Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and how, they will ensure that the views of the independent retail sector will be taken into account when putting together their forthcoming tobacco control strategy.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
We have a long track record in this country of implementing tobacco control measures which are supported by a strong evidence base, and the new tobacco control plan will build on this approach. As part of our development of the tobacco control plan, stakeholders were invited to give views during the initial stages. This included representatives of the independent retail sector. We will continue to consult with our stakeholders before introducing any new tobacco control measures.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decisions of the seventh session of the Conference of Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in regard to non-nicotine delivery systems.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The United Kingdom is a world leader in tobacco control and is well advanced in the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In the Autumn Statement, the Government announced legislation to require the licensing of tobacco manufacturing equipment which also takes the UK a further step forward towards ratifying the FCTC’s Illicit Trade Protocol.
In November, the seventh Conference of the Parties considered a report on e-cigarettes by the World Health Organisation and concluded that further monitoring of market developments, emerging research, development of emission testing methodology and regulatory response is required, but that Parties should be invited to regulate these products “as appropriate to their national laws and public health objectives.” The Government has already introduced a regulatory framework for these products in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. The implementation and effect of these regulations will be monitored and the Government will examine all opportunities to maximise the health benefits of these products for smokers whilst minimising their uptake by children and non-smokers.
The Government will also shortly publish a new Plan which will set out a framework for future action on tobacco control.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they intend to take following publication of the decisions from the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention of Tobacco Control.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The United Kingdom is a world leader in tobacco control and is well advanced in the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In the Autumn Statement, the Government announced legislation to require the licensing of tobacco manufacturing equipment which also takes the UK a further step forward towards ratifying the FCTC’s Illicit Trade Protocol.
In November, the seventh Conference of the Parties considered a report on e-cigarettes by the World Health Organisation and concluded that further monitoring of market developments, emerging research, development of emission testing methodology and regulatory response is required, but that Parties should be invited to regulate these products “as appropriate to their national laws and public health objectives.” The Government has already introduced a regulatory framework for these products in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. The implementation and effect of these regulations will be monitored and the Government will examine all opportunities to maximise the health benefits of these products for smokers whilst minimising their uptake by children and non-smokers.
The Government will also shortly publish a new Plan which will set out a framework for future action on tobacco control.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how much the report <i>Work of the House of Lords 2015–16 </i>cost to produce and distribute.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The production and distribution costs of the 2015/16 edition of the Work of the House of Lords as at 3 November were £10,218.34 for a print run of 20,000 copies.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 20 July (HL Deb, col 640), whether the UK is going to be fined by the EU as a result of making late payments under the Single Farm Payment Scheme.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Under normal rules, if the value of payments made after the 30 June deadline exceeds 5% of the value of payments made before the deadline, then penalties apply. The reductions would be 10% on payments made in July, 25% on payments made in August and 45% for payments made in September.
Commissioner Hogan, however, confirmed his intention to extend the date by which Member States may make CAP direct payments without the usual reductions in the rate of reimbursement from the EU to the Member States concerned.
We are currently assessing the UK position in terms of the value of payments made by 30 June and the expected value of payments to be made before 15 October for each of the four UK paying agencies. Once this assessment has been completed we will be in a position to decide whether the UK needs to submit a request to take up the provisions outlined by the Commission.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees how much it cost to refurbish the Cholmondeley Room toilets, and why those toilets were out of service so soon after their six-month refurbishment.
Answered by Lord Laming
The works to the Cholmondeley Room toilets are not yet completed. They should be completed in the next month. The estimated budget is £650,000 (of which the Lords’ share is 40%).
A number of unforeseen technical difficulties mean that the works are slightly behind schedule; although two of the toilets have re-opened, some underlying problems are still being resolved.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times the cross-department ministerial group to tackle illicit trade in tobacco has met since it was announced in the budget of March 2015; and whether they will set out the membership of that group, the issues that were discussed at each meeting and the intended outcomes.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The cross-department ministerial group to tackle illicit tobacco will meet for the first time later this month. This follows a number of productive meetings between officials in HMRC and other departments to identify the challenges and opportunities in the UK and internationally and determine a clear agenda for ministerial action. Further details on the group will be issued in due course.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees how much the <i>Members' Personal Safety and Security</i> pamphlet cost to produce and distribute to members.
Answered by Lord Laming
The Lords Members’ Personal Safety and Security booklets cost £673.02 to design and print. We take the security of Members extremely seriously and regularly update our advice and guidance on the steps they can take to help keep themselves, their staff and their families safe. This was a longstanding, routine update on a booklet which has previously existed in a number of different editions.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 23 March (HL7048) about the change of use of the Peers' TV Room, what happened to the armchairs that used to be in that room.
Answered by Lord Laming
The chairs are in existing storage facilities.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees how much is the agency fee to engage three new sous chefs, as recently advertised by Berkeley Scott.
Answered by Lord Laming
The House of Lords is recruiting to fill two Sous Chef vacancies which have recently arisen. These posts have been advertised on the Parliamentary Website, The Caterer and the House of Lords external recruitment portal. No agency has been asked to recruit to these vacancies on our behalf.