Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to rectify issues with commodity codes that are reportedly causing trucks exporting fish to France to be delayed at the UK–France border.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Fish Export Service (FES) went live on 29 December 2020, providing the functionality to create a UK catch certificate for fish and shellfish caught by UK flagged vessels for export. The FES service included a simplified commodity code selection process designed to assist users as much as possible. FES launched with 1957 commodity codes, covering most fish and shellfish products. Since this date, following user feedback, the system has been further improved and updated to include 1959 commodity codes.
Following further industry feedback since this date, a commodity code review panel has been set up to continuously assure and update commodity code reference data as more traffic comes through the system. The department is also actively engaging with other departments, including HMRC customs leads, to jointly review and respond to feedback being raised by exporters of fish and shellfish products.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) has been spent to date, and (2) they estimate will be spent this financial year, on the NHS Test and Trace service.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The spend across Test and Trace for the year to September is £2.7 billion. The Government's winter plan announced an additional £7 billion of funding which will allow NHS Test and Trace to increase testing and continue to improve contact tracing, taking the overall budget for Test and Trace this financial year to £22 billion.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what occasions since 1 January 2012 Cabinet Office officials have met Lex Greensill.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.
Details of Cabinet Office senior official (Permanent Secretary) meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recent comments by the chairman of Accrington Stanley Football Club that "clubs below the Premier League have never been at higher risk", what plans they have to encourage the Premier League to provide financial support to struggling clubs in the English Football League.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Football clubs are often the bedrock of our local communities and it is vital they are protected. That is why the Government has provided an unprecedented financial support package for businesses, which many football clubs have benefitted from.
We have worked closely with football throughout the pandemic, including getting the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) back behind closed doors, which released vital broadcasting revenue. Having spent heavily in the recent transfer window, professional football has the means to support clubs through the pandemic and we continue to urge the EFL and Premier League to finalise a deal as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to change their policy on granting arms export licences to Turkey in the light of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, last updated in a Written Ministerial Statement on 25th March 2014, remains the policy for assessing all licence applications.
We continue to monitor developments in the region closely and will uphold our robust export control regime; an export licence would not be granted if it was inconsistent with any of the Criteria. This includes Criterion 1, which ensures Britain meets her international obligations and commitments, such as the arms embargos on Armenia and Azerbaijan established by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Accounting Officer for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government signed off the decision to let a contract to Faculty; whether the Accounting Officer (1) has confirmed that the contract was subject to open competition, and (2) has set out the reasons for the contract meeting value for money considerations; and if so, whether they will publish those reasons.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The approval of the contract awarded to Faculty was completed in line with the Department’s scheme of Delegated Authority.
The contract was awarded following a robust selection process through the Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud Digital Marketplace in line with its published processes, further details of which can be found (attached) at www.gov.uk/guidance/g-cloud-buyers-guide.
Faculty’s G-Cloud service offered the best fit with the Department’s identified needs. Faculty’s pricing of this service offer was reviewed against alternative suppliers’ prices and was found to be comparable.
The contract is based on the time and materials used to undertake the required services.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Crown Commercial Service was consulted on the decision by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to let a contract to Faculty.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The contract in question was awarded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and there was no requirement for the Department to engage with the Crown Commercial Service prior to the award of this contract. Further details are published on ContractsFinder, in line with the Government's transparency agenda.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie of 18 March (HL2228), whether Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers or their special advisers were aware of the involvement of Quintessentially in the 2016 competitive tender exercise managed by UK Shared Business Services prior to the awarding of the contract.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The FCO awards and manages its Commercial Contracts in accordance with Government Commercial Function best practice and regularly assesses the maturity of our Commercial operations against the Commercial Operating Standards. This contract is held by the Department For International Trade (DIT).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Government Procurement Service was consulted on the decision by the Department for International Trade to let a contract with Quintessentially.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Quintessentially won a competitive tender in May 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Services who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. UKTI was a joint, non-ministerial Government Department reporting to the Secretaries of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The contract was awarded by UK Shared Business Services prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT). DIT took ownership of the former UKTI’s contracts and does not hold a record of whether the Government Procurement Service were consulted (now referred to as the Crown Commercial Service).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Accounting Officer of the Department for International Trade approved the decision by that department to let a contract with Quintessentially; and if so, whether they will publish her reasons for regarding it as value for money.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Quintessentially won a competitive tender in 2016 which was carried out by UK Shared Business Services, who at the time managed UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) procurement activity. UKTI was a joint, non-ministerial Government Department reporting to the Secretaries of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The services of the contract with Quintessentially include support to the GREAT Investors Programme through the provision of advice, logistical support and background checks, via a sub-contract to support individual investor visits to the UK. The contract was awarded by UK Shared Business Services in May 2016, prior to the formation of the Department for International Trade (DIT). DIT took ownership of UKTI’s contracts on formation.