Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to encourage or require the introduction by vehicle manufacturers of technology linked to government databases automatically to detect attempts to drive by those without a driving licence, or who are medically unfit to drive, and to prevent the vehicle from being driven in such cases.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government has no plans currently to require vehicle manufacturers to introduce technology linking the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s driver’s database to vehicles.
There are a number of issues associated with these schemes that would need to be resolved before making any changes, including the high costs of installation and maintenance as well as the need for robust evidence to prove that the technology can lead to sustained, long-term behavioural change.
The Government continues to monitor the development of interlock technology and use of interlock programmes in other countries very carefully.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to focus economic and technical assistance to those developing countries in the tropics that are experiencing the most adverse effects of climate change.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK Government has committed to provide £5.8bn of Official Development Assistance as International Climate Finance (ICF) between April 2016 and March 2021, including to many of the countries in the tropics.
UK assistance helps the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people to build resilience and cope with the impacts of climate change, move to a low carbon economy and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the stewardship of natural resources, especially forests.
UK assistance has already helped 34 million people to cope with the effects of climate change and we will continue to support those who are most in need.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their indication that they will to continue to collaborate with European partners on science and research initiatives post-Brexit, how they intend to support the development of links between UK and European scientific organisations and institutions.
Answered by Lord Henley
In March, the UK and EU negotiation teams reached an important milestone in the Brexit process by agreeing the terms of a time-limited implementation period, which provides for UK entities’ continued access to EU programmes, including Horizon 2020, for their duration.
Furthermore, as my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech, we want to establish a far-reaching science and innovation pact with the EU, facilitating the exchange of ideas and researchers. This could include continuing to cooperate through specific policies and programmes that are greatly to our mutual advantage.
The most substantial areas that we are interested in exploring include Framework Programme 9, Euratom Research and Training and the Copernicus programme. Specifically, we would like the option to fully associate to these programmes – we feel that this is in our joint interests. The scale and strength of the UK’s research and innovation is such that we should be looking for a bespoke relationship. We would like to discuss the details as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they are collecting and publishing on the rates of coastal erosion in different regions, especially in rural areas; and what level of expenditure, if any, they plan to commit to reducing the current rates.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Management of coastal erosion is a devolved matter. Coastal erosion is a natural process that always has and always will shape our coastline.
The National Coastal Erosion Risk Maps provide a consistent assessment of coastal erosion risk around England and Wales, and contain predictions for the future. They have been available to the public on the Environment Agency’s (EA) website since 2012, but were temporarily unavailable in April 2018. The EA expects them to be live again in June 2018.
We defend the coastline where it is sustainable and affordable to do so, and let the coast function naturally in areas where it is not. Coastal protection authorities (district councils) lead on management of coastal erosion risk in England. The EA provides a strategic overview to ensure that decisions on the English coast are made in a joined up manner. There are 22 shoreline management plans covering the 6,000 mile coast of England and Wales. The plans are based on scientific, social, economic and environmental data. The plans provide a high level, long term policy framework to manage the risk of coastal change over three time horizons: 20, 50 and 100 years. The plans recommend four approaches to manage the coastline. These scale from building and maintaining new defences (hold the line), to allowing the coast line to evolve naturally (no active intervention). These plans were developed by coastal groups in each area, the members of which were drawn from individual coastal protection authorities, executive agencies and other local interests.
Between April 2015 and March 2021, the Government plans to invest £165 million in coastal erosion projects and £690 million on schemes to better protect communities against flooding from the sea around England. The Scottish Government provides local authorities with £42 million each year to help them invest in flood protection measures.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to propose a debate in the House of Lords on their consultation on Insolvency and Corporate Governance, announced on 20 March.
