Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper Confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029, published on 8 May, how the importance placed on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in that paper will be implemented; and whether there will be increased finance for WASH.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Proactive infection prevention and control, in terms of patient safety and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within the public health system, is a core element of the national action plan.
Nationally, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works with partners to provide the evidence base and technical expertise to support best practice in infection prevention and control (IPC) in health and care and other settings, such as schools and prisons. A dedicated research facility at Porton Down also supports studies on the effectiveness of IPC procedures and the role of the built environment in AMR transmission.
Internationally, AMR activities are supported through a variety of global health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on AMR and Healthcare Associated Infections, which is housed by UKHSA, also provides support for training on AMR diagnostics and surveillance. School aged children can also learn about microbes, IPC, antibiotics and vaccination from free resources via the e-Bug programme.
The Government continues to finance WASH and global WASH leadership. levels of finance in 2025 and beyond will be confirmed by a Government-wide spending review.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that prime farmland is not downgraded to allow the construction of solar farms.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has laid a written ministerial statement about our plans for solar power whilst protecting our food security and Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land (defined as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification). This can be found here.
In particular, it sets out that the Government has heard concerns about the perceived inaccuracy and unfairness of soil surveys undertaken as part of the planning process for solar development. The Government will address this by supporting independent certification by an appropriate certifying body, subject to relevant business case approval, to ensure Agricultural Land Classification Soil Surveys are of a high standard, requiring surveyors to demonstrate meeting an agreed minimum requirement of training/experience.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many acres of prime farmland have been used for solar farms, what assessment they have made of impact such practices, and what assessment they have made of the proportion of land used for solar farms in particular areas.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While the Government does not currently publish the figures requested, the WMS laid before parliament on 15 May commits that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will expand the Renewable Energy Planning Database to include additional information on the types of agricultural land used by existing projects and those in the planning pipeline. This will enable us to carefully monitor the use of land by renewable projects in all regions of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to embed ageing and older women’s rights in (1) implementing the White Paper on International Development published in November 2023 (CP 975), and (2) supporting grassroots women’s rights organisations.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The International Development White Paper, published in November 2023, reaffirms the goals of the International Women and Girls Strategy 2023-2030. The Strategy adopts a life course approach, targeting investment to the key life stages for women and girls to ensure we secure the greatest life-long and intergenerational impacts. Age is an important dimension in our approach to leave no one behind and ensure inclusion. The UK engages closely with the UN's open-ended working group on ageing (OEWGA) and supports UN resolutions on the human rights of older people. The White Paper restates FCDO's ambition that locally-led women's rights organisations (WROs) should be at the heart of setting development priorities in their communities. We include age and disability as considerations in our growing number of partnerships with diverse WROs globally, including women-led Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs).
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project status is not used by the developers of solar farms as a way of bypassing local planning scrutiny and avoiding accountability to the local community.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) recently consulted on Operational reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects consenting process. As part of their response DLUHC has introduced secondary legislation and new guidance that provide greater clarity for applicants on whom to consult and when. This came into force on 8 March. These reforms will ensure the system should incentivise early, meaningful engagement between parties as applications for projects are developed.
The established consultation procedures with Interested Parties that are undertaken during the development consent Examination by the Planning Inspectorate, or by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero following receipt of the Examination report will continue to be delivered. On 15 May, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State made a Written Ministerial Statement reinforcing the importance of applicants following the expectations on siting solar developments set out in the Renewable Energy National Policy Statement. Applications will not be consented if they have not met the requirements, and that includes community engagement as required by the Planning Act. Planning Inspectorate guidance on the pre-application stage was updated on 30 April this year and can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/planning-act-2008-pre-application-stage-for-nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects (also attached).
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of land use and food security, and what steps they are taking to ensure that farmland is reserved for the production of food.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. In 2023, 69.7% of the UK’s land was used for agricultural production. The UK Food Security Index, the first edition of which was published at the Farm to Fork Summit earlier this month, includes indicators on self-sufficiency and agricultural land use. The relationship between land use and food security is complex and will be explored in more detail in the UK Food Security Report, which will be published later this year. Our Land Use Framework, due to be published before summer recess, will set out how we can use land more effectively to deliver our environmental targets, net zero and food security objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent funds from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund and the Integrated Security Fund are being invested into defence work related to human security.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) aims to integrate gender and human security concerns throughout all our programming. This includes cooperation with defence actors and support for women, girls, and other marginalised groups to engage with defence and security providers. The Fund supports activities which can be read about in more detail in the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Annual Reports, including our contribution to advancing the UK’s commitments to Women, Peace and Security under the UK National Action Plan (NAP).
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of defence investment into the women, peace and security agenda, following the commitments laid out in the UK women, peace and security national action plan 2023 to 2027.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK’s fifth National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security recognises the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and includes tangible actions across Government to promote their vital role in conflict prevention through to resolution.
The delivery of the WPS agenda is a cross government effort, with personnel across five government departments and two devolved administrations delivering on specific commitments. One year since the WPS NAP’s publication, 75% of the 117 commitments are in progress. As a joint FCDO-MOD strategy, both Departments are committed to driving forward NAP implementation, including getting 100% of commitments in progress over the next year.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a defence budget dedicated to women, peace and security, and human security, work.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In Defence, work on Human Security and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) is primarily delivered as a mainstreamed and integrated component of existing work, consequently it does not have a dedicated budget line. This approach helps to ensure that Human Security and WPS are not treated as standalone concerns and siloed from core Defence activity and priorities.
When appropriate, budget is made available for specific Human Security and WPS requirements. This can be seen in the delivery of the Human Security in Military Operational Planning course that is delivered at the Defence Academy or the delivery of the Gender Barriers Study to support UK’s ability to meet UN gender parity targets during peacekeeping deployments.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of personnel levels in relation to delivering their women, peace and security agenda.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's fifth National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) recognises the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and includes tangible actions across government to promote their vital role in conflict prevention through to resolution.
The delivery of the WPS agenda is a cross government effort, with personnel across five Government departments and two devolved administrations delivering on specific commitments. One year since the WPS NAP's publication, 75 percent of the 117 commitments are in progress. As a joint FCDO-MOD strategy, both Departments are committed to driving forward NAP implementation over the next year, including getting 100 percent of commitments in progress.