Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any (1) health benefits, and (2) health hazards, of eating unpasteurised cheddar cheese, and its by-product whey butter.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), has policy responsibility for food safety, including Raw Drinking Milk (RDM). A Risk Assessment was conducted on RDM by the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food in 2018 and considered by the FSA Board that year. The conclusion was that the risk from RDM is not so unacceptable as to justify removing the right of adult consumers to choose to drink it. However, to protect public health and balance consumer choice and business growth, improvements to the controls applied by Food Business Operators were required and have now been implemented.
There has been no assessment made of the health benefits or hazards of consuming unpasteurised cheddar cheese or whey butter, and no assessment made of the health benefits of consuming untreated raw cow’s milk.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any (1) health benefits, and (2) health hazards, of drinking untreated raw cow's milk.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), has policy responsibility for food safety, including Raw Drinking Milk (RDM). A Risk Assessment was conducted on RDM by the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food in 2018 and considered by the FSA Board that year. The conclusion was that the risk from RDM is not so unacceptable as to justify removing the right of adult consumers to choose to drink it. However, to protect public health and balance consumer choice and business growth, improvements to the controls applied by Food Business Operators were required and have now been implemented.
There has been no assessment made of the health benefits or hazards of consuming unpasteurised cheddar cheese or whey butter, and no assessment made of the health benefits of consuming untreated raw cow’s milk.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the health and safety issues, if any, that may occur on train services lasting more than three hours where refreshments, including water, are not made available to customers in hot weather.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ensuring the welfare of passengers and rail staff remains a top priority for the Government, particularly during hot weather, which can increase the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion or fainting. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for safety oversight of the railway in Great Britain and works with train operators to encourage all passengers to follow the latest public health and travel advice.
While no study has been undertaken specifically on the health and safety issues of water not being provided on services lasting more than three hours, the advice to passengers is to carry a bottle of water on all train journeys in hot weather so that they can keep hydrated. Most modern trains also have air conditioning installed to maintain cool temperatures, but where air conditioning is not available, operators ventilate trains as best as they can by opening windows throughout journeys and train doors at stations, where possible. Many operators also offer free water in hot weather and when services are delayed.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any comparison of the freedom of religion of UK subjects in Iran with the freedom of religion of Iranian citizens in the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran has a record of discrimination, harassment and targeting of minority religious and ethnic communities. Those detained in Iran over Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) issues have historically included individuals with links to the UK. As set out in FCDO travel advice, British and British-Iranian dual nationals are at significant risk of arbitrary arrest, questioning or detention in Iran.
The UK Government remains committed to championing FoRB in Iran and around the world. In July 2022, we hosted the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London. We raise FoRB at all appropriate opportunities with Iran and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its dire human rights.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the freedom of religion enjoyed by the Copts in Egypt.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between religious and non-religious communities. Promoting FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. The Egyptian Government has stated its commitment to protecting the rights of Coptic Christians and freedom of worship as well as the protections for freedom of religion enshrined in the Egyptian constitution. There have been positive steps in recent years, including President Sisi's public commitments to uphold minority rights and freedom of religion. The UK continues to make clear to the Egyptian authorities the importance we attach to these issues. On 5 April, I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon] discussed FoRB with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II in Cairo and on 21 April, I met Archbishop Angaelos in London. I will continue to raise these important issues.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of street begging, aggressive behaviours and rough sleeping in tents in busy areas, especially around railway stations.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data collected centrally shows overall levels of rough sleeping in England and we do not collect data for specific types of behaviour
While the annual rough sleeping snapshot in 2022 has risen compared to 2021, this follows sustained decreases since the peak in 2017. Overall rough sleeping levels are 35% lower in 2022 compared to the peak in 2017 and 28% lower than they were in 2019 before the pandemic
We remain steadfastly committed to our goal to end rough sleeping and we will continue to work with local authorities and partners, the voluntary and community sector and private sector to end it for good.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Plan published in March outlined plans to introduce new powers for local authorities and the police to respond to begging and rough sleeping, coupled with improved multi-agency working between local partners so that vulnerable individuals receive the support they need, and further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much economic aid and technical assistance they are currently giving to Tunisia; and how this is monitored.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In financial year 2023/24, the UK will provide £2 million to Tunisia through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund programme. This includes: support to the Tunisian economic reforms, delivered through the World Bank; a contribution to the UN basket fund TARABOT, to support implementation of the Tunisian Government's Counter-Terrorism Strategy; and projects in the fields of education, gender equality and Open Societies. The UK provides technical assistance directly and through multilateral organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. We regularly monitor and evaluate the support the UK provides.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the state of relations between the UK and Tunisia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a constructive partner to Tunisia. Given the scale of the socio-economic and fiscal challenges, we encourage the Tunisian government to implement urgent reform steps and deliver on the demands of the Tunisian people. The UK stands ready to play a role but tackling these issues are sovereign choices for Tunisia. We also have regular discussions with the Tunisian authorities to reiterate the importance of legitimate political opposition, the separation of powers, civil society, strengthening human rights and an inclusive political process. I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa] raised these with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar on 4 May.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the role of Tunisia in promoting security along the Mediterranean littoral of northern Africa.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is aware of the increasing numbers of irregular migrants crossing from Tunisia to Europe. We work with the Tunisian Government to help improve their border security, including through the provision of Royal Navy and Royal Marine instructors to assist the Tunisian National Guard Maritime section. More broadly, the UK Government actively pursues a 'whole of route' approach to addressing unmanaged migration from Africa to Europe, tackling the drivers of migration that encourage people to undertake the dangerous journey in the first place.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to support educational aid and assistance to Tunisia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a global leader in education and we see education as a foundation for UK-Tunisian collaboration for the benefit of both the UK and Tunisians. We support education reform in Tunisia through the Global Partnership for Education fund, which recently granted Tunisia $2.3 million to develop their next five-year education strategy. We are also planning to develop a new secondary education project that builds on the achievements of 'Teaching for Success' which trained over 17,000 primary teachers and teaching advisors in improved teaching methods. To enable early school leavers to learn skills for the workplace, the UK funded four 'Second Chance' Education Centres in collaboration with UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.