Baroness Scott of Needham Market Portrait

Baroness Scott of Needham Market

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 11th May 2000


Liaison Committee (Lords)
3rd Nov 2021 - 31st Jan 2024
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
19th Jul 2017 - 19th Jan 2022
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 Committee
29th Jun 2017 - 13th Mar 2018
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
25th May 2016 - 27th Apr 2017
Select Committee on Charities
25th May 2016 - 26th Mar 2017
European Union Committee
16th May 2012 - 12th May 2016
EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee
12th Jun 2015 - 12th May 2016
Draft House of Lords Reform Bill (Joint Committee)
6th Jul 2011 - 26th Mar 2012
Leader's Group on Members Leaving the House (L)
1st Jul 2010 - 13th Jan 2011
Party Chair, Liberal Democrats
1st Jan 2009 - 31st Dec 2010
Communications and Digital Committee
23rd Apr 2007 - 8th Apr 2010
Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
30th Nov 2004 - 30th Oct 2007
Liaison Committee (Lords)
20th Nov 2002 - 18th Nov 2006
Draft Corruption Bill (Joint Committee)
24th Mar 2003 - 31st Jul 2003


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Baroness Scott of Needham Market has voted in 402 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Baroness Scott of Needham Market Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Greenhalgh (Conservative)
(17 debate interactions)
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Conservative)
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
(12 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Legislation Debates
Agriculture Act 2020
(4,946 words contributed)
Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023
(3,558 words contributed)
Environment Act 2021
(1,683 words contributed)
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View all Baroness Scott of Needham Market's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Baroness Scott of Needham Market, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Baroness Scott of Needham Market has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Baroness Scott of Needham Market has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
28th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Census planned in England and Wales for 21 March 2021 will still take place in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Census will take place as planned in England and Wales on 21 March 2021. We regret the timing of the decision from Scottish Government.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
29th Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the rule requiring statutory instruments to be laid before Parliament at least 21 days before coming into force remains applicable as a default position even during the COVID-19 pandemic; and whether any departure from that rule needs to be justified by reference to specific necessity and not a general disapplication.

The 21-day rule is a long-standing convention that gives Parliament adequate time to scrutinise secondary legislation subject to the negative procedure before it comes into force. It also protects those affected by changes in the law by giving them time to prepare. The Government is committed to complying with this important convention as far as possible, and continues to apply it, in the usual way, during the COVID-19 period.

Many SIs laid as part of the Government’s response to COVID-19 have not adhered to the convention in order to enable the swift implementation of the necessary emergency legislation. In line with standard procedure, this is being determined on a case-by-case basis, with the default position being that the 21-day rule is complied with wherever possible. If an SI does need to be laid fewer than 21 days before it comes into force, then justification must be set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to explain why the urgent action is needed and what the impact of delaying the legislation would be.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
2nd Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 1 December (HL3482), whether they can provide a breakdown of the £194 million grant by (1) hydrogen fuel cells, (2) other electric battery technologies, (3) hydrogen combustion, (4) synthetic liquid fuels, and (5) biofuels.

A breakdown of ATI Programme R&D grants awarded, by individual project, are set out in the table below. Co-funded R&D project supported through the ATI Programme typically involve a range of collaborators including industry partners, universities and research organisations (the ATI Programme has an average of 4 partners per project). Further project information and descriptions can be found on UKRI’s Gateway to Research (gtr.ukri.org) and the ATI website (ati.org.uk)

ACCEL (Rolls-Royce) – battery-electric powertrain

£3.4m

AEDD (Vertical Aerospace) – diagnostic charge device for aircraft batteries

£1.2m

AEMTA (Safran) – electro-mechanical systems for moving electrical motors and machines

£3.1m

AEPEC (Safran) – electrical power systems

£10.8m

AEROBAT (Rolls-Royce) – battery modules for all-electric propulsion systems

£7.3m

AeroMC (Safran) – electric and hybrid propulsion and power controls

£14.9m

E-HAV1 (Hybrid Air Vehicles) – electric propulsion system technologies

£1.1m

EMPAS (QinetiQ) – electric motors for jet engines

£1.2m

Feasibility Analysis and Modelling of MgB2 Superconducting Electrical Power Machines (Epoch Wires) – electric machines for future aircraft

£0.25m

FRESSON (Cranfield Aerospace Solutions) – electric (hydrogen fuel cell) propulsion system

