Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of policing football clubs in the coming season; and what comparison they have made with the previous season.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This information is not collected centrally.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether their assistance with rising energy costs will extend to football clubs.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

His Majesty’s Government recognises the importance of football clubs, both professional and at grassroots level, which provide valuable opportunities for communities to come together and to take part in sport.

The Government also understands the impact rising energy prices will have on organisations of all sizes. In September we announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, under which businesses and other non-domestic energy users will be offered support. This includes support to football clubs.

After an initial six months of the scheme, the Government will provide ongoing focused support for vulnerable industries. A review is currently underway to determine where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the restrictions placed on football clubs wishing to upgrade their facilities.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Many clubs choose to upgrade their facilities, or do so to meet league and safety requirements. All facilities for football clubs must meet the requirements prescribed by their league organiser, the relevant football authority, the Sports Ground Safety Authority, the relevant local authority, and legislation. This ensures that facilities, particularly stadia, are appropriate and safe for all. Football clubs may be subject to the same planning restrictions as any other business or community facility.

His Majesty’s Government confirmed in July that Premier League and Championship clubs wishing to introduce licensed ‘safe standing’ areas at football stadia can apply to do so from the beginning of the current season, increasing the range of options football clubs can offer their supporters when considering their facilities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement on 17 November, what proportion of the £2.8bn funding increase for the social care sector will go towards supporting carer services and workers.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is continuing to finalise the conditions of this funding and further information will be issued to local authorities in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group Child of the North Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis, published on 23 January, what steps they are taking to help mitigate the effects of the increased cost of living for families in areas with the highest levels of child poverty.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend over £245bn through the welfare system in 2022/23 including £111bn on people of working age.

In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living this winter and is taking action to help. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.  The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need to help with the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.

In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.

With 1.16 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the House of Lords Appointments Commission regarding reports that peers have been appointed after donating money to the Conservative party.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Advice provided by the House of Lords Appointments Commission to the Government is confidential. It would be inappropriate to comment on such reports, or speculate about individual nominations or vetting. Peerages reflect long-standing contributions to civic life and also a willingness to further contribute to public life as a legislator in the Second Chamber. Volunteering and supporting a political party is part of our civic democracy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are they taking (1) to increase the carer workforce, and (2) to reduce staff turnover rates in the sector.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are promoting adult social care careers through a national recruitment campaign, which launched on 2 November. We are also providing resources and practical toolkits for care providers to attract, train and retain care staff, including the Workforce Development Fund.

We are making available up to £2.8 billion of additional funding for social care in 23-24 and £4.7 billion in 24-25 to support adult social care and discharge - the biggest funding increase in history.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their response to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance which concluded there is a significant risk of financial failure at football clubs, what steps they are taking to address this risk pending the publication of their White Paper.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

His Majesty’s Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. We fully recognise the need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s long-term sustainability. We are now taking the time to consider the policy response, and are continuing to engage with the football authorities and fan groups in the development of this policy. We remain committed to publishing a White Paper, setting out our detailed response to the fan-led review of football governance, and will set this out in due course. In the meantime, football authorities can take forward some of the reforms themselves, including financial redistribution, which we continue to urge them to do.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide support to pubs deemed "at risk" by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), given increased energy costs, rising food prices, and consequently suppressed consumer demand.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government recognises that pubs and other hospitality businesses are facing cost of living pressures.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme ensures businesses are protected from excessively high energy bills up to the 31 March 2022. Following a review of this scheme, a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), will provide all eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024.

Additionally, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a range of support measures regarding business rates worth £13.6 billion over the next 5 years.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle disorder at football matches, given the reported increase the number of arrests at matches, and increase in banning orders issued by the courts.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We are clear that law abiding fans should be able to enjoy football matches in safety and that violent and disorderly behaviour will not be tolerated.

