Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made (1) of the proportion of heat pumps installed in the UK that have been manufactured in the UK, and (2) of these, the proportion that contain microchips manufactured in China.
Answered by Lord Callanan
In 2020, the Government published research that showed that around 30 per cent of the heat pumps installed domestically were manufactured in the UK. This research did not consider the proportion of those heat pumps that contain microchips manufactured in China.
However, industry data shows that there are a range of manufacturers from different countries that supply electronic circuit boards and semiconductors to the UK consumer appliance market, and the supply chain is not reliant on manufacturers from any one country.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their target remains to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028; and what estimate they have made of how many heat pumps have been installed (1) in total so far, and (2) in the past 12 months.
Answered by Lord Callanan
Our target remains to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 and we are putting in place an ambitious package of policies to achieve this.
From 2008 up to the end of February 2023, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that 184,065 heat pump installations were registered. The number of heat pump installations in the 12 months to the end of February 2023 were 32,234. However, heat pumps installed without Government funding support and those in new buildings are not typically recorded in the database, with industry sources suggesting installations in new homes could make up a significant fraction of overall heat pump deployment.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by on 7 March (HL5790), whether they will now publish the full analysis prepared by Prevent's Research Information and Communication Unit (RICU) that reportedly identified books, poetry, TV shows, and films, including ‘Yes, Minister’, ‘Great British Railway Journeys’, ‘House of Cards’, ‘1984’, and ‘Beowulf’, as being ‘far-right’ and ‘white supremacist’.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) was established in 2007 under the Prevent strand of HMG’s CONTEST strategy, to understand and counter terrorist and extremist ideologies to reduce the risk to the UK, its citizens, and its interests overseas.
RICU provides analysis on terrorist use of propaganda and exploitation of the internet to inform the UK’s counter-terrorism system. To support this crucial objective RICU undertakes open-source monitoring to better understand the media, online and communications environment as it relates to terrorism and extremism. This open-source monitoring identifies a range of material that is shared and discussed within these spaces, including topics or media that terrorist and extremist groups are seeking to exploit.
All RICU data collection and analysis complies with relevant legislation. Ministers have authorised RICU’s work since it was established in 2007, and through subsequent updates to the CONTEST strategy (in 2011 and 2018) and regularly receive RICU outputs.
RICU activity is underpinned and directed by sensitive information pertaining to terrorism threats and the identification of at-risk audiences. The books and television shows referenced in these products were not identified as ‘far-right’ and ‘white-supremacist’. The inclusion of these items of media was an illustration of the types of mainstream content shared in online spaces that are known to be frequented by terrorist and extremist influencers and susceptible audiences. Publishing RICU analysis risks revealing insights into HMG capabilities and undermining the effectiveness of RICU’s monitoring and analysis.
The work of RICU has been crucial to the delivery of Prevent and has helped to position the UK at the forefront of the battle against terrorist propaganda, particularly online terrorist content.
Prevent remains a vital tool to divert people from dangerous and poisonous ideologies. We are now implementing all recommendations from the recent Independent Review of Prevent, paving the way for a more transparent, efficient and sustainable programme. This will include resetting thresholds to ensure proportionality across ideologies and ensuring that analytical products more clearly state the purpose of the reporting and the nature of any links identified between mainstream media items and terrorism.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many products originating from China are stocked by the House of Lords gift shop outlets; and what plans there are to reduce or to remove entirely all such products.
Answered by Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
The gift shop does not trade directly with any suppliers from China. However, the shop sells 14 product lines originating from China. In other instances it may not be possible to certify the source. All suppliers carry trading accreditations related to labour rights, health and safety, the environment and business ethics. There are currently no plans to change these suppliers, although the gift shop regularly reviews its choice of suppliers.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest view on the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
Answered by Lord Markham
The United Kingdom has been clear on the need for a robust, transparent and science-led review into the origins of COVID-19 and continues to support the World Health Organization’s expert studies into the origins of COVID-19. We recognise that there are questions that need to be answered about the origin and spread of COVID-19, not least so we can ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish in full the analysis reportedly prepared by Prevent's Research Information and Communication Unit (RICU) that identified certain books, films and TV shows as far-right and white supremacist; and what assessment they have made of whether such an analysis is within RICU's official remit.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) was established in 2007 under the Prevent strand of HMG’s CONTEST strategy. RICU aims to understand and counter terrorist and extremist ideologies to reduce the risk to the UK, its citizens, and its interests overseas.
RICU currently has 22 allocated staff. This is subject to annual review depending on operational requirements. RICU’s spend by financial year for the last five years is provided below. Spend increased significantly from financial year 2012/2013 to support RICU’s response to the threat posed by Daesh. 2022/23 figures are based on spend to date.