£9.6m

H2GEAR (GKN Aerospace) – Liquid hydrogen (fuel cell) propulsion system

£27.2m

HEPBAS (Electroflight) – electric drivetrain and battery systems

£0.4m

HEPBAS (Electroflight) – electric propulsion battery systems

£0.35m

HIDASP (MicroLink Devices) – solar fuel cells for electric aircraft

£3.0m

HYFLY (Airbus) – airframe integration for hybrid electric demonstrator

£14m

HYFLYER (ZeroAvia) – hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system

£2.7m

HYFLYER 2 (ZeroAvia) – hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion system

£12.3m

IDP (Vertical Aerospace) – key technologies for battery-electric flying taxi

£11.9m

INCEPTION (Blue Bear) – all electric propulsion module using batteries and fuel cells

£2.9m

IPCCA (Collins) – architecture for motor drive electronics

£2.4m

IPPA (Airbus) – identify key technologies enabling more electrical aircraft

£4.2m

LACS (Blue Dolphin UK)

£0.32m

LAMPS (Collins Aerospace) – power electronics and motors

£1.3m

MEGAFLIGHT (Rolls-Royce) – propulsion system for hybrid electric demonstrator

£17.2m

SMPP (Safran) – electrical systems for more electric aircraft

£12.2m

SREEV (Advanced Innovative Engineering) – Hybrid power units for UAVs

£0.53m

UTOPEA (Evolito/YASA) – electric motors and power electronics

£5.5m

ZEST-1 (Airbus) – initial steps towards large hydrogen-powered aircraft

£19.5m

ZIP (Airbus) – key technologies for high altitude satellites

£3.6m

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
16th Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial assistance they have given to (1) businesses, or (2) academic institutions, in connection with low carbon aviation in the form of (a) grants, (b) loans, (c) guarantees or indemnities, (d) acquisitions of shares or securities, (e) undertakings or assets, or (f) incurring expenditure, for the benefit of the body assisted in the creation of (i) hydrogen fuel cells, (ii) other electric battery technologies, (iii) hydrogen combustion, (iv) synthetic liquid fuels, and (v) biofuels.

The Government co-invests in mid-stage R&D, with industry, to develop new ultra-efficient and zero-carbon aircraft technologies through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme. Since 2013, the ATI Programme has committed R&D grants to 29 industry-led collaborative projects on new forms of propulsion or fuels totalling £194m. Industry will co-invest £178m alongside these grants. The R&D projects cover a range of technologies but are primarily focused on aircraft propulsion systems involving hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, and electric motors and machines. Each project involves a range of collaborators including industry partners, universities and research organisations. Grants through the ATI Programme have also been provided to develop aircraft gas turbine engines, which have included work packages to test synthetic fuels or biofuels. We have not been able to isolate the cost of this element of research within large projects, so have not included it in the figures set out above.

In order to explore the potential for zero-carbon emission flight, the Government also provided a £15m grant to the ATI-led FlyZero project. This in-depth research study, which was completed in March 2022, found green liquid hydrogen offers the greatest potential to power future zero-carbon emission aircraft.

To kickstart a domestic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry, the Government has made £227m available, since 2014, to support the development of advanced fuel plants. This includes investing in 8 SAF plants through the Green Fuels, Green Skies competition and more recently launching the £165m Advanced Fuels Fund. The Government has separately committed £12m to establish a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and certification of new SAF and £1m to run the first-ever passenger aircraft flight powered by 100% SAF, between the UK and the US, through the Net Zero Transatlantic Flight Fund. These investments are coupled with the £400m UK Government partnership with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst into emerging climate technologies, including SAF.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
27th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Brexit on the UK's membership of the European Committee for Standardization; what discussions they have had with the British Standards Institution on the issue; and what were the outcomes of any such discussions.

The European standards organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) are not EU bodies and the British Standards Institution (BSI) is independent from government. We are in regular contact with BSI and are supportive of the steps that they, as the UK’s national standards body, are taking to maintain the high level of influence of UK experts in the European standards organisations, as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between Government and BSI.

BSI have informed the Department of their intention to retain their membership of the European standards organisations in line with the wishes of UK stakeholders.

14th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what role they envisage for the voluntary and community sector in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The government values the role of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector in the UK; particularly its invaluable role in tackling some of the most entrenched societal challenges in the country.

The Office for Civil Society, within DCMS, is engaging with colleagues across government, in particular MHCLG and DWP, on the development of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Our ambition is to ensure that the sector does not face unnecessary barriers in accessing future funding.

