Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Westminster City Council about the reasons for Parliament Square being regularly obstructed by black cabs; and what action that are taking as a result of any such discussions.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department has not had any discussions with Westminster City Council about obstructions around Parliament Square. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and managed by Transport for London (TfL). Roads in London are managed by TfL and the relevant London Borough. It therefore falls to TfL and Westminster City Council to deal with traffic management around Parliament Square.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual cost of protection for former Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on the securi-ty arrangements for protected individuals. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will review the shale gas fracking regulations.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Traffic Light System for monitoring induced seismicity was introduced after consideration of advice from three scientists, following operations at Cuadrilla’s Preese Hall site in 2011. The level of magnitude 0.5 at which operators must pause operations, was set in consultation with industry as an appropriate precautionary measure. There are no plans to review the traffic light system.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 5 February (HL13025), who are the experts on tobacco control whom they consulted about proposed changes to tobacco packaging.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department has consulted with a range of experts in tobacco control, including Professor David Hammond of the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo, Canada; Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society; and Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health. None of the experts consulted have links to the tobacco industry.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average daily policing costs for the demonstrators on and around College Green and Old Palace Yard.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are clear that the public have the right to peaceful protest, and that police forces should make reasonable contingencies within their budgets to cover the cost of these and other unexpected events in their area. Police and Crime Commissioners have the option to apply for funding through the Police Special Grant to assist with the cost of any significant events which might otherwise threaten the financial stability of the police force.
However, we also acknowledge that there are additional demands in policing the national capital and centre of Government and provide the Metropolitan Police with additional funding called the National and International Capital City (NICC) Grant to help cover those costs. For 2019/20, the NICC Grant will increase to £185m.
We are providing a significant police funding settlement in 2019/20 that provides the biggest increase in police funding since 2010, with more money for local police forces, counter terrorism and tackling serious and organised crime. If the Mayor of London raises council tax precept by the maximum permitted then funding to the Metropolitan Police Service in 2019/20 will increase by £172m.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what are the average daily costs to Parliament of any additional Parliamentary security personnel who have been required to deal with the demonstrators near to the Palace of Westminster since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
There have been no additional costs to Parliament. The additional security staff fall into two categories, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and private security provision for the broadcasters. The resources for the police officers who are part of the wider MPS response to Brexit do not fall within the contractual arrangement between MPS and Parliament, therefore Parliament is not paying any extra for policing these protests. Private security provision for the broadcasters is contracted by various broadcasters on Abingdon Green, which Parliament does not pay for.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have commissioned advice from any company, organisation or individual about the proposed changes to tobacco product packaging in the event of a no-deal Brexit; if so, which company, organisation or individual they commissioned such advice from; what was the cost of any such advice; and whether they will place a copy of any such advice in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Over the last year, and at no cost, the Department has consulted with a range of experts in tobacco control, none of whom have any connections with the tobacco industry. The Department has also consulted with the Health Ministries of other countries that have world leading tobacco control programmes.
The external advice provided to the Department has been part of the formulation of Government policy and therefore, we have no plans to publish the advice at this current time.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent drones from interfering with equestrian events, including national hunt racing and flat racing.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
There are already existing laws which provide safety, security and data protection assurance which are relevant here.
The Air Navigation Order 2016 restricts small unmanned aircraft (a drone of between 0-20kg) with a camera from being flown over or within 150m of congested areas, over or within 150m of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 people or within 50m of any vessels, vehicle or structure or people not under the control of the remote pilot.
Furthermore, small drone users that collect personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, unless a relevant exemption applies.
All drone users should also be aware that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act can apply and restricts people from undertaking any commercial activity, such as filming or photographing, on open-access land without the permission of the landowner. The CAA also require that commercial drone operators obtain a Permission for Commercial Operation (PfCO).
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many tattoos have been removed at a cost to the NHS in England; and what is the total cost of such removals since 2009.
Answered by Baroness Manzoor
It is possible that tattoo removal procedures could be classified to a number of ‘skin excision’ codes within the OPCS-4 Classification. These procedures codes would be assigned for any type of skin excisions, for example, the removal of benign and malignant neoplasm. It is not possible to separately identify data specific to tattoo removal procedures.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the advertising used to promote the rebranding of Virgin Trains to the London North Eastern Railway.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The cost of advertising connected with brand awareness and the launch of London North Eastern Railway (LNER) was approximately £936,000, which includes print, radio and digital marketing. This activity was critical to ensure that customers were aware that the change from Virgin Trains East Coast to LNER would not involve any disruption to services and that the change did not lead to any loss of revenue. This level of marketing spend is comparable with that of other normal intercity train operators.