Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their policy in respect of the Falkland Islands continues to reflect the views and wishes of the islanders.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is clear - it is only the people of the Falkland Islands who can decide their own future. The UK is steadfast in its support for the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination, a right which is enshrined in the UN Charter and in article one of the two UN Covenants on human rights. The Falkland Islanders made their wishes clear in the 2013 referendum when 99.8 percent of voters chose to maintain their status as a self-governing UK Overseas Territory.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what was the approximate number of Noble Lords attending the State Opening of Parliament on 7 November; and whether this represents the greatest number on record.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The number of Peers attending the Chamber for the State Opening of Parliament is not recorded; but all of the approximately 180 available spaces for Members of the House were occupied for the State Opening this year. This figure does not include 14 Lords spiritual or eight members of the House who were either part of the procession or hold certain offices and were present in the Chamber due to the offices they hold. We do not have records to say how this compares to previous State Openings.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the arrangements for controlling air traffic with the UK's airspace, further to the recent disruption to the London Flight Information Region.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government regrets the recent air traffic control issues and the impact these have had on airlines and their customers. NATS has an outstanding aviation safety record and is regulated against service targets which are set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is important that we await the findings of the independent review which the CAA has announced into the technical failure which impacted NATS systems on 28 August 2023 and that any recommendations from this are responded to accordingly.
My officials have and will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to ensure robust plans are in place to mitigate any disruption to air traffic control services, recognising that the safety of the operation must always be the paramount consideration for air navigation service providers.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many retired Tornado aircraft remain in the possession of the RAF.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Tornado aircraft went out of RAF service in 2019 and has been through a thorough disposal process. The RAF have retained 16 Tornado aircraft across different variants for use as ground based training aids and gate guardians but none are airworthy and the majority of their systems have been permanently removed or inhibited to ensure long-term safety for ground instruction training or public display.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the typical monthly salary of an ambulance crew member working in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Following last year’s pay award, average basic pay per person for professionally qualified ambulance staff has increased to around £34,300 from around £33,000. On average, ambulance staff have additional earnings worth around 37% of basic pay, covering unsocial hours, geographical supplements and overtime. Following the 2022/23 pay award this will take total earnings to around £47,000 per year.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the future of HMS Bristol.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I refer my noble Friend to the answer I gave on 15 November 2022 to Question HL3303 to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what formal legal qualifications are required for any person seeking election as a Police and Crime Commissioner.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The criteria for those who wish to stand for, and hold the office of Police and Crime Commissioner, is set out in legislation under Section 64 to 69 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.
Those who wish to stand as a candidate must be at least 18 years of age on the day of their nomination and registered to vote in the force area in which they wish to stand. They must also be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a qualifying EU citizen or EU citizen with retained rights. To be nominated as a candidate, candidates must obtain 100 nominations and tender a deposit of £5,000.
Individuals are not required to have any formal legal qualifications or other qualifications.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) destroyers, and (2) frigates, are presently available for service with the Royal Navy.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Six Destroyers and twelve Frigates are in-service with the Royal Navy. They rotate through operational deployments, exercises and periods of planned maintenance.
At present, of the six Destroyers, four are available for operations with the remainder in long term refit. Of the twelve Frigates, eight are available for operations with the remainder in long term refit.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, over the age of 70 are serving custodial sentences in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 March 2022 (latest available published statistics), there were 1,618 male sentenced prisoners and 21 female sentenced prisoners aged ‘70 and over’ in prisons in England & Wales.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for ensuring the (1) accuracy, and (2) reliability, of electronic devices used to measure the speed of vehicles on (a) motorways, and (b) other major highways; and whether they have any plans to amend these arrangements.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government’s Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process oversees the accuracy and reliability of vehicle speed measurement devices to ensure they meet the specified requirements.
Manufacturers work with Road Safety Support to test the accuracy of speed cameras and provide test reports as part of the HOTA submission process. These reports are reviewed by scientific colleagues at the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) who will then make a recommendation on a device’s suitability for Type Approval.