Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Callanan on 22 November that "it is up to 10 times more expensive" to bury power lines (HL Deb col 740), what evidence they have to support that conclusion.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The evidence to support the claim that underground lines can be up to 10 times more expensive than overhead lines comes from an independent 2012 report endorsed by the Institution of Engineering & Technology called “Electricity Transmission Costing Study”, which can be found at https://www.theiet.org/impact-society/factfiles/energy-factfiles/energy-generation-and-policy/electricity-transmission-costing/ (also attached).
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the involvement of President Bashar al-Assad, family and friends in the manufacture and export of Captagon.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.
This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners about stopping the illegal export of Captagon from Syrian criminals.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.
This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the illegal trade in Captagon.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop the availability of Captagon in England.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of Captagon in England.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make the provision of reliable Wi-Fi on trains a condition of awarding franchises.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
His Majesty’s Government supports improving digital connectivity on the railways and are working closely with the rail industry to consider ways to deliver better connectivity.
Train operators are currently required, through franchise agreements, to provide free Wi-Fi on trains and, where required through Committed Obligations, further interventions on trains.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which NHS trusts in England have reported patients suffering from addiction to Captagon.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the spread of Asian hornets in England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra and the Welsh Government developed the Asian hornet contingency plan (copy attached) in response to the spread of Asian hornet across Europe and the associated impacts reported on honey bees and pollinators. The Contingency Plan details what actions will be taken when incursions of Asian hornet occur with the aim of preventing this species establishing and spreading in the UK.
We have taken contingency action against all credible sightings of Asian hornet that have been reported in the UK since the first occurrence in 2016. Contingency action is delivered on the ground by the National Bee Unit (NBU) – part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. As of 12th September 2023, the NBU have located 43 Asian hornet nests this year.
Genetic analyses of hornet and nest samples are done to determine relatedness and assess whether Asian hornets are established in England. Evidence from previous years suggested that all 13 Asian hornet nests found in the UK between 2016 and 2022 were separate incursions and there is nothing to suggest that Asian hornets are established in the UK. We have not seen any evidence which demonstrates that Asian hornets discovered in England this year were produced by queens that overwintered. More detailed analysis will be done over winter to assess this.
Raising awareness is a key aspect of the response. We ask anyone who thinks they may have spotted an Asian hornet to report it through the Asian hornet app or online. By ensuring we are alerted to possible sightings as early as possible, we can take swift and effective action to stamp out the threat posed by Asian hornets.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) revisit, or (2) replace, police regulations to enable the easier dismissal of police officers who have committed misconduct.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Secretary has been clear that standards in policing must improve and, in January, launched a review into the process of police officer dismissals, ensuring that the system is fair and effective at removing those officers who are not fit to serve. The Terms of Reference for the review can be found here: Police officer dismissals review: terms of reference - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government is considering the findings of the review carefully before determining next steps and announcements on any changes to the system will be made in due course.