Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what terms of reference apply to the activities of practitioner-patient consultative groups; and what guidance they give to such groups.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice (GP) Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) are a requirement in the GP Contract, as specified in The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations. Providers must establish and maintain a group to obtain feedback from patients on the services they deliver.
The form a PPG takes is not specified. This provides flexibility for practices to work in partnership with people and communities in the ways that best support the local population. The contractor is expected to engage with the group at frequent intervals throughout the financial year, as agreed with the group, with the view to obtain, review, and implement patient feedback. As such, PPGs are financed under the Global Sum Payments, which covers all services included in these regulations.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's ability to check the competence of drivers following convictions and, in the case of older drivers, renewing their licences, (2) the rigour with which medical practitioners and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency judge medical evidence in such cases, and (3) whether the driver is effectively kept informed during these processes.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s role in the driving endorsement process, is to record information provided by the court service in Great Britain. The courts are responsible for the conviction and sentencing of individuals who commit road traffic offences. The DVLA receives notifications of driving endorsements, including penalty points and disqualifications from the courts which are then recorded on the individual’s driving licence record. The DVLA is not responsible for checking driving competence following a conviction.
Everyone renewing their driving licence at the age of 70 and above must declare any relevant medical conditions and whether they can meet the eyesight requirements for driving. It is an offence to make a false declaration. If a driver of any age notifies the DVLA of a medical condition, an investigation will be carried out. This investigation can involve requesting information from the individual’s healthcare professionals or the driving licence holder/applicant may be asked to attend a medical examination or a driving assessment.
The DVLA assesses the information obtained during a medical investigation against the medical standards of fitness to drive and only those who can meet the standards will be issued with a driving licence. Drivers who meet the standards but have medical conditions that are progressive and are likely to deteriorate will be issued with a driving licence of shorter duration so that their continuing ability to drive safely can be assessed more regularly.
The DVLA provides customers with confirmation of when the investigation has started, when further information is being requested from healthcare professionals or if drivers are required to attend an examination or driving assessment. The DVLA may also contact customers if there is a delay, when more information is needed or when a licensing decision has been made.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they anticipate that Ofgem, under its new powers in the Energy Act 2023, will produce regulations for heat networks and district heating.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
The Government is launching the heat network market framework in January 2026 which will introduce an authorisation regime for suppliers and operators.
Ofgem have just launched a consultation on authorisation conditions, the rules and regulations heat network suppliers must adhere to. Ofgem aim for these to be in place in time for regulatory commencement.
The consumer advocacy and support functions carried out by the Energy Ombudsman, Citizens Advice and Consumer Scotland will launch ahead of regulation in April 2025.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government which technologies are most appropriate for gas-based District Heating Schemes (DHS) to adopt in order to contribute to national decarbonisation targets; what estimate they have made of the approximate cost of the transition by DHS to low-carbon heat; and what methods of financing could be used to support this transition.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Heat networks can use a variety of low-carbon heat sources, for example large heat pumps, industrial waste heat and geothermal. No one solution will be appropriate for every DHS - a mix of technologies will support heat decarbonisation.
Whilst the capital cost of many of these low-carbon sources is higher than gas combustion technologies there are a range of private financing options. The Government has itself invested £288m in the decarbonisation of heat networks through the Green Heat Network Fund.
Longer term the Government intends to introduce Heat Networks Zoning by 2025 to further grow the number of low-carbon heat networks across England and in ‘Powering Up Britain’ the Government committed to outlining a clear approach to price rebalancing by the end of 2024, to lower the running costs of these lower-carbon technologies.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of new homes completed in 2022 were for social housing; what is the figure net of social housing demolitions and sales; and what proportion of the net social housing was for social rent.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne
The most recent figures available are for the financial year 2021-22. In that year, there were 210,070 new build homes completed. Of these, 56,674 were affordable housing, including 6,635 for social rent. This means that 27% of all new build homes was affordable housing. A further 2,682 new affordable homes, including 1,009 for social rent, were delivered through acquisitions of existing stock or had no information available as to whether they were acquisitions or new build.
