Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to conclude their review of the number of Challenger 3 tanks which will comprise the full operating capability to be delivered by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As announced by the Secretary of State on 16 January 2023, the number of Challenger 3 Main Battle Tanks are being reviewed as a matter of priority following lessons learned from Ukraine, and to ensure the Army's Main Battle Tank fleet remains sufficient to meet Defence's needs.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the reason for the delay in the completion of the delivery of Challenger 3 tanks for use in demonstration trials from 2024 to early 2025.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There is no delay to the delivery of the Challenger 3 prototypes. The Challenger 3 prototypes will be delivered for use in demonstration trials from 2023, as scheduled. Additional Challenger 3 prototypes have now been purchased and are due for delivery in early 2025.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the role and responsibilities of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; and whether the department has jurisdiction in (1) Northern Ireland, (2) Scotland, and (3) Wales.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of the role and responsibilities of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have not yet been published. They will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to regulate the use of electric scooters in Northern Ireland in the absence of a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In the absence of Northern Ireland Executive ministers, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act provides Northern Ireland civil servants with the clarity they require to take the limited but necessary decisions to maintain delivery of public services and operate in the public interest. The Act does not however give the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland direction powers on specific policies, other than in relation to pressing public appointments and the requirement to set the regional rate.
The swiftest way for legislation on Northern Ireland affairs such as this is for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive to be restored. It remains the Government’s priority to work towards the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 2 February (HL4921), why the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 allocated (1) 9.98 per cent of funding to Wales against an entitlement share of 4.70 per cent of UK funds under the Barnett formula, (2) 3.41 per cent to Northern Ireland against an entitlement share of 2.75 per cent, and (3) 8.49 per cent to Scotland against an entitlement share of 8.08 per cent.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer to Question UIN HL4921 on 2 February 2023.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current relations between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The strength of the bilateral relationship between the UK and Ireland is of fundamental importance to both countries. Our interconnected histories, cultures, and economies make it vital that the UK and Ireland are able to work together in a spirit of friendship, understanding, and cooperation. We have a shared responsibility for upholding the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, to which the Government is firmly committed. Most recently, the Prime Minister spoke to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on 23 January, and the Foreign Secretary to Tanaiste and Foreign Minister, Micheál Martin on 2 February.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many official representatives of the government of the Republic of Ireland are employed in the UK; and at which locations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have interpreted "official representatives" to mean diplomatic agents or consular officers. Article 1(e) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 defines "diplomatic agent" as "the head of the mission or a member of the diplomatic staff of the mission". Article 1(1)(d) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 defines "consular officer" as "any person, including the head of a consular post, entrusted in that capacity with the exercise of consular functions".
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) publishes details of foreign embassies, high commissions and consular posts in the UK on gov.uk, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk. This page includes the London Diplomatic List which contains the addresses and contact details of all embassies and high commissions, as well as the names of heads of mission and other diplomatic agents appointed in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. The entry for the Embassy of Ireland, as of February 2023, lists 24 diplomatic agents in the locations set out below.
Embassy of Ireland
17 Grosvenor Place SW1X 7HR
Passport & Visa Office
114A Cromwell Road SW7 4ES
In addition, consular officials are appointed to the Consulates General of Ireland in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Manchester. FCDO records list 6 consular officers appointed to the Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh; 3 consular officers to the Consulate General of Ireland in Cardiff; and 2 consular officers appointed to the Consulate General of Ireland in Manchester.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft; and what are the numbers per annum projected to leave service in future.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Lord Goddard of Stockport on 24 January 2022 to Question HL4609.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prescriptions were issued and filled by the NHS in each of the past five years; and what estimate they have made of the average gross profit margin for the pharmacist on each prescription.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table below shows the total number of items dispensed in the community in England in each of the last five financial years broken down by English dispenser account type.
Dispenser Account Type | 2017/2018 | 2018/2019 | 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 | 2021/2022 |
English Appliance Contractor | 8,627,910 | 9,043,637 | 9,787,035 | 10,020,141 | 10,908,020 |
English Dispensing Doctor | 69,672,685 | 70,368,215 | 72,024,656 | 70,530,057 | 72,082,457 |
English Personal Administration | 14,829,104 | 14,606,249 | 14,468,189 | 13,180,273 | 13,231,305 |
English Pharmacy Contractor | 1,013,292,403 | 1,015,065,205 | 1,035,763,855 | 1,016,856,763 | 1,043,054,789 |
Total | 1,106,422,102 | 1,109,083,306 | 1,132,043,735 | 1,110,587,234 | 1,139,276,571 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
The table below shows the average medicine margin retained per item for English pharmacy contractors for the five financial years (2017/18 – 2021/22). Medicine margin being the difference between what the pharmacy pays for a medicine and what they are reimbursed by the National Health Service. These figures do not include any fees for service provision by the pharmacy paid by the NHS. Where it was measured that pharmacy contractors retained margin above or below the contractually agreed level, an adjustment would have been made through changes to Category M (part VIII of the Drug Tariff) reimbursement prices.
England only |
|
|
| Average margin per item (£) | Prescription items (m) |
2017/18 | £0.79 | 1013 |
2018/19 | £0.62 | 1015 |
2019/20 | £0.72 | 1036 |
2020/21 | £0.96 | 1017 |
2021/22 | £0.89 | 1043 |
Source: Department of Health and Social Care
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the amount allocated per head of population in round two of the Levelling Up Fund to (1) England, (2) Northern Ireland, (3) Scotland, and (4) Wales.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Details of the assessment and decision-making process for round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund are available in the published (attached) explanatory note(opens in a new tab). A detailed breakdown of funding requested and awarded in round 2 can be found in the published (attached) geographic and thematic analysis(opens in a new tab). The department does not request nor record the costs incurred by applicants to the Fund. As set out in the (attached) Written Ministerial Statement(opens in a new tab of 19 January, I am pleased to say there will be a third round of the Fund and we will outline more information on this in due course.
Unsuccessful applicants to this second round will be provided written feedback to support future applications into levelling up funds.
The published Levelling Up Fund Round 2 technical note set out the additional considerations that could be taken into account when making funding decisions. This included “ taking into account other investment in a local area, including investment made from the first round of the Fund to encourage a spread of levelling up funds across places.” The published explanatory note outlines the specifics of how decisions for the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 were made. Applicants to the Fund were informed of the outcome of decisions by letter sent on the 18 January.