Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 4 February (HL12442), which COVID-19 vaccines they have ordered to date by (1) manufacturer, (2) number of doses ordered, and (3) expected date of delivery.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the daily figures of COVID-19 vaccinations that have been administered; and if so, where those figures will be published.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England publishes daily data on vaccination totals in the United Kingdom in an online only format. These figures are published by Public Health England (PHE) and can be accessed online via the UK Government website. NHS England and NHS Improvement also publish daily and weekly data for vaccinations in England only, which is also available in an online only format.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of trials of each of the COVID-19 vaccines for which they have placed orders; and when they expect to take delivery of the first doses of those vaccines.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government has secured early access to 407 million vaccine doses through agreements with seven separate vaccine developers. The Government is working closely with vaccine developers to monitor progress of clinical trials.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to changing the names of the Order of the British Empire and the British Empire Medal to remove references to the British Empire.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
There are no such plans.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from the aftermath of the explosion of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland on 14 April 2010 and the consequent ash cloud, in particular in relation to aviation; and what measures they have put in place in response to the impact of that eruption.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is prepared to deal with a significant Icelandic volcanic eruption. Since 2010, the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), NATS and industry have developed a bespoke response guidance, which is regularly exercised and updated. In addition, new radar and monitoring equipment has been established in Iceland; the Met Office has enhanced its ash-modelling capability; and revised operating procedures for aircraft flight in ash‑contaminated airspace have been agreed.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow local authorities to hold public meetings remotely after the 6 May local elections.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
To extend the facility for councils to continue to meet remotely, or in hybrid form after 7 May 2021 would require primary legislation.
There is no option to extend the current regulations under the Coronavirus Act 2020 as section 78 (3) contains the sunset date of 7 May 2021.
There is considerable pressure on the Government’s legislative programme, but the Government is carefully considering next steps in this area.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the planning assumptions for bringing into service high-speed train connections to the HS2 route from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The current plans for HS2 Phases One and 2a will see Glasgow connected to the high-speed rail network between 2029 and 2033. Journey times between Glasgow and London will fall by 45 minutes from 4hrs 30min at present to 3hrs 45min.
On completion of HS2 Phase 2b, Edinburgh will become connected to the high-speed rail network, reducing journey times to London from the current 4hrs 19mins to 3hrs 48min.
New high-speed rail infrastructure is planned from London to Manchester via Birmingham and Crewe. Classic-compatible high-speed trains running to Scotland will connect to the West Coast Mainline (WCML) in north-west England and these will use the existing conventional rail network to serve both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practice of supplying puberty blockers to those aged under 16; and what plans they have, if any, to prevent this practice in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bethell
On 1 December 2020, the High Court ruled that hormone blockers were “innovative and experimental” and there would be “enormous difficulties in a child under 16 understanding and weighing up… information and deciding whether to consent to the use of puberty blocking medication”.
Following this judgment, NHS England immediately suspended referrals of new patients under 16 years old to endocrinology services.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which nations participated in the Royal Navy’s "Thursday Wars" during 2020.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Royal Navy's 'Thursday Wars' are weekly war-fighting and damage control exercises held during Fleet Operational Sea Training.
Norway, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark participated during 2020.
Asked by: Lord Moonie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Defence’s single-source 20-year support contract for E-7 Wedgetail AWACS system meets the revised conditions on wider public value as set out in HM Treasury's Green Book 2020, last updated on 3 December; and if so, how.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not yet entered into a support contract for the RAF E-7 Wedgetail aircraft. On 3 December 2020 the MOD published a Voluntary Transparency Notice outlining its intention to place such a contract in the future, and promoting potential sub-contracting opportunities. Before entering any contract, proposals are subject to rigorous scrutiny and approvals processes to ensure that they represent value for money for the UK taxpayer and are compliant with Departmental and Government policy, including the Green Book.