Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current overall level of financial investment from China to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question: PQ HL4040 is attached.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect government accounts on social media from hacks and cyberattacks.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
We are committed to protecting government accounts on social media. Public sector organisations are responsible for securing their own services, including social media accounts. The Cabinet Office, with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), regularly provides advice and guidance to organisations on how best to secure social media accounts from hacks and cyber attacks.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement (1) air raid sirens, or (2) civil defence systems, in the UK to provide an early warning signal for a nuclear attack.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Government does not plan to implement air raid sirens to provide an early warning signal for nuclear attack. Since April 1969, the Royal Navy has maintained continuous at sea deterrence, with at least one nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine patrolling the seas undetected at all times, ready to respond to the most extreme threats to the UK, should they materialise.
The Government is committed to ensuring the public receive advice about the risks to them and the actions they can take. As part of broad emergency response capabilities, arrangements are in place to warn and inform the public that an emergency has, or is about to, occur and the steps they should take in response. This is a locally based approach, supported as necessary, by national messaging from central government using a range of channels, including social and broadcast media. The Government has announced its intention to augment these existing arrangements with the launch of a mobile phone based emergency alerting system later this year.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to close the acceptance gap between white students and ethnic minority students who join the Civil Service Fast Stream.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The proportion of ethnic minority groups overall being appointed to the Civil Service Fast Stream in 2021 was 23.3%, this aligns with the 2019/20 Higher Education Statistics Agency graduate population level of 23.7% for ethnicity.
Steps to ensure that students from minority ethnic backgrounds are successful in their application to the Civil Service Fast Stream start with outreach, attraction and marketing activity, which is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations. This is undertaken via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial and internship placements. We have developed an inclusive website, social media strategy, and refreshed the target university list for outreach.
Further to this, the Cabinet Office is:
expanding the range of internships we offer,
undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes,
increasing assessor diversity, and
improving our fair and inclusive selection processes by incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to unilaterally stop checks on some goods sent across the Irish Sea as an alternative to triggering Article 16 to suspend the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
The Government has already secured unfettered access for Northern Ireland firms for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain through the legislative protections we have provided, notably enshrining in the UK Internal Market Act 2020 full unfettered access for qualifying Northern Ireland goods to all parts of the UK market.
For movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, we have set out proposals that would largely eliminate checks on goods remaining within the UK. We would prefer to secure this reduction through negotiations with the EU. However, the Article 16 safeguards within the Protocol remain on the table if that should be the only way to secure our position.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide financial support for businesses whose checks and paperwork were delayed as a result of preparing for import control deadlines.
Answered by Lord Frost
The revised timetable for import controls set out in my written statement of 14 September 2021 allows businesses more time to adjust to new processes as they recover from the pandemic which has impacted supply chains across Europe. The nature of the border import controls for which businesses are preparing has not changed, and therefore any time or resource spent by businesses preparing for them will still be of value. The additional time will be used to further businesses' readiness for the introduction of these new requirements.
The Government also continues to support businesses trading with the EU in all sectors of industry, including putting in place additional staffing, comprehensive guidance for businesses and funding infrastructure to ease border processes.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to increase emergency mental health support for British army veterans who served in Afghanistan, and (2) to communicate current military decisions regarding Afghanistan to veteran communities.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
There has been a step change in veterans’ mental health provision, driven by significant investment. This year £17.8M has been allocated to the Veterans Mental Health Service Op COURAGE and £10M to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to help deliver charitable initiatives supporting veterans’ mental health needs across the United Kingdom. However, we recognise that recent events may have caused distress to some veterans. That is why, last week, an Armed Forces Mental Health summit was held by the Defence and Health Secretaries, bringing together experts to discuss support for those who served and their families. Following the summit, a further £2.7M has been made available to Op Courage to expand services to support those experiencing complex mental and/or physical trauma, or alcohol and substance misuse.
The Government has also engaged members of the Armed Forces community to reinforce that the mission in Afghanistan was of value. Veterans should be in no doubt of the remarkable role they played in serving their country and keeping it safe. They should feel immensely proud of their service. The PM published an open letter to the entire Armed Forces community on 29 August echoing this sentiment.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the level of trade experienced by businesses based in London.
Answered by Lord Frost
On 13 April, the Office for National Statistics released the latest statistics on EU-UK trade which show a welcome growth in the value of trade with the EU, with goods exports close to the average 2020 level.
The vast majority of traders and hauliers have adapted well, and our focus now is on making sure that any business that is still facing challenges gets the support they need to trade effectively with the EU. We are continuing to monitor and assess the situation, including any potential change in trade patterns.
As the Office for National Statistics notes, it is premature to make any firm judgments on the long term impacts of our new trading relationship with the EU, especially with the pandemic still ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the survey by the British Chamber of Commerce on Brexit, published on 11 February; and what plans they have to allow small businesses to write off additional customs costs as a result of the UK–EU Trade Cooperation Agreement, against their tax bill.
Answered by Lord Frost
The nature of our new relationship with the EU - outside the Single Market and Customs Union - does mean that there are practical and procedural changes that businesses need to adjust to.
We continue to work closely with sectors across the economy and all parts of the UK to support businesses in adapting to our new trading relationship with the EU and to continue to successfully compete on the global stage. The Government is providing £20 million to support small and medium businesses in adjusting to new customs, rules of origin, and VAT rules when trading with the EU. Ministers across government have been speaking directly to hundreds of businesses large and small across the country, including through the Business Brexit Task Force to develop a shared vision and plan for the future.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the EU about ensuring the continued provision of seasonal jobs in the EU for British citizens after 31 December.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The precise range of activities and documentation that will be needed after the transition period will be subject to negotiations with the EU. But any agreement will be without prejudice to the UK’s future points-based immigration system.
The Government is committed to ensuring that businesses and workers have all the information they need to get ready for 1 January 2021. We will continue to review and update the guidance we have published to help ensure businesses are as prepared as possible for the changes and opportunities the end of the year will bring.
Now is the time for businesses to get ready. They should go to www.GOV.UK/TRANSITION for more details.