Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to invite utility companies to contribute appropriately to Flood and Coastal Resilience Partnership Funding schemes when their assets and infrastructure would directly benefit from such schemes.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra’s current partnership funding policy encourages financial contributions towards flood defence schemes from all beneficiaries, including utility companies.
Utility companies are responsible for the resilience of their supplies. The 2016 National Flood Resilience Review requires utility companies to develop plans for permanently improving resilience of service provision from the most severe flood events.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they will provide to Clinical Commissioning Groups for making available the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system to all diabetics who require it.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
In January 2018, NHS England issued guidance in the form of a letter to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) concerning the provision of glucose monitoring devices. The guidance states that the treatment of diabetes and the provision of glucose monitoring devices is a service commissioned by individual CCGs. Local CCGs are responsible for deciding how they allocate resources dependant on the needs of their local population. A copy of this guidance has been attached.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend the DVLA's Data Sharing Strategy to ParkTrade Europe AB and others who legitimately seek information to allow authorities in Europe to recover monies due to them from UK registered vehicle owners.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the protection of the data it holds very seriously and has robust measures in place to protect it. The request from ParkTrade Europe is receiving careful attention and an outcome will be provided as soon as the consideration of these matters is complete.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the decision to make the Freestyle Libre glucose monitoring system available on the NHS to diabetic patients, whether they will ensure that that system is available to all who require it in all parts of England.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Reducing variation in the management and care of people with diabetes by 2020 is an objective in the National Health Service mandate. The NHS RightCare diabetes pathway shows the core components of an optimal diabetes service, as well as evidence of the opportunity to reduce variation. Ultimately it is for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), who are primarily responsible for commissioning diabetes services, to meet the requirements of their population. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence and take into account national guidelines. This includes determining whether specific technologies, such as flash glucose monitoring, form part of their service and if it is suitable for individual patients to support the ongoing management of their condition.
The Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee North has issued advice on the use of Freestyle Libre to support the CCGs in doing this, suggesting a careful start to its use and data collection to better understand the benefits for patients. The guidance Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee (RMOC) Flash Glucose Monitoring Systems Position Statement is attached.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers the Civil Aviation Authority has to manage lower airspace in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Sections 66, 68 and 104 of the Transport Act 2000 provide the Secretary of State with powers to issue directions to the Civil Aviation Authority on how it should manage the UK’s airspace. These powers are set out in The Civil Aviation Authority (Air Navigation) Directions, the latest version of which came into force on 1 January 2018.
A copy of these directions can be found in the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 which the department published on 24 October 2017.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the needs of general aviation pilots will be addressed under any future airspace strategy.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
General aviation is a key stakeholder in the successful delivery of airspace modernisation and the creation of a future airspace which is efficient and meets the reasonable requirements of all airspace users. The specific needs of general aviation pilots will be considered by the independent airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, when determining proposals to amend the UK airspace design or with any other measure that may affect them.
Last year, the Secretary of State commissioned NATS to produce a feasibility assessment of the potential future demands for airspace of airports in the South of the UK. This work was the first step in the co-ordination of airspace modernisation, examining its feasibility and potential implementation. It was a design requirement of the NATS modelling that the total volume of controlled airspace does not increase and that where possible, controlled airspace would be released to other airspace users, including general aviation. The Government expects to publish the high level findings of this later in 2018.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to applying for a derogation from the European Aviation Safety Authority to allow pilots over the age of 65 to continue to fly commercial aircraft.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The age restriction for commercial air transport pilots is set both globally by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and in Europe by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA). The standards were developed to minimise the risk of pilot incapacitation, error or reduced physical or mental performance affecting the safety of commercial air transport operations.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has commissioned a ‘Pilots’ Age Limits’ research study. The results of this study are anticipated to provide evidence for EU rulemaking on pilot age limits, specifically whether or not the current upper age limits should be retained, amended or removed and whether mitigations to offset any increase in medical risk can be put in place if they are amended or removed. Although the study was commissioned primarily to review the age 60 upper age limit for single pilot commercial air transport operations, the evidence gathered will also influence the age 65 upper age limit for multi pilot commercial air transport operations. The Government will review the conclusions of this study closely.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish independent pay review bodies to determine the remuneration of all local authority workers, to avoid possible conflicts of interest between worker and political representatives.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Local government pay is a devolved matter and that position remains unchanged. It is right that independent locally elected local government employers in conjunction with local government trade unions are free to negotiate and make decisions on pay within the limits of what they decide they can afford.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport advised local authorities of the 2013 EU criteria for applicants to be the European City of Culture 2023.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The application, rules, guidance and other information for cities wishing to enter the competition to be European Capital of Culture 2023 were published on 16 December 2016 on gov.uk, which I attach.
Asked by: Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of plans to remove the requirement for local councils to produce Strategic Housing Market Assessments, how they will ensure councils do not approve inappropriate planning requests in sensitive areas.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
In order to plan properly, local authorities need to properly understand how many homes they need to build in their area. “Planning for the right homes in the right places”, published on 14 September, sets out a proposed transparent and consistent method for assessing the need for homes in each area.
The consultation paper explains that when determining individual planning applications the decision-maker would still need to take account of the all policies in the National Planning Policy Framework, including those which restrict development (including policies relating to the Green Belt and Ancient Woodland).