Lord Allan of Hallam Portrait

Lord Allan of Hallam

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 22nd July 2010

Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Health)

(since January 2023)

Lord Allan of Hallam is not a member of any APPGs
Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee
19th Jan 2022 - 31st Oct 2022
Liaison Committee (Commons)
29th Apr 1998 - 11th Jul 2005
Shadow Spokesperson (Trade and Industry)
7th Jun 2001 - 5th May 2005
Public Accounts Committee
17th Nov 2003 - 11th Apr 2005
Draft Civil Contingencies Bill (Joint Committee)
10th Jul 2003 - 28th Nov 2003
Shadow Spokesperson (Education and Employment)
1st Jan 1999 - 7th Jun 2001
Education & Employment
13th Nov 2000 - 11th May 2001
Finance and Services Committee
14th Nov 1997 - 11th May 2001
Shadow Spokesperson (Home Office)
1st May 1997 - 1st Jan 1999
Home Affairs Committee
16th Jul 1997 - 8th Jun 1998


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Allan of Hallam has voted in 487 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

17 Mar 2021 - Domestic Abuse Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Allan of Hallam voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 1 Liberal Democrat No votes vs 51 Liberal Democrat Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 125 Noes - 242
View All Lord Allan of Hallam Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Markham (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
(143 debate interactions)
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
(49 debate interactions)
Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative)
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
(39 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(121 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(8 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Online Safety Act 2023
(53,848 words contributed)
Agriculture Act 2020
(573 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Lord Allan of Hallam's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Allan of Hallam, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord Allan of Hallam has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord Allan of Hallam has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 15 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
21st Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of measures to encourage the adoption of Unique Property Reference Numbers in government databases.

The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) in the Cabinet Office does not undertake a central assessment of measures to encourage adoption of Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) in government databases. Deployment and adherence to policies and standards is ultimately the responsibility of individual organisations.

CDDO currently has arrangements in place to increase adoption of data standards such as UPRNs. This includes the Data Standards Authority (DSA) and the Technology Code of Practice.

The DSA coordinates cross-government work to specify standards for government data systems and the DSA-endorsed UPRNs as an open standard in 2020. The Technology Code of Practice is used by the Cabinet Office Spend Controls assurance process; departments are required to appraise the use of open data standards such as UPRNs when they build or buy technology.

The Geospatial Commission, now part of the Department for Science Innovation and Technology and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, continues to promote the mandated adoption of UPRNs across the public sector.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
30th Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on their open data policy of the inclusion of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 within the scope of clause 1 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

An assessment will be undertaken, and it will form part of a wider piece of work to refresh the government’s Open Data policy.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
25th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what metrics they are using to monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving their goal for the adoption of Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) identifiers, following the Cabinet Office guidance Identifying property and street information, published on 4 December 2020.

The Geospatial Commission worked with GeoPlace, the Local Government Association, the Improvement Service, and Ordnance Survey to provide access to Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) and Unique Street Reference Numbers (USRNs) data under an Open Government Licence, as part of the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement held between the Geospatial Commission and Ordnance Survey.

Following this, the Open Standards Board, convened by the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), mandated the use of UPRN for gathering and storing address data in Government systems. This was published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-standards-for-government/identifying-property-and-street-information. The Data Standards Authority in the CDDO also published guidance on the use of UPRN at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/access-free-address-data-using-addressbase.

The Geospatial Commission is now working with its public sector partners to develop a standardised approach to benchmarking and measuring location data quality and improvement, applying a FAIR data methodology to ensure that location data, including UPRNs and USRNs, are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. Further information will be published in early 2022.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
7th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to promote the use of the Unique Property Reference Numbers and Unique Street Reference Numbers that were released as open data in July in (1) the public sector, and (2) the private sector.

The Geospatial Commission has released the Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) and Unique Street Reference Numbers (USRN) free of charge, as part of its updated contract with Ordnance Survey. UPRNs and USRNs are critical identifiers in linking housing, planning, infrastructure and construction data in particular.

In order to promote their common usage, the Open Standards Board, part of the Government Digital Service, has mandated that UPRNs and USRNs are used in all public sector data sets that reference properties and streets. In parallel, the Geospatial Commission, Ordnance Survey, Geoplace, the Improvement Service Scotland and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government continue to undertake an extensive process of engagement with creators and users of geospatial data in both the public and private sectors. This includes a programme of presentations, webinars, newsletters, specialist blogs and best practice guides.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
21st Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings and correspondence they have had with the messaging service Telegram since 1 January.

Officials met representatives of the messaging service Telegram on 26 July 2023 to discuss end-to-end encryption measures during the passage of the Online Safety Bill.

Viscount Camrose
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
25th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 29 December 2020 (HL11381), when HM Land Registry will add Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) identifiers to its public datasets of property transactions and titles in corporate ownership.

HM Land Registry remains committed to opening its data where possible and in line with the National Data Strategy. It continues to consider incorporation of Unique Property Reference Numbers in future publishable datasets to align with its already published Leasehold property data set and as part of its National Polygon Service.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
14th Dec 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 23 September (HL7839), when the Land Registry expects to start publishing Unique Property Reference Numbers as part of its publicly available data referencing properties.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) is committed to opening its data where possible. HMLR already incorporates Unique Property Reference Numbers in its published Leasehold property data set and as part of its National Polygon Service. HMLR will incorporate UPRN and Unique Street Reference Number data where appropriate in future publishable data sets in line with the National Data Strategy.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
20th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of legal challenges from privacy advocates against transfers of personal data between businesses in the EU and the UK after 31 December.