Financial Year | Total spend (£) |
2018/2019 | 19,087,916.67 |
2019/2020 | 17,399,192.00 |
2020/2021 | 20,461,482.00 |
2021/2022 | 8,599,531.00 |
2022/2023 | 5,072,290.00 |
RICU provides internal analysis on terrorist use of propaganda and exploitation of the internet to inform the UK’s counter-terrorism system. To support this crucial objective RICU undertakes open-source monitoring to better understand the terrorist and extremist media, online and communications environment. This open-source monitoring identifies a range of material that is shared and discussed within these spaces, including topics or media that terrorist and extremist groups are seeking to exploit. All RICU data collection and analysis complies with relevant legislation.
The work of RICU is crucial to the delivery of Prevent and has helped to position the UK at the forefront of the battle against terrorist propaganda, particularly online terrorist content. The unauthorised disclosure of classified information damages the ability of the Government to keep the public safe from threats to national security.
Prevent remains a vital tool to divert people from dangerous and poisonous ideologies. We are now implementing all recommendations from the recent Independent Review of Prevent led by William Shawcross, paving the way for a more transparent, efficient and sustainable programme.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the remit of Prevent’s Research Information and Communications Unit; how many staff it has; and what was its annual budget for the past five years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) was established in 2007 under the Prevent strand of HMG’s CONTEST strategy. RICU aims to understand and counter terrorist and extremist ideologies to reduce the risk to the UK, its citizens, and its interests overseas.
RICU currently has 22 allocated staff. This is subject to annual review depending on operational requirements. RICU’s spend by financial year for the last five years is provided below. Spend increased significantly from financial year 2012/2013 to support RICU’s response to the threat posed by Daesh. 2022/23 figures are based on spend to date.
Financial Year | Total spend (£) |
2018/2019 | 19,087,916.67 |
2019/2020 | 17,399,192.00 |
2020/2021 | 20,461,482.00 |
2021/2022 | 8,599,531.00 |
2022/2023 | 5,072,290.00 |
RICU provides internal analysis on terrorist use of propaganda and exploitation of the internet to inform the UK’s counter-terrorism system. To support this crucial objective RICU undertakes open-source monitoring to better understand the terrorist and extremist media, online and communications environment. This open-source monitoring identifies a range of material that is shared and discussed within these spaces, including topics or media that terrorist and extremist groups are seeking to exploit. All RICU data collection and analysis complies with relevant legislation.
The work of RICU is crucial to the delivery of Prevent and has helped to position the UK at the forefront of the battle against terrorist propaganda, particularly online terrorist content. The unauthorised disclosure of classified information damages the ability of the Government to keep the public safe from threats to national security.
Prevent remains a vital tool to divert people from dangerous and poisonous ideologies. We are now implementing all recommendations from the recent Independent Review of Prevent led by William Shawcross, paving the way for a more transparent, efficient and sustainable programme.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to offer a COVID-19 vaccination to the entire population if such a vaccine is developed.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Whilst there is a desire for all of the United Kingdom population to be vaccinated, there may need to be an element of prioritisation, based on vaccine availability and scientific evidence (when available from clinical trials) on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine within different population groups.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise Government on prioritisation at a population level. Based on scientific analysis and modelling data, the JCVI will advise on which cohorts of the UK’s population will be eligible for vaccination, should a safe and effective vaccine be found. This will depend on factors such as the properties of the vaccine, those most at need (including frontline health and social care workers) and the unique medical circumstances of individuals.
The committee’s interim advice is that the vaccine should first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk. Further work is being undertaken to understand more about the groups most at risk of serious disease and death from COVID-19 infection. Any advice will need to be modified depending on the characteristics of the vaccines, when these become available.
We will consider the Committee’s advice carefully as we continue to plan for a vaccination campaign.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of passengers arriving at UK airports are required to present a Passenger Locator Form; and how many of those required to present such a Form have subsequently been found to be suffering from COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
All passengers arriving in the United Kingdom are required to complete a Passenger Locator Form unless they are in one of the exempt categories, which are set out on the Government website.
Public Health England does not collect data on the number of international arrivals who have completed the Passenger Locator Form and have subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Dobbs (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what the annual budget for the House of Lords was for each of the last five years; and what is the estimated budget for the House of Lords for each of the next two years.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The table below shows the original budget figures for the last 5 years, current year and subsequent two financial years:
EXPENDITURE TYPE |
| |||||||
| 2015-2016 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2016-2017 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2017-2018 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2018-2019 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2019-2020 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2020-2021 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2021-2022 ORIGINAL BUDGET | 2022-2023 ORIGINAL BUDGET |
Capital | 27,602 | 45,409 | 55,396 | 65,855 | 81,710 | 67,132 | 59,089 | 50,206 |
Resource | 103,035 | 108,832 | 123,207 | 132,335 | 176,305 | 140,970 | 149,615 | 154,772 |
Total | 130,637 | 154,241 | 178,603 | 198,190 | 258,015 | 208,102 | 208,704 | 204,978 |
The following points should be noted:
• The budgets from 2020-21 onwards are based upon figures approved by the Commission in January 2020 and are agreed as part of a rolling 3-year planning cycle
• The budgets for Restoration and Renewal and the Shadow Sponsor Body are included within the relevant years up to 2019-20, but not in subsequent years.