We have extended coverage of football banning orders to persons convicted of Class A drugs offences at matches, elite domestic women’s football and online hate crime offences connected to football

We have also amended the threshold test to increase the likelihood that a court will impose a banning order following a conviction for football-related offences that are violent, disorderly or cause harm to others.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards meeting their air quality improvement targets; and what assessment they have made of calls by members of the medical profession, such as in the letter to the Minister for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation on 27 June 2022, for the introduction of more stringent targets.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK’s Air Quality Standards Regulations require reporting of ambient air quality data on an annual basis. The annual report is published via the UK-AIR website (link: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/). The UK has domestic and international emission reduction commitments for NOx, SO2, NMVOCs, NH3 and PM2.5 for 2020-29 and 2030. These are reported on annually via our national statistics on the gov.uk and National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory websites.

We have followed an evidence-based process to set the PM_2.5 targets, working closely with internationally recognised experts and stakeholders. The views of medical professionals have been given due consideration, via input from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution and the consultation process - our official response has been published. The wording of the Environment Act is clear; the Secretary of State must be satisfied that the targets can be met.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the damaging effect, in particular on sugar beet crops, of pesticides used to prevent attacks from aphids.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Emerging sugar beet seedlings and young plants are vulnerable to feeding by aphids, which transmit several viruses, known collectively as Yellows Virus (YV). Neonicotinoid seed treatments provide emerging beet crops with highly effective protection.

Following an application made by British Sugar and the National Farmers Union, the Government has granted an emergency authorisation for the limited and controlled use of a neonicotinoid seed treatment on the 2023 sugar beet crop. This decision has not been taken lightly and is based on robust assessment of the environmental and economic risks and benefits. The Government’s statement of reasons for this decision has been published on gov.uk.

It is important that the Government understands the potential environmental impacts of the emergency authorisation. To further develop that understanding the applicant is required to carry out a range of environmental monitoring activities as a condition of the emergency authorisation. The Government is supplementing these activities with its own monitoring projects. These projects include the monitoring of residues of thiamethoxam (the neonicotinoid active ingredient in the authorised seed treatment) and its metabolite, clothianidin, in various parts of the environment, to gain a better understanding of the potential exposure of non-target organisms to the active substance in the seed treatment. This includes the soil of treated fields; the soil, vegetation and pollen from field margins; honey from honeybee hives in close proximity to sugar beet fields; and rivers in sugar beet catchments. Further detail of these projects can be found within the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) emergency registration report on Cruiser SB, published on gov.uk.

Defra has also funded a study assessing the chronic toxicity of thiamethoxam to adult honeybees. This has allowed HSE to conduct a robust assessment of the chronic risks to honeybees via different routes of exposure. Details and results of this study can be found within HSE’s emergency registration report, published on gov.uk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not yet formally responded to the recommendations in the report by the Right Reverend James Jones The patronising disposition of unaccountable power: A report to ensure the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated, published on 1 November 2017 (HC 511).

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The points of learning in the Bishop’s report made for the Government span a number of departments and organisations and the Home Office is coordinating the Government’s overarching response to his report.

Whilst the timing of the Government’s response has been impacted by the need to avoid risk of prejudice during the Hillsborough criminal proceedings, work has been underway within the relevant departments and organisations to carefully consider and address those points of learning directed at the Government.

The Government is committed to engaging with the Hillsborough families prior to publication of its full response in due course.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons why they have not yet published their white paper on football governance; and when it will be published.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

His Majesty’s Government remains committed to reforming football to address the issues identified in the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance, and will set out details to do this shortly after recess.

Found: 8th Report - The conduct of Lord Pendry HL Paper 194 Report

✝️ Farewell Lord Tom Pendry. Freeman of the Borough of Tameside, Labour MP for Stalybridge & Hyde 1970-2001 (and covering Dukinfield, which is now in my constituency between 1970 and 1997). Lord Pendry of Stalybridge 2001-2023. https://t.co/o4EdI3rEx5