Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have provided public funds towards Aquacultured Seafood Limited for its on-land fish farm in Grimsby; and, if so, how much.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Having reviewed our records, we can confirm that Aquacultured Seafood Limited has not received public funding from Defra-managed fisheries funding schemes. Fisheries funding schemes comprise the UK Seafood Fund, the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 the products of the Norwegian fish farming industry imported into the UK on global health insecurity and food shortage as a result of the industry's use of feed and fish oil from Mauritania.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Addressing the ongoing global food security crisis and delivering sustainable food security for countries struggling with hunger and malnutrition is a priority for His Majesty’s Government. In 2022 the UK was one of the top 6 countries donors to the World Food Programme (over $400 million). Between 2016 and 2021, the UK spent £2.6 billion on longer-term food and agriculture programmes.
We are aware of recent reports that have suggested that the fishmeal industry based in Mauritania which supplies, among others, the Norwegian aquaculture sector is contributing to loss of livelihoods and malnutrition in West African nations. Assessments on the impact of supply chains to the Norwegian aquaculture sector are the responsibility of the Norwegian government.
The UK works directly to support food security and sustainable Ocean Management in West African countries affected by declining fish stocks. For example, as part of the £500 million Blue Planet Fund, the UK formalised a bilateral Ocean Country Partnership with Senegal in 2023. This partnership aims at reducing marine pollution, preserving marine biodiversity as well as helping fishing to be more sustainable.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton on 13 February (HL Deb col 140), what assessment they have made of the events surrounding the death of Hind Rajab, fellow family members and Red Crescent rescuers; and what steps they plan to take in response.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This is a horrific incident. It must be fully and transparently investigated by the Israeli authorities. We have consistently stressed the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza and to take all possible measures to limit its operations to military targets, avoid harming civilians and ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities. We continue to engage with the Government of Israel at the most senior levels. The most important step in protecting civilians and particularly children will be securing a sustainable ceasefire. That is why the UK has been consistent in calling for an immediate pause, that then progresses towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 safety of the use of silver in period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, in the light of concerns among the scientific community regarding the safety of the wearer and environmental impacts, particularly on aquatic life.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products.
Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products.
Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take action to prevent the unnecessary use of additives and antimicrobial substances in period products claiming ‘anti-odour’ or ‘antimicrobial’ properties.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products.
Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products.
Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the requirement under the Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work Search and Work Availability Requirements - limitations) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 that jobseekers claiming Universal Credit must widen their search beyond their preferred sector after four weeks, including the impact on (1) the average salary of former claimants, (2) the percentage of claimants who remain in jobs sixth months and a year after initial employment, (3) the percentage of claimants who subsequently go on to claim sickness benefits, and (4) the percentage of claimants who are sanctioned for not taking a job.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have not carried out an assessment of the change to the Permitted Period since it was introduced. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their position on the regulation of Willaertia magna c2c maky as an active substance for use in biocidal products of product-type 11, following the European Commission's decision not to approve it.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Willaertia magna C2c maky cannot currently be used in biocidal products within Product Type 11 (Preservatives for liquid-cooling and processing systems) within Great Britain. It is considered to be a new active substance, and there is no existing approval for it.
Any new active substance under the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulation requires an application and a full assessment of its safety and effectiveness before a decision can be reached on whether the substance meets the requirements for approval.
Currently there are no applications for approval of this substance within any Product Type in Great Britain.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of ending the Household Support Fund on 31 March on (1) the number of people experiencing destitution, and (2) wider public services including the NHS, social care and homelessness services.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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 committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. Our approach to tackling poverty is based on clear evidence that parental employment, particularly where its full time, reduces the risk of poverty. In the financial year 21/22, children living in households where all adults work were around five times less likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those living in workless households.
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 1.6 million 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.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the overall burden of Long Covid, (2) the number of new cases being identified each month, (3) the percentage of sufferers who are able to receive specialist treatment, and (4) the provisions available for long-term support and assistance.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not currently routinely record the total amount of people with long COVID or new cases identified. However, the most recent data from the Office of National Statistics shows that for the 4-week period ending 5 March 2023, 1.9 million people, or 2.9% of the population, in private households in the United Kingdom reported experiencing long COVID symptoms; 83,000 people first had, or suspected they had, COVID-19 less than 12 weeks previously, 1.73 million people had symptoms for 12 or more weeks, 1.3 million people for at least a year and 762,000 for at least two years; and 1.5 million people reported day-to-day activities adversely affected. Of these, 381,000 reported that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities had been limited a lot.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the percentage of long COVID sufferers who are able to receive specialist treatment, activity data released by NHS England shows that, for the month of December 2023, there was a total of 1,104 initial specialist assessments completed during the month and an additional 8,696 follow-up appointments were carried out. In total, since the data was first published in July 2021, 101,998 patients have received an initial specialist assessment. A further 347,837 follow-up appointments have taken place.
NHS England has invested £314 million to expand long COVID treatment in the National Health Service and rehabilitation services, establishing 100 long COVID services for adults and 13 specialist paediatric hubs for children and young people. These assess people with long COVID and direct them into appropriate care pathways which provide appropriate support and treatment. Commissioning of post-COVID services will transition from the long COVID national programme to integrated care boards by the end of March 2024. Funding for long COVID services in 2024/25 is expected to be allocated based on the 2023/24 distribution.
The NHS and wider scientific community are working at unprecedented pace to better understand long COVID, supported by £50 million in research funding.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 10 January (HL1252), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what assessment they have made of the number of children likely to be separated from a British parent as a result of the increase to the salary threshold to £38,700 for those applying for spousal or partner visas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Minimum Income Requirement will initially rise to £29,000 on 11 April 2024, with incremental rises at later dates. A full impact assessment will be published in due course, and we will continue to monitor the policy throughout its implementation. The Immigration Rules also contain provisions for parents of qualifying children to obtain permission to enter or remain in the UK.