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.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the analysis by Goldman Sachs which found that the economy is five per cent smaller than it would have been if the UK had remained within the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to provide independent and authoritative analysis and forecasting for the UK public finances. The Government makes no assessment of analysis conducted by banks or other independent organisations.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the account of the workings of the communications function across Government set out in the chapter entitled “Government (Mis)Communications” in Dame Kate Bingham’s book The Long Shot.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
During a crisis, effective communication is essential. As public bodies we must be the source of accurate, relevant and timely information. The Government Communication Service has recently published a new operating model for Crisis Communications to ensure that we learn lessons from previous experiences, including the UK’s Covid response. This sets out clear guidelines for preparing for, responding to and recovering from crises. Our response to emergencies are kept under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many motorway service stations do not have chargepoints for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Out of 114 motorway service areas in England, only three do not have any open-access (can be used with any vehicle) chargepoints. These are Leicester Forest East Southbound, Leicester Forest East Northbound and Tebay Southbound. However, Tebay Southbound does have Tesla only chargepoints.
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 of the evidence presented in the BBC Panorama programme, The Water Pollution Cover-Up, broadcast in December 2023, on sewage pollution in rivers.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Due to the seriousness of the incident at Cunsey Beck, Windermere and the fact that a definitive pollution source had not been identified, the Environment Agency (EA) asked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to review their response to the incident.
The EA recognise things should have been done better, that is why improvements have been made to water quality monitoring in the area, including installing sensors that monitor river quality in real time. Learning has been shared within the Environment Agency to inform future responses.
Under operator self-monitoring, introduced in 2009, water and sewerage companies are responsible for collecting and analysing samples of their discharges to the environment. They have a legal duty to report any breach of their permits. A failure to self-report will be taken into consideration when enforcement options are being considered.
The EA assesses and records every incident report it receives – between 70,000 and 100,000 a year. They attend those incidents where there is a significant risk, with a target to attend all Category 1 and 2 serious pollution incidents.
Water companies cannot downgrade an incident category. When a pollution event occurs, the initial incident categorisation is set by the Environment Agency based on the initial information, often based on a ‘worst case scenario’. The incident is given a final categorisation by the EA once the case has been fully investigated.
In June 2023, the EA launched its Water Industry Transformation Programme, outlining that it would be transforming the way it regulates the sector, embedding a new approach that targets resource and interventions to uncover non-compliance and drive better performance from the water industry. This includes looking at how incidents are investigated and how they are categorised.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of motorway service stations have a grid connection sufficient to power six rapid or ultra-rapid chargepoints for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold data on which motorway service areas (MSAs) in England have a grid connection which is sufficient to specifically power six or more ultra-rapid chargepoints.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have ascertained that the UEFA has acted on all the recommendations from the Rodrigues Review into the events surrounding the Champions League Final played at the Stade de France in 2022.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In May 2023, UEFA announced a suite of measures to address recommendations made by the Paris 2022 Independent Review.
We continue to work closely with the Football Association, UEFA, and other operational partners in preparation for the UEFA Champions League Final 2024 to be held at Wembley, as well as preparing to host the UEFA European Championships 2028. All partners, including UEFA, are committed to delivering a safe and secure event, acting on the recommendations set out in the review, as well as our own domestic expertise in sports grounds safety.
The UK is proud of our great track record of hosting major sporting events in the UK; ensuring that they are delivered safely and securely is a priority.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety implications of Tesla offering its X model in the UK with only left hand drive.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All vehicles, including the Tesla model X, must be type approved to ensure they are safe before they can be sold in the UK. These standards do not specify which side of the vehicle the steering wheel should be fitted leaving the choice to the manufacturer.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of motorway service stations have at least six rapid or ultra-rapid chargers for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are now more than 260 ultra-rapid (150kW) chargepoints, and more than 480 open-access (can be used with any electric vehicle) rapid (50kW) and ultra-rapid chargepoints at motorway service areas in England in total.
The Department is in the process of collecting data from motorway service operators on the total number of chargepoints installed at motorway service areas by the end of last year.