Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expedite the re-opening of Hammersmith Bridge.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As owners of Hammersmith Bridge, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) is responsible for the maintenance, repair and decision-making on its upkeep.
The Government has ensured that £4 million is being spent on the stabilisation and repair of the bridge via the TfL Extraordinary Funding and Financing package agreed on 31 October 2020. This has funded mitigation works which will give us a better insight into the condition of the bridge and de-risk the overall works programme, helping expedite the long-term repairs. This is a vital step before any other engineering works can be undertaken.
We have commissioned engineering experts to assess the condition of the bridge and their reports suggested the logic keeping the bridge entirely closed could be revisited following the above works. We continue to explore this possibility with LBHF and their engineering consultants.
We recognise there needs to be a temporary solution in place for residents to be able to cross the river whilst the bridge is closed. As part of the TfL bailout last October we provided funding to TfL to set up and run a ferry service.
We have received outline financing options for the long-term bridge repair from LBHF but require much more detail before they can be properly assessed. We are working with the borough to develop these options further.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the report of the Independent Review of Administrative Law.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Government published the report of the Independent Review of Administrative Law on 18 March. At the same time, it published its response to the report in the form of a consultation document seeking views on a range of proposals for reforming Judicial Review.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the (1) Royal College of Nursing, and (2) Nursing and Midwifery Council, about the availability of (a) student nurses, and (b) nursing students, volunteering to be seconded to the NHS; and what has been the outcome of any such discussions.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As a result of the rapidly increasing transmission rates of COVID-19, officials from the Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England held discussions with the Royal College of Nursing and the Nursing and Midwifery Council about the role of nursing students during this wave of the pandemic.
On 14 January 2021, the Nursing and Midwifery Council announced that it was reintroducing the emergency education standards, to enable final year nursing students to opt into paid placements to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, dependent on local National Health Service need.
Further guidance on the implementation will be provided by Health Education England and NHS England and NHS Improvement as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people from Hong Kong have applied for residence in the UK in each of the last six months.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route opened for applications on 31 January 2021.
From 15 July to 14 October 2020, a total of 2116 BN(O) citizens and their dependants have been granted Leave Outside the Rules at the border. Yet this data is not considered to be a reliable proxy for the number of people who may apply for the Hong Kong BN(O) Visa.
As set out in our impact assessment, our central range projects between 123,000 and 153,700 BN(O) citizens and their dependants will come in the first year and between 258,000 and 322,400 over five years.
Details of the impact assessment can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2020/70/pdfs/ukia_20200070_en.pdf
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people from Hong Kong they estimate will apply for residence in the UK in each of the next five years.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route opened for applications on 31 January 2021.
From 15 July to 14 October 2020, a total of 2116 BN(O) citizens and their dependants have been granted Leave Outside the Rules at the border. Yet this data is not considered to be a reliable proxy for the number of people who may apply for the Hong Kong BN(O) Visa.
As set out in our impact assessment, our central range projects between 123,000 and 153,700 BN(O) citizens and their dependants will come in the first year and between 258,000 and 322,400 over five years.
Details of the impact assessment can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2020/70/pdfs/ukia_20200070_en.pdf
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fatal accidents per kilometre there have been on (1) smart motorways, and (2) regular motorways, in each of the last two years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The most recent data on fatalities published is for 2017 and 2018. For smart motorways (this includes All Lane Running, Dynamic Hard Shoulder and Controlled Motorways), there were 8 fatalities in 2017 and 19 in 2018. This is compared with 83 fatalities on Conventional Motorways in 2017 and 67 in 2018. While this metric for fatalities gives us an understanding about safety on different road types, it does not consider the volume of traffic on these roads and how intensely they are used. The fatal casualty rate, which are fatalities per hundred million vehicle miles travelled, accounts for the volume of traffic that roads carry.
