Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the budget in each Clinical Commissioning Groups’ area is allocated to mental health, excluding dementia services.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information is not collected centrally. It is for clinical commissioning groups to allocate funding to meet the needs of the local population.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations (1) have benefitted, or (2) are due to benefit, from the Culture Recovery Fund; and in which regions those organisations are located.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Applications to Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and British Film Institute closed in early September.
Additional funding from the £1.57bn will has gone to Scotland (£97m); Wales (£59m) and Northern Ireland (£33m)
On 22nd August, the £3.36 million Emergency Grassroot Music Venues Fund was shared among 136 venues across England who applied for support to survive the imminent risk of collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
As part of this package, The British Film Institute (BFI) is also administering a £30-million fund on a rolling basis to support independent cinemas as they reopen, which will run until October 30th. The first wave of grant allocations was announced on Friday 2nd October, which saw 42 independent cinemas across England receive a share of £654,883.
On Friday 9th October 445 heritage organisations were awarded £103 million from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. Grants of up to £1m will deliver a lifeline for the heritage sector in England with further support to follow and larger grants for capital projects awarded through the Heritage Stimulus Fund.
On Monday 12th October Arts Council England awarded £257 million to over 1,300 organisations which applied for less than £1 million. The funding goes to theatres, galleries, performance groups, arts organisations, museums and local venues facing the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic to ensure they have a sustainable future.
Further announcements of how the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund will be allocated will be made in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 14 May (HL3356), on what date in 2020 ministers ordered a reassessment of personal protective equipment requirements across the NHS and the care services sector; and when the results of that reassessment were communicated to ministers.
Answered by Lord Bethell
While the United Kingdom entered the current situation with a stockpile designed to respond to a pandemic influenza and a no-deal exit from the European Union, the supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) was designed to accommodate delivering to 226 National Health Service trusts.
We published the ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment (PPE) plan’ on 10 April, and since that week, we have massively scaled this up, providing essential PPE supplies to 58,000 different providers including care homes, general practitioner surgeries, hospices and community care organisations.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 5 May 2020 (HL3080), how many (1) premises have been visited, (2) fixed penalty notices issued, and (3) prohibition orders issued, under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Everyone is required to comply with the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 issued by the Government, in order to protect both themselves and others.
The latest data published by the National Police Chiefs' Council shows that between 27 March and 11 May, a total of 13,445 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued in England. With businesses in particular, local authorities enforcement officers made 82,490 visits or interactions between 27 March and 16 May, issuing 655 prohibition notices and 48 fixed penalty notices to business premises.
On 13 May, the Government introduced higher fines for those who do not comply with the Regulations 2020, to reflect the increased risk to others of breaking the rules. Further information can be found (attached) online: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/500/made
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what goods, other than food or pharmaceutical products, are considered essential items for the puposes of COVID-19 measures.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close. The Government has set out guidance on which organisations this requirement covers and what the exceptions are. Government have not published a list of goods it deems essential for the purposes of Covid-19.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for the purposes of COVID-19 measures, what guidance and advice is available to shops and retail outlets that have essential and non-essential goods for sale.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Prime Minister has given important instructions to enforce social distancing to reduce the chance of transmission. To help this vital effort, he has announced the closure of all shops selling non-essential goods.
The Government has not asked all businesses to shut – indeed it is important for business to carry on - and comprehensive guidance on the exceptions can be found on gov.uk: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close) Only some non-essential shops and public venues have been asked to close.
The UK Government, working with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive, has published guidance on social distancing, which it continues to update to provide greater clarity for employers and employees on these measures which can be found on gov.uk: https://www.hse.gov.uk/news/social-distancing-coronavirus.htm
Businesses that do have people onsite should ensure that employees and customers are able to follow Public Health England guidelines including, where possible, maintaining a two metre distance from others. This guidance can also be found on gov.uk: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-coronavirus-covid-19)
In addition to this, the Prime Minister has said we will take every step that we can to ensure that businesses are protected; this includes essential businesses experiencing difficulties. There is specific business advice available; the first port of call for advice and guidance should be the dedicated gov.uk pages referenced above. There is a dedicated Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565) which has also been strengthened so businesses can speak directly to an adviser.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers are available to local authorities to take action if retail outlets (1) open outside of the Government's COVID-19 guidelines, or (2) persistently flout the rules on selling essential items.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The government's Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 enforces the closure of certain businesses and venues in England, including many retail premises. Takeaway and delivery services may remain open and operational. Online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will run as normal.
Businesses and venues that breach the Regulations may be subject to prohibition notices, and a person, who is 18 or over, carrying on a business in contravention of the Regulations may be issued with a fixed penalty. Environmental Health and Trading Standards officers will monitor compliance with these Regulations, with police support provided if appropriate. With the support of the police, prohibition notices can be used to require compliance with the Regulations including requiring that an activity ceases. It is also an offence, without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with a prohibition notice. If prohibition notices are not complied with, or fixed penalty notice not paid, this can also be taken to court with magistrates able to impose potentially unlimited fines.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for the purposes of COVID-19 measures, what discussions they have had with (1) employers, (2) employee representatives, and (3) trade unions, about staff working in the retail and distribution sectors.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ministers and officials have regular engagement with a large number of businesses, representative organisations and trade unions across all sectors including retail and distribution.
Ministers have hosted a regular series of calls in recent weeks, where they have had the chance to speak to and hear directly from a wide range of organisations and businesses specifically for the purposes of COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times Ministerial Directions have been issued in each of the last five years; and from which departments.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Ministerial Directions are published on gov.uk.
There have been nineteen Ministerial Directions in total in the last five years. Details of these Ministerial Directions are set out in the table attached.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the sale of a local council's assets at below market value has to be reported to (1) the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and (2) the council’s auditors; and whether they would expect such sales to be included in a council’s annual accounts and report to residents.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Public bodies should generally dispose of surplus land at the best possible price reasonably obtainable. However, the Government recognises that disposing of land at less than best consideration can sometimes create wider public benefits.
With regards to land held in the General Fund, a general consent issued under section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows local authorities to dispose of land held for purposes other than housing or planning at an undervalue of less than £2 million without seeking a specific consent from the Secretary of State where they consider it will help secure improvement of the economic, social or environmental well-being of the area. Specific Secretary of State consent is required for disposals of such land at an undervalue of more than £2 million. Specific Secretary of State consent is required for disposals of land held for planning purposes regardless of the sale value.
There are also specific rules for housing land. Under section 24 and 25 of the Local Government Act 1988, we expect local authorities to apply to the Secretary of State to dispose of housing assets at less than best value.
It is a matter for local authorities to decide whether to include disposals in their annual accounts and reports to residents, and to make appropriate audit arrangements.