Officials will continue to engage with the sector as this work progresses and will communicate relevant updates.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
12th Dec 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the Barnardo’s report Double Discrimination, which looks at the differential outcomes Black children face both in and leaving care.

The department recognises that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. The department has a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers and is taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour, including through its work to improve school attendance.

Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, the department is working closely with the MoJ to improve support and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system.

MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. The strategy will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system. MoJ are aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.

The department will continue to work urgently across government and with local authorities to ensure that all vulnerable children, no matter their age, race, ethnicity, or circumstances, are kept safe and receive the support they need. The department will engage with foster carer representative bodies to see how it can further support black foster carers, including considering developing a Black Foster Care Network whilst ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ sets out the department’s plans to reform the children’s social care system, including improving the education, employment, and training outcomes of children in care and care leavers.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
20th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, in deciding to reinstate a deadline for recording historic rights of way, what engagement took place between Ministers and organisations representing landowners and land managers.

Ministers had no engagement with the Country Land and Business Association and the National Farmers Union regarding the decision to reinstate the deadline for the recording of historic rights of way.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
30th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 29 March (HL6810), what steps they are taking to ensure that the backlog of 4,000 applications for historic rights of way are assessed in a timely manner; and what discussions the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had with the Department for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities about the funding required by local authorities to consider those applications.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, the majority of which is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities and allocate funding accordingly.

The Government is committed to implementing the rights of way reforms package which will reduce bureaucracy and speed up the process for new rights of way to be added to the legal record for everyone to enjoy. The reforms will streamline processes for recording rights of way with landowners, local authorities and users benefitting from a faster, less expensive, less confrontational and less bureaucratic process.

Local authorities will have powers to reject weakly evidenced applications, ignore irrelevant objections and agree appropriate modifications directly with landowners. Local authorities will have powers to correct obvious administrative errors on the definitive map via a significantly shortened process.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
30th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 29 March (HL6810), whether they will provide additional funding for local highway authorities to address (1) the backlog of 4,000 applications for historic rights of way, and (2) the 41,000 miles of potentially unrecorded routes discovered by the Ramblers and its volunteers.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, the majority of which is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities and allocate funding accordingly.

The Government is committed to implementing the rights of way reforms package which will reduce bureaucracy and speed up the process for new rights of way to be added to the legal record for everyone to enjoy. The reforms will streamline processes for recording rights of way with landowners, local authorities and users benefitting from a faster, less expensive, less confrontational and less bureaucratic process.

Local authorities will have powers to reject weakly evidenced applications, ignore irrelevant objections and agree appropriate modifications directly with landowners. Local authorities will have powers to correct obvious administrative errors on the definitive map via a significantly shortened process.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on their commitment to ensure that everyone in England is 15 minutes' walk from green and blue spaces of their decision to re-impose a deadline for recording historic rights of way.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in England can access green and blue spaces within a 15-minute walk as outlined in our Environmental Improvement Plan. The rights of way reforms package will reduce bureaucracy and speed up the process for new rights of way to be added to the legal record for everyone to enjoy.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide additional funding for local highway authorities to address (1) the backlog of 4,000 applications for historic rights of way, and (2) the 41,000 miles of potentially unrecorded routes discovered by the Ramblers and its volunteers.

Funding for local authorities is a matter for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
18th Oct 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Benyon on 24 May 2021 (HL Deb col 814), whether future Environmental Land Management schemes will include options for farmers and land managers to receive financial assistance for improving public access to the countryside.

HM Government is a great supporter of the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring. As articulated in the 25 Year Environment Plan, public access to the countryside provides a huge range of benefits, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies. HM Government supports educational activities that aim to provide access onto farms for the wider public and school children through grants available in Countryside Stewardship. This includes funding farmers for hosting school pupils and care farming clients to engage with farming and the environment, as well as funding for training to enable an agreement holder to carry out enhanced educational experiences.

We are considering how best to maintain investment in public access as part of our future schemes. The teams responsible for developing the options for future schemes have been engaging with the quarterly Access and Engagement with Nature Stakeholder Forum, and will continue to do so. In addition to the quarterly forum, Defra officials will be holding an engagement session dedicated to the discussion of Environmental Land Management with public access stakeholders in November.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
18th Oct 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Benyon on 24 May 2021 (HL Deb col 814), what steps they have taken to engage with public access stakeholders in the design of Environmental Land Management policy.

