Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 21 September (HL2514) regarding anti-loitering devices known as Mosquito devices, what requirements must be met before they are installed.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The safety of acoustic anti-loitering devices, commonly known as Mosquito devices, is regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 and other product specific laws, such as the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations. These provide a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable usage, can be placed on the market.
The laws place obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information including instructions for assembly, installation and maintenance.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of Mosquito devices that emit high level sounds to deter loitering in public places, particularly those where young people gather.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Acoustic anti-loitering devices commonly known as Mosquito devices are widely available for purchase and use in commercial, domestic and public settings as a means of preventing potential anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reduce the noise of fireworks sold to the general public from 120 decibels to 90 decibels.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place for fireworks that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to people and animals.
Current legislation restricts retailers to only selling consumer fireworks during the traditional firework periods of November 5th, Diwali, New Year’s Eve and the Chinese New Year. Retailers may only supply fireworks outside these traditional periods if they obtain a license from their local licensing authority. Existing legislation also controls the sale, availability and use of fireworks, as well as setting a curfew and noise limit. Current legislation limits noise from fireworks available to consumers to a maximum of 120 decibels.
The Government remains committed to promoting the safe and considerate use of fireworks through an effective legislative framework and through non-legislative measures.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to change the regulations for the licensing of premises that sell fireworks.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place for fireworks that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to people and animals.
Current legislation restricts retailers to only selling consumer fireworks during the traditional firework periods of November 5th, Diwali, New Year’s Eve and the Chinese New Year. Retailers may only supply fireworks outside these traditional periods if they obtain a license from their local licensing authority. Existing legislation also controls the sale, availability and use of fireworks, as well as setting a curfew and noise limit. Current legislation limits noise from fireworks available to consumers to a maximum of 120 decibels.
The Government remains committed to promoting the safe and considerate use of fireworks through an effective legislative framework and through non-legislative measures.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any threat posed by beoutQ, a pirate TV and streaming service based in Saudi Arabia; and whether any retail outlets selling the beoutQ set up box have been (1) charged, and (2) prosecuted for such sales.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government has made no assessment of the threat posed by beoutQ and holds no information on whether retail outlets selling the beoutQ set up box have been charged or prosecuted for such sales.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take against Viagogo as a result of that company’s failure to overhaul its business practices in relation to secondary ticket sales, following the court order of 27 November 2018.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government put in place the legislation that led to the Court Order against Viagogo.
Compliance with the order and any necessary enforcement action is a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the court itself.
The CMA has now raised a number of concerns with Viagogo and has said that it expects Viagogo to make any necessary changes without delay. If Viagogo fails to do so, the CMA has said that it will return to court to ensure they make these changes.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the creation of jobs for women in the construction industry.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government is committed to supporting the construction sector to increase the gender diversity of its workforce. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has taken practical steps by developing a ‘Be Fair’ framework, including freely available fairness and inclusion training modules for construction firms. In addition, CITB’s careers hub, ‘Go Construct’, provides online guidance and case studies for prospective employees - and employers - on a range of diversity topics, including gender.
Nevertheless, more work is needed to improve the diversity of the construction sector. We are engaging with the industry as to how further improvements can best be achieved and we expect to see this agenda being driven forward through the Sector Deal for construction that was announced in our Industrial Strategy White Paper on 27 November.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with, and what representations they have (1) sent to, and (2) received from, Liverpool City Council concerning (a) Rejuvenate your Business Limited, (b) the Project Enterprise Village initiative, and (c) the Insolvency Service investigation and subsequent disqualification undertaking banning Shazan Qureshi from acting as a company director.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government’s Insolvency Service investigated Mr Qureshi’s conduct as a director of Rejuvenate Your Business Ltd on half of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. There was no contact between the investigation team and Liverpool City Council in relation to that company or the Project Enterprise Village initiative. Details of the investigation, disqualifications obtained and matters of misconduct can be found in the Insolvency Service’s press release on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much in research grants UK universities received from the EU in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
In 2014/15 UK universities and other higher education institutions received £836,388,000 in research grants from EU sources.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, how they plan to ensure that UK universities and research institutions do not face barriers to international research co-operation.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK has a long established system that supports and attracts the brightest minds, at all stages of their careers. We fund excellent science wherever it is found and ensure there is the freedom to tackle important scientific questions.
While the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU arrangements continue unchanged, including those that apply to students, researchers, and businesses. We remain fully open to scientists and researchers from across the EU. We hugely value the contribution of EU and international staff and there are no immediate changes to their rights to live and work in the UK.