The most recent data in the table below shows that fatal casualty rates on smart motorways are lower than on conventional motorways:
Motorway type | Fatal casualty rates per hundred million vehicle miles |
Controlled Motorways | 0.07 per hundred million vehicle miles |
Dynamic Hard Shoulder | 0.07 per hundred million vehicle miles |
All Lane Running | 0.11 per hundred million vehicle miles |
Conventional Motorways | 0.16 per hundred million vehicle miles |
Fatal casualty rates per hundred million vehicle miles, 2015-2018.
Following concerns about smart motorway safety the Secretary of State asked the department to review the evidence and, if needed, bring forward recommendations. The conclusions were published in March 2020. Overall what the evidence in the Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan shows is that in most ways, smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, the conventional ones. To ensure that smart motorways are as safe as they can be, alongside the safety evidence stocktake, we published an 18-point Action Plan.
Highways England is implementing the Action Plan in full and has already completed work, including the provision of 10 additional emergency areas on the M25 and making all emergency areas more visible by introducing a bright orange surface and better, more frequent signs.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a review on how to improve the safety of smart motorways.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The most recent data on fatalities published is for 2017 and 2018. For smart motorways (this includes All Lane Running, Dynamic Hard Shoulder and Controlled Motorways), there were 8 fatalities in 2017 and 19 in 2018. This is compared with 83 fatalities on Conventional Motorways in 2017 and 67 in 2018. While this metric for fatalities gives us an understanding about safety on different road types, it does not consider the volume of traffic on these roads and how intensely they are used. The fatal casualty rate, which are fatalities per hundred million vehicle miles travelled, accounts for the volume of traffic that roads carry.
The most recent data in the table below shows that fatal casualty rates on smart motorways are lower than on conventional motorways:
Motorway type | Fatal casualty rates per hundred million vehicle miles |
Controlled Motorways | 0.07 per hundred million vehicle miles |
Dynamic Hard Shoulder | 0.07 per hundred million vehicle miles |
All Lane Running | 0.11 per hundred million vehicle miles |
Conventional Motorways | 0.16 per hundred million vehicle miles |
Fatal casualty rates per hundred million vehicle miles, 2015-2018.
Following concerns about smart motorway safety the Secretary of State asked the department to review the evidence and, if needed, bring forward recommendations. The conclusions were published in March 2020. Overall what the evidence in the Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan shows is that in most ways, smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, the conventional ones. To ensure that smart motorways are as safe as they can be, alongside the safety evidence stocktake, we published an 18-point Action Plan.
Highways England is implementing the Action Plan in full and has already completed work, including the provision of 10 additional emergency areas on the M25 and making all emergency areas more visible by introducing a bright orange surface and better, more frequent signs.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the Reshaping Government Communication Service programme; from whom they have received such representations; and what have been their responses.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Reshaping Government Communication Service programme will further strengthen and unify the Government Communication Service (GCS), making an effective and efficient service.
Cabinet Office is leading the programme and working closely with ministerial departments and other public sector bodies.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee about COVID-19 vaccinations; and what has been the outcome of any such discussions.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government, with NHS England and NHS Improvement, has met with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee to discuss community pharmacies’ involvement in the COVID–19 vaccination service.
Some pharmacists and members of their team are already working with general practitioners to deliver the vaccine in many areas of the country and, as more supply becomes available, community pharmacies will play a major role in the programme. Since 11 January 2021, some pharmacies have already been administering COVID-19 vaccinations.
Asked by: Lord Goodlad (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Greater London Authority about the potential impact on business of proposals to extend the congestion charging zone; and what has been the outcome of any such discussions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government agreed a further extraordinary funding and financing package for TfL in October 2020 of up to £1.7 billion to ensure the continuation of public transport services in London.
Transport in London is devolved and decisions around the congestion charge are a matter for the Mayor. The Mayor recently confirmed his plans to maintain the current temporary changes to the daily charge, operating hours and days of the Congestion Charge into 2021/22.