HM Government is a great supporter of the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring. As articulated in the 25 Year Environment Plan, public access to the countryside provides a huge range of benefits, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies. HM Government supports educational activities that aim to provide access onto farms for the wider public and school children through grants available in Countryside Stewardship. This includes funding farmers for hosting school pupils and care farming clients to engage with farming and the environment, as well as funding for training to enable an agreement holder to carry out enhanced educational experiences.

We are considering how best to maintain investment in public access as part of our future schemes. The teams responsible for developing the options for future schemes have been engaging with the quarterly Access and Engagement with Nature Stakeholder Forum, and will continue to do so. In addition to the quarterly forum, Defra officials will be holding an engagement session dedicated to the discussion of Environmental Land Management with public access stakeholders in November.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
28th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Benyon on 27 May (HL Deb., col. 1098), what assessment they have made of the role of (1) Local Access Forums, and (2) Rights of Way Improvement plans, in helping to identify deficiencies in the footpath network that could be addressed through environmental land management schemes.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
28th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether financial assistance provided to farmers and land managers through environmental land management schemes will be conditional on recipients fulfilling legal obligations on a similar basis to the existing cross compliance rules; and if so, whether such obligations will include keeping existing rights of way open and accessible.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
28th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 7 July 2020 (HL Deb., col. 1102), when they will publish details outlining the ways in which new environmental land management schemes will deliver improvements in public access to (1) water bodies, and (2) waterways.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
28th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Benyon on 27 May (HL Deb., col. 1097), when they will publish details of how new environmental land management schemes will increase access to footpaths.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date the Motor Vehicle Stakeholder Working Group last met to discuss Traffic Protection Orders on Green Lanes; and further to the recommendation in the report by the Select Committee on the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 The Countryside at a crossroads, (Session 2017–19, HL Paper 99), published on 22 March 2018, what plans they have to bring proposals forward on this issue.

The last meeting of the Motor Vehicle Stakeholder Working Group (MSWG) was on 2 May 2018. In the meeting it was agreed to use the group’s feedback to inform a consultation and discussion with order-making authorities regarding their current working practices around Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), recreational vehicle management and ways to achieve the group’s recommendations such as new guidance. It was further agreed that parallel processes in other departments would be considered and so input was provided to the Department of Transport’s own review of TRO’s in 2019 labelled the ‘TRO Discovery Project’, which resulted in new guidance for surfaced highways.

Order-making authorities were surveyed in 2019 but there were insufficient responses to proceed further. Natural England was to carry out a more targeted survey in 2020, which due to the competing demands of the coronavirus pandemic and other priorities was delayed, although the intention remains to re-survey the authorities in due course.

We will consider seeking feedback from the MSWG once the survey has been completed and results are available.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
21st Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the incidence of HGVs hitting railway bridges.

The Department has previously invested £3 million to help create a digital road map developed by Ordnance Survey for SatNavs, which includes information on height and weight restrictions.

In addition, the Department works with bridge owners, including Network Rail, to raise driver awareness of, and offer advice on, avoiding low bridges. It has published a suite of documents under ‘Prevention of bridge strikes: a good practice guide’ on the government website.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
7th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Northern Powerhouse rail proposals, whether the proposed new route alignment between Bradford and Huddersfield involves tunnelling; and, if so, what proportion of the route will be tunnelled.

The government is working closely with Network Rail to develop and programme the delivery of specific schemes announced by Network North. Further development work will confirm the preferred route between Bradford, Huddersfield and Manchester. Options that have been considered to date do not involve tunnelling between Bradford and Huddersfield. Information will be shared once this work is more mature.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
7th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Northern Powerhouse rail proposals, what proportion of the proposed new route alignment between Huddersfield and Manchester will involve tunnelling.

The government is working closely with Network Rail to develop and programme the delivery of specific schemes announced by Network North. Further development work will confirm the preferred route between Bradford, Huddersfield and Manchester. Options that have been considered to date do not involve tunnelling between Bradford and Huddersfield. Information will be shared once this work is more mature.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
7th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Northern Powerhouse rail proposals, whether the new Bradford railway station will replace Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square, or just Bradford Interchange.

It is the government’s current intention that the new station at Bradford, would likely replace Bradford Interchange to provide improved transport links to Bradford City Centre. This investment will support Bradford to unlock further economic potential, supporting wider regeneration in the city.

