Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the convenience and efficacy of the systems used by NHS GP practices for patients to make an appointment to see a doctor.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We published our Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care in May 2023, which sets out how we are moving toward a ‘Modern General Practice’ model. This plan is backed by £240 million of retargeted funding going to provide digital services with the goal of increasing access. A copy of the plan is attached.
The sole method for general practices (GPs) to procure these digital services is via NHS England procurement frameworks, which list pre-approved suppliers for digital and IT services. This is to ensure consistency in service provisions, as each supplier must meet a set of requirements to be entered into a framework.
Each practice will run a procurement for these services and will select a supplier based on their differing specifications for how the IT systems will best meet their patients’ needs. Each supplier will offer varied services with varied benefits, including capabilities which allow patients and service users to request and receive support relating to healthcare concerns, at a time and place convenient for them.
As of March 2024, 93% of general practices now have digital telephony systems, this has enabled GP teams to manage multiple calls and helping to end the ‘8am rush’ for appointments. Trials show that this has increased patients’ ability to get through to their practice by almost a third.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to commission a review into the (1) economic, and (2) other, (a) benefits, and (b) disbenefits, of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has no plans to commission a review into the economic, and other benefits or disbenefits of Brexit. However, to mark the fourth anniversary of Brexit, on 31st January this year, the Department for Business and Trade published an overview of Brexit successes: Brexit 4th Anniversary
Since the referendum the UK has grown faster than Germany, Italy, and Japan. Latest figures show that UK exports are £862bn in current prices and 2% above pre-COVID (2018) levels when adjusting for inflation. The lnternational Monetary Fund (lMF) predicts that between 2024-2029 the UK will see the third fastest growth in the G7.
The Department has secured free trade deals with 73 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for £1.1 trillion UK trade in 2022 and simplified import tariffs to lower costs for businesses and households.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the scale of damage to public footpaths and bridleways caused by four-wheel drive vehicles and scrambler bikes.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The recreational use of motor vehicles on footpaths, bridleways and restricted byways is not permitted, therefore no such assessment has been undertaken. Any damage caused by illegal activity is a matter for the appropriate authorities.
The Government is aware of damage and disturbance caused by excessive use of off-road motor vehicles on highways where such activities are legal, such as byways open to all traffic and on other unsealed roads which carry motor vehicle rights, often referred to as ‘green lanes’. This issue was included in the consultation on the recent Landscapes Review. The results of the consultation concluded that the current Traffic Regulation Order process is legally robust enough to protect green lanes with targeted local action in sensitive areas, while allowing vehicle users to responsibly enjoy the countryside.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 13 March (HL2878), how the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to safeguard the independence of the BBC should be exercised.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of HM Government, and the Government rightly therefore does not interfere in these matters. The licence fee model confers on the BBC a unique responsibility to its audiences to place a particular focus on impartiality, which is the bedrock of trust in the BBC as an institution.
It is right that the Government engages constructively with the BBC to ensure that it upholds these high standards expected by the public. When there is a risk that trust and faith in the organisation may be undermined, that should be of concern to the BBC, of concern to Ofcom, and of concern to the Government and Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of trains on Network Rail did not arrive at their destination on time in the last four-weekly period for which data are available.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the period 7 January to 3 February 2024, 66.7% of recorded station stops in Great Britain arrived ‘On Time’ (early or less than one minute after the scheduled time).
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by BBC Panorama that Drax power station is burning wood from forests defined by the government of British Columbia as "old growth" primary forests which provide unique habitats, structures and ecological functions.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government continues to engage with the Canadian Authorities to discuss interactions between sustainable sourcing requirements and old growth areas, such as raised in the BBC report mentioned. Electricity generators only receive subsidies for the electricity they generate from biomass that has demonstrated compliance with stringent sustainability criteria, and the regulator, Ofgem, is responsible for ensuring compliance with these criteria.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments made by the retiring Chair of the BBC about the increasing frequency of interventions on BBC matters by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government. As it is a public service broadcaster funded by licence fee-payers, it is right that the Government engages constructively with the BBC to ensure that it upholds the highest standards expected by the public.
As its sponsor department, DCMS maintains regular contact with the BBC on a number of issues. DCMS is grateful for Dame Elan Closs Stephens's constructive engagement whilst Acting Chairman of the BBC.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Royal Mail are not meeting their delivery targets for letters.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the independent regulator for the postal sector, it is for Ofcom to monitor Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.
Ofcom fined the business £5.6m for failing to meet its service delivery targets in 2022-23 and is closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance to ensure service issues are addressed as a priority.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to allow landlords of rented properties to claim (1) adding insulation where there was none before, and (2) upgrading a central heating boiler from an older, less efficient model, as expenses.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to support both owner-occupier and private rented sector households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Landlords are therefore eligible to claim support to install low-carbon heating or energy efficiency upgrades in their properties under schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4.
The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of India about the large-scale online organisations identified by the BBC's Scam Interceptors programme, which seek to defraud UK internet users and which operate out of Kolkata.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are developing stronger partnerships with countries across the world to build the global response to this vile threat and tackle fraudsters wherever they are based. We are hosting the inaugural Global Fraud Summit in March, which will convene key allies to spearhead a coordinated diplomatic and law enforcement approach to tackling fraud internationally.
We are also engaging with the Government of India directly to see what more can be done, including on law enforcement collaboration and sharing best practice on fraud prevention.