Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 14 June (HL16066), whether they have any plans to construct a national water grid.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Water transfers can play a strong role in securing resilience, alongside other new infrastructure and reducing demand and leakage as part of the ‘twin track approach’.
There is already a large amount of water transferred across the country, giving water companies greater flexibility to meet demand. Water companies are finalising revisions to their statutory water resource management plans. These plans set out how they will meet demand for water over at least the next 25 years and many include further transfer schemes.
Ofwat, working with the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate, recently established the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development which will make sure regulation enables strategic schemes to improve resilience of water supplies. Such schemes might include water transfers.
We are developing a National Policy Statement for water resources infrastructure which will streamline the planning process for nationally significant water resource infrastructure including large water transfers. We plan to lay the final version of this document in Parliament in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to whether there will continue to be sufficient supplies of water for all purposes, including domestic purposes, if climate change continues as expected.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government is working closely with other water regulators and the water industry to improve the resilience of water supplies. The Government recognises continued action is required and it is committed to a ‘twin track approach’ of reducing demand for water and increasing supply in parallel.
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers under the Water Industry Act 1991. To fulfil this duty, there is a statutory requirement to maintain water resources management plans, which balance water supply and demand at least twenty-five years into the future.
The Government, Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat issued guidance to water companies in 2016 on how they should be planning to be resilient to foreseeable risks, including taking appropriate action to respond to climate projections. Water companies are currently revising their plans.
The Government is taking steps to improve water resources planning to ensure that there is better collaboration between water companies and other water using sectors on their water supply resilience. This includes the EA developing a National Framework for water resources, which will identify high priority water users who are unable to meet their demand or are likely to need to expand and set expectations on collaboration at a regional scale. The Government has also consulted on legislative improvements to ensure that water companies’ plans are informed by effective collaboration.
The EA is also implementing the abstraction plan published in 2017. This includes work to bring together the EA, abstractors and catchment groups to develop local solutions to existing pressures and to prepare for the future.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the approximate quantity of steel rail required for the HS2 project.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As stated in the Working Draft Environmental Statement (p.136), the approximate total of steel required for the HS2 project is 1.94 million metric tonnes.
The procurements for contracts that will involve the purchase of steel have not yet concluded so no contract awards have been made. However, HS2 Ltd has already engaged with thousands of British businesses, to aid them in winning work on HS2. So far 98% of contracts for HS2, awarded directly and through the supply chain, have been won by British companies, with many more opportunities to come in the future. HS2 Ltd has let around £10bn worth of contracts and by the end of next year that will be around £20bn.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) women, and (2) men, currently serving indeterminate prison sentences have exceeded the tariff relating to the crime for which they were originally convicted.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The following table gives the unreleased IPP and life sentence prison population as at 31 March 2019 as well as showing how many prisoners, in each sentence category and according to gender, remain in custody beyond the expiry of their original tariff or are still serving their tariff period.
| IPP | Life |
Total population | 2,403 | 7,038 |
Post-tariff total | 2,198 | 1,784 |
Post-tariff male | 2,155 | 1756 |
Post-tariff female | 43 | 28 |
Pre-tariff total | 204 | 5,041 |
Pre-tariff male | 204 | 4,780 |
Pre-tariff female | 0 | 261 |
Tariff expiry date not available* | 1 | 213 |
* Includes cases where a confirmed tariff expiry date has yet to be received and any unmatched records. As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the nature of the work currently in progress on the A3 Southbound at Tolworth; and when they expect it to be completed.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and delivered by Transport for London (TfL). The A3 southbound at Tolworth is the responsibility of TfL.