Answered by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
My Noble Friend the Chief Whip has no immediate plans to schedule such a debate but I have made him aware of this question. It is of course open to the Noble Lord to use the established routes to seek a backbench debate.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how their 25-year environmental planning and implementation policies will be coordinated to involve all relevant Government departments and agencies.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The 25 Year Environment Plan is a Government plan and will inform environmental policy for the next 25 years including the upcoming Agricultural and Fisheries Bills, and will sit alongside the Clean Growth Plan, the Industrial Strategy and other related Government initiatives.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the role of the Natural Environment Research Council in guiding and monitoring their 25-year plan for improving the environment; and which areas of research will be of greatest importance.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In light of the publication of the 25 Year Environment Plan, we are reviewing our evidence requirements and will ensure that we will continue to engage fully with the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) as we explore synergies between our programmes. We have a very positive relationship with NERC in delivering long-term support for policies that have national and international importance and we are keen to build on this. Such cooperation enables us to co-design research programmes, helping to ensure that NERC’s strategic investments are appropriate, support excellent research and tackle environmental challenges.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following reports of poor standards of private rental accommodation, what remedial measures they are taking in conjunction with local and national housing agencies; and how those measures will be publicised.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is determined to crack down on rogue landlords. Local housing authorities already have strong powers under the Housing Act 2004 to require that landlords make necessary improvements to a property. Where a property contains potentially serious risks to the health and safety of the occupants, the local housing authority must take enforcement action.
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of further measures to strengthen local housing authority powers to tackle rogue landlords and drive up standards. In April 2017, we introduced civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution and extended Rent Repayment Orders, which require a landlord to repay a specified amount of rent to a local housing authority and/or tenant, to cover illegal eviction and failure to comply with a statutory notice. We intend to introduce a system of banning the most serious and prolific offenders from renting properties, as well as a database of rogue landlords and lettings agents to help local housing authorities with their housing standards enforcement work, in April 2018. These new powers will give local housing authorities the tools they need to crack down on rogue landlords who disregard the law and take advantage of tenants in the private rented sector.
Ultimately local housing authorities are responsible for taking enforcement action against rogue landlords. Our 'How to Rent' and 'How to rent a safe home' guides provide information for tenants on their rights and responsibilities and signpost them to their local housing authority for further information should there be a problem with their rented property. The Department will also be publishing further guidance for local housing authorities on the powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 which will encourage local housing authorities to publicise successful prosecutions locally and to make information on banned landlords available on request by a tenant. The guidance will be available on Gov.uk by April 2018.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps he plans to take to engage the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the work of the House.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
There are a number of areas where we currently engage the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the work of the House. For example, the European Union Committee has twice visited Belfast in the course of its work on the impact of Brexit on UK-Irish relations, most recently on 31 January. It also engaged closely with devolved governments and legislatures in its 2017 inquiry into Brexit: devolution, visiting Cardiff and Edinburgh before publishing its report on 19 July 2017.
Following a recommendation contained in that report, on 12 October 2017 I chaired the first meeting of the Interparliamentary Forum on Brexit, attended by chairs and convenors of committees involved in scrutinising Brexit from the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales, along with officials from the Northern Ireland Assembly. I then chaired the second meeting of the Forum, again at the House of Lords on 18 January. This engagement is set to continue, with the third meeting of the Forum due to take place in Edinburgh in March. I have also met the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to discuss engagement with the devolved parliaments and assemblies.
As well as engaging the devolved parliaments and assemblies in our work, staff from across the Administration work formally and informally with their opposite numbers in the devolved parliaments and assemblies, in line with the House Administration’s strategy, to take account of best practice in other organisations. In keeping this two-way engagement, I have ensured that representatives of the devolved parliaments and assemblies have been invited to submit evidence to the current review of Select Committees. In addition, I have also met with a number of colleagues from the devolved parliaments and assemblies as Senior Deputy Speaker and look forward to continuing this work in future.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that school science practical classes are funded to a level sufficient to (1) stimulate school pupils, and (2) meet the requirements set by the examination boards.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government is committed to improving the quality of science education, including making sure pupils experience practical science. A number of programmes provide support to science teachers and technicians to improve science teaching, including support to deliver practical work. These programmes include the national network of ‘Science Learning Partnerships’, incorporating support for schools to improve the take up of GCSE triple science, and the ‘Stimulating Physics Network’.
The latest provisional data on GCSE entries in England shows that 91.2% of pupils sat science GCSEs in 2017, up from 86.8% in 2016. There was also an increase in the number of A level entries in science subjects in England, with 2017 provisional data showing that there were 134,105 entries in physics, chemistry and biology A levels, up from 130,787 in 2016.
We are introducing the national funding formula from 2018-19 so that, for the first time, school funding will be distributed according to a formula based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country. This is supported by a significant extra investment of £1.3 billion across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above the budget announced at the 2015 spending review.
Core funding for schools and high needs will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19 and £43.5 billion in 2019-20. This will allow us to maintain school and high needs funding in real terms per pupil for the next two years. It is for schools to determine how much of their funding is spent on practical science.