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.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of studies in the United States, Canada and China which have concluded that high levels of fluoride permanently reduce the IQ of children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Some studies from these countries have reported a reduction in IQ in children associated with exposure to relatively high levels of fluoride. However, 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.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Victoria Atkins MP) continues to have a duty to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes on health and to produce reports at no greater than four-yearly intervals. The last monitoring report for England was published in 2022. This supported the findings of earlier monitoring reports and the wider evidence that water fluoridation, at levels recommended in the United Kingdom, is a safe and effective public health measure to reduce dental caries and inequalities in dental health.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk to the neurodevelopment of children from fluoride, particularly if administered through its addition to water supplies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Water Fluoridation: Health Monitoring Report for England 2022 considered the overall weight of evidence and authoritative reviews of relevant and suitable studies. These 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.
A copy of the report is attached.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that consumer goods imported into the UK are labelled only with regard to the recognised customs authority that processes their export.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK’s customs authority, is responsible for the vast majority of customs matters and protects the UK’s fiscal, economic, social and physical security before and at the border. HMRC works closely with Border Force to deliver customs controls for goods entering the UK. This ensures that customs functions are delivered effectively and in such a way that secures the UK border- for example, checking that goods have the correct customs documentation to allow import into the UK. All imported goods are required to meet UK regulations, including any relevant labelling requirements.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) fatalities, and (2) casualties, occurred per 1,000 miles travelled on (a) smart motorways, (b) traditional motorways, and (c) dual carriageways, in the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
National Highways measures safety performance using key metrics, including, Killed and Serious Injuries (KSI) and Fatal and Weighted Injuries (FWI)) which look at absolute values and rates accounting for traffic flows, as endorsed by the Office of Rail and Road.
The latest safety data is available in the Smart motorway stocktake second year progress report published in May 2022 (covering the period 2016-2020). This data shows that, overall, in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways are our safest roads.
Table I: 5-year average (2016-2020) injury adjusted metrics per Hundred Million Vehicle Miles (HMVM) for all collisions.
Type of motorway/ road | KSI (per HMVM) | FWI (per HMVM) |
Conventional | 1.45 | 0.37 |
ALR | 1.38 | 0.33 |
DHS | 1.17 | 0.32 |
Controlled | 1.30 | 0.32 |
A-roads (on SRN) | 3.66 | 0.91 |
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of dual carriageways have a hard shoulder of sufficient width to park a vehicle.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Whilst we do not hold that specific information, most all-purpose dual carriageways do not have hard shoulders.