Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chagossian contact group will continue to meet on a quarterly basis for the period in which the UK-Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia is in effect.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to question HL12156 on 2 December.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings of the Chagossian contact group have been attended by a Minister of the Crown.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to question HL12156 on 2 December.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the legal advice that ministers received about the right to self-determination in respect of the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government's position in relation to the UK-Mauritius treaty has been informed by legal advice throughout. A summary of the Government's legal position was set out on 22 May when the treaty was signed, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-secures-future-of-vital-diego-garcia-military-base-to-protect-national-security
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with EU counterparts at the level of the Joint Committee to fulfil paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol which states that the Joint Committee “shall adopt appropriate recommendations with a view to avoiding controls at the ports and airports of Northern Ireland to the extent possible”.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All Joint Committee meetings are conducted in line with the rules of procedure set out in Annex VIII of the Withdrawal Agreement, and are therefore confidential unless otherwise decided by the co-chairs (Rule 10).
A full depository of Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee announcements and activity can be found at gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield on 27 June (HL 8452), whether the analysis by the National Energy System Operator drew directly on (1) information published in audited accounts of special purpose vehicles (SPVs), (2) Gordon Hughes' analysis of 247 SPVs for wind projects published in Wind Power Economics: Rhetoric and Reality, Volume 1 – Wind Power Costs in the United Kingdom published in 2020, or (3) Gordon Hughes' analysis of 301 SPVs for solar projects published in The economics of utility-scale solar generation published in 2022; and if not, what was the source for their estimates of the capital and operating costs of wind and solar projects
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is an operationally independent public body, and the Department does not hold information on the methodology used in their analysis. I have instructed officials to contact NESO to request a response to the noble Lord, and a copy of their reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of consignments of products of animal origin are subject to sanitary and phytosanitary checks (1) when entering the UK and (2) when exported from the UK to the EU, and what these checks entail.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on products of animal origin entering Great Britain are risk-based and focus on high and medium risk consignments, prioritising those that present the highest food safety and biosecurity risks. Port Health Authorities and relevant local authorities also have the power to inspect goods at their discretion or if they are deemed to pose a risk to biosecurity. Consignments of low-risk animal products are also subject to intelligence-led controls. The checks conducted will vary according to each individual consignment and commodity type and may range from visual inspections to lab sampling as appropriate. Defra does therefore not hold information on the precise proportion due to the dynamic nature of our biosecurity controls.
The EU determines the checks that are required for SPS goods entering the EEA at their Points of Entry. Exporters to and importers into the EU are obliged to present their goods to an appropriate Border Control Post, where the selection for checks is made. This data is held by the EU. GB imports are similarly required to present goods for checks at an appropriate BCP but clearance mechanisms are in operation to allow most of them to enter the UK without stopping at a BCP.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether exports of live animals (1) from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland and (2) from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland require an Intra Trade Animal Health Certificate.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As has long been the case, such certification is required for export of bovine, ovine/caprine, porcine and poultry animals in both directions.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as part of the EU–UK Reset Agreement, they have (1) committed to linking the UK to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme 2 (ETS2), (2) agreed to discuss linking the UK to the ETS2 without commitment, or (3) decided not to link the UK to the ETS2.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the UK-EU Summit on 19th May, the UK and the EU have agreed to work towards linking the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) and EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This will be subject to negotiations.
The Government has agreed with the EU that we will not be linking the UK to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme 2 (ETS2). EU ETS 2 is a separate scheme to the original EU ETS and covers emissions from buildings and road transport.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published on 3 March by Gordon Hughes and Net Zero Watch, Will Net Zero Reduce Electricity Costs in 2030, in particular with regard to the impact of imports of electricity from the continent on UK wholesale electricity prices.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction – clean energy. The electricity market in GB operates on the principle of marginal pricing, whereby the price of electricity is set by the last technology needed to meet overall demand, often gas. The ever-increasing participation of renewables in the market means that over time, cheaper electricity produced by renewables will set the wholesale price more often than gas.
Interconnectors are, and will continue to be, an important component of GB’s energy capacity mix, supporting GB’s energy security and transition to net zero.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has analysed the accounts of special purpose vehicles for (1) offshore wind farms, and (2) solar energy farms, to calculate the cost of such ventures; and if so, whether they will publish the results.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The majority of offshore wind and solar projects are led by the private sector, with many structured through individual Special Purpose Vehicles whose financial accounts are either privately held or reported in a limited form. Analysis by the independent NESO shows that offshore wind and solar are core components of a clean power system which can protect billpayers from international gas price volatility for the long-term.