Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish a timebound strategy to meet their legal obligation to aim that fishing occurs at sustainable levels.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As an independent coastal state, the UK now sets catch limits through negotiations with other coastal states, led by the best available science. In line with the sustainability objective in the Fisheries Act 2020, our aim is to achieve environmentally sustainable outcomes as well as socio-economic benefits. The UK Joint Fisheries Statement, published last November, lists 43 Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) to be developed across the UK and sets out a timetable for their publication. The FMPs will set out policies to maintain or increase stocks to sustainable levels (or contribute to doing so). Our FMPs will contain short-, medium- and long-term time bound actions to be delivered over the lifetime of the plan. The actions are to support the sustainable management of fish stocks – they are based on the best available evidence and input from the fishing sector. We plan to publish the first FMPs by the end of this year.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in agreeing sustainable fishing catch limits for 2024–26 with the EU, what consideration they have given to advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and whether these limits will or will not exceed this advice.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As an independent coastal State, the UK sets total allowable catches (TACs) through negotiations with other coastal States led by the best scientific advice, including advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) on maximum sustainable yield (MSY). For the majority of stocks TACs will be set for 2024, with a small number agreed biennially through to 2025.
Per our obligations under the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement, we seek to achieve, or contribute to the achievement of the fisheries objectives. In particular, we strive to deliver environmental sustainability, including increasing the total number of stocks fished at MSY, as well as economic benefits. In early 2024, following the conclusion of the annual fisheries negotiations, the Government will publish an independent assessment of the number of TACs set consistent with ICES advice for 2024.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Immigration on 23 June (HC189553), what progress they have made towards negotiating bilateral youth mobility schemes with EU countries, particularly France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, including EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.
We have recently agreed new YMS arrangements with Andorra and Uruguay. From 31 January 2024, nationals of these countries will be eligible to travel to and experience life in the UK for up to 2 years.
We have also agreed to enhance our existing schemes with Australia, Canada and Japan. For Australian and Canadian citizens who are looking to take advantage of the UK’s YMS, the age range will be increased from 18-30 to 18-35 and they will have the option of extending their YMS visa for an additional year, taking the total length of stay in the UK from 2 to 3 years. UK citizens will also have the same access into those countries. The annual quota associated with the UK’s youth mobility arrangement with Japan will increase to 6,000 places on a reciprocal basis. We are intending to implement these enhancements on 31 January 2024.
We remain committed to expanding our YMS to more nations, including but not limited to those within the EU. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps if any they are taking to negotiate bilateral youth mobility schemes with countries across Europe to ensure UK travel businesses can hire UK citizens for critical tourism roles overseas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, including EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.
We have recently agreed new YMS arrangements with Andorra and Uruguay. From 31 January 2024, nationals of these countries will be eligible to travel to and experience life in the UK for up to 2 years.
We have also agreed to enhance our existing schemes with Australia, Canada and Japan. For Australian and Canadian citizens who are looking to take advantage of the UK’s YMS, the age range will be increased from 18-30 to 18-35 and they will have the option of extending their YMS visa for an additional year, taking the total length of stay in the UK from 2 to 3 years. UK citizens will also have the same access into those countries. The annual quota associated with the UK’s youth mobility arrangement with Japan will increase to 6,000 places on a reciprocal basis. We are intending to implement these enhancements on 31 January 2024.
We remain committed to expanding our YMS to more nations, including but not limited to those within the EU. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to re-establishing the roles of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The allocation of Lieutenancies to counties was set out in the 1997 Lieutenancies Act and there are currently no proposals to amend it.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Penn on 27 April (HLWS735), when they plan to publish the consultation into chemical recycling; and whether they intend to explain why there has been a delay in publishing it.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
To signal support for the developing chemical recycling sector, at Tax Administration and Maintenance Day, the government announced a consultation on allowing a mass balance approach for calculating recycled content in packaging made from chemically recycled plastic, for the purposes of the Plastic Packaging Tax. The government also confirmed the consultation would be published this year.
The government is committed to developing an approach which supports the commercialisation of the UK chemical recycling sector, whilst maintaining the integrity and supporting the objectives of the Plastic Packaging Tax.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have set a date for the Joint Ministerial Council with the Overseas Territories in respect of the meeting postponed in November 2022.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK Government greatly values the Joint Ministerial Council with the Overseas Territories as the main forum to discuss issues of mutual interest and to agree actions to tackle shared challenges. The next Joint Ministerial Council will be held on 11-12 May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 and its devolved equivalents constitute EU-derived subordinate legislation in the context of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and if so, what plans they have to ensure that those provisions which go further than EU requirements, such as the banning of sow stalls, are preserved.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra is in the process of analysing and assessing its retained EU law stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, and what should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill, including in relation to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. Having said this, there are no plans to remove the ban on sow stalls.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) environmental, and (2) health, impact of disposable vapes; and what plans they have, if any, to ban the sale of such products.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nicotine vaping in England: an evidence update including health risks and perceptions, 2022 report published in September 2022 found that in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, but that vaping is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked. A copy of the report is attached.
Whilst there are no immediate plans to introduce a ban on disposable vapes, the Government is concerned by the increasing use of disposable vaping products, particularly amongst children, and their impact on the environment when they become waste. We are exploring a range of measures to address these issues.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to hold further consultations on charity lottery limits; and when they will be held.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Society lottery limits were last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These reforms were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented. The results of the review were published in March 2022, and can be accessed on the gov.uk website. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic made evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector were required before considering any further changes. Officials continue to work with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.