Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Goldie on 2 July (HL Deb, col 1344), what representations they have made to the government of China with regard to the statement by the Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal that “it replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London in the highest appellate court in Hong Kong after 30 June 1997”.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Prior to the handover in 1997, the British Government had detailed discussions with the Chinese Government related to the establishment of a Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. I am not aware of any specific representations made by the British Government to the Chinese Government about a statement made by the Court of Final Appeal.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 5 July (HL16754), what assessment they have made of the extent to which police forces are prosecuting anyone found illegally using an electric scooter on public highways in cases where driving licences, insurance policies or number plates are not in use.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Electric scooters fall within the definition of a motor vehicle under UK law. This means they are subject to laws requiring them to be built and used safely, including requirements for users to have insurance, driving licences, number plates, and helmets. It is illegal to ride electric scooters on the pavement and the road.
How the police enforce road traffic legislation is an operational matter for Chief Officers of police.
The Government has not made an assessment on the extent of prosecutions by the police when detecting the illegal use of an electric scooter.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the police can enforce the legal speed limits for road users on the users of electric scooters especially those that travel at more than 20 miles per hour.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Existing road traffic legislation applies to electric scooters. How the police enforce speed limits for electric scooters is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police in conjunction with local policing plans.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the users of electric scooters on UK roads are covered by insurance, as is required for other motorised vehicle users.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is illegal to use a powered transporter, such as an electric scooter, on a public road without it complying with specific legal requirements. In the UK, electric scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. This means they are subject to laws requiring them to conform to technical standards and be used safely. This includes requirements for users to have insurance, driving licences, number plates, and helmets. At present, it is difficult for electric scooters to meet these requirements.
For scooters that do meet these requirements, users of them must comply with speed limits.
It is also illegal to use an electric scooter in spaces which are set aside for use by pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders. This includes on the pavement and in cycle lanes.
The Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019, includes a regulatory review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future. The Department will use the regulatory review to examine current legislation and determine from the evidence what is needed to make the necessary changes needed for a safe and healthy future.
Through the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, we are exploring how new technologies, including electric scooters, could help the UK benefit from changes in how people, goods and services move around and possible barriers to securing those benefits.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the maximum speed of electric scooters on sale in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is illegal to use a powered transporter, such as an electric scooter, on a public road without it complying with specific legal requirements. In the UK, electric scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. This means they are subject to laws requiring them to conform to technical standards and be used safely. This includes requirements for users to have insurance, driving licences, number plates, and helmets. At present, it is difficult for electric scooters to meet these requirements.
For scooters that do meet these requirements, users of them must comply with speed limits.
It is also illegal to use an electric scooter in spaces which are set aside for use by pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders. This includes on the pavement and in cycle lanes.
The Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019, includes a regulatory review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future. The Department will use the regulatory review to examine current legislation and determine from the evidence what is needed to make the necessary changes needed for a safe and healthy future.
Through the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, we are exploring how new technologies, including electric scooters, could help the UK benefit from changes in how people, goods and services move around and possible barriers to securing those benefits.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the adequacy of legislation on the use of electric scooters on public highways.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is illegal to use a powered transporter, such as an electric scooter, on a public road without it complying with specific legal requirements. In the UK, electric scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. This means they are subject to laws requiring them to conform to technical standards and be used safely. This includes requirements for users to have insurance, driving licences, number plates, and helmets. At present, it is difficult for electric scooters to meet these requirements.
For scooters that do meet these requirements, users of them must comply with speed limits.
It is also illegal to use an electric scooter in spaces which are set aside for use by pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders. This includes on the pavement and in cycle lanes.
The Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019, includes a regulatory review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future. The Department will use the regulatory review to examine current legislation and determine from the evidence what is needed to make the necessary changes needed for a safe and healthy future.
Through the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, we are exploring how new technologies, including electric scooters, could help the UK benefit from changes in how people, goods and services move around and possible barriers to securing those benefits.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of drugs supplied by the NHS which are returned unopened or unsealed and subsequently destroyed due to (1) the death of the recipient, and (2) others reasons that made the use of them unnecessary.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department has made no recent estimate of the value of drugs supplied by the National Health Service, which are returned unopened or unsealed and subsequently destroyed due to the death of a recipient or another reason that made their use unnecessary.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so why, drugs supplied by the NHS which are returned unopened or unsealed owing to circumstances which make them no longer required are destroyed.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department is concerned about wastage from unused medicines and is keen to minimise unnecessary extra costs. However, it does not promote the reuse of returned medicines that have left a pharmacy and returned unused by patients. This is because it is not possible to guarantee the quality of returned medicines on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patient’s homes, there is no way of knowing whether the medicines have been stored or handled appropriately. Some medicines may deteriorate if, for example, left too close to a radiator, in direct sunlight or exposed to the environment. This applies whether the medicines are unopened or unsealed.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 December (HL12075), whether they will now answer the question put namely, in relation to the annual report for the Government's hospitality wine cellar, what saving they estimate might be made by substituting English and Welsh wines with comparable wines from elsewhere.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not hold details of the exact savings which might be made by substituting English and Welsh wines with comparable wines from elsewhere. This would be very much dependent on the alternative comparable wines available at the time, the types of functions we were looking to use them for and the volume in which we were looking to procure them – potential economies of scale etc. However, as detailed in the Wine Cellar Annual Report, we estimate that in 2017/18 English and Welsh wine made up 57% of all Wine Cellar wine consumed in 2017/2018. The average cost of each bottle of English/Welsh wine used was around £12.96. Whereas, the overall average price of each bottle used from other countries in the same period was £12.82. However, as already mentioned the cellar has been, and continues to be, a firm supporter of the UK wine industry in line with wider Government objectives to support British business and produce. Consequently, whilst English and Welsh wines might be more expensive than some alternatives from elsewhere, the differential is sufficiently small that we believe that this still represents good value for money in the proper expenditure of taxpayers' money.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they have taken in response to the study prepared for the Special Committee on Terrorism of the European Parliament on member states’ preparedness for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, published in April.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
HMG has a comprehensive CBRN Strategy under CONTEST and works closely with the EU Commission on the plan to enhance preparedness against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security risks. We welcome the Special Committee study and will continue to engage with the council and share where possible UK best practice in this area through our CBRN Security Coordinator.