Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many referrals have been received, and (2) what is the average wait time for processing cases, following the implementation of the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Security and Investment Act 2021 commenced on 4 January 2022 and represents the biggest shake-up of the UK’s investment screening regime in 20 years, while keeping the country firmly open for business.
The Act requires the Government to publish an annual report setting out information about the numbers and types of trigger events that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The first annual report will be published later in 2022, after the conclusion of the financial year.
We have ensured that we have the people, the technology and the processes we need so that the Investment Security Unit is as effective and efficient as possible.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional people have been recruited by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to staff the monitoring unit following the implementation of the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Security and Investment Act 2021 commenced on 4 January 2022 and represents the biggest shake-up of the UK’s investment screening regime in 20 years, while keeping the country firmly open for business.
The Act requires the Government to publish an annual report setting out information about the numbers and types of trigger events that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The first annual report will be published later in 2022, after the conclusion of the financial year.
We have ensured that we have the people, the technology and the processes we need so that the Investment Security Unit is as effective and efficient as possible.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the absolute value of the increased funding that the National Institute for Health Research will receive over the spending review period.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Spending Review settlement provides £5 billion over the Spending Review period for health-related research and development (R&D). This includes the largest funding received by health R&D, with an increase of £605 million on 2020-21 funding by 2024-25 which means the investment will rise to £2 billion by the end of the Spending Review period.
The National Institute for Health Research budget will be finalised as part of a detailed financial planning process. The distribution of capital across health R&D areas will be confirmed before funding is made available in April 2022.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the overall Research and Development funding uplift announced in the Spending Review will go to the National Institute for Health Research.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Spending Review settlement provides £5 billion over the Spending Review period for health-related research and development (R&D). This includes the largest funding received by health R&D, with an increase of £605 million on 2020-21 funding by 2024-25 which means the investment will rise to £2 billion by the end of the Spending Review period.
The National Institute for Health Research budget will be finalised as part of a detailed financial planning process. The distribution of capital across health R&D areas will be confirmed before funding is made available in April 2022.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they are using to establish the time it takes police forces to return victims' phones.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is working with police forces to collect preliminary data on timeliness to return adult rape victim mobile phones by early next year and with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to agree appropriate long-term data collection.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what instructions they have issued to Police Chief Constables regarding systematic data gathering to measure forensic services.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We have not issued instructions to the Police Chief Constables regarding systematic data gathering to measure forensic services. The NPCC is responsible for measurement of forensic services for operational performance purposes.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what forensic services (1) input, and (2) output, data are measured systematically.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The measurement of forensic services for operational performance purposes is undertaken by the NPCC rather than the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect that the level of the spend on forensic services has on the outcome of legal cases.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As part of the Home Office’s project to measure the impact of forensic science on the CJS, we have worked with academia to develop an approach to assess the impact of forensic science from crime scene to court, but we have not made an assessment of the effect that the level of the spend on forensic services has on the outcome of legal cases.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the independent review of the Forensic Capability Network commissioned by the National Police Chiefs’ Council to be published.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The review is independent of the Government, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council will control publication, but we understand that they aim to complete it by June 2021.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Competition and Markets Authority following Veolia's agreement to acquire SUEZ Group.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Competition investigations into mergers are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is an independent non-Ministerial department. In the normal course of an investigation, the CMA may reach out to relevant stakeholders, including other regulators or relevant government departments to assist in its understanding of the market. The CMA is currently considering whether to refer Veolia’s acquisition of a minority shareholding in Suez and Veolia’s proposed public takeover bid for the remaining share capital of Suez for an in-depth review. The CMA will publish updates on its review of this transaction on its website.