Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government by what date the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will reopen its capital grants scheme following its closure in November 2024.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra announced on 24 February that the Environmental Land Management standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open in summer 2025. We will confirm the date that it will re-open in due course.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what grants have been made since 4 July 2024 to fund research into alternative proteins for human consumption.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of innovative approaches and novel technologies to boosting productivity sustainably.
In August 2024, the Government’s UK Research and Innovation body (UKRI) invested £15 million in the new National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC). This National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre will drive research and innovation bolstering the alternative proteins sector in the UK, fostering innovation across a variety of protein sources, including plant-based proteins, cultivated meat and protein-rich algae.
Innovate UK and BBSRC have also invested £15.6 million to support innovation funding (32 projects) as part of the Novel Low Emission Food Production Systems competition to address sustainable agriculture. These industry-led, collaborative projects include development of alternative proteins such as plant-based and cultivated meat.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what impact they expect their proposed Land Use Framework to have on livestock production.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Land Use Consultation and its analytical annex clarify the land use change implied by the Environment Act Targets and Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector contributions to Net Zero.
The Land Use Framework will not prescribe changes in agricultural management. There are opportunities for grazing on grassland to contribute to target delivery, such as peat restoration in the uplands and restoration of species-rich grassland in other parts of the country. The Framework will provide guiding principles and tools for land managers to make informed decisions about their land and businesses.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average NHS waiting time for cataract surgery; and how many patients are currently waiting.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently 80,935 patients waiting for cataract surgery. The average National Health Service waiting time for this procedure is 15.6 weeks.
The Government is committed to putting patients first. We will ensure 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015.
We are proceeding with our commitment to cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care. We have delivered a reduction in the list of 160,000 pathways as well as provided over two million extra appointments, including for ophthalmology.
NHS England is also testing how improved IT connectivity between primary care optometry and secondary eye care services could improve the referral process and allow for the virtual triage of patients. This also includes looking at whether patients can be managed in the community, freeing up hospital eye clinic capacity for patients that need face to face specialist input.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many members of staff Ofcom employs in each directorate.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This information is set out in Ofcom's Annual Reports and Accounts 2023-24.
Ofcom employs 1,483 employees (full time equivalents). Non-Executive Members of the Ofcom Board, Content Board, Advisory Committees and employees seconded to Ofcom are excluded from employee numbers.
The breakdown for each Directorate is as follows:
Broadcasting and Media Group - 118
Networks and Communications Group - 146
Spectrum Group - 242
Online Safety Group - 189
Economics and Analytics Group - 117
Legal Group - 119
Strategy and Research Group - 157
Corporate Group - 363
Central – 31
The Corporate Group includes Finance, HR, the Contact Centre, ICT, Public Policy and Nations teams, Communications, Governance and Accountability, and Data and Information.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to deliver the recommendations outlined in the Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Digital Technologies policy paper, published on 15 March 2023.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Digital Technologies Review published by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser set out 11 recommendations to support the UK’s regulatory approach to AI, facilitate the Government’s public services transformation programme through data access, and focus regulator efforts on innovation in transport, cyber security and space. The Government has already made progress, launching the AI and Digital Hub in April 2024 and gaining Royal Assent for the Automated Vehicles Bill in May 2024.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how different jurisdictions' approaches to text and data mining have affected their AI sector growth rates.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Copyright law is territorial. Other jurisdictions vary in how they handle text and data mining, and the impact on AI sector growth is challenging to assess.
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024. This seeks views on stakeholders’ experience of approaches internationally. The consultation closes on 25 February
Government will continue to talk to our international partners, as AI is an area of shared interest and activity.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average NHS waiting time for hip replacement surgery; and how many patients are currently waiting.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently 31,323 patients waiting for a hip replacement. The average mean National Health Service waiting time for hip replacement surgery is 27.4 weeks.
The Government is working to reduce the number of patients awaiting treatment across the country. The Elective Reform Plan, launched as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, sets out how we will get back to the NHS Constitutional Standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment RTT by the end of this Parliament and also ensure patients have the best possible experience of care.
We have set an ambition for 2025/26 that we reach 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks nationally, and for all trusts to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement by March 2026.
The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, so more operations can be carried out.
Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are transforming the way the NHS providers elective care by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries. There are currently 113 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England as of February 2025. These surgical hubs help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care, improving outcomes for patients and reducing pressures on hospitals.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average NHS waiting time for knee replacement surgery; and how many patients are currently waiting.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently 49,509 patients waiting for a knee replacement. The mean average National Health Service waiting time for this procedure is 28.7 weeks.
The Government is working to reduce the number of patients awaiting treatment across the country. The Elective Reform Plan, launched as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, sets out how we will get back to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament, and will also ensure that patients have the best possible experience of care.
We have set an ambition for 2025/26 that we reach 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks nationally, and for all trusts to deliver a minimum 5% improvement by March 2026.
The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, so more operations can be carried out. Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are transforming the way the NHS provides elective care by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries.
There are currently 113 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England as of February 2025. These surgical hubs help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care, improving outcomes for patients and reducing pressures on hospitals.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the cost to the NHS of (1) hip replacement surgery, (2) knee replacement surgery, and (3) cataract surgery.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the financial year 2023/24, there were 120,172 hip procedures performed at a total cost of £1,241,784,028.35, with an average unit cost of £10,333.39. There were 86,781 knee procedures performed at a total cost of £737,241,451.39, with an average unit cost of £8,495.42. There were an additional 13,811 complex cases for hip or knee procedures performed at a total cost of £220,792,075.13, with an average unit cost of £15,986.68. The total cost for 246,995 cataract procedures was £363,849,348.97, with an average unit cost of £1,473.10.