Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of the reported 2,000 per cent increase in UK car exports to Azerbaijan since they imposed sanctions prohibiting such car sales on Russia; and what steps they will take if it is found that the 2,000 per cent increase is partly caused by attempts to evade sanctions imposed on Russia.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The Department for Business and Trade has spoken with industry stakeholders, who have confirmed the sector's commitment to compliance with all trade and economic sanctions, including those on Russia. There are currently no sanctions on UK luxury car exports for use in Azerbaijan. HMRC investigates credible allegations of trade sanctions offences and has a range of options for tackling breaches, including referral for criminal prosecution.
We continue to work to prevent Russia's efforts to circumvent sanctions and recently announced the creation of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation to improve the implementation and enforcement of trade sanctions, complementing HMRC's existing powers.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 17 November (HL3974), how many unborn children have been placed on the Child Protection Information sharing system using the pregnant woman’s National Health Service number.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include pregnant women whose children are likely to need a care plan from birth in the Child Protection – Information Sharing Project.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Unborn children on a protection plan can be on the Children Protection – Information Sharing system with the pregnant woman’s National Health Service number.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee in its 2021 Progress Report to Parliament, published on 24 June, to make Shoreline Management Plans statutory.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We will formally respond to the Climate Change Committee’s detailed recommendations in October.
Adapting to the current and predicted changes to our climate is vital. The UK is already leading the fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Environment Agency is working with coastal protection authorities on a £1 million refresh of Shoreline Management Plans. This will ensure that they are up to date, using the best evidence in their recommendations and focus attention on priority areas for investment and adaptation.
Last year, the Government published our long-term Policy Statement which sets out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement includes five policies and over 40 supporting actions which will accelerate progress to better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion in the face of more frequent extreme weather as a result of climate change.
This includes a commitment to review national policy for Shoreline Management Plans to ensure they are transparent, continuously review outcomes and enable local authorities to make robust decisions for their areas. As part of this we will engage with stakeholders, including the Environment Agency and Coastal Protection Areas to consider the Committee’s views that Shoreline Management Plans should be made Statutory.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of days of in-person education lost by school pupils in England and Wales as a result of isolating after coming into to contact with a fellow pupil who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department’s goal is to support pupils to attend face to face education, and to reverse the long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their education.
The department collects information from schools through the daily education setting survey. Schools record and submit data on the following categories:
Full school attendance data is published weekly and includes information on the number of pupils absent due to potential contact with COVID-19 in schools. The latest week’s data can be accessed through the following link, along with each previous week: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak#dataDownloads-1.
Education is a devolved power and the Department does not collect data on Welsh schools. Please contact the Welsh Government (https://gov.wales).
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support the proposed International Centre for Genomic Medicine in Neuromuscular Diseases, following reductions in grant funding allocated to the project by the Medical Research Council in 2021–22.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In correspondence with Universities regarding the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget cuts, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has provided each with the opportunity to highlight awards that may require special consideration.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Medical Research Council about the impact of its decision to reduce grant funding which had been allocated in 2021–22 to support the establishment of the International Centre for Genomic Medicine in Neuromuscular Diseases.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In correspondence with Universities regarding the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget cuts, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has provided each with the opportunity to highlight awards that may require special consideration.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which projects have had their grant funding from UK Research and Innovation reduced in 2021–22 following the reduction in its Official Development Assistance allocation; and what is the size of the reduction for each of these projects.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations. UKRI have written to all impacted award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding this year, and to explore options for individual programmes. Full details have been published on the UKRI website.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what plans they have to ensure research is conducted into the efficacy of each COVID-19 vaccine for those with blood cancer, and (2) what the timeline will be for any such research.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to my Hon. Friend the Member for Crawley by my Hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation on 26 February 2021 to Question 152472.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to make the COVID-19 test and trace system local by default; and what are the timescales for the changes they plan to make to existing systems.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The second NHS Test and Trace business plan was published on 10 December and set out how the Test and Trace service is strengthening its partnership with local government to tailor its response more to the needs of local communities and make the service faster, more reliable and even more accessible. This includes giving local public health teams more control through community-led testing; expanding local tracing partnerships, supported by potentially over £200 million per month of new funding through the Contain Outbreak Management Fund; working with local authorities to support them in providing better support for people who have to self-isolate; and using a shared framework of data, insight and analysis to identify clusters of new infections and potential local outbreaks.