the upcoming UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
However, as economic development is a devolved matter, it is vital that a restored Northern Ireland Executive and locally accountable ministers are in place to take the decisions that will drive economic growth in Northern Ireland.