The government is working closely with Network Rail and Bradford City Council to assess potential station options and locations. Further information will be shared when this work is more mature.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
16th Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the combustion of synthetic fuels or biofuels of similar chemical composition to fossil kerosene has the same net radiative forcing effect as burning fossil kerosene when used as aviation fuel.

Aviation has climate impacts from both CO2 emissions and other (non-CO2) emissions, that need to be addressed. The impact of CO2 emissions can be quantified, while scientific evidence suggests that non-CO2 impacts from aviation currently represent two thirds of the net effective radiative forcing (ERF). However, this is not a fixed number and is scenario dependent, and there are large uncertainties that exist over the magnitude of non-CO2 impacts on the climate.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can deliver significant greenhouse emission savings. Scientific evidence suggests that SAF could also have a positive impact in reducing non-CO2 emission impacts. Recent research indicates that SAF can produce 50-70% fewer soot particles, which could reduce the overall warming effect of contrails.

Through the Jet Zero Strategy, we aim to address non-CO2 emissions by better developing our understanding of their impacts and potential mitigations.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
11th Oct 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority relating to the withdrawal of some bus services in that area.

The Government regularly engages with bus operators and Local Transport Authorities regarding the provision of bus services in England. Departmental officials have been in contact with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to outline the support on offer from the Department to the Local Transport Authority regarding the withdrawal of bus services in the area and to understand how the Combined Authority intends to address this.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
21st Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 19 April (HL Deb, col 1639), what assessment they have made of the need to review the (1) National Policy Statement for Ports, and (2) National Policy Statement for National Networks, to bring them into line with (a) domestic, and (b) international, (i) climate, and (ii) biodiversity, targets.

As noted in the Freeports Bidding Prospectus, Government intends to review the National Policy Statement for Ports in 2021. In deciding when to review the NPS, due consideration will be given to the impact of changes in policy of both climate and biodiversity targets.

The case for reviewing the National Networks National Policy Statement remains under active consideration as part of the Secretary of State’s duties under the Planning Act 2008. Developments in domestic environmental policy and our international commitments, are assessed against the three considerations the Secretary of State must take into account in deciding whether to review an NPS set out in section 6 of the Act.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
21st Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 19 April (HL Deb, col 1639), what assessment they have made of the need to review the Airports National Policy Statement to bring it into line with domestic and international climate targets.

On 16 December 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the earlier Court of Appeal decision and declared that the Airports National Policy Statement is lawful. We are carefully considering the Court’s judgement.

The Government have always been clear that Heathrow expansion is a private sector project which must meet strict criteria on air quality, noise and climate change, as well as being privately financed, affordable, and delivered in the best interest of consumers.

In the coming months, we will launch a consultation setting out the steps to reach net zero aviation emissions by 2050.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements, if any, are being made to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to seafarers; and what steps, if any, are being taken to deliver such a vaccination programme through the International Maritime Organization.

While the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends prioritisation for vaccination rest on medical grounds, rather than occupation alone, the Government is considering the vital role of seafarers in the movement of trade in and out of the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support private investment in the UK maritime industry.

The maritime sector plays a key role in the UK economy, responsible for up to 95% of our imports and exports. As much of the UK maritime sector is privately owned, our world-leading companies are well placed to seek investment opportunities through commercial means.

Nevertheless, my Department, along with our colleagues across government, work closely with all parts of the UK maritime sector to identify the support they need to support their success and growth. In particular, the Department for International Trade works closely with the industry to promote the UK as an inward investment destination for the global maritime community.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of decarbonisation of the maritime industry on the number of new jobs created in that sector.

In 2019, the Department published the Clean Maritime Plan, which noted the potential for clean economic growth in the UK as a result of the transition to zero emission shipping.

Alongside the Plan, the Department published an assessment of the potential economic opportunities from low and zero emission shipping. While this does not estimate the number of potential new jobs that could be created through the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, it identifies a large potential global market for the elements of alternative maritime fuel production technologies in which the UK has a particular competitive advantage (for example, upfront design), which could result in economic benefits to the UK of around £360–£510 million per year by the middle of the century.

