Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the removal of COVID-19 restrictions in England, what plans the Royal Parks have to reopen the South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park to vehicular traffic.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Royal Parks charity manages Hyde Park on behalf of HM Government, and is responsible for decision-making about operational matters.
This is an operational matter for The Royal Parks. We understand, however, that South Carriage Drive has been closed since March 2020 as part of a trial to reduce through traffic in Hyde Park. Whilst the original trial was focused on weekend restrictions, the road has also been closed for safety reasons on weekdays during this period due to the introduction of a temporary cycle path, immediately outside the park, by Transport for London.
We understand that The Royal Parks is currently assessing evidence of the trial on the weekend restrictions, and plans to make an announcement about the closure later this year.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' investigation into potential breaches of the prohibition of characterising flavours in tobacco products, what specific issues have arisen in the export of cigarettes to Roswell Park; whether the correct exports process was followed; and when they expect the investigation to conclude.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Following an open tender process, King’s College London (KCL) was appointed to undertake testing of a range of products to support the investigation into potential breaches of the prohibition of characterising flavours in tobacco products. KCL’s bid stated that they intended to subcontract the laboratory testing stage to Roswell Park, a world-leading tobacco research and testing institute.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities continues to work with KCL to ensure that all cigarette brands sent to Roswell Park for analytic destructive testing are exported in compliance with regulations. We expect outcomes from the testing to be available by the end of March 2022.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' investigation into potential breaches of the prohibition of characterising flavours in tobacco products, why an American organisation was appointed to undertake the testing rather than a UK one.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Following an open tender process, King’s College London (KCL) was appointed to undertake testing of a range of products to support the investigation into potential breaches of the prohibition of characterising flavours in tobacco products. KCL’s bid stated that they intended to subcontract the laboratory testing stage to Roswell Park, a world-leading tobacco research and testing institute.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities continues to work with KCL to ensure that all cigarette brands sent to Roswell Park for analytic destructive testing are exported in compliance with regulations. We expect outcomes from the testing to be available by the end of March 2022.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to rectify issues with British passport holders whose passports are faulty and cannot be read at e-gates upon arrival at UK airports.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The British passport’s electronic chip has been extensively tested to ensure its durability throughout the lifetime of the passport. Additionally, each passport’s electronic chip is assessed as part of the personalisation process.
A passport chip inspection may fail at the Border for several reasons. If a fault is identified with an electronic chip that was assessed to have been present when the passport was issued, then it will be replaced at no additional cost.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many offenders subject to indeterminate sentences for public protection will be eligible for a licence review each year for the next five years.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
We do not publish the data at the present time; however, we continue to review processes to allow the publication of more information in the future.
The accumulative number of IPP offenders, who will become eligible for a licence review each year for the next five years is set out below.
Table: IPP cases with at least one release by 30/09/2021 by eligibility to apply for licence termination:
Year | Number of cases eligible |
End of 2021 | 403 |
End of 2022 | 850 |
End of 2023 | 1,353 |
End of 2024 | 1,771 |
End of 2025 | 2,272 |
End of 2026 | 2,829 |
Notes:
1. Number of Cases Eligible is Cumulative (i.e. cases eligible in 2021 will also be eligible in 2022 etc).
2. Data is taken from administrative sources (nDelius) and subject to the inherent inaccuracy in any such large-scale data source.
Statistics on the prison population are routinely published as part of the quarterly Offender Management Statistics on Gov.uk - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish data on (1) the number of offenders subject to indeterminate sentences for public protection who became eligible for licence review over the past year, and (2) the number of those who applied for a licence review over the same period.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
We do not publish the data at the present time; however, we continue to review processes to allow the publication of more information in the future.
The accumulative number of IPP offenders, who will become eligible for a licence review each year for the next five years is set out below.
Table: IPP cases with at least one release by 30/09/2021 by eligibility to apply for licence termination:
Year | Number of cases eligible |
End of 2021 | 403 |
End of 2022 | 850 |
End of 2023 | 1,353 |
End of 2024 | 1,771 |
End of 2025 | 2,272 |
End of 2026 | 2,829 |
Notes:
1. Number of Cases Eligible is Cumulative (i.e. cases eligible in 2021 will also be eligible in 2022 etc).
2. Data is taken from administrative sources (nDelius) and subject to the inherent inaccuracy in any such large-scale data source.
Statistics on the prison population are routinely published as part of the quarterly Offender Management Statistics on Gov.uk - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made, if any, to the government of Zimbabwe about the detention of Makomborero Haruzivishe
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, including arrests of, and violence towards, civil society and opposition activists. The British Embassy in Harare is in touch with Makomborero Haruzivishe's lawyers as we await the outcome of his appeal.
The UK regularly urges the Zimbabwean Government to meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law and the freedoms and rights enshrined in the Zimbabwean Constitution, safeguarding human rights, and committing to genuine political and economic reform for the benefit of all Zimbabweans. The Minister for Africa most recently raised the human rights situation in Zimbabwe with Foreign Minister Shava on 9 June. We will continue to speak out, both privately and in public, where we have concerns, and work alongside the international community to support a better future for all Zimbabweans.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 7 December 2020 (HL10627), when they expect to publish the three-month review of the spending of the £30 million allocated on 8 October 2020 to help local authorities in England fund their COVID-19 compliance and enforcement work.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In November 2020, a £30 million ringfenced Compliance and Enforcement Grant was allocated to all district and unitary authorities in England to spend on COVID-19 compliance and enforcement related activities. In January 2021 MHCLG issued an activity and spend survey to all councils in receipt of the grant. The responses from this informed a review of how the grant was being utilised.
The Department have no plans to release the findings of the three-month review. Information was provided in confidence by local authorities during the grant period to support the development of Government policy. The information gathered as part of the review was used to inform successive iterations of the ‘Local authority COVID-19 compliance and enforcement good practice framework’, (attached) which was archived on 19 July 2021 but it still available for reference.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the EU’s proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on trade and commerce in Northern Ireland in the light of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and what consultations they have been offered by the EU on this matter.
Answered by Lord Frost
The Government has noted the EU’s announcement on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. In line with the provisions in Article 13(4) of the Protocol, as an act that falls within the scope of the Protocol, but which neither amends nor replaces a Union act listed in the Annexes to this Protocol, it is a matter for the Joint Committee to determine whether it should apply in Northern Ireland. The EU has informed the UK of its proposal, as required by the Protocol, and we will carefully consider its impact on Northern Ireland and the UK’s internal market, ahead of future discussions in the Joint Committee.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what public expenditure has been incurred on the (1) Traders’ Support Scheme, (2) the Movement Assistance Scheme, and (3) other such programmes for the support of Northern Ireland businesses operating under the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and whether they have estimated the full expenditure for 2021.
Answered by Lord Frost
The UK has taken forward extensive work on and invested substantial sums in the operation of the Protocol since the beginning of the year. The total spend on the Trader Support Service through to May 2021 is £125m. In procuring the contract, the UK Government committed over £200m in trader support through the service, and as it stands the forecast is for around £360m in support over the full two years to the end of 2022.
Since launching in December 2020, the MAS has supported over 140 businesses with the cost of more than 11,400 certificates; the scheme is now confirmed to run until at least December 2023. We have already spent £25 million on the Digital Assistance Scheme and the forecast is that total spend in this area could run to up to £150 million.