Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to protect spending on public libraries.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service which meets local needs. It is for each local authority to consider how best to deliver this.
His Majesty’s Government has provided an additional £600 million on top of the £64 billion Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 — an increase of 7.5% in cash terms. This uplift will help to reduce pressure on councils’ budgets, and protect services including public libraries.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 13 February (HL2022), what discussions they have had with representatives of channel ports regarding the introduction of EU import controls, and (1) whether these were written or oral discussions; (2) what dates these discussions were held; (3) what points of concern were raised, if any; and (4) what their response was to those concerns.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government officials conducted in-depth engagement to develop the Border Target Operating Model. A wide selection of stakeholders involved at the border were invited to contribute, including representatives of channel ports. There were over 10,000 registrations for workshops and seminars over the engagement period in spring and summer 2023 and over 200 stakeholders provided written feedback. This included a range of border locations and other stakeholders involved in movements of goods across the channel. The Government responded to a range of questions on the requirements for safety and security controls for EU imports, due to be introduced from 31 October 2024. The Government is continuing to engage with stakeholders across affected sectors in all parts of the United Kingdom and the EU to ensure that they understand the changes outlined in the Border Target Operating Model. Baroness Neville-Rolfe also met with members of the ports industry in November 2023 to discuss the Border Target Operating Model.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have held with EU countries regarding the introduction of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports on 31 October, and what were the contents of any such discussions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government officials engage regularly with officials from EU Member States to discuss new customs-related requirements, including safety and security declarations. This has included official visits to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with further engagement planned for Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany in 2024. Baroness Neville-Rolfe visited Belgium to discuss import controls with the Belgian Government and industry in early February 2024. Partners have been extremely helpful in communicating these requirements using their own stakeholder communication channels, and providing suggestions for further guidance that could be helpful. More formal communication of these changes to EU Member States took place in the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin, the minutes of which can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the economic impact of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As is standard for such changes, any necessary impact assessment of the changes will be published alongside the legislation.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking ahead of the introduction of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports on 31 October; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those import controls on channel ports.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Border Target Operating Model sets out the new approach to Safety and Security controls, applying to all imports. We are introducing the Model in a phased approach with plenty of time for industry to prepare. The dataset has been reduced to its most critical elements, ensuring the burden on trade is reduced whilst maintaining security outcomes.
The Government is engaging with industry to support readiness for the changes.
Enhancing our intelligence on imported goods will help Border Force to keep citizens safe from the most harmful goods brought into the country. It will also minimise disruption at the border, including at channel ports, by intercepting the highest harm goods before they enter the country, and supporting a more intelligence informed approach to risking and intervention, as well as facilitating the flow of legitimate trade by reducing the number of ‘false positive’ hits.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent NHS drug shortages.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are around 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply. However, the medicine supply chain is highly regulated, complex, and global, meaning there can sometimes be supply issues which affect the United Kingdom, along with other countries around the world.
Medicine supply problems can occur for several reasons such as manufacturing difficulties, regulatory non-compliance, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues.
While it’s not always possible to prevent supply issues from occurring, there is a team within the Department that has a range of well-established tools and processes to manage them when they arise, working closely with the pharmaceutical industry, the National Health Service, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others operating in the supply chain to help mitigate the risks to patients.