These data are available in Live Tables 120 and 1000 via the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
The department has released experimental statistics which estimate a net measure of the supply of affordable housing for rent by summarising the in and outflows to this sector of the housing stock in England. These statistics are still in development and so have a wider degree of uncertainty than more established figures. For 2021-22, the figures show that local authority affordable housing stock for rent decreased by nearly 7,200 while the rental stock owned by private registered providers increased by just over 18,900, an estimated net increase of 11,700 affordable homes for rent for these providers combined. Not all providers of affordable housing are covered, as non-registered providers and units where the provider is unknown are not included. This was published alongside the “Social housing sales and demolitions 2021-22” statistical release. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/social-housing-sales-and-demolitions-2021-22-england/social-housing-sales-and-demolitions-2021-22#net-supply-of-affordable-housing-for-rent
The currently available data do not allow for a breakdown by tenure, including for social rent. Work has been ongoing with local authorities and the Regulator of Social Housing (which collects data from private registered providers) to collect all data necessary to provide a more comprehensive estimate, including by tenure. We hope to present this in future statistical publications.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what current laws or regulations govern the (1) use, and (2) parking, of electric, and non-electric, bicycles and scooters on pedestrian pavements; and what proposals they are considering for strengthening such laws and regulations, in particular in respect of leaving undocked hire bicycles and scooters on the pavement.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
It is an offence to use a carriage (which would include a bicycle or e-bicycle) on a footway under s.72 of the Highways Act 1835. “Carriage” may also include an e-scooter, but it is also an offence under s.34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle (which would include an e-scooter, though not an e-bicycle) on the footpath. Footway and footpath are defined differently, but generally refer to what is called the pavement.
In London, it is an offence to park a vehicle on a footpath under s.15 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 unless authorised through an administrative resolution. For the purposes of this section “vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle. Outside London, parking on pavements is permitted unless specifically prohibited by a local authority making a Traffic Regulation Order to that effect. The Department for Transport is currently considering consultation responses on proposals to tackle pavement parking outside London.
It is an offence under s.22 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to leave a vehicle (including bicycles, e-bicycles and e-scooters) on a road (including a pavement) in a position that carries a danger of injury to others and under s.137 of the Highways Act 1980 wilfully to obstruct passage.
Enforcement of these regulations is a matter for the police. All road users have a duty to behave in a safe, responsible manner and to follow the rules in The Highway Code.
When parliamentary time allows, the Department intends to create a new licensing framework for shared mobility operations, including bicycles, e-bicycles and e-scooters, giving local transport authorities the additional powers they need to shape and manage cycle, e-cycle and e-scooter rental schemes. This would include the ability to set rules about the management of rental cycles, e-cycles and e-scooters on the pavement.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional capacity they forecast is needed on the National Grid to accommodate the level of demand from the anticipated increase in the number of electric vehicles by 2030; and what additional capital costs are required by such increase in capacity for transmission and distribution per annum up to 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Electricity Networks Strategic Framework sets out the Government’s approach to readying the network for the increase in peak electricity demand anticipated as we electrify transport and other sectors. We expect peak electricity demand to increase to approximately 80 GW in 2030 of which electric vehicle demand makes up approximately 10%, before any demand side response. Due to existing spare distribution network capacity, we do not expect this to lead to any significant rise in distribution network capital costs before 2030. We expect £30 billion of transmission network investment between 2023 and 2030.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to their targets for decarbonisation by (1) 2030, and (2) 2035, what approximate proportion of homes they estimate are likely to be powered by (a) hydrogen-based gas, (b) air or ground source heat pumps, and (c) by other forms of electrification.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A range of technologies will be required to decarbonise the way we heat our homes. The precise mix of technologies in 2035 is unclear, in part because strategic decisions on the role for hydrogen heating are still to be taken. Heat Pumps and Heat Networks will have an important role to play in all future scenarios with at least 7.1 million homes using heat pumps in 2035.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to announce a new road safety action plan as recommended by the recent Road Safety Management Capacity Review commissioned by the Department for Transport.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport intends to publish a refreshed road safety statement and the two-year road safety action plan later this year.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK citizens required consular assistance as a result of fatal or serious road traffic accidents, broken down by country, in the latest year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) assisted over 3,500 British nationals who were hospitalised around the world in 2018. The FCO does not collect data on the cause of their hospitalisation.
In 2018, the FCO were informed of the deaths of 83 British nationals involved in road traffic accidents overseas. This is broken down by country in the attached table.
Data protection principles prevent the release of numbers equal or less than five because of the risk of identifying the individuals concerned.
Australia | ≤5 |
Belarus | ≤5 |
Canada | ≤5 |
Croatia | ≤5 |
Czech Republic | ≤5 |
France | ≤5 |
Germany | ≤5 |
Iceland | ≤5 |
India | ≤5 |
Ireland | ≤5 |
Italy | ≤5 |
Kenya | ≤5 |
Mauritius | ≤5 |
Mexico | ≤5 |
Morocco | ≤5 |
Netherlands | ≤5 |
New Zealand | ≤5 |
Nigeria | ≤5 |
Oman | ≤5 |
Portugal | ≤5 |
Saudi Arabia | ≤5 |
Seychelles | ≤5 |
South Africa | ≤5 |
Spain | 13 |
Sweden | ≤5 |
Thailand | 6 |
Trinidad and Tobago | ≤5 |
Turkey | ≤5 |
United Arab Emirates | ≤5 |
USA | ≤5 |