Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) economic, (2) logistical and (3) technological support they are providing to ensure that sea-level rise does not endanger the continued existence of Small Island States.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Building resilience to the impacts of climate change, economic shocks and natural disasters is at the heart of the UK vision for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Our £11.6 billion commitment for climate finance and our role as a major contributor to global climate funds has enabled the UK to support SIDS resilience. We will provide $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund's (GCF) second replenishment (2024-27). This equates to £1.623 billion and is the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change. We provide approximately £200 million of aid annually to SIDS, including:
• the £36 million Sustainable Blue Economies (SBE) programme supporting development of prosperous ocean-based economies while protecting nature and increasing climate resilience.
• £40 million 'Small Island Developing State Capacity and Resilience' (SIDAR) programme, supporting better access to funding and building state resilience.
• The UK's £350 million Caribbean Infrastructure Fund supports resilient infrastructure for states acutely vulnerable to natural disasters as does our £10 million contribution to the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) facility (announced at COP26 by PM Modi and PM Johnson). We are also providing further support to SIDS through other global Blue Planet Fund programmes, including being part of Defra's Ocean Country Partnership Programme (£65 million), the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (£33 million), and Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (£13.9 million).
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) economic, and (2) technological support they are providing, alongside the foreign aid budget, to ensure that Small Island States, particularly those that are Commonwealth members, are equipped to deal with any loss or damage that may arise due to sea-level rise.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) play a leading role on climate action due to their unique moral voice and climate vulnerability. The UK has aimed to drive support on their climate adaptation and mitigation priorities. The SIDS4 conference in May 2024 will be a once-in-a-decade opportunity for transformational action and the UK is working to drive momentum for an ambitious offer on climate action. The UK recognises some SIDS face existential threats from climate change and is committed to ensuring the package of recommendations of the new loss and damage fund and funding arrangements, as developed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)'s Transitional Committee, is agreed at COP28.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the foreign aid budget for Small Island States at risk from climate change; and to make commitments within that budget to combat the effects of sea-level rise.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The PM reaffirmed at COP27 that we are delivering on our commitment to spend £11.6 billion International Climate Finance (ICF), which includes £3 billion for nature. To ensure ICF supports the most vulnerable experiencing the worst impacts of climate change, we will triple our funding for adaptation from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025, in addition to ensuring a balance between mitigation and adaptation spend. We will ensure continued support to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to improve their climate resilience.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the directors of Royal Mail to restore the target to deliver 93 per cent of first-class mail within one working day of collection.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.
Ofcom is currently undertaking an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet its quality of service performance targets, including the delivery of 93% of First Class mail within one working day of collection, for 2022-23.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made to ensure the safety of multi-storey car parks given the increasing number of heavy electric vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Responsibility for the safety of a building and its occupants rests with building owners and is covered by Occupiers Liability and Health and Safety legislation. A building designed to carry vehicles on multiple levels will have an engineered load bearing capacity; it is the responsibility of the building owner to ensure that operational weight limits take into account the type or structural condition of the building and its capacity to support vehicles. The standards used for the structural design of buildings (Eurocodes) and referred to in the statutory guidance to the Building Regulations with regards to structural safety (Approved Document A) are currently under review by a panel of international experts. We expect the review of these standards to include considerations associated with electrical vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has happened to “the Great British Railways” app that was announced in 2021 which was to be issued by the Rail Delivery Group with the objective of making online purchases of tickets easier.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the Plan for Rail, we recognise that the current multitude of train company websites with different standards of service is confusing to passengers. We are continuing to review the best way to address this and are working closely with the rail sector to do this.
We want to see a more competitive retail market and will break down the systems and structural barriers to entry so it is easier to enter the market to sell rail tickets.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Rail Delivery Group regarding how ticket services not available on ticket vending machines, such as refunds and season ticket changes will be handled.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We recognise there are a wide range of fares and tickets offered to passengers, and that not all products are offered consistently online or at ticket vending machines. However, an estimated 99% of all transactions made at ticket offices last year could be made at TVMs or online.
The rail industry is looking to expand digital ticketing options and make them even easier for passengers to use through upgrades to ticket vending machines and digitisation of more tickets and processes.
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers. This includes ensuring that passengers can easily buy the right ticket for the journey they want to make, with consideration of the product range available at the station and what support is available to help with purchase.
Passengers will not be expected to travel out of their way to buy a ticket and will be able to buy en-route or at their destination.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect cladding manufacturers to make an appropriate contribution to fix cladding issues identified following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the noble Lord to my answer to question HL 5795 on 8 March 2023. The Government expects developers to do the right thing irrespective of where they are based.
To date, 49 developers have signed a developer remediation contract with the Government, committing to remediate or pay to remediate buildings that they developed or refurbished. Several of those signatories are foreign-owned.
On 3 July 2023, we made regulations to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme. Members of the Scheme will be required to enter into and comply with the developer remediation contract. Any eligible developer who does not do so will be prohibited from carrying out major development and from securing building control approval. Any overseas-based developer that meets the criteria will be eligible for the Scheme. Similarly, the Government's Building Safety Levy will apply to in-scope developments by all developers, irrespective of where the developer is based.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to persuade foreign developers to contribute to fix cladding issues identified following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the noble Lord to my answer to question HL 5795 on 8 March 2023. The Government expects developers to do the right thing irrespective of where they are based.
To date, 49 developers have signed a developer remediation contract with the Government, committing to remediate or pay to remediate buildings that they developed or refurbished. Several of those signatories are foreign-owned.
On 3 July 2023, we made regulations to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme. Members of the Scheme will be required to enter into and comply with the developer remediation contract. Any eligible developer who does not do so will be prohibited from carrying out major development and from securing building control approval. Any overseas-based developer that meets the criteria will be eligible for the Scheme. Similarly, the Government's Building Safety Levy will apply to in-scope developments by all developers, irrespective of where the developer is based.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a non-qualifying leaseholder's ability to pay for building safety remediation, given that developers must meet an annual profit condition of £10 million and freeholders must meet the net wealth test of £2 million per relevant building.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There is no test of ability to pay for freeholders; the £2 million ‘contribution condition’ merely determines whether freeholders must meet all remediation costs for qualifying leaseholders or whether they can seek capped contributions from them. Likewise, the ‘annual profit condition’ of £10 million is an initial level above which we are seeking to apply the Responsible Actors’ Scheme to developers; it is not a figure below which developers are somehow exempt from meeting the cost of remediation.
Once a building is remediated, the qualifying status of a lease should not have an impact on valuation, or mortgage lending. Major mortgage lenders made clear in a statement in March 2022 they would lend on buildings subject to remediation and guidance from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published in December 2022 provides a clear approach on valuing properties impacted by building safety issues.