Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received any representations from allies at ministerial or ambassadorial level about specific boycotts undertaken by UK local authorities or other public bodies.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is concerned by instances of local authorities and other public bodies pursuing boycotts and divestment activity. These campaigns can undermine community cohesion and are often inconsistent with UK Government foreign policy. Complete details of representations are not held centrally, but we are not aware of representations about specific boycotts from such sources.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to resume the publication of timeliness data in respect of employment tribunals.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service anticipate that publication of employment tribunal timeliness data will be at the end of the calendar year.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and the viability of introducing similar provisions for England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
With regard to access to the countryside, England has a comprehensive network of public rights of way and the public has the ‘right to roam’ over many areas of wild, open countryside. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 currently provides the public with a right of access to areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. There are no plans to change this.
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is committed to ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space. As part of this we are completing work on the 2,700 mile King Charles III England Coast Path, and delivering the £16m Access for All programme across our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any work is underway to prepare for a fiscal event outside of the usual Treasury timetable.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury develops policy throughout the year, in line with the Chancellor’s priorities and regardless of whether a date for a fiscal event has been announced.
The government is required by law to commission the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to produce two forecasts per year and to hold a Budget each fiscal year.
The Chancellor has not announced the date of the next fiscal event.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their Government Cyber Security Strategy: 2022–2030, published on 25 January 2022, what assessment they have made of the UK Cyber Security Council’s progress in developing consistent taxonomies, standards and pathways for the cyber security profession across the UK.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Cyber Security Council was established to develop professional standards so that cyber security can be appropriately recognised as a profession, similar fields such as accounting and engineering. In October 2023, the Council announced that over 100 cyber security practitioners had been awarded professional titles (including chartered status) and this number is increasing. The Council has used its standards to outline pathways into and through the cyber security profession by creating a Cyber Careers Framework. The Council continues to work with stakeholders in government, industry, and academia to ensure that the standards it sets are relevant, accessible, and demand consistent high quality from cyber security practitioners throughout the UK.