At the end of the transition period, UK domestic law will treat EU (and wider EEA) states and institutions as adequate on a transitional basis for the purposes of the UK GDPR, so personal data can continue to flow from the UK to the EEA without further safeguards needing to be implemented.

In order for the free flow of personal data from the EEA to the UK to continue at the end of the transition period, we are seeking an adequacy decision from the EU under the GDPR. Our view is that the UK more than meets the ‘essentially equivalent’ adequacy test. However, if the EU has not made an adequacy decision in respect of the UK before the end of the transition period, there are alternative mechanisms which organisations in the EU/EEA can use to lawfully continue to send personal data to the UK from 1 January 2021. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) are the most common legal safeguard and will be the relevant mitigation for most organisations.

These measures should address any potential risk of challenge from privacy advocates.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
20th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop new bilateral agreements to facilitate transfers of personal data between businesses in the UK and the United States after 31 December.

International data transfers are vitally important to global economies and societies and we look forward to developing and supporting mechanisms in the future that can best facilitate international data transfers. The UK Government is committed to ensuring high data protection standards and supporting UK organisations on international data transfer issues.

The UK Government is working with international partners, including the United States and other stakeholders on initiatives that reduce the burdens and barriers on organisations transferring personal data (especially in priority sectors such as tech, manufacturing, finance and health, which are particularly reliant on data flows). This is so that we can unlock the value of data while also providing trust and confidence that personal data is protected.

From the end of the transition period, the UK will have an independent policy on data protection and data transfers, including the ability to conclude its own data adequacy agreements.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
30th Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on their environmental data policy of the inclusion of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 within the scope of clause 1 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Defra is currently undertaking a Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 (INSPIRE) to consider the future of INSPIRE and in particular in respect to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Defra commissioned The Open Data Institute (The ODI) to carry out an independent assessment of the impact of the INSPIRE regulations. As part of this assessment the ODI is consulting with key INSPIRE stakeholders in the UK including Defra, the Devolved Administrations, The Geospatial Commission, Ordnance Survey, The Data Standards Authority, the Chief Data and Digital Office and The Office for National Statistics.

The ODI is due to present its findings to Defra at the end of January 2023 which will inform the INSPIRE PIR.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
14th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the data schema for each of the datasets listed in the NHS COVID-19 Data Reference Library.

The information is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
2nd Dec 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of locations of Royal Mail priority postboxes for posting COVID-19 test kits.

The Department does not hold the information requested. The Royal Mail publishes information on the locations of its post boxes online or via its app.

17th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government which systems are currently being used by NHS GP practices in England to provide patients with online access to their medical records; and how many (1) registered patient users, and (2) active patient users, use each such system.

The major providers of general practice systems are EMIS, TPP, Vision and Microtest. The following table shows the registered patients for practices with each system with access to online medical records, and the number of views in June 2020 (which can include multiple views by the same patient). A monthly report is published by NHS Digital which shows usage at practice and clinical commissioning group level, and includes online appointments and prescriptions.

Supplier

Number of Patients with Access to Online Medical Records (000)

% of Patients with Access to Online Medical Records

Number of Views in June 2020

EMIS

3,800

10.98%

398,928

Microtest

5

4.18%

5,651

TPP

1,900

7.95%

713,498

Vision

43

2.85%

-

Total

5,700

9.57%

1,118,077

Source: Patient Online Management Information Data - June 2020

Records of the systems used by hospital trusts are not collected centrally as this is managed by individual trusts.

17th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government which systems are currently being used by NHS Hospital Trusts in England to provide patients with online access to their medical records; and how many (1) registered patient users, and (2) active patient users, use each such system.

The major providers of general practice systems are EMIS, TPP, Vision and Microtest. The following table shows the registered patients for practices with each system with access to online medical records, and the number of views in June 2020 (which can include multiple views by the same patient). A monthly report is published by NHS Digital which shows usage at practice and clinical commissioning group level, and includes online appointments and prescriptions.

Supplier

Number of Patients with Access to Online Medical Records (000)

% of Patients with Access to Online Medical Records

Number of Views in June 2020

EMIS

3,800

10.98%

398,928

Microtest

5

4.18%

5,651

TPP

1,900

7.95%

713,498

Vision

43

2.85%

-

Total

5,700

9.57%

1,118,077

Source: Patient Online Management Information Data - June 2020

Records of the systems used by hospital trusts are not collected centrally as this is managed by individual trusts.

2nd Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many passport applicants were required to send their foreign passports to the Passport Office when applying for a UK passport; and what was the average time that foreign passports were held by the Passport Office before being returned to the applicant in (1) 2021, and (2) 2022.

The volumes and types of evidence received in support of British passport applications, and the timeframe that such evidence is retained by His Majesty’s Passport Office, is not held in a reportable format.

Obtaining this data would be at a disproportionate cost.