Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value for money to taxpayers of the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) given the recent external auditors’ finding of “significant weaknesses” in its value for money arrangements and the auditors being unable to give an opinion on STDC’s 2021–22 and 2022–23 financial statements.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the local government audit framework, local auditors make assessments of authorities’ arrangements to secure value for money. The findings of ‘significant weaknesses’ in value for money arrangements in the recent audit reports for South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) reflect concerns raised in the independent review of Tees Valley Combined Authority’s oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Joint Venture.
In September, the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) Mayor submitted an update on their work to address issues identified in the independent review. My department is assessing this update and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the Building the Right Support Action Plan; and what plans they have to create a new Building the Right Support Action Plan to support reforms proposed in the Mental Health Bill.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Building the Right Support Action Plan, published in 2022, contains commitments which have not yet passed their delivery dates, including the commitment to reform the Mental Health Act.
We do not plan to create new actions in a new action plan while the bill is before Parliament. However, we recognise that this is a vitally important area, and we are considering how to ensure that more people with a learning disability and autistic people are supported well in the community, ahead of the commencement of the Mental Health Act reforms.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 6 November (HL1953), whether the review mentioned in the Answer has been conducted; if not, when it is expected to conclude; and whether its findings will be made publicly available in the interests of transparency.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As mentioned in my answer to HL1953, the FCDO is committed to transparency. We are currently reviewing how to improve the quality of transparency data published about the Gulf Strategy Fund, to build on the Thematic Summaries already published annually to Gov.uk. Publication of the summary for 2023/24 will follow this review. The review is underway and is expected to conclude in January 2025, it is in the form of advice which is internal to the FCDO and will not be published.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications they received for funding to establish Health Protection Research Units based in (1) the North East, (2) Yorkshire, and (3) the North West.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In September 2023, the Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research launched a two-stage open competition to fund 13 new Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs). Each HPRU is a collaborative research partnership between the UK Health Security Agency and a university or group of universities. Overall, the HPRUs have been awarded £77 million of funding over five years for research to protect the public from health threats.
The following table sets out the applications received by region, and where the university is either the lead applicant or a collaborating partner on the HPRU application:
Region | University as the lead applicant | University as a collaborating partner |
North East |
| 1 |
Yorkshire |
| 2 |
North West | 2 | 7 |
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Government Ministers and officials (1) were consulted, (2) were informed, and (3) provided advice, on the appointment of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to the Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order; and, if so, when.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Awards in the Royal Victorian Order are made personally by The King. With advice from His Majesty's Government, The King invested King Hamad of Bahrain with his Honorary Knighthood at Windsor Castle on 11 November 2024 in the year of his Silver Jubilee.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions to re-accredit the National Institute for Human Rights of Bahrain with “B” status; and what are the implications of that for their funding for the National Institute for Human Rights of Bahrain under the Gulf Strategy Fund.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK plays no role in recommendations made by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. The Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) does not provide direct funding to the Bahrain National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR). All GSF projects are delivered through implementing partners who provide training or technical assistance to local beneficiaries.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Government Ministers and officials attended the dinner held for King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at Windsor Castle on 11 November.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The dinner held for King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa at Windsor Castle was a private event hosted by His Majesty The King. Guests included the Secretary of State for Defence, the Lord Chancellor, Chief of Defence Staff and the British Ambassador to Bahrain.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 9 August (HL537), when the annual summary of projects funded by the Gulf Strategy Fund in 2023–24 will be published.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FY2023/24 annual summary will be published following the conclusion of the review. Future annual summaries will be prepared and published in line with the findings and recommendations of the review.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that a direct train service between Sheffield and Manchester Airport is reinstated, and according to what timeframe.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
I wrote to the Noble Lord in July, explaining this service was withdrawn in December 2022 as part of the Manchester Task Force’s proposals to address the challenges of Manchester’s constrained capacity. We remain committed to improved rail connectivity in growing the Northern and national economy.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect bi-mode hydrogen trains to enter service on East Midlands Railway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
East Midlands Railway’s (EMR’s) new Aurora bi-mode trains (electric and diesel) are currently being built by Hitachi at its Newton Aycliffe factory in County Durham. The first three trains are doing test runs on the East Coast and Midland Main Lines. EMR currently expect that the trains will start to be introduced on intercity services in 2025 with the full fleet of trains coming into service during 2025 and 2026.