Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are giving to serving and retired Ghurkas and their families in Nepal to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We recognise the invaluable contribution Gurkhas make to our armed forces. Gurkhas serve with honour and distinction and are a vital part of our bilateral relationship. The UK-funded Gurkha Welfare Trust has ensured access to life-saving support and supplies to Gurkha veterans and their communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also financing antigen kits for district hospitals across Nepal with distribution being done by the Gurkha Welfare Trust, and two districts have so far received these kits.
More broadly in Nepal, the UK has funded a new £180,000 duplex oxygen generation plant at the Nepal Police Hospital in Kathmandu to help address oxygen shortages to treat COVID19 patients. We are also one of the leading donors to COVAX, committing £548m to the scheme, which will provide more than a billion vaccines to developing countries including doses for almost a fifth of Nepal's population.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland impacts the movement of Italian bees from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
It is not the case that honey bees moved from Northern Ireland to other parts of the UK must be destroyed.
EU member states may export bees to Northern Ireland in line with intra-Union trade rules. Queen honey bees can be imported into any part of the UK from Italy and other EU countries but packages and colonies of honey bees can only be imported into Northern Ireland. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for honey bees which qualify as a Northern Ireland good to the rest of the UK market. The basis on which businesses may qualify for unfettered access is clearly set out in legislation passed last year.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether honey bees moved from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK must be destroyed; and if so, why.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
It is not the case that honey bees moved from Northern Ireland to other parts of the UK must be destroyed.
EU member states may export bees to Northern Ireland in line with intra-Union trade rules. Queen honey bees can be imported into any part of the UK from Italy and other EU countries but packages and colonies of honey bees can only be imported into Northern Ireland. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for honey bees which qualify as a Northern Ireland good to the rest of the UK market. The basis on which businesses may qualify for unfettered access is clearly set out in legislation passed last year.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether community service sentences may include picking up litter in (1) rural, and (2) urban, areas.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Where a court imposes an unpaid work requirement as part of a community sentence or suspended sentence order, the local Community Rehabilitation Company provides work placements in accordance with a range of criteria including:
Any proposal for unpaid work involving litter collection would have to be considered with reference to the requirements for unpaid work placements which form part of the service specifications and can be found at https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/offenders/probation-instructions/pi_02_2010_unpaid_work_community_payback_service_specification.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who holds primary responsibility for issuing Dispensing Appliance Contractor licences.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are no licensing requirements to open a private dispensing appliance contractor business. NHS England is responsible for determining whether a dispensing appliance contractor should be granted the right to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Such determinations can generally be appealed to the Family Health Services Appeal Unit of the NHS Litigation Authority.
The Department keeps the operation of the relevant NHS regulations governing the right to provide NHS pharmaceutical services under regular review with NHS England, the NHS Litigation Authority and contractors’ representatives, as appropriate. We are not aware of any significant issues regarding the impact of these arrangements on small and medium-sized businesses offering continence products nor on the adoption of innovation in the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to assess the impact of the process of obtaining Dispensing Appliance Contractor licences on small and medium-sized businesses offering continence products.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are no licensing requirements to open a private dispensing appliance contractor business. NHS England is responsible for determining whether a dispensing appliance contractor should be granted the right to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Such determinations can generally be appealed to the Family Health Services Appeal Unit of the NHS Litigation Authority.
The Department keeps the operation of the relevant NHS regulations governing the right to provide NHS pharmaceutical services under regular review with NHS England, the NHS Litigation Authority and contractors’ representatives, as appropriate. We are not aware of any significant issues regarding the impact of these arrangements on small and medium-sized businesses offering continence products nor on the adoption of innovation in the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to assess the impact of the process of obtaining Dispensing Appliance Contractor licences on the Department of Health’s wish to increase medical innovation, as outlined in their Innovation Health and Wealth strategy.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
There are no licensing requirements to open a private dispensing appliance contractor business. NHS England is responsible for determining whether a dispensing appliance contractor should be granted the right to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Such determinations can generally be appealed to the Family Health Services Appeal Unit of the NHS Litigation Authority.
The Department keeps the operation of the relevant NHS regulations governing the right to provide NHS pharmaceutical services under regular review with NHS England, the NHS Litigation Authority and contractors’ representatives, as appropriate. We are not aware of any significant issues regarding the impact of these arrangements on small and medium-sized businesses offering continence products nor on the adoption of innovation in the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the amount of antibiotics in meat and meat products.
Answered by Lord De Mauley
Any veterinary antibiotic authorised for use in the UK in a food producing species will have a withdrawal period set as part of the condition of use. This is the minimum length of time after treatment that must pass before produce from the treated animal can enter the food chain. The withdrawal period ensures that the concentration of any residue of the medicine falls below the maximum residue level – the statutory safety limit.
In addition, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters has been banned in Europe since 2006.
Using antibiotics responsibly is a requirement of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Code of Professional Conduct for Vets which states “Veterinary surgeons must be seen to ensure that when using antimicrobials they do so responsibly, and be accountable for the choices made in such use.”
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the amount of pesticides in bread.
Answered by Lord De Mauley
The regulatory framework for pesticides is supported by a substantial programme of testing for residues in food and drink. This is administered by the Health and Safety Executive’s Chemicals Regulation Directorate and overseen by the independent expert scientific committee on Pesticide Residues in Food (PRiF). Bread is among the staple foods regularly checked.
Statutory Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for pesticides are set under European Union (EU) legislation. These MRLs reflect the highest amount of pesticide residue expected in food when pesticides are applied in accordance with authorised conditions of use. MRLs are always set below, usually far below, the safety limit.
Farmers, importers, distributors and retailers are responsible for ensuring marketed food complies with the statutory levels.
Although recent monitoring results indicate an increase in the incidence of pesticide residues being found in bread, this reflects that improvements in analytical methods mean that residues can be found at lower levels. The latest results obtained are all at levels below the statutory MRLs, and PriF have concluded that they do not raise any safety concerns.
The Food Standards Agency recognises that consumers want pesticide residues reduced further than the current safe levels. As part of the Agency's action plan to minimise pesticide residues in food, guides have been produced for five crops – including cereals - grown in the UK. The guides are intended for a broad audience within the food industry, from farmer to retailer. They aim to raise awareness of the issue of pesticide residues and to support the industry to deliver existing pesticide residue minimisation initiatives.
Asked by: Lord Swinfen (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that estate agents are trained to help disabled people find suitable accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government has no plans to provide training in this specific area. However, we understand the National Association of Estate Agents provides customer services training for those employed in this field including understanding the customer’s needs. It is in the interests of Estate Agents to understand the needs of all their potential customers, including the disabled customers, so that they can compete effectively to win new business and grow. The Government sets the open, market framework in which companies can compete for business on fair terms.
The Government does however encourage companies to make their businesses more accessible to disabled people and embrace the positive business opportunities presented by disabled customers; guidance is available on the gov.uk website for both employees and employers. It covers what businesses must do to comply with the law, to ensure that everyone they employ or serve is treated equally and according to their needs.