Maritime UK has published its views that investment in maritime decarbonisation could in future create more than 15 thousand jobs as well as tens of thousands of jobs when considering the wider supply chain. Industry research estimates that in 2017 the UK maritime sector as a whole directly supported more than 220 thousand jobs for UK employees.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they (1) have provided, and (2) intend to provide, to the maritime sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The maritime sector plays a vital role in the UK economy and continues to provide vital freight and key worker services throughout the pandemic. However, it has faced significant disruption and challenges, as have many parts of the economy. To support businesses and employees, HMG has responded with an unprecedented £330 billion of financial measures. In addition, the Department provided bespoke financial support to ensure that critical lifeline and freight services continued to operate through the most challenging period.

My Department is working closely with the maritime sector on their restart plans. This includes identifying the support that will need to be provided to enable the safe resumption and continued increase of services and operations. We are also working with the sector on a longer-term Maritime Recovery Plan which will build on Maritime 2050 published in January 2019. Given the changes that COVID-19 has caused, we are considering where new recommendations could be made in addition to Maritime 2050, or existing recommendations accelerated, to help the maritime sector recover from COVID-19 and continue to grow.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, and with whom, about the potential role of hydrogen in decarbonising the maritime sector.

My officials have regularly engaged with the UK maritime industry and academia on this matter, particularly since the launch of the Clean Maritime Council, which was established in 2018 to ensure strong collaboration between Government, industry and academia on maritime decarbonisation.

The Council underpinned the publication of the Clean Maritime Plan, which was published in July 2019 and made a number of recommendations relating to alternative fuel technologies, including hydrogen.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
19th Dec 2019
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Abellio Greater Anglia about the service disruptions to rural routes within their franchise area.

The Department has been in regular and frequent contact with both Greater Anglia and Network Rail since the start of the disruption on the rural routes within the Greater Anglia franchise area. Signalling problems on those routes caused cancellations and disruption for passengers whilst additional safety checks took place and the issue was investigated. We have raised with the rail industry the need to resolve this matter as swiftly as possible.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
24th Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there have been any consultations with local authorities, charities, and community organisations regarding the impact of terminating the Household Support Fund; and if so, whether they intend to publish the responses.

The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024. The government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.

We engage regularly with local authorities during their ongoing delivery of the current Household Support Fund. Ministers and officials also frequently engage with a range of stakeholders on areas relevant to the work of the Department.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out an analysis of the geographic distribution of Household Support Fund recipients.

The Household Support Fund is allocated to all 153 upper tier Local Authorities in England. The distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households, on the basis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) local population estimates and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores. Allocation amounts for upper tier Local Authorities in England are therefore reflective of population size and relative deprivation.

Management Information (MI) was published for HSF1-3 following the completion of each scheme. The latest MI covering HSF3 was published in August 2023. This MI shows the amount allocated to Local Authorities and how it was spent. We will similarly look to publish MI for the entirety of HSF4 following scheme completion and subject to quality assurance processes.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency plans are in place to address the potential increase in demand for services such as food banks in the event of the discontinuation of the Household Support Fund after March 2024.

The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.

The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock”.

To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefitting 1.6m low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th May 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the steps taken to deliver the commitment contained in the National Disability Strategy, published on 28 July 2021, to see "more disabled people becoming elected representatives".

In January 2022, the High Court declared that the National Disability Strategy was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations.

We are disappointed by, and strongly disagree with, the High Court’s finding, and the Secretary of State has been granted permission to appeal the Court's declaration. In order to ensure compliance with the Court’s declaration, we are obliged to pause a limited number of policies which are referred to in the Strategy or are directly connected with it.

The policy ‘Cabinet Office will consider how we can best support those standing for public office and those who hold public office’ was one of the policies we were obliged to pause.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Department for Work and Pensions classifies ME/CFS as a musculoskeletal disease for the purposes of statistics and for the guidance and training of their health professionals, rather than as a neurological disease.

Assessment of entitlement to benefit does not depend on the condition itself, the underlying cause or how the condition is classified, but on the disabling effects of the condition(s) present.

The condition insight reports for Personal Independence Payment Health Professionals state that ME/CFS is classified as a neurological disorder; the guidance for CHDA Health Professionals who conduct Work Capability Assessments make no reference to the classification of ME/CFS.

The issue of classification for coding and statistical purposes has recently been brought to our attention. In light of this we are currently exploring moving ME/CFS from the musculoskeletal to neurological section for coding purposes.

30th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome services commissioned by (1) Norfolk and Waveney, and (2) Suffolk and North East Essex, Integrated Care Board.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) services that meet the needs of their population subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021. A copy of the guidance is attached.

