Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps Ofwat has taken to promote water efficiency in the non-household water retail marketplace.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In March 2020, Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA) wrote an open letter to water retailers and wholesalers requesting that they work together to develop an action plan to help deliver greater water efficiency in the non-household sector. Ofwat and the EA have proactively engaged with industry to develop the action plan, which is due to be signed off shortly. The action plan aims to:
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of police suicides between 2011 and 2019, published by the Office for National Statistics on 30 October 2019.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The death of any police officer is a tragedy. The Government and police leaders take this matter seriously and are working to support the mental and physical wellbeing of all police officers and staff.
We have invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. This includes £7.5 million to fund the development of the National Police Wellbeing Service, which was launched in 2019. The Service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.
The Government has also accelerated work to introduce a Police Covenant, which will ensure our police get the support and protection they need. The Covenant will be enshrined in law, with provisions being brought forward later this session, and the Home Secretary will have a duty to report annually on progress.
Our focus will be on health and wellbeing, physical protection and support for families. We are in no doubt that an area we must focus on is mental health support. We will continue to work closely with policing partners to ensure the Covenant has a lasting impact on our police.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to include the government of Gibraltar in their future relationship negotiations with the EU.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to negotiate for the whole UK family, which includes Gibraltar. We remain fully committed to finding a solution that supports Gibraltar, its people and its economy.
The UK and the Government of Gibraltar have held a number of constructive discussions with Spain on this issue. It is clearly in all parties' interests to find a solution, to ensure ongoing well-being and prosperity in the region.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that their proposal to eliminate age discrimination in public sector pension schemes does not create any sex discrimination in such schemes.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
On 16 July 2020, the government published a consultation[1] on “Public service pension schemes: changes to the transitional arrangements to the 2015 schemes”, accompanied by an Equalities Impact Assessment[2] (EIA). The EIA considered the impacts of the proposals on those with protected characteristics as identified in the Equality Act 2010, including sex.
As part of this consultation, the government also asked for views on the implications of the proposals for people with protected characteristics. The consultation closed on October 11, and the government is now considering the issues raised in response to the consultation.
The Equalities Impact Assessment will be updated in response to issues raised and will be published alongside the government’s response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reach an agreement with the EU on aircraft certification standards.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has now entered a period of intensive negotiations with the EU. We approach this intensified process with a determination to get a deal, which respects our status as an independent sovereign state and allows us to control our own laws.
We are seeking to agree arrangements on aviation safety with the EU. This will facilitate the recognition of aviation safety standards, maintain high safety outcomes and enable continued regulatory cooperation between the UK and EU.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in their campaign to recruit 20,000 new police officers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As at 30 June 2020, 4,336 additional officers have been recruited towards the target of 20,000 and will be trained to rise to the policing challenges of the future.
All forces have prioritised recruitment. I am extremely grateful to those brave men and women who have signed up to join the police and keep our communities safe.
The next official data will be published on 29 October.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the age profile of those recruited through their campaign to recruit 20,000 new police officers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is delivering on the people’s priorities by recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers over the next three years.
The 20,000 officer uplift is a once in a generation opportunity to enable all forces become more representative of the communities they serve. We are already seeing applications from a wide range of candidates with diverse backgrounds and from a range of ages who are bringing particular skills and experience to the police service.
Amendments to Police Regulations made this year mean that individuals can apply to join the police at 17 years of age for appointment on reaching 18 years, opening the way for more candidates wishing to apply to join the police.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to ensure that workforce representation in policing reflects the communities in which officers will serve.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The police officer workforce is more diverse than ever before. The most recently published Police Officer Uplift data show that as at 30 June 2020 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic officers represented 7.4% of all police officers.
The Government has been clear that forces must do more to become representative of the communities they serve. Attracting a broad range of talent, cultures and backgrounds to a career in policing is a core ambition in our drive to recruit 20,000 extra police officers.
We are supporting forces with a variety of attraction and recruitment strategies, whilst delivering a campaign that’s been designed to reach the widest and most diverse audience possible including those who have never considered a policing career.
Innovative schemes such as Police Now are making the police workforce more diverse than ever before; showing that we can attract the brightest and best into policing, whilst introducing new perspectives into policing some of the country’s most challenging neighbourhoods.
Retention and progression also play a crucial role, particularly in enabling officers and staff to move into more senior and more specialised ranks and roles.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the first urgent dental care centre in England was established.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it was within the Chief Dental Officer for England's remit to instruct all dental practices to cease face to face consultations when the restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance on 25 March 2020 instructing all general dental services and community dental services to suspend routine care and all face to face urgent care, unless delivered through an urgent dental centre. As the commissioner of National Health Service dental services, it is NHS England and NHS Improvement’s responsibility to make decisions on provision of the NHS services it commissions. Decisions are made by NHS England and NHS Improvement as a whole taking into account both clinical and commissioner advice.