Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many accidents on motorways have been caused by discarded tyres and other detritus in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The information requested is not held by the Department.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Highways England about keeping motorways free of discarded tyres and other litter.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport holds regular meetings with National Highways to discuss its performance and management of the Strategic Road Network. In April 2024, Minister Opperman met with National Highways to discuss the ways in which it tackles litter. National Highways’ Strategy focuses on reducing litter on the network by influencing littering behaviour as well as providing an effective litter clearing service. National Highways takes a data-led approach to litter clearing activities to ensure that litter hotspots are quickly identified and that resources are targeted effectively.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what obligations the Highways Agency is under to keep motorways free of detritus.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The responsibility for clearing highway litter and sweeping carriageways is governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA); National Highways is responsible for litter collection on motorways and some trunk roads. National Highways works to the ‘Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse 2006' issued under section 89(7) of the EPA. National Highways inspects and grades litter and detritus on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in accordance with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. National Highways carries out litter picking almost every day and weekly inspections on its network, to ensure that clearance of the worst affected areas is prioritised. Wherever possible planned closures are used to undertake litter picks to minimise disruption to road users.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to commission an up-to-date study of the comparative (1) cost and impact, and (2) feasibility and viability, of each type of infrastructure for conveying electricity.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Industry leads on innovation in the technologies and design of the infrastructure developed and delivered to meet our net zero targets. The Government does not currently plan to directly commission any new work.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government on the relative benefits of cable ploughing new power lines.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is aware of cable ploughing as a technique for installing some types of electricity cabling lines and is aware of the Welsh Government’s work into the merits of cable ploughing. The Government looks forward to engaging with the Welsh Government on the outcomes of that work.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative costs of undergrounding power lines by (1) cable ploughing, and (2) open trenching.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Undergrounding is usually by open trenching with costs varying between 5-10 times those of overhead lines. These costs are from the Institution of Engineering and Technology Study, 2012. Cable ploughing is a newer method of undergrounding some types of electricity cables. The Government has not made a formal assessment of those costs. The Government regularly engages with industry to understand new opportunities and innovations.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to build on the proposals in the report of Sir Andrew Dilnot’s Commission on Funding of Care and Support, Fairer Care Funding, published in July 2011.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As announced in the Autumn Statement 2022, we listened to the concerns of local government and made the decision to delay the rollout of charging reforms from October 2023 to October 2025. These reforms include the introduction of a cap on personal care costs, and a more generous adult social care means test. The Government has been considering what form the rollout of charging reform from October 2025 will take.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have given any consideration to the use of ID cards.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is not considering ID cards at this time.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the UK sanctions list was last reviewed; and whether they will make the review public.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government keeps all sanctions designations under review and, under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, a Minister may instigate a reassessment of a designation at any time.
The UK sanctions list is updated publicly on gov.uk every time a decision is made to make, vary, or revoke a designation. These updates are also publicised through the FCDO's sanctions e-alert subscription system.
The UK Sanctions List (UKSL) can be found here:
[https://docs.fcdo.gov.uk/docs/UK-Sanctions-List.html]
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost to the NHS of missed appointments at (1) hospitals, and (2) GP surgeries, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is not possible to produce an estimate of the true cost to the National Health Service of these missed appointments, as this will depend on whether NHS staff were still able to use the time productively, for example by seeing other patients instead, or doing other work. NHS England advises local NHS organisations, general practices and trusts to plan for preventing and dealing with missed appointments. These include ensuring patients can cancel appointments in convenient ways, such as by text message or through online cancellation forms and offering telephone consultations if these better suit the patients’ requirements.