Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many lorries have been prevented from entering Northern Ireland and returned to Great Britain as a result of internal UK market checks in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the commitments we have made, as we move to our new UK internal market system, we will ensure that the only checks when goods move within the UK internal market system are those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. But in order not to undermine that approach, as is the case across the UK we do not disclose the specific number or nature of interventions made by UK authorities.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the £1 billion employment, health and skills support package for disabled people and those with long-term medical conditions will be available to people across the entire UK.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work. This is backed up by £1 billion of new funding across the United Kingdom, with the share of funding for devolved governments calculated in the usual way.
The UK government will respect settlements with devolved governments.
Within Great Britain, we will work closely with the Scottish and Welsh Governments to ensure all aspects of our new approach to delivering employment support partner effectively with devolved provision, including but not limited to skills, health and careers as well as Scottish and Welsh Government-funded employment support.
In Northern Ireland, health, skills, careers and all aspects of employment support are transferred matters. We will work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive, including sharing best practice with the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for Communities about how our reforms to reduce economic inactivity and support disabled people and people with a health condition are working.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many black and white television licences have been issued in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The BBC publishes information about the number of licences in force in its Annual Report and Accounts. For the years 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 there has consistently been approximately 4,000 monochrome licences in force.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the aim set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan to reduce the number of hospital admissions for heart attacks and strokes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the second highest cause of premature death in England. It affects seven million people, causes one in four premature deaths and 1.6 million disability adjusted life years.
Whilst it is not possible to categorise whether a person’s CVD was preventable, almost 40% of the disease burden in England is due to preventable risk factors, such as tobacco, alcohol, obesity and high blood pressure. Over 75% of deaths from CVD are linked to preventable risk factors.
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. All three shifts are relevant to improving outcomes for those experiencing heart attacks or strokes. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their conditions closer to home and help to reduce hospital admissions.
We are engaging with stakeholders to put the best available evidence and expert opinion at the heart of this ambition and to gather a diverse range of views. This includes from the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, Stroke Association, Heart UK, UCL Partners, Association of Directors of Public Health and Local Government.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths of working age people there have been as a result of cardiovascular disease in each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Lord Weir of Ballyholme
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
26 March 2025
Dear Lord Weir of Ballyholme,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths of working age people there have been as a result of cardiovascular disease in each of the past three years (HL6089).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish regular statistics on deaths in England and Wales. These statistics are based on information recorded when deaths are certified and registered. They are based on when the death was registered rather than when it occurred. The number of deaths registered in England and Wales over 2021 to 2023 where the underlying cause was cardiovascular disease, and the deceased was aged 16-64, can be found in Table 1.
Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause was cardiovascular disease in England and Wales, aged 16 to 64, deaths registered 2021 to 2023.
Year | Deaths |
2021 | 18,554 |
2022 | 18,869 |
2023 | 19,094 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
Any death assigned an underlying cause of death using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes I00-I99 was included. This will include deaths where the underlying cause was ischaemic heart disease, heart failure and cerebrovascular diseases. Further information on the definition can be found on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website1 .
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
1 https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/IX
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance they have made available to small firms in Northern Ireland who receive goods from Great Britain to ensure a smooth flow of trade.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the Government will ensure the interests of small businesses are embedded into our Industrial and Trade Strategies, as part of a comprehensive approach to delivering on our economic growth mission. The Windsor Framework established a broad set of arrangements to support Great Britain-based businesses to move goods to Northern Ireland, including to small businesses based in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme reduces checks and administrative burdens on retail agrifood movements. The Northern Ireland Plant Health Label scheme removes unnecessary costs and enables previously prohibited goods to enter Northern Ireland. The first stage of the UK internal market scheme was implemented in 2023, and ensures thousands of businesses can move goods without being subject to customs duties. Businesses can also use the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme to waive any duties entirely, regardless of the destination of the goods, subject to an overall limit. The Government works closely with industry stakeholders and trade associations on the implementation of these arrangements and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards introducing guidelines for routine lipoprotein(a) testing.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone is able to benefit from evidence-based health care. Routine lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) measurement is not currently recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
The Department, and NHS England, will continue to look to the NICE for guidance on the role of Lp(a) testing. Should the NICE’s guidance change regarding the role of Lp(a) testing, the Department will assess any recommendations to inform future cardiovascular disease prevention policy.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they have met the Lipoprotein(a) Taskforce in the past six months, and when they are next scheduled to meet the taskforce.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Neither the Department nor NHS England have met with the Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) Taskforce in the past six months, and there are no meetings scheduled.
Routine Lp(a) testing is not recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, and there are currently no treatments available which specifically target Lp(a).
The Government continues to focus on improving the uptake of lipid lowering therapies and treatment, as per NICE targets, to manage cholesterol for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) international companies, and (2) jobs, have been created by Northern Ireland having dual access to the UK and EU markets.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Windsor Framework positions Northern Ireland as a unique gateway for the sale of goods to two of the world’s largest markets, as well as access to global markets through the UK's new trade agreements.
Whilst the Government has not made an assessment of the impact of dual market access on the number of jobs or international companies created, between 2019 and 2023, Northern Ireland’s sales of goods to Great Britain increased by £4.7bn or 69%, and sales to the EU increased by £2.9bn or 54%.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional cost of children who transfer into the state education system as a result of changes to business rates for private schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government’s impact note on the removal of eligibility of private schools for business rates charitable relief estimates an extremely limited impact from the business rates policy taking effect, with any movement estimated to represent 0.03% of the total state school pupil population in England. This impact note is attached and can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0129/ImpactNote.pdf.
Removing the eligibility for business rates charitable relief from private schools will raise approximately £140 million per year. Based on average per-pupil spending in England for the 2024/25 financial year, the government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector as a result of the business rates measure in England to steadily increase to a peak of around £20 million per annum after several years.