Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the report of Oceana UK Deep Decline in October, what proportion of commercial fish stocks currently have catch limits set at or below levels recommended by scientific advice.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We strive to improve the sustainability of our fisheries and publish an annual independent assessment of the outcomes of our negotiations to set catch limits with other coastal States. The Government’s independent report for 2025 (copy attached) found that 46% of all assessed stocks had catch limits that were set at or below the recommended scientific advice.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the report of Oceana UK Deep Decline in October, what steps they are taking to ensure that North Sea cod is fished at sustainable levels.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to restoring our stocks to sustainable levels and supporting the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry. This is in line with our domestic and international obligations, including those of the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement. We work with the EU and Norway to set annual catch limits for shared North Sea cod stocks, informed by the best available scientific advice on the state of these stocks. This is principally advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The UK continues to lead the trilateral (UK, EU and Norway) cod management working group to further our joint understanding and collaboration on existing management measures, and to consider improvements or modifications which could provide additional protection to cod substocks.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the report of Oceana UK Deep Decline in October, what steps they are taking to ensure that all commercial fish stocks have catch limits set that do not exceed scientific advice.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to restoring our stocks to sustainable levels and supporting the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry. This is in line with our domestic and international obligations, including those of the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement. We work with international partners to set annual catch limits for shared fish stocks, informed by the best available scientific advice on the state of those stocks. This is principally advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the report of Oceana UK Deep Decline in October, what consideration they have given to setting a legally binding deadline to end overfishing.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Fisheries Act 2020 contains a commitment to recover stocks to sustainable levels through the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs). We are taking this approach having learned from the well-intentioned but ultimately unachievable single deadline set out in the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy for getting all fish stocks to “Maximum Sustainable Yield” (MSY). Our FMPs allow us to assess the state of the stocks and set out a series of tailored and evidence-based short-, medium- and long-term measures to maintain or restore stocks to MSY.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to include disabled people in policy making in (1) the Department for Transport, and (2) Active Travel England.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to delivering a transport network which puts passengers and their needs at its heart. A key facet to this is seeing disabled passengers able to make the journeys they want and need – doing this easily, confidently, with dignity and without extra cost.
The Department has created the People and Equalities Centre of Excellence to further drive the Department’s focus on delivering for every passenger, including those with protected characteristics, and utilises the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, as its statutory adviser on transport accessibility, to support and review transport policies.
We are committed to discharging our responsibility to give due regard to protected characteristics, set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Equality Act more widely, when developing and delivering transport policy.
We regularly engage with disabled people’s organisation and other representatives covering visible and less visible disabilities. For example, in the development of the Department's Integrated Transport Strategy, the team have run ‘people’s panels’ for disabled people and neurodivergent people to allow their views to be heard, reviewed and included, as we prepare this key strategy. Similarly, in producing an Accessibility Roadmap for Rail (due to be published later this year), we have built on recent years research and engagement to ensure that it is focused on the right actions, and are engaging with accessibility organisations on the draft itself.
Active Travel England (ATE) does not set policy. ATE routinely works with Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and disabled representative organisations to improve its output.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support local authorities (1) to reduce clutter on, and (2) to improve maintenance of, footways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government allocates capital funding to local highways authorities to enable them to maintain and improve their road networks. This includes footways and the provision of street furniture such as benches, bins and cycle racks. In 2025/26, the Department has made a record investment of £1.6 billion which is a £500 million increase compared to 2024/25, and £24 billion of capital funding was committed at the Spending Review to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country between 2026/27 and 2029/30.
The Department also provides guidance to local authorities and encourages best practice. The “Inclusive Mobility” guidance document provides advice on designing an accessible public realm and includes recommendations on placing street furniture in a way that does not create obstructions for disabled people.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to classifying alcohol as an unhealthy product under high fat, sugar and salt marketing restrictions (1) to strengthen limits on alcohol advertising, and (2) to reduce alcohol exposure among vulnerable populations, including children and adolescents.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the need for more action to address the impact of alcohol on health.
We are working across Government to determine the best ways to reduce alcohol-related harms. To strengthen the evidence base on the impact of alcohol marketing on levels of consumption, the Department has commissioned a study to examine the causal association between alcohol marketing and alcohol related attitudes and consumption. Further information on the study, Examining the causal association between alcohol marketing and alcohol-related attitudes and consumption: A longitudinal cohort study with adults in the United Kingdom, can be found on the University of Stirling’s website, in an online only format.
For this reason, there are no plans, currently, to reclassify alcohol as an unhealthy product under the existing high fat, sugar, and salt marketing restrictions.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the national cancer plan for England will address alcohol consumption as a modifiable risk factor for cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across the Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
The National Cancer Plan will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption alongside other risk factors, given that alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, namely: mouth; pharynx, or throat; larynx, or voice box; oesophagus; breast, in women; liver; and bowel, which includes colon and rectum cancer.
In relation to ensuring public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer, the Government has a responsibility to provide the most up to date health information to enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. Both the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, and National Health Service webpage on alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer.
Published evidence on the impact of minimum unit pricing does not break down how the policy impacts alcohol-related cancer.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce alcohol consumption as a modifiable risk factor for cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across the Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
The National Cancer Plan will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption alongside other risk factors, given that alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, namely: mouth; pharynx, or throat; larynx, or voice box; oesophagus; breast, in women; liver; and bowel, which includes colon and rectum cancer.
In relation to ensuring public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer, the Government has a responsibility to provide the most up to date health information to enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. Both the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, and National Health Service webpage on alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer.
Published evidence on the impact of minimum unit pricing does not break down how the policy impacts alcohol-related cancer.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of public awareness levels of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across the Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
The National Cancer Plan will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption alongside other risk factors, given that alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, namely: mouth; pharynx, or throat; larynx, or voice box; oesophagus; breast, in women; liver; and bowel, which includes colon and rectum cancer.
In relation to ensuring public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer, the Government has a responsibility to provide the most up to date health information to enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. Both the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, and National Health Service webpage on alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer.
Published evidence on the impact of minimum unit pricing does not break down how the policy impacts alcohol-related cancer.