The Government has been consulting on ‘My Full Reality’, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME/CFS, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. The plan contains a series of actions to improve access to specialist ME/CFS services. The final plan will be published in due course.

The Government has made no assessment of the ME/CFS services commissioned by Norfolk and Waveney, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICBs.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
30th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) ensure people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) have access to specialist ME/chronic fatigue syndrome services, and (2) increase funding available for such services.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) services that meet the needs of their population subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021. A copy of the guidance is attached.

The Government has been consulting on ‘My Full Reality’, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME/CFS, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. The plan contains a series of actions to improve access to specialist ME/CFS services. The final plan will be published in due course.

The Government has made no assessment of the ME/CFS services commissioned by Norfolk and Waveney, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICBs.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
28th Jun 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide a COVID-19 booster programme for the general population in light of new Omicron variants.

On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer an additional booster dose in spring 2022 to those most vulnerable as a precautionary measure. An additional dose has been offered to all residents in care homes for older adults, individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed and all adults aged 75 years old and over.

On 19 May 2022, the JCVI provided interim advice on an autumn COVID-19 booster programme, which stated that an additional dose should be provided to residents in a care home for older adults and staff; frontline health and social care workers; all those aged 65 years old and over; and adults aged 16 to 64 years old in a clinical risk group. The JCVI continues to review the vaccination of other patient groups and details on the definitions of clinical risk groups. The JCVI will issue further advice if necessary.

12th Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect general practitioners to use their clinical judgement in including patients with existing diseases in Group 6 for COVID-19 vaccinations if they consider them to be at risk of exacerbation of their underlying disease should they become infected with COVID-19.

Clinicians, including general practitioners (GPs) are able to use their clinical judgement to categorise patients as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) because they consider them to be at very high risk of serious illness from COVID-19. Those categorised as CEV are in priority group four of phase one of the vaccination programme. Those who are not categorised as CEV but have underlying conditions that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises have increased clinical risk from COVID-19 are in priority group six. Within the broad set of clinical conditions within priority group six, GPs and other clinicians are able to add individuals to this group. They are able to use clinical judgement to take into account the risk of COVID-19 exacerbating any underlying disease that a patient may have, as well as the risk of serious illness from the virus itself.

16th Mar 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government under which SNOMED code patients with 'long COVID-19' symptoms are categorised.

The SNOMED-CT codes are as follows:

- Acute COVID-19 infection (1325171000000109)

- Ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 (1325181000000106)

- Post-COVID-19 syndrome (1325161000000102)

16th Mar 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they recommend graded exercise therapy for patients with post COVID-19 symptoms.

On 18 December 2021 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on the management of the long term effects of COVID-19. A copy of COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 is attached. In developing the guideline, an expert panel undertook an evidence review into self-pacing and graded forms of exercise.

The panel considered the careful self-pacing of exercise to be an important element of self-management. However, they concluded that in the absence of evidence relating to people with ongoing symptoms from COVID-19, it could not make specific recommendations. A copy of COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 (NG188). Evidence review 5: interventions is attached. COVID-19 is a new disease and therefore it is not yet clear what the physical, psychological and rehabilitation needs will be for those experiencing long term effects of the virus.

22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of steroid inhalers for the prevention of serious symptoms of COVID-19.

The Department has monitored a collection of small studies which have now completed and provided some positive signals on inhaled steroids. This includes the STOIC study at Oxford University which examined the use of inhaled budesonide, a corticosteroid, in the treatment of early COVID-19. STOIC published results which are undergoing peer review. However, larger-scale studies are still needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of such treatments.

14th Dec 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government why Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is not listed on the topics covered by the NHS Clinical Knowledge summary; who authorised the decision to combine CFS with “Tiredness/fatigue in adults”; and when that change was made.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summary Tiredness/fatigue in adults was published in October 2009 and there has been no change in the way it is titled over the subsequent period. NICE advises that the inclusion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) within the tiredness/fatigue topic is to ensure that clinicians will consider CFS as a potential diagnosis as early as possible in the course of care of a person presenting with symptoms of tiredness and fatigue.

In 2007 NICE published the guideline, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): diagnosis and management. This is currently being updated and a draft guideline is out for consultation with the final guidance expected in April 2021. The CFS diagnosis and management sections in the Clinical Knowledge Summary on Tiredness/Fatigue are kept in line with NICE guidance on CFS and will be updated following publication of the new guidance if necessary.