Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to match Ukrainian refugees wishing to come to the UK with job opportunities matching their specific (1) skills, (2) training, and (3) experience.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Government’s new Ukraine Family Scheme and ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme will help thousands of Ukrainian families and individuals to enter the country. DWP is working closely with the Home Office to understand potential demand.
Under these schemes Ukrainian evacuees will have the right to work here from day one, as well as immediate access to the benefit system and our existing employment offer, including our £30 billion Plan for Jobs. Ukrainian evacuees who claim benefits like Universal Credit will have access to direct, personalised employment support from experienced Jobcentre Plus work coaches, who will help them to find and move into employment, with extra support available through DWP’s Flexible Support Fund. Translation services are available to help new arrivals with phone applications, with Work Coaches in DWP Jobcentres on hand to support people making claims online. DWP staff are also delivering additional face-to-face assistance to those who need it – including tailored support to find work and advice on benefit eligibility – and will continue to do so.
DWP’s National Employer Partnerships Team (NEPT) has received a number of approaches from employers relating to Ukrainian evacuees.
Timeframes are still being finalised and there is regular discussion with Other Government Departments. Refugee Employment Network are also linked into activity and will be involved in sharing opportunities.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why any person who has tested negative for COVID-19 four days after meeting someone who has tested positive is still required to self-isolate for a further six days.
Answered by Lord Kamall
All contacts of a positive case who are fully vaccinated, under 18 years and 6 months, participating in an approved vaccine trial, or unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate. Instead of needing to self-isolate, these contacts are advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days to help identify asymptomatic cases quickly to break chains of transmission.
It is only unvaccinated contacts of a positive case that are now legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme they do not need to take LFD tests. If they choose to take a LFD test and it is negative, they must continue to self-isolate, because they could still become infectious.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why anyone who is self-isolating but has had a negative COVID-19 PCR test is not allowed to leave self-isolation immediately.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Anyone notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer that they have tested positive is legally required to self-isolate. People who have symptoms should self-isolate while they get a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. If the PCR test is negative, they no longer need to self-isolate
Contacts who are fully vaccinated or between the ages of 5 and 18.5 years old do not need to self-isolate. They are instead advised to take daily lateral flow device (LFD) tests for seven days. If they receive a positive result on the LFD test, they should self-isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test. If the PCR is positive, they need to self-isolate for 10 days from the test date. If the PCR is negative, they can leave self-isolation but should complete the remaining LFD testing routine.
Unvaccinated contacts of a positive case are legally required to self-isolate if notified by NHS Test and Trace or a local authority contact tracer, unless they are taking part in an approved Workplace Daily Contact Testing (DCT) scheme. If they are not taking part in a Workplace DCT scheme and they choose to get a test, they must continue to self-isolate, even if the result is negative. This is because they could still become infectious.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 14 October (HL2832), whether they can confirm that, of the posts listed, only the Director Reserves, Army Headquarters and Deputy Commander Field Army posts are (1) held by officers with previous reserve experience, and (2) within the army chain of command.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I can confirm that of the posts listed, only the Director Reserves, Army Headquarters and Deputy Commander Field Army posts are held by officers with previous reserve experience, and within the Army Chain of Command. Major Generals Brooks-Ward, Ashmore and Herbert are all officers with previous reserve experience; however, their current posts are not within the Army Chain of Command.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many serving major generals there are in the Army Reserve, listed by name and post; and how many there will be after implementation of the Integrated Review.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 1 July 2021, there are five trained FR20 Reserves of Paid Rank Major General. These are:
Major General Brooks-Ward - Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets). This is a Joint Competition appointment and could also be filled by the RN or RAF if selected by the Senior Appointments Committee.
Major General Graham - Director Reserves, Army Headquarters.
Major General Harvey - Deputy Commander Field Army.
Major General Ashmore – Army Reserve Reinforcement Group
Major General Herbert - Army Reserve Reinforcement Group
Notes/ Caveats:
1. The Trained FR20 population in the table consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on FTRS contracts who were previously Army Reservists.
2. The figure above includes Major Generals that contribute towards the previously defined FR20 population and excludes those personnel who do not. E.g., those Reservists on service complaint panels and the Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
3. Figures are as at 1 July 2021 in line with the protocols for release of personnel statistics.
Detailed plans for the future structure of the Army are still being refined. There will be announcements made on our intent for both the regular and reserve force in due course.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the area under certain environmental schemes on agricultural land under ELMs could count towards the Government’s objective of protecting 30 per cent of terrestrial land by 2020; and if so, under what circumstances.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Our new environmental land management schemes will support the delivery of our ambitious national targets and commitments for the environment, including the Government's commitment to protect 30% of the UK's land by 2030. We are exploring the potential contribution that the three schemes could make to the achievement of this commitment. This contribution could include: management of farmland in an environmentally sustainable way; supporting local nature recovery and delivering local environmental priorities; management of designated sites; and encouraging collaboration between farmers, including through landscape-scale habitat creation and restoration, or securing long-term management and protection for wildlife-rich habitats.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to maintain, and (2) to increase volunteer (a) support, and (b) influence, in the work of the Reserve Forces' and Cadets Associations' under the proposed formation of a Non-Departmental Public Body.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The 2019 Review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs) recognised the value that the RFCAs bring to Defence and that a key strength is their extensive volunteer membership and community links. In implementing the Review’s recommendations, the Ministry of Defence will look to both preserve and enhance the volunteer ethos, establishing a diverse and inclusive organisation. This includes interim changes to the Schemes of Association to ensure alignment with Equality and Discrimination legislation and to better enable the RFCAs to attract wider talent that is representative of the communities in which they work.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the cadet forces provide opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
With around 3,500 individual cadet units across the UK, many in less affluent areas, they reflect the communities in which they are located. The increase in the number of cadet units in schools under the Government’s joint Ministry of Defence and Department for Education Cadet Expansion Programme, targeted in less affluent areas, has resulted in more children from disadvantaged backgrounds having access to the benefits of the cadet experience.
All cadets, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will benefit from the greater opportunities that returning to face-to-face activity offers. Research shows that taking part in the cadet forces develops key attributes in young people. The return to face-to-face activity will also include re-establishing education packages through the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation, vocational qualifications which we know benefit many from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of service provided by armed forces personnel on Christmas Eve in undertaking mass COVID-19 testing of lorry drivers in Kent to enable those drivers to cross the English Channel; and what plans they have to thank formally those personnel for that service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Over the Christmas period, 800 service personnel deployed to Kent to provide COVID-19 testing for hauliers crossing the English Channel, including support to food and welfare distribution. To date, over 40,000 tests have been conducted, allowing thousands of freight vehicles to travel to France.
Defence is extremely grateful for the work of all its personnel involved in COVID-19 activity across the UK.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations External Scrutiny Team Report 2020.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We are very grateful to the External Scrutiny Team for their work, and the Ministry of Defence will publish their 2020 report early in the New Year.