Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make a statement on the activities of the British Council in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The British Council maintains an office in Erbil and all of the British Council's cultural relations activities in Iraq extend to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This includes programmes in arts and culture, education and English. The British Council runs a free digital library service across Iraq, including KRI, and paid education services in online English teaching and face-to-face English language assessment at centres in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what partnerships their diplomatic missions (1) have at present, or (2) have had in the past, with the Universal Rights Group non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Kingdom Mission in Geneva regularly engages with a wide range of civil society organisations, including the Universal Rights Group, to help advance its work at the UN Human Rights Council. The UK Mission participates in the annual human rights "Glion Dialogue" which is hosted by the Swiss Government in partnership with the Universal Rights Group and attended by a diverse group of states and civil society organisations.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what projects their diplomatic missions have funded for the Universal Rights Group non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland; and how much funding has been approved.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Government have provided funding to the Universal Rights Group for a number of projects:
No funding has been provided to Universal Rights Group in the last 2 years.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of NICE draft guidance on using Sapropterin for treating phenylketonuria, published on 25 February; and what plans they have to meet with the authors of that guidance.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is an independent body and is responsible for assessing new medicines and treatments in accordance with its existing methods and processes. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene in the development of their recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statements by Professor David Miller about Jewish students; and what discussions they have had with (1) the University of Bristol, and (2) the police, about the steps being taken to ensure the safety of such students.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government abhors antisemitism in all its forms and has for several years pushed for greater action from higher education providers in addressing it. This has included encouraging them to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, in order to have universal clarity of what constitutes antisemitic behaviour.
The government expects universities and other higher education providers to comply with their legal duties on discrimination and harassment, as well as their legal duties to protect free speech. Universities must balance the exercise of their legal duties, including on a case-by-case basis.
We expect higher education providers to be at the forefront of tackling antisemitism, making sure that higher education is a genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.
All higher education providers should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law, to investigate and swiftly address hate crime, including any antisemitic incidents that are reported. We expect higher education providers to have robust policies and procedures in place to address staff disciplinary issues.
All higher education providers have procedures for handling student complaints and, if students are unhappy with their experience, they should use the processes in place to complain formally to their provider outlining their concerns. Where a student complaint cannot be resolved through the institution’s complaint processes, a student at a provider in England and Wales can ask for his or her complaint to be reviewed by an independent body, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education. Students also can and should inform the police if they believe the law has been broken.
With regards to the case of Professor David Miller, universities are independent and autonomous organisations which are responsible for the management of their own affairs and for meeting their duties under the law. Accordingly, the government has not intervened directly in this case. It is the responsibility of the University of Bristol to determine whether or not Professor Miller’s remarks constitute lawful free speech. In doing so, the government’s view is that they may wish to consider, in particular, his remarks about current students at the University of Bristol. It is important to distinguish between lawful, if deeply offensive, views on the one hand, and unacceptable acts of abuse, intimidation, and violence on the other.
Regardless of whether or not it is found that Professor Miller’s conduct constitutes lawful free speech, the government considers that the University of Bristol could do more to make its condemnation of that conduct clear to current and future students and to show its commitment to creating a welcoming environment for Jewish students. The government considers Professor Miller’s views to be ill-founded and wholly reprehensible, and wholeheartedly rejects them.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of jobs in the (1) manufacturing, and (2) construction, sectors which are linked to the (1) production, and (2) use, of mobile concrete batching plants.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is not detailed enough to identify jobs linked to the production of specific products, nor can they capture jobs using or related to specific products.
In 2019 (the latest year for which we have full year estimates), manufacturing as a whole accounted for 2.7m jobs, while the Construction sector accounted for 2.3m. Approximately 14,000 of the jobs in manufacturing were in the manufacture of machinery for mining and construction.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of who is responsible for the rocket attacks in Erbil on 15 February.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of Iraq (GoI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are urgently investigating circumstances around the rocket attacks in the vicinity of Erbil Airport on 15 February. Although publicly claimed by a militia group called Awliya al-Dam (Guardians of the Blood), investigations are still ongoing. The UK has committed along with the US, France, Germany, and Italy to support the GoI's and KRG's efforts, with a view to holding accountable those responsible.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Regeneris Consulting Economic Value of Mobile Batching Plant Sector and Consequences of Weight Change Policy, published in February 2015, what estimate they have made of the number of additional vehicle miles required to transport concrete since the permitted weight of volumetric concrete mixer vehicles was reduced to 32 tonnes.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Further to the response to HL13350, the permitted maximum laden weight of volumetric concrete mixers has not been reduced. A temporary arrangement to enable market adjustments to the operation of the vehicles complying in practice to the standard weights applicable to heavy goods vehicles has been put in place. The longer-term market adjustments may include the same vehicle or other vehicles types travelling for additional distances.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of fatal accidents caused by mobile concrete batching plants in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No specific estimate has been made of fatal accidents caused by mobile concrete batching plants in each of the last five years.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that banning 38.4 tonne and 44 tonne volumetric concrete mixer vehicles from 2028 will have on CO2 emissions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A special dispensation was made for volumetric concrete mixers in operation or on order by the end of 2018 to allow them to operate at weights higher than the usual maxima. Articulated vehicles are allowed to operate at maximum laden weights of up to 44 tonnes, depending on their axle configurations.
No specific estimate has been made of the effect on CO2 emissions of requiring operators of volumetric concrete mixers to comply with the standard weight limits applicable to heavy goods vehicles (and other specialised vehicles). A total of 1106 volumetric concrete mixers are currently in circulation in Great Britain operating under Vehicle Special Orders permitting them to operate at higher than usual weights. The Department’s estimate is that these vehicles represent the vast majority of the type in operation.