Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the risks of human consumption of salmon bred and farmed within UK waters.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fish and fishery products farmed for consumption in the UK must meet the requirements of food hygiene and contaminants and residues legislation. Responsibility for verifying food business operators comply with the legislation is delegated to Local Authorities who carry out official controls. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate’s National Statutory Surveillance plan monitors residues of veterinary medicines, prohibited substances, and various contaminants in products of animal origin, including farmed salmon. The Food Standards Agency is not aware of any evidence to indicate that fish farmed in the UK are unsafe to eat.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of working from home on efficiency and outcomes in NHS England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for NHS England to decide the best way to recruit and retain staff whilst also promoting productive outcomes. NHS England will continue to model their ways of working on what allows them to maximise outcomes, and work with optimal efficiency.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of working from home on efficiency and outcomes in the Civil Service.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are a wide range of studies available on the clear benefits of hybrid working, which have been used to inform the expectation for 60% office attendance for Civil Servants. The government renewed their commitment to the 60% office attendance mandate on the 24th October, and has resumed quarterly publication of office occupancy data to support this.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Baroness Blake of Leeds on 9 October (HL Deb col 2091), whether it remains the Government’s position that civil servants are expected to work in the workplace for a minimum of three days a week; and what plans, if any, they have to change this.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Current Civil Service guidance requires Civil Servants to attend the office or work face-to-face with colleagues at least 60% of the time. There are no plans to change those requirements.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the private funding received by think tanks operating in the (1) political, and (2) economic, policy areas in England and Wales; and whether they have any plans to reform the (a) funding regime, or (b) declarations of sources of funding, for such think tanks.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
It is for each individual think tank to publicise and declare their sources of funding. The Government believes that think tanks can play a legitimate part in public policy development, so long as their activity is conducted transparently and ethically in order to maintain the highest standards in public life.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a formal analysis of the impact of working from home on (1) productivity, and (2) the economy.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We do not have any plans to conduct an analysis of the impact of home working in isolation. However, we will monitor the impact of the flexible working reforms which came into force in April 2024, and further changes planned though the Employment Rights Bill.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work of the UK Infrastructure Bank.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 14 October the Chancellor announced the creation of the National Wealth Fund (NWF). Building on the UK Infrastructure Bank’s leadership and expertise, the NWF will go further to catalyse more private investment.
To mobilise private investment at pace, the Government has turbocharged the NWF to be more catalytic by equipping it with the financial products, mandate and risk capital to catalyse private capital most effectively. It will have a total capitalisation of £27.8bn, inheriting UKIB’s existing capitalisation with an additional £5.8bn which will be committed over this Parliament.
Going forward, the NWF will have a broader mandate, extending beyond infrastructure to support delivery of the wider Industrial Strategy in areas where there is an undersupply in private finance, working alongside the British Business Bank.
It will take a proactive approach, with increased resources and focus to conduct more outreach, identifying expanded project pipelines and structure innovative transactions. It will also have a strong regional mandate to unleash the full potential of our cities and regions. These changes will ensure that the NWF can catalyse additional investment, delivering impactful projects and unlocking growth opportunities across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government which councils in England are in special measures as of 8 October, and what is the level of overspending in each such council.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Given the noble Lord’s question on overspending, I have interpreted the use of the term ‘special measures’ to refer to the statutory intervention framework relating to councils’ Best Value Duty and to the operation of the previous Government’s Exceptional Financial Support framework.
As of 8 October 2024, six councils are currently subject to statutory interventions for best value failure, details of which councils can be found on the gov.uk website. Under the previous Government’s Exceptional Financial Support framework, additional support was most recently agreed for nineteen councils in February 2024. Details of the amounts agreed, including for previous years, can be found on the gov.uk website.
Councils are responsible for their own financial management, and the Department does not monitor their day-to-day business. For those councils subject to statutory intervention, Commissioners or Improvement Panels appointed by the Government will have a role overseeing delivery of council improvement plans, including in relation to financial management.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's ability to supply electricity generators to the Ukraine before the winter.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, the UK has committed almost £370 million in grant, in-kind support and loan guarantees to help Ukraine respond to and recover from Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. This includes £20 million for emergency energy needs, announced by the Foreign Secretary during his visit to Ukraine in September.
The UK has donated £64 million to the Energy Community Secretariat's Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which coordinates donations of energy equipment, including electricity generators, in response to Government of Ukraine requests. All donations reflect verified, prioritised needs reported by the Government of Ukraine and draw on international supply chains.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the needs of the energy sector in Ukraine as a result of damage to energy infrastructure by conflict.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since March 2024 alone, Ukraine has lost over 50 percent of its power generation due to a string of Russian attacks on energy generation facilities. Over the upcoming heating season, Russian attacks and low temperatures risk making access to power, water and heating intermittent, aggravating the humanitarian situation on the ground.
The UK has been working closely with Ukrainian officials and international donors to fund repairs and provide back-up power generation during the colder months, while also supporting humanitarian efforts to ensure that civilians have access to warming points and collective centres are equipped with generators.