Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many private ambulances are used by the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Data on usage of private ambulances is not held centrally. The use of private ambulances is decided at a local level by trusts and their commissioners based on capacity needs on a day to day basis.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the NHS participated in the initiative co-ordinated by the Lancashire Resilience Forum to purchase PPE supplies; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Bethell
On 27 March, Lancashire Resilience Forum started a process of purchasing personal protective equipment outside of the Government’s delivery scheme. NHS Blackburn with Darwen Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group are all local partners which have been involved in these purchases.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust have access to sufficient PPE so that all drivers have the quantities they require when attending call-outs.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We are working around the clock to give the social care sector and wider National Health Service the equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak. We have delivered over 1 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the health and social care system within England.
The full weight of the Government is behind this effort and we are working closely with industry, social care providers, the NHS, and the armed forces to ensure the right equipment continues to be delivered.
The United Kingdom Government and devolved administrations have published clear guidance on the recommended PPE for different types of ambulance staff.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many accident and emergency departments have closed in (1) Lancashire, and (2) England, since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To ensure NHS services can best meet the needs of their local population and ensure the most efficient and safe use of the available resources during the response to COVID-19, it has been necessary to implement some temporary service changes. These changes will be kept under review during the period of the pandemic and services will be reinstated at an appropriate future juncture.
The accident and emergency department at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital has been temporarily modified to provide an urgent care level service. This change is to facilitate the treatment of acutely ill COVID-19 patients on a single site, at the Royal Preston Hospital. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care was informed of this change on 25 March 2020.
In Lancashire, in addition to the change at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, paediatric accident and emergency services are temporarily closed overnight at Ormskirk Hospital. NHS England and NHS Improvement have stated that there have been no further temporary closures of accident and emergency services in England during this time.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when was the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care informed of the decision to close the accident and emergency Department at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To ensure NHS services can best meet the needs of their local population and ensure the most efficient and safe use of the available resources during the response to COVID-19, it has been necessary to implement some temporary service changes. These changes will be kept under review during the period of the pandemic and services will be reinstated at an appropriate future juncture.
The accident and emergency department at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital has been temporarily modified to provide an urgent care level service. This change is to facilitate the treatment of acutely ill COVID-19 patients on a single site, at the Royal Preston Hospital. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care was informed of this change on 25 March 2020.
In Lancashire, in addition to the change at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, paediatric accident and emergency services are temporarily closed overnight at Ormskirk Hospital. NHS England and NHS Improvement have stated that there have been no further temporary closures of accident and emergency services in England during this time.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they intend to provide to ensure the long-term future of Rugby League.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government announced on 30 April that the Rugby Football League (RFL) will receive a £16 million cash injection to safeguard the immediate future of the sport for the communities it serves.
This emergency loan will help the sport deal with the extreme financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak while the season remains suspended, due to social distancing measures.
It comes ahead of England hosting the Rugby League World Cup next year, which will see the men's, women's and wheelchair games come together for a world first on the sport's biggest stage. The Government’s manifesto included a commitment to delivering a successful tournament, with significant financial support already provided.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Gibraltar has access to any opportunities that arise from the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The United Kingdom is negotiating the future relationship with the EU on behalf of the whole United Kingdom family, including Gibraltar. We continue to work with the Government of Gibraltar, in keeping with the mature and modern constitutional relationship which Gibraltar enjoys with the United Kingdom, and we will remain steadfast in our support for Gibraltar, its people and economy.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the affect of pesticides on trends in the number of insects dying in the UK.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Insects are an essential part of our environment and pollinating insects play a crucial role in food production. Government research has shown that a major pressure on pollinating insects has been the loss of flower-rich habitats but there are several other threats, which are likely to interact, including climate change, land use intensification, invasive species, disease and inappropriate pesticide use.
The Government has not made a direct assessment of the impact of pesticides on other insect populations. We ensure that the use of pesticides is only authorised where detailed scientific assessment finds that this will not harm people or have unacceptable effects on the environment (including on insects). The UK supports the current restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides that were put in place in 2018 to protect pollinating insects. We will maintain these restrictions unless the scientific evidence changes.
Since 2014, the Government has been working with a range of partners on the National Pollinator Strategy to address the various threats and help pollinators to thrive. There is strong scientific evidence that by increasing habitat for insects, we support long-term population increases and we are working to that end with farmers, businesses and conservation organisations.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many attacks on (1) guide dogs, and (2) other assistance dogs, were reported in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, and (c) 2018; and what penalties were imposed for such attacks.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In 2015, the Government amended section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to specifically make it an offence to allow a dog to attack an assistance dog. The maximum penalty for such an offence is three years imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both. Information on the number of guide dog or other assistance dog attacks is not collated centrally, and information on the penalties imposed as a result of a conviction under section 3 of the Act does not specify whether the offence was specifically in relation to an assistance dog.
Asked by: Lord Hoyle (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking in relation to dog attacks on guide dogs.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In 2015, the Government amended the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to specifically make it an offence to allow a dog to attack an assistance dog. The maximum penalty for such an offence is three years imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both.