Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the expert panel appointed to investigate the cause of mass marine deaths between the River Tees and the River Esk did not take evidence from scientists who considered that the cause was industrial toxins, rather than natural algal toxins.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel (CMEP) actively sought data and input from external scientists (including scientists from Universities) who have investigated this issue and did consider the evidence they provided. The scientists were invited to submit any evidence they thought relevant throughout the review period, including on industrial toxins. This evidence was shared with the independent expert panel to consider as part of their assessment and formed an active part of their consideration. The CMEP followed up with questions and communication via written correspondence.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Wildlife Fund’s estimate that around seven billion meals' worth of food are disposed of as waste each year by UK farmers who cannot recruit enough workers to pick crops.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The recent estimate of 3.3 million tonnes in WWF's Hidden Waste Report is consistent with the range of estimates the Defra funded Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) have reported previously.
WWF have reported that 2.9 million tonnes of edible food goes to waste on farms each year, which would equate to 6.9 billion meals if it is assumed that a 'meal' equates to 420g. In this context 'edible food' is used as a technical term to distinguish the proportion of any item of food which was intended for human consumption as distinct from the 'associated inedible parts' (e.g. shells, bones). It does not mean that the 2.9 million tonnes of waste were fit and ready for human consumption i.e. not requiring further processing. At a national scale, there is insufficient data to understand how much of the food wasted on farm was fit for consumption when it was wasted.
The WWF reported waste on farm is not caused solely by a lack of labour, this is the total estimated amount of edible food waste on farm. There are many causes of food waste on farm including the weather, fluctuations in supply and demand and failure to meet quality specifications This year the NFU have reported the results of a members' survey which suggests that 40% of UK farms experienced crop waste due to labour shortages. Other than this, the government is not aware of any quantified data linking volumes of waste to specific causes.
More can be done to reduce food waste in the primary production stage. Conversations with industry have suggested that a potentially significant cause of food waste on farm are unfair business practices at the point of first sale, where unreasonably late cancellations or late specification changes, among others, can lead to produce being left unharvested or rotting in the field. We have taken powers to clamp down on these kinds of unfair contractual practices through the 'fair dealings' powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 and intend to work with stakeholders to explore how these powers could be exercised to address such concerns.
Defra is aware of the impact that labour shortages are having in the horticulture sector and we continue to work closely with industry to monitor the situation and to help our world-leading farmers and growers access the labour they need. To inform future decisions on labour across the sector, Defra recently launched an independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain, it will report in spring 2023.
The Seasonal Worker visa route was specifically designed to support the UK horticulture sector where growers typically require higher volumes of labour, for relatively short-term periods of time, in line with seasonal production peaks. On Friday 16 December, the government announced that an allocation of 45,000 visas will be made available to businesses in the horticulture sector to recruit foreign workers for up to six months to work in both the edible and ornamental sectors. This is an uplift of 15,000 visas compared to the allocation at the start of 2022. A further 10,000 visas will be available should there be demand and contingent on sponsors and growers continuing to improve worker welfare standards. This announcement will provide clarity to businesses, who are seeking to plan for 2023 harvests.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many children are expected to be in temporary accommodation over the forthcoming Christmas period.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The latest statutory homelessness statistics for April to June 2022 can be found (attached) here . This includes data on the number of households in temporary accommodation in England, including the number of children.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many new homes to let at Social Rent in England (1) were completed in each of the last three years, and (2) are expected to be completed during the forthcoming year.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of new social rent homes delivered by local authority since 1991-92, including acquisitions of existing stock, can be found in Live Table 1006C, published (attached) at the following link.
The number of starts on site for new social rent homes since 2015-16 can be found in Live Table 1006S, via the same link. We are monitoring delivery of our housing programmes closely. We are working with our delivery partners, and the Sector to help support delivery.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what steps they are taking to support consumers who cannot monitor their energy consumption via their smart meter as a result of a failure to connect with a data hub.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Energy suppliers are required by licence conditions to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are fully functional and provide customers with complete and accurate information. Energy suppliers must also offer an In-Home Display (IHD) at the point of installation and provide a replacement or repair for any faulty IHD within the first year of installing a consumer’s smart meters.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against their licence obligations.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current legislation protecting animal (1) welfare, and (2) rights; and whether they plan further legislation in respect of animal welfare in the current session.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government's Action Plan for Animal Welfare was published in May 2021 and can be found at: Action Plan for Animal Welfare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A copy is attached to this answer.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government in what county or region was the primary residence of individuals recommended for a Life Peerage by the Prime Minister in each year since 2019.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government does not hold residency information for those nominated to the House of Lords. That is a matter for each individual.
The Prime Minister is responsible for peerage nominations and will take a range of factors into consideration when making recommendations to the Sovereign.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the geographical distribution by region or nation of members of the House of Lords.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government does not hold residency information for those nominated to the House of Lords. That is a matter for each individual.
The Prime Minister is responsible for peerage nominations and will take a range of factors into consideration when making recommendations to the Sovereign.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they plan to give to the promotion of municipal bonds to enable residents to invest in local initiatives to reduce the impact of climate change.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
DLUHC has consulted with DCMS following their work on municipal bonds for community investment.
In 2019 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport sponsored independent research (attached) into the concept of crowdfunding as a way for people to invest in Local Authority projects in their communities. The report, entitled Financing for Society: Crowdfunding Public Infrastructure, was published by the University of Leeds and included case studies about the use of community municipal bonds for projects including those aimed at tackling climate change. DCMS has no current plans for further promotion of this financing mechanism.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the reforms in the Health and Care Bill will meet the needs of Inclusion Health populations.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Health and Care Bill proposes integrated care boards and requires the creation of integrated care partnerships (ICPs) in each local system area. ICPs will bring together the National Health Service, local authorities and wider representatives, as appropriate to address the health, public health and social care needs of people in their areas. We expect that this would include addressing the needs of inclusion health groups. This and other measures contained in the Bill will enable more integrated care for patients and service users, including inclusion health groups.