Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the estimated cost of the fencing planned for the front of Parliament along Abingdon Street and what is the market cost of fencing of the same specification.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Abingdon fence installation was competitively procured by both Houses of Parliament through parliament’s framework supply-chain and benchmarked against other fencing projects within Parliament. For security reasons, the Houses do not publish capital expenditure on security mitigating projects as providing this level of detail could enable an individual to infer the extent and nature of the works, and thus the vulnerabilities which they were intended to mitigate.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the salary of the Director of Security for Parliament.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Director of Security for Parliament is a bicameral role, but for administrative purposes is employed by the House of Commons. The salary of the Director of Security is published alongside other Commons Executive Board members in the annual accounts of the House of Commons. In 2023-24 the salary and benefits in kind of the Director of Security were £140-145,000.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any restrictions on the movement of Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles onto Ministry of Defence barracks or training areas.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence takes the security of defence assets very seriously, and is working with other Government Departments to understand and mitigate any potential threats to national security from vehicles. Our policies and procedures take account of the potential threats from all types of vehicle, not just those manufactured in China, and we have issued appropriate internal direction to all drivers and passengers.
There are no centrally mandated policy restrictions on the movement of Chinese manufactured vehicles. We are aware that individual defence organisations may have stricter requirements relating to electric vehicles on some sites, but we do not provide specific details for security reasons.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any restrictions being put in place to prevent Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles from accessing any critical infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government takes national security extremely seriously and the Department works closely with the transport sector and other agencies such as the National Protective Security Authority and the National Cyber Security Centre to respond to any security vulnerabilities. This includes ensuring critical infrastructure is secure and resilient, and risks are managed proportionately.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions of vehicles illegally in cycle boxes (advanced stop lines) there have been in (1) the UK, and (2) the Metropolitan Police jurisdiction.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between 2010 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: June 2024.
However, prosecutions for vehicles illegally in cycle boxes (advanced stop lines) cannot be separately identified from the broader offence of ‘failing to comply with traffic lights, signals or signs’ in the Court Proceedings database.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks relating to the glare of LED headlamps; whether they have been identified as a contributing factor to road accidents at night; and what steps they plan to take, if any, to mitigate these risks.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National collision statistics, which can record headlamp dazzle as a contributory factor, do not show any discernible trend to suggest that advances in lighting technology are contributing negatively to road vehicle collisions.
However, noting increased public concern, Government has commissioned independent research to better understand the root causes of headlamp glare and develop potential countermeasures. The work is underway and is due to deliver in summer 2025.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many vehicles of the Government Car Service were available for ministerial use on 11 November in (1) 2016, (2) 2023, and (3) 2024.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The number of Government Car Service (GCS) vehicles allocated for Ministerial use on the 11th November for the specified years is:
2016: 87
2023: 114
2024: 122
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions they are making for the red-listed category of cavity nesting birds which are reliant on buildings for suitable nesting cavities; and whether they intends to mandate the provision of swift bricks in new building projects.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to help birds reliant on buildings to breed, including how to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 3 January (HL1166), whether they are encouraging the fluoridation of drinking water supplies, given that the report cited in the Answer Water Fluoridation: Health Monitoring Report for England 2022 noted that there was contradictory evidence relating to adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Health and Care Act 2022 transferred responsibility for water fluoridation from local authorities to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This was to make it simpler to expand water fluoridation schemes. Subject to a public consultation, which will be published shortly, the Government has announced its intention to expand the current water fluoridation scheme across the North East of England.
The overall weight of evidence and authoritative reviews of relevant and suitable studies indicate that there is no convincing evidence that fluoride at the levels permitted in fluoridated drinking water present a risk of adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered making it a legal requirement for every new car to have a spare wheel.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a legal requirement for the inclusion of spare wheels on all new cars. There are various solutions to flat tyres including full-sized spare wheels, a temporary use space-saver spare, or a sealant and inflation kit. Many manufacturers choose to provide a sealant and inflation kit which has benefits in reducing the weight of the vehicle and increasing usable space.