Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the past five years, how many decision makers there have been in the competent authorities making conclusive grounds decisions identifying victims of modern slavery.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There are 207.93 full-time equivalent (FTE) decision makers working in the Single Competent Authority. There are 111.87 decision makers working within the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority. Both Competent Authorities carry a number of vacancies being filled through recruitment activity.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of only Conclusive Grounds Decision Makers; staff can be dual skilled and will work on both, Reasonable Grounds decision and Conclusive Ground decision, workstreams according to business needs.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of decision maker numbers for the past five years.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the (1) rules, and (2) processes, for transport of livestock to and from Great Britain will differ under the Windsor Framework from the position prior to 2019; in particular, the length of time that cattle are sent to an approved test centre before being sent to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Windsor Framework respects that for decades the island of Ireland has been treated as a single epidemiological unit, meaning that there have been additional requirements for the movement of livestock. In 2021 technical easements were agreed with the EU to simplify the movements of livestock moving from Northern Ireland (NI) to Great Britain (GB) and back. Cattle moving directly from GB to NI do not need to be sent to an approved test centre before moving to NI, but need to arrive into NI through a Point of Entry for relevant sanitary and phytosanitary checks, as they did pre-EU exit. We are working closely with the livestock sector in GB and NI to ensure movements can continue with as little friction as possible.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they assessment they have made of the requirement for animals purchased in Great Britain to be returned to the selling herd or sent to an approved test centre for 42 days before they can be transported to Northern Ireland; what analysis they have conducted of the impact of this period increasing from 30 days to 42 days since the introduction of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and what steps they are taking to reduce this period.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Once an animal has been purchased at a show in Great Britain, this animal can then move to Northern Ireland, as long as it has fulfilled its residency requirements. This means the animal must have been a resident in GB for 3-6 months, or from birth, depending on the reason for movement. These requirements apply to GB originating animals that are intending to move into Northern Ireland after purchase.
In order to support the ability for Northern Ireland livestock (sheep, goats, cattle) to attend shows, sales and exhibitions in Great Britain an easement was formally agreed between the UK Government and EU Commission in January this year, which allows Northern Ireland livestock to attend shows and sales in Great Britain without being subject to a 6-month residency requirement in Great Britain, on the condition that they return to Northern Ireland after 15 days. This allows for livestock to return to Northern Ireland without having to spend 6 months in Great Britain.
Following their arrival in or return to Northern Ireland, DAERA then require livestock to be subject to 30 days in isolation with a minimum time lapse of 42 days between Tuberculosis tests.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the requirement for animals transported from Great Britain to Northern Ireland (1) to go to an approved export centre prior to transport, and (2) to remain there for six months while being tested and health certified; and what steps they are taking to reduce these requirements.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Northern Ireland Protocol requires animals to attend approved assembly centres for a maximum of 6 days once they have remained in Great Britain for a period of 3-6 months, or from birth, depending on the reason for the movement to Northern Ireland.
The UK Government continues to discuss these extra burdens with the EU in an effort to reduce requirements.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in (1) costs, and (2) checks, of transporting livestock from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and back since the introduction of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and what steps they intend to take to reduce those costs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has not formally assessed the costs associated with the movements and checks of transporting livestock between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK Government does consider that the introduction of the protocol has had an effect on the costs involved in moving livestock between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK Government has therefore secured a derogation from EU rules for livestock moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain for shows and sales. The derogation allows livestock to return to Northern Ireland within 15 days, which has reduced costs and burdens to traders.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise the minimum age at which a dog bred in Northern Ireland can enter Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Now the Transition Period has ended, the Government has the opportunity to manage our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. The Government has listened to the concerns of stakeholders and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee and has developed proposals to strengthen our efforts to tackle puppy smuggling.
We will legislate to bring in powers which enable us to bring in new restrictions on the commercial import and non-commercial movement of pets on welfare grounds in the future. This could include increasing the minimum age that dogs can be non-commercially moved or commercially imported into Great Britain.
We are not currently proposing to apply these rules on pets travelling from Northern Ireland to GB, via the commercial or the non-commercial route.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the Searching the Person prison service instruction (PSI 48/2010) issued on 12 October 2010, that “female prisoners, visitors and staff must only be searched by female staff”.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Prison Service Instruction PSI48/2010 Searching of the Person was replaced in 2016 by PSI07/2016 Searching of the Person.
This policy, which has been in place since 1992, allows for male officers to conduct rub down searches on the same sex only and female officers to conduct rub down searches on both sexes. Full searches must only be conducted by a person of the same sex.
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year.
The updated policy will also include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether female prisoners can be searched by transgender prison staff (1) with, and (2) without, a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
In accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004, transgender people may apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. Prisoners and staff members in receipt of a GRC have the legal right to be treated as their acquired gender in every respect.
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year.
The updated policy will include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This policy will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a new section to their publication Procedures for searching people: PSI 07/2016, published on 26 July 2016, (1) on the conduct of searches by transgender prison officers, and (2) to confirm that the right of women prisoners to be searched only by officers of female sex assigned at birth will be maintained.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year.
The updated policy will include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of evidence that suggests people can be reinfected with COVID-19 more than once; and what estimate they have made of the number of people who have contracted COVID-19 for a second time.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The SARS-CoV-2 Immunity & REinfection EvaluatioN (SIREN) study follows up healthcare workers across the United Kingdom to estimate reinfection risk following a natural infection with SARS-CoV-2. Preliminary results suggest that reinfection is possible, though rare. This is supported by several case reports on reinfection internationally.
Forty four potential cases of reinfections were detected among 6,614 participants who had evidence of a past infection, contributing 1,339,078 days of follow-up. Those who had antibodies upon enrolment had a rate of becoming (re)infected that was 83% lower than that among those who had no antibodies upon enrolment. No estimate has been made of the number of people who have contracted COVID-19 for a second time in the general population.