Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to reduce the noise level of motorcycles on public roads.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Technical standards for noise from new motorcycles are set at an International level by both the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). These provisions were updated in 2014 and took effect for new machines from 2016.
The European Commission is planning to introduce new legislation concerning emissions and noise from motorcycles. An independent research-based investigation is currently underway to establish the noise limits and these are expected to take effect in 2020. We anticipate these will be implemented through the UNECE where the UK will continue to play a key role beyond our withdrawal from the EU.
The motorcycle industry are represented at the UNECE discussions and Department for Transport officials also hold routine discussions with them outside this forum.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK participates in the US Prism surveillance programme; if so, what role the UK plays; how much that participation costs; and what assessment they have made of that programme.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It is the long-standing policy of successive Governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they claimed in EEA medical costs from the Republic of Ireland under (1) Article 93, (2) Article 94, and (3) Article 95, during activity period 2016–17.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Department, on behalf of the United Kingdom Government, reimburses other European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland for the cost of providing treatment to people we are responsible for under European Union law, based on pension and benefit eligibility and irrespective of nationality. In the same way, other EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the Department, on behalf of the UK Government, for the cost of the NHS providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, irrespective of nationality and including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland.
Requested figures for 2016-17, the latest available, are provided in the following table, rounded to the nearest pound. Member states can submit claims up to 18 months in arrears so claims for any 12 month period do not necessarily reflect treatment provided in that period.
Country | Article 22.1c | Article 93 | Article 94 | Article 95 | Total |
Ireland | £6,445,232 | £7,166,070 | £0 | £4,865,850 | £18,477,152 |
Source: Resource Accounting and Budgeting exercise. Totals are based on estimates of the costs of EEA healthcare claims made annually for the purposes of provisions made in the Department of Health accounts in accordance with HM Treasury resource accounting rules.
Notes: Article 93 claims are combined claims for healthcare costs relating to temporary visitors (via European Health Insurance Cards), workers temporarily posted abroad by their employer, referrals for treatment in other EEA countries, or equivalent claims calculated on a formula basis under bilateral arrangements. Due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not currently possible to disaggregate the data consistently for all member states by either type of claim or type of treatment.
Article 94 claims are healthcare costs relating to dependents of workers not resident in same member state as the worker.
Article 95 claims are for healthcare costs relating to pensioners and dependents of pensioners.
Article 22.1c refers to patient referral claims.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 23 October (HL1751) concerning a debt to them from the government of Ireland, whether they will now answer the question asked on the arrangements for repayment.
Answered by Lord Bates
I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid in Parliament on 7 November 2017 and is available in the Printed Paper Office.
Table 2.A of the report provides the details of each of the loan disbursements made to Ireland by the Treasury, and the dates on which each tranche is due to be repaid.
Table 2.A
Disbursement Date | Loan amount | Loan Maturity Date |
14 October 2011 | £403,370,000 | 15 April 2019 |
30 January 2012 | £403,370,000 | 30 July 2019 |
28 March 2012 | £403,370,000 | 30 September 2019 |
1 August 2012 | £403,370,000 | 3 February 2020 |
19 October 2012 | £403,370,000 | 20 April 2020 |
6 March 2013 | £403,370,000 | 7 September 2020 |
6 June 2013 | £403,370,000 | 7 December 2020 |
26 September 2013 | £403,370,000 | 26 March 2021 |
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the food welfare standards for hens and sows reared in Brazil, Thailand, Canada and the United States; and (2) whether future tariffs on imported poultry and pork products from those countries could be linked to higher animal welfare standards.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Brazil, Canada, Thailand and the US all have laws designed to protect farm animals, and in the case of the United States they vary from state to state. Defra is not aware of any detailed comparative analysis of these countries’ welfare standards.
All produce imported into the EU must comply with EU rules and these standards will apply to imports into the UK and domestic production when we leave the EU. As we move towards a new relationship with Europe and the rest of the world, we are determined to maintain our high standards and improve them where appropriate.
Any future trade agreements must work for consumers, farmers, and businesses in the UK. We will not water down our standards on food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection as part of any future trade deals.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HL1753), what steps they have taken to examine the legal status of Privacy Shield.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Privacy Shield is a statement of principles issued by the US Department for Commerce, following on from an agreement between the US and the European Union. The EU-US Privacy Shield is accompanied by a decision of the European Commission under articles 25(6) of Directive 95/46 EC. The Commission Decision addresses the CJEU's invalidation of the previous Commission Decision - the Safe Harbor framework in the Schrems judgment of 2015. In this respect, any subsequent examination of the legal status of matters concerning the EU-US Privacy Shield would be a matter for the CJEU in the face of a legal challenge being brought against it.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have taken any steps to examine the liability of the Information Commissioner’s Office under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in the light of the findings of the Court of Justice of the European Union on 6 October 2015 in respect of the European Commission’s US Safe Harbour Decision (Case C–362/14).
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The ICO, as an independent regulator, would need to consider itself what liabilities, if any, it might have as a result of any judgments. The Government expects the ICO to comply with all of its legal obligations. However, it is not the Government's duty to advise an independent regulator on what these are.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the list of nationalities specified for public answer in the 2021 census; and which nationalities are being considered for inclusion as part of any such plans.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply, and will place a copy of their letter in the House library.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many passports Her Majesty's Passport Office (Northern Ireland Regional Office) has issued in each year since 2007.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The table below contains the number of UK passports issued by Belfast Passport Office since 2007.
Calendar Year | Passports issued in Belfast Passport Office |
2007 | 364,821 |
2008 | 341,898 |
2009 | 370,622 |
2010 | 364,688 |
2011 | 408,628 |
2012 | 427,422 |
2013 | 433,530 |
2014 | 628,528 |
2015 | 767,598 |
2016 | 750,937 |
2017* | 358,457 |
Total | 5,217,129 |
*2017 information is up to and including June 2017.
Asked by: Lord Laird (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) taxis, (2) private hire cars, (3) Uber drivers, and (4) other types of taxi and private hire vehicle, are subject to VAT; and, if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Bates
Any taxi, private hire car, self-employed driver (including Uber drivers) or any other type of taxi or private hire vehicle where the annual taxable turnover exceeds £85,000 must register and charge VAT on their supplies.