Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) concerning requests from staff in those organisations to work overseas; and in which circumstances NDPBs are expected to agree to such requests.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The government does not issue guidance to non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) on temporary working from non-UK locations. Departments have delegated policy responsibility concerning requests from staff in NDPBs to work overseas. However, they must comply with FCDO and other regulatory requirements when posting employees overseas permanently, travelling overseas for business and considering requests from employees to work temporarily overseas. Departments work with their own arm’s length body (ALB) when considering requests from staff in NDPBs to work overseas.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the list of items used to calculate the core inflation figure were last reviewed.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Naseby
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
05 June 2023
Dear Lord Naseby,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking when the list of items used to calculate the core inflation figure were last reviewed (HL8157).
The list of items used to calculate Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Consumer Prices Index, including owner occupiers’ Housing costs (CPIH), and their core equivalents, is updated on an annual basis.
Prices were first collected for the most recent update in January this year. In 2023, 26 items were added to the CPIH basket, including e-bikes and frozen berries. 16 items were removed, including digital compact cameras and non-chart CD albums bought in store.
Further information can be found in our Consumer price inflation basket of goods and services: 2023 release [1].
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/ukconsumerpriceinflationbasketofgoodsandservices/2023
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government for what reasons COVID-19 regulations permit people to socialise outside pubs but prevent them from attending four-day county cricket matches.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
On 22 February, the Government published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’, providing a roadmap out of lockdown restrictions in England. The Government's priority is to ensure a safe and gradual easing of restrictions, restoring freedoms sustainably, equitably and as quickly as possible without putting unsustainable pressure on the NHS and avoiding a further lockdown.
From 12 April, Step 2 of the roadmap, people have been permitted to gather outdoors in groups of up to six, or in larger groups - providing they consist of no more than two households. Outdoor hospitality service is also permitted to reopen at Step 2. Attendees must adhere to the social contact limits whilst at the venue as well as in the surrounding area, this means that crowds are not permitted to form at these venues. Venues must take reasonable steps to ensure that customers are seated whilst eating and drinking at their venue, including in any areas adjacent to their venue that are typically used to eat or drink from. This helps to maintain a controlled environment where social distancing can be maintained.
As regards to sporting events, spectators are not permitted at sporting events or live performances until Step 3, where we will begin to admit crowds again under strict capacity cap rules. However, this does not prevent people from viewing recreational or organised sport that is taking place in a public space (e.g. parks) in groups of up to 6 people or 2 households.
We have chosen to take a gradual approach to relaxing restrictions to reduce the risk of an increase in infections that might delay progress through the roadmap. Our approach also reflects the additional risks which can be associated with large spectator events, for example, if large numbers of people use public transport to travel to and from the venue, if crowd behaviours lead to increased risk, or if the event leads to gatherings in shared facilities either at the venue or nearby.
The Events Research Programme (ERP) is running its first phase of 10-15 pilots in April and May to inform decisions around the safe removal of social distancing at large events in Step 4 of the Roadmap. The pilots will be run across a range of settings, venues, and activities to gather evidence on the transmission risks associated with different settings, and how these can be mitigated.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths in England had COVID-19 listed as the primary cause of death on the death certificate in 2020 in the months of (1) March, (2) April, (3) May, (4) June, (5) July, (6) August, and (7) September.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Naseby,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths in England had COVID-19 listed as the primary cause of death on the death certificate in 2020 in the months of (1) March, (2) April, (3) May, (4) June, (5) July, (6) August, and (7) September (HL9433).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths in England and Wales and produces a weekly report[1] on provisional numbers of deaths involving COVID-19. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. National Records for Scotland[2] and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency[3] are responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Table 1 provides the number of deaths registered with COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death between 1 March 2020 and 30 September 2020, in England, by month.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of deaths registered where COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death, 1 March 2020 to 30 September 2020, England, by month[4][5][6][7]
Month | Number of deaths |
March | 1,568 |
April | 28,013 |
May | 11,404 |
June | 3,442 |
July | 1,008 |
August | 363 |
September | 572 |
Source: ONS
[2]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/
[4]Figures include deaths of non-residents.
[5]Based on date a death was registered rather than occurred.
[6]All figures for 2020 are provisional.
[7]The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as follows: coronavirus (COVID-19) (U07.1 and U07.2).
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated cost to the public purse for the by-election in the Richmond Park constituency following Zac Goldsmith's resignation.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The total cost to the public purse of a UK parliamentary by-election comprises two main elements: the expenditure incurred by Returning Officers in running the poll; and the cost of delivering election mailings produced by candidates. The Returning Officer for Richmond Park will have six months from the day of the poll to submit his expenses claim, and so the final cost will not be known until this has been received, scrutinised and settled. The actual cost of delivering candidates’ mailings will also not be known until after the election.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to ask the Office for National Statistics to review the validity of the input data for the construction industry statistical bulletin published in May, in the light of the recent amendments made to their findings.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have attached a copy of the Authority's response.