Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of dissatisfaction with the parliamentary phone system expressed in the House of Lords Members Survey; and whether that will lead to a procurement review.
Answered by Lord Touhig
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The Chief Information Officer and Managing Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service has noted Members’ dissatisfaction with the existing telephone handset solution expressed in the House of Lords’ Member Survey and has accepted the need to take remedial action.
An investment programme mandate to replace the current service which is now end of life has been recently approved by the bicameral Digital Strategy Board and will formally begin over the summer recess with the development of a business case alongside continued market research and implementation planning. The programme will prioritise addressing Members’ clear dissatisfaction with the telephone handsets. The programme has begun engaging with Members to ensure that the replacement solution addresses the dissatisfaction and will continue to do so after the summer recess.
At its meeting on the 26 May the Services Committee was advised that the project timelines had not yet been defined but it was expected that all user migration would be completed by the end of 2023.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for cataract surgery in England; what strategies they are employing to reduce the waiting time; whether they have discussed (1) strategies for reducing such waiting time, and (2) cross-border cooperation on reducing waiting lists, with the Welsh Government; and if so, what the outcome of those discussions were.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In January 2022, the median waiting time for admitted ophthalmology patients between referral to treatment was 12.45 weeks. While this includes waiting times for cataract surgery, it does not measure it separately.
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is increasing the adoption of best practice in clinical pathways and supporting high flow cataract surgery to reduce waiting times. GIRFT and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists are advising providers and the National Health Service is increasing capacity through protected elective surgical hubs dedicated to planned procedures. There are currently over 40 elective surgical hubs in England, with further expansion planned in all regions supported by a further £1.5 billion in capital funding. GIRFT is also identifying where trusts with capacity can offer mutual aid to neighbouring providers with longer waiting lists. GIRFT is also supporting partnerships between the NHS and independent sector providers to increase capacity.
There have been no specific discussions on cross-border collaboration for reducing waiting lists for cataract surgery. However, cross border support is already being provided in specialist orthopaedics.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they are providing to help people fleeing from Ukraine; what discussions they have had with other European countries about the provision of such financial support; and what support those countries have committed for that purpose.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are in regular dialogue with our European partners and stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance as needed. Total UK aid to Ukraine and the region for the current crisis comes to almost £400 million. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance and £100 million to bolster the Ukrainian economy and reduce Ukraine's reliance on Russian gas imports.
Our humanitarian support will help partners stand up their response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, and create a lifeline for Ukrainians with access to basic necessities. We have also deployed UK humanitarian experts to support Ukraine's neighbours, who are receiving and supporting the increasing flow of refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) legislative controls, and (2) licensing agreements, govern the (a) accountability, (b) liability, (c) market restrictions, and (d) other controls, of oil and gas operators in UK waters.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has a robust regulatory system which provides a comprehensive regime for exploration and production activities in the offshore oil and gas sector, which includes provisions to ensure safe operations and protect the environment. The legislation allows the Government to serve legal notices on any party involved in the exploration and production of an offshore oil or gas field, ensuring they remain responsible for decommissioning costs, rather than the UK taxpayer.
Offshore operators will require environmental permits from the relevant environment agencies, scrutiny by the relevant health and safety bodies, and Oil and Gas Authority consents for drilling under the provisions of their licence.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to require the sales and promotional material for individual leasehold properties to include (1) copies of the legislation relating to leasehold properties, and (2) any legislative proposals Her Majesty’s Government have published on (a) lease extensions, and (b) freehold rights to buy.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We have already committed to setting a maximum fee and timescale for the provision of leasehold information when a home is being sold. This will require freeholders, or managing agents acting on their behalf, to provide relevant information including details of service charges. We will bring forward these proposals as soon as parliamentary time allows and will publicise changes widely so that leaseholders are aware of the maximum fee they should pay.
Furthermore, as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, the UK Government and the industry will work together to ensure the critical material information buyers of leasehold and freehold properties need to know - like tenure type, lease length and any service charges - are available digitally wherever possible from trusted and authenticated sources, and provided only once.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to enable the prosecution of persons who prejudice the national security of the UK by acting as a covert agent for a foreign government.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are committed to introducing new legislation to ensure our security services and law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to disrupt state threats.
The Government is reviewing responses to the Public Consultation on legislative proposals to tackle state threats which concluded last year. Legislation will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances, to which they were a party, were given to (1) Mikhail Gorbachev, or (2) other representatives of the government of the Soviet Union, on NATO expansion into Eastern Europe at the time of German reunification; whether any such assurances remain valid; and what assessment they have made of whether those assurances are being met.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
During the 1990 discussions on German reunification, no written assurances about the further enlargement of NATO beyond Germany were made to Mr Gorbachev or other representatives of the Government of the Soviet Union. Despite consistent assertion, Russian leaders have been unable to produce any written evidence that such assurances were made.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a person knowing that they are carrying COVID-19, and knowing that they may be at risk of transmitting the virus to another person with or without the intention to cause harm, could be charged with assault.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Self-isolation is a vitally important weapon in the battle against the spread of the virus, it ensures that friends, family, community, and NHS are protected. Therefore, a new legal duty was introduced in September 2020 requiring a person in England to self-isolate for 10 days if they tested positive for the COVID-19.
To increase compliance and ensure our domestic self-isolation regime is effective failure to self-isolate can result in an FPN of £1000 for the first offence. This increases to £2000 for a second offence, £4000 for a third offence and £10,000 for a fourth and any subsequent offence. Failure to pay a Domestic Self-Isolation Fixed Penalty Notice can be subject to criminal proceedings.
There may be some circumstances where someone could be charged with assault by risking harm to others in passing on COVID-19 but such charging decisions would be for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what facts would influence whether a charge of assault would be brought against a person working in a healthcare environment who knowingly was carrying COVID-19, with or without intention to transmit the virus to another person.
Answered by Lord Kamall
National Health Service organisations should consider the specific facts in a case-by-case basis and in accordance with their local disciplinary policy and procedures. Any investigation should establish whether the staff member intentionally, recklessly, carelessly, or negligently put patients and/or other members of staff at risk of infection. This may result in dismissal as the ultimate sanction.
If any internal investigation identifies a criminal offence has been committed, the employing organisation will need to make a referral to the relevant police force. Any charges of assault would be a matter for the police and Civil Court.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the band for council tax payable for the apartments occupied by (1) the Prime Minister, and (2) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in Downing Street; and what are the council tax charges payable for each apartment.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Valuation Office Agency's "Check your council tax band" online service shows that there are two properties liable for council tax on Downing Street. Both properties are in band H. Council tax decisions are taken by local authorities, but information published by Westminster City Council shows that the band H charge for 2021-22 is £1655.12, including the precept for the Greater London Authority.