I understand that TfL regularly monitors its road infrastructure to ensure that it is safe for people to use and that a recent inspection of this section of the A3 found that parts of the crash barrier needed replacement due to damage from collisions and corrosion. For safety reasons, until the barrier can be replaced, TfL has had to restrict access to the near side lane. TfL is working closely with its suppliers who are manufacturing a replacement barrier. It will be installed in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the role of the new Type 31e frigates to be supplied to the Royal Navy.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster), in the House of Commons on 4 March 2019 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South, (Stephen Morgan) in response to Question number 226207.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether he is satisfied that the present arrangements in the Chamber and Committee Rooms meet the needs of those with hearing or visual impairments.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The House of Lords provides support for Members, staff and visitors to Parliament affected by hearing loss through the use of audio loop and infrared systems that help to amplify sound for hearing aid users. Loop systems are installed in the Chamber and all Committee rooms, with infrared systems additionally available within Committee rooms 1 to 4, 2A, 3A and the Moses Room. Handheld radio transmitters are also available to hearing-aid users when in the Chamber, to reduce interference from electrical equipment and improve the quality of sound provided by the audio loop.
We are currently exploring options to provide an audio description service for Chamber and Committee proceedings. This will provide blind and partially sighted members, committee witnesses and members of the public with a voiced description of which member or witness is currently speaking, transmitted directly via an audio service. A feasibility study was commissioned in January 2019 and will report back later this year.
Further microphones are due to be added to the Chamber this year, which will improve the quality of service provided to hearing aid users. A greater number of microphones situated closer to the people speaking minimises background noise and gives a cleaner sound on the audio which is sent directly to hearing aids via the loop system. The large number of microphones used in Committee meetings, whether automated or operated by an engineer, help to keep the sound clear and maximise the quality of sound experienced by hearing aid users.
For those with hearing impairments which do not require the use of a hearing aid, overall audibility in Committee Rooms 2A, 3A and 4A is generally good. In Committee rooms 1 to 4, however, factors such as high ceilings and furniture arrangements mean that the current acoustic set-up is sub-optimal. A facilities upgrade is currently being trialled in House of Commons Committee Room 6 and, subject to approval, House of Lords Committee rooms will also benefit from these improvements in due course. There are also plans to replace the speakers embedded in the benches within the Chamber next year, which should deliver improvements to general levels of audibility.
The business of the House is of course dependent upon Members, staff and visitors such as committee witnesses being able to hear and be heard, although the capacity to deliver improvements can sometimes be limited by the nature of operations in a building with heritage restrictions. Equality Impact Assessments will be carried out as part of the Restoration and Renewal process, during which extensive works are likely to offer the potential for further improvements to facilities. In the interim, the Director of Facilities would be happy to speak to any member with specific suggestions for improvement.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker when the restoration works on the two large Maclise paintings in the Royal Gallery will be completed.
Answered by Lord Laming
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The conservation of the wall paintings ‘Trafalgar’ and ‘Waterloo’ will be completed this year. Phase 3 of the programme is currently underway (4-22 Feb inclusive), and subject to permissions, Phase 4 (final phase) will be booked for October 2019 and will complete the conservation treatment. Discussions are ongoing regarding possible future work on adjustments to the lighting of the wall paintings to further improve their presentation.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many River-class minesweepers, if any, remain in service with the Royal Navy or the Royal Naval Reserve.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
No River Class Minesweepers remain in service with the Royal Navy (RN) or the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR).
Twelve River Class Minesweepers were built in the 1980s. Eleven were assigned to the RNR units around the UK, and a twelfth ship was operated by the RN's Fishery Protection Squadron. All 12 ships were decommissioned and sold during the 1990s.
Today, the RN operates a fleet of 13 Mine Counter Measure Vessels (six Hunt Class and seven Sandown Class).
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have for the disposal of agricultural plastic waste, following restrictions on the import of plastic waste put in place by China.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government published an ambitious new Resources and Waste strategy in December last year, which sets out our plans to reduce plastic pollution and our commitment to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. This includes avoidable plastic waste from agriculture. While this material is recyclable, it can often be contaminated, making the recycling process uneconomic. Our proposals in the strategy will incentivise the production and use of plastic packaging which is readily recyclable, and we are providing funding for innovation in plastic waste treatment. We are also exploring how Government policy can further address this issue in partnership with the Waste and Resources Action Programme.