Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what investigation, if any, they have undertaken into the Wagner Group and its sources of funding.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Wagner Group are a driver of conflict and capitalise on instability for their own interests. Wagner does not offer long-term security answers and operates opaquely. The Wagner Group is one of the over 1,000 individuals and businesses sanctioned under the Russia sanctions regime. It would not be appropriate to speculate on further potential Government activity, as doing so could reduce the impact of any options used in the future.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of the security implications of allowing unsearched vehicles, without a car pass, to park in Old Palace Yard.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Parliament benefits from a significant layered security and policing presence, and is within the Government Secure Zone which also has a substantial policing footprint strengthened by additional protective and deterrent measures. Anything in this area that is deemed suspicious or a threat is swiftly identified, assessed and managed. For security reasons, it is not appropriate to detail publicly specific security arrangements or assessments. The Director of Security for Parliament is content to meet with any Members who wish to discuss specific concerns.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is any legal or regulatory restriction preventing suppliers from taking back and reusing large plastic sacks that have contained animal feed or fertilizer; and, if so, whether they plan to review this restriction.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There are no specific restrictions in fertiliser legislation preventing suppliers from reusing fertiliser sacks. However, guidance around the storage and handling of certain fertilisers such as ammonium nitrate may still apply, which could impact on the feasibility of reusing fertiliser sacks. For example, the Health and Safety Executive recommends precautions to prevent the risk of contamination and spillage, including that bags should be completely sealed on filling. In practice, the reuse of large sacks used by farmers is likely to be limited as they are usually cut open to transfer the fertiliser into the spreading equipment.
There are no provisions in UK animal feed legislation preventing the reuse of plastic sacks. However, feed business operators must demonstrate through their feed safety management systems that the packaging materials used for feed are safe and do not have an adverse effect on animal health, human health, and the environment.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total number of hospitalisations of patients with COVID-19 since 1 March 2020.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England began collecting data on the number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from 20 March 2020. From 20 March 2020 to 4 July 2021, the number of such patients hospitalised in England is 407,019.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are reviewing the decision not to include Russia in Schedule 3ZA of High-Risk Third Countries in the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High Risk Countries) Regulations 2021; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. The Minister will write directly to the Member with a response shortly.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have identified of money obtained as the proceeds of crime in Russia being laundered in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have classified the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal on 4 March 2018 as a terrorist attack.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many people have been infected with COVID-19 in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center published statistics on 23 February 2021 to show there have been 4,138,233 COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many beds are currently occupied in each of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Nightingale hospitals are activated based on local clinical decisions in response to patient demand. The National Health Service will flex Nightingale capacity to address demand as has been done throughout the pandemic. As at week commencing 18 January 2021, the NHS Nightingale Hospital Exeter is providing inpatient services to COVID-19 patients from 48 beds. The NHS Nightingale Hospital North West and the NHS Nightingale Hospital London are providing ‘step-down’ care to non-covid-19 patients and provide 36 and 64 beds respectively. Other Nightingale sites at Harrogate and Bristol are supporting NHS elective and diagnostic services but are not providing inpatient services.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), what assessment they have made of the efficacy of lockdowns in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Evidence suggests that more stringent interventions tend to reduce the reproduction number of the virus.
The lockdown imposed in late March and the changes in behaviour that preceded this had a high level of uptake and resulted in a rapid reduction in the reproduction number ‘R’ from about 2.5-3.0 to about 0.5-0.7. That is a reduction in ‘R’ of about 2, or a reduction in transmission of 75%. We continue to review the efficacy of measures.