Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Agency collects and shares good practice information on national and European Union priorities for safety and health at work, working with national contact points in all Member States. Its activities are particularly valuable to recent and proposed EU entrants and those with less well developed health and safety systems.
The European Court of Auditors publishes annual reports on the accounts of the Agency that are automatically deposited with Parliament for scrutiny purposes. For the latest report (financial position as of 31 December 2015), the budget was €16.9 million and the auditors stated that the Agency’s accounts were reliable and transactions were legal and regular.
Our relationship with the European Union's decentralised bodies upon exit, including the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, will be evaluated in light of delivering the twelve objectives outlined by the Prime Minister to achieve a deep and special positive and constructive partnership between the UK and the European Union.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
Her Majesty's Government what is the gender composition of the team negotiating Brexit; and what is the level of seniority of women in that team.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Department for Exiting the European Union has released information on the UK's negotiating team which is publicly available on www.gov.uk/government/publications/biographies-of-the-civil-service-representatives-for-the-negotiations-with-the-eu.
This outlines the core negotiating team however departments are also building up their capacity in their own areas of responsibility and DExEU will be working closely with every Government department to ensure that the full range of opportunities are taken and risks mitigated across every area of Government policy. DExEU is drawing together expertise from a wide range of departments where there is specific relevant knowledge.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Medicines Agency.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
We recognise the important role that the European Medicines Agency plays in the protection of human and animal health.
In the negotiations, the Government will discuss with the European Union and Member States how best to continue cooperation in the field of medicines regulation in the best interests of both the United Kingdom and the EU. As my Rt. hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Health and Business said in their 4 July letter in the Financial Times, the UK is fully committed to continuing the close working relationship with our European partners. Our aim is to ensure that patients in the UK and across the EU continue to be able to access the best and most innovative medicines and be assured that their safety is protected through the strongest regulatory framework and sharing of data.
I underlined this message, in particular the value the UK places on ongoing co-operation, at the BioIndustry Association and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency conference on 14 July.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Environment Agency.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Within the European Environment Agency budget[1] it is not possible to identify the membership cost for any individual EU Member State. The European Environment Agency undergoes regular independently-conducted evaluations[2] and the UK Government is fully engaged with the evaluation currently in progress[3]. When published in 2018, this evaluation will enhance our understanding of the benefits of European Environment Agency membership.
In common with other EU agencies, as part of exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU (and European Environment Agency Member Countries) any potential future relationship with the European Environment Agency.
[1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/documents/eea-budgets/budget-of-the-eea-2017
[2] https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/governance/eea-evaluations/eea-evaluation-2013
[3] http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/roadmaps/docs/2018_env_002_eea_evaluation_en.pdf
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
Her Majesty's Government whether they have evaluated the impact of Brexit on women; and if so, whether they will publish that evaluation.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In developing all policy related to EU exit, government departments have an ongoing responsibility to meet the Public Sector Equalities Duty under the Equality Act 2010. As such, any policy changes resulting from EU exit will be reviewed to ascertain whether they give rise to discrimination on grounds of sex, create equality of opportunity for women or the likelihood of discrimination based on sex, and foster good relations between women and men. The Public Sector Equality Duty will also apply in relation to the other protected characteristics.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for the continued participation in the European Aviation Safety Agency system.
As part of the exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU and member states how best to continue cooperation in the field of aviation safety and standards.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government what is their action plan to tackle female genital mutilation; and what assessment they have made of the success of that plan to date.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls. That is why our work to end this practice is an integral part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, which is backed by increased funding of £100M.
We have significantly strengthened the law, including introducing a new offence of failing to protect a girl from FGM, lifelong anonymity for victims, and a mandatory reporting duty requiring specified professionals to report known cases in under 18s to the police. We have also introduced FGM Protection Orders to protect women and girls at the earliest opportunity. These are already being used to good effect - since their introduction in July 2015, over 100 orders have been made.
Raising awareness amongst frontline professionals is essential. That is why in April 2016 we published multi-agency guidance on FGM, which is statutory for the first time, and have developed free e-learning which has been completed by over 100,000 individuals to date. The Home Office’s FGM Unit is carrying out awareness raising outreach across the UK. These tools are helping increase awareness, encourage good practice, and support training.
Significant work is under way to improve the response from health and social care professionals. The Department of Health, in partnership with the NHS, is leading a £4m national FGM Prevention Programme, and as part of the Department for Education’s £200m Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme a range of projects have been funded. DfE have also invested £375,000 to raise awareness amongst school staff and pupils.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce legislation to repeal (1) sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and (2) section 25 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act as amended; and, if not, why not.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has no plans to repeal sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs. Traditionally any proposals for legislative change are a matter for backbenchers to bring forward and there is a free vote in both Houses of Parliament.
There are no plans to repeal section 25 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act. The law on abortion in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
Her Majesty's Government whether they have evaluated the potential impact on small businesses of losing access to the Excise, Movement and Control System.
Answered by Lord Bates
As negotiations on the terms of the UK’s exit from and future relationship with the EU have only just begun, no decisions or evaluations have been made about the continuing use of the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS).
HMRC are engaging closely with UK businesses and will consider any concerns they raise.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
Her Majesty's Government whether they have evaluated the potential effects on small businesses of losing access to the Excise, Movement and Control System.
Answered by Lord Bates
As negotiations on the terms of the UK’s exit from and future relationship with the EU have only just begun, no decisions or evaluations have been made about the continuing use of the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS).
HMRC are engaging closely with UK businesses and will consider any concerns they raise.