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 |
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK citizens were (1) fatally, and (2) seriously injured when travelling outside the UK, broken down as far as possible into road traffic accidents and other causes, in the latest year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
In 2018, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were informed of the deaths of 83 British nationals involved in road traffic accidents overseas.
The 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.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to appoint an inspector to review the compliance of the current owners Bembridge Harbour, and their related companies, with (1) the Piers and Harbour Order (Bembridge Harbour) Confirmation Act 1963, and (2) the Department for Transport's Ports good governance guide.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to appoint any inspector to consider matters relating to Bembridge Harbour. The Department has received correspondence from some stakeholders in respect of the harbour, which is receiving consideration and will be responded to in due course.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households in the social rented sector in England in 2010 were paying (1) social rents, (2) affordable rent, (3) market rent, and (4) other terms; and how many were paying each in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department does not hold information on the number of social tenant households split by social and affordable rent. In England the English Housing Survey estimates the total number of households in the social rented sector as 3.9 million in 2017/18.
The Department holds data on the amount of stock owned by Local Authorities broken down by Social Rent and Affordable Rent, this information has been provided in table1 (attached)
Data on Private Registered Provider owned stock is collected by Homes England. The number of Private Registered Provider stock is split by all social stock and units for affordable rent, this information has been provided in table 2 (attached).
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they are making for customs arrangements after Brexit; and what discussions they have had with (1) port users, and (2) port operators in (a) the UK, and (b) mainland Europe, on the possible impact of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government has been clear that as we leave the European Union, we will also leave the EU Customs Union. In assessing the options for the UK’s future outside the Customs Union, the Government is guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK, and by its strategic objectives:
Ensuring UK-EU trade is as frictionless as possible;
Avoiding a ‘hard border’ between Ireland and Northern Ireland; and
Establishing an independent international trade policy.
On 6th July 2018, the Government released a statement confirming it will publish a White Paper which will set out proposals for the future relationship with the EU. This includes proposals that the UK and the EU would work together on the phased introduction of a new Facilitated Customs Arrangement that would remove the need for customs checks and controls between the UK and the EU as if a combined customs territory. The precise nature of the new customs arrangement is subject to negotiations with the EU
HMRC and other departments working with the Border Delivery Group are engaging port users and operators, domestically and at key EU ports, to understand what the synergies and constraints are in different locations, and to ensure locations are operationally ready to meet the requirements of future customs arrangements with the EU.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions ministers have had with organisations promoting non-chemical pest control; and what assessment they have made of progress made in developing forms of non-chemical pest control.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Ministers have met with a range of organisations to discuss all aspects of the development of farming policy. This includes organisations that promote non-chemical pest control such as organic farming.
“A Green Future”, the Government’s 25 year plan to improve the environment, sets out our plans to protect crops while reducing the environmental impact of pesticides by making Integrated Pest Management (IPM) central to our approach. The key principle of IPM is maximising the use of non-chemical options for pest control. Sustainable biological, physical and other non-chemical methods must be preferred to chemical methods if they provide satisfactory pest control.
Much good work is already taking place to research, develop and promote means to move away from pesticides. This includes: plant breeding for pest-resistant varieties; the use of natural predators; the development of biopesticides; and the use of a variety of cultural methods to reduce pest pressures. We are considering what progress has been made with the development and adoption of non-chemical pest control and what more can be done to overcome barriers to adoption.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 14 May (HL Deb, col 413), what funding they have allocated to support businesses and organisations in Salisbury affected by the decline in tourism following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal; and how much of such funding has been disbursed to date.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
DCMS has provided £200,000 of funding to support the visitor economy of the Salisbury area following recent events. £100,000 will be spent through the GREAT campaign to promote Salisbury internationally as a tourist destination. £100,000 has been allocated to VisitWiltshire to support a variety of promotional activities.
Additionally, BEIS, MHCLG and the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership provided funding to Wiltshire Council to help them support businesses directly affected by the incident and to encourage broader collaborative efforts to promote recovery and growth.
The majority of this money has now been allocated by Wiltshire Council and has benefited 60 businesses impacted by the incident.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 19 June (HL Deb, cols 1929–31), what steps, if any, they are taking to control the use of short term lets in leaseholder and tenanted premises in London that were originally social housing where the public sector is now the freeholder and where the contract with the tenant or leaseholder proscribes commercial activity.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Individual leases and tenancy agreements are a matter for landlords and tenants. Landlords should not unreasonably prohibit sub-letting, and the Courts can adjudicate in this matter, taking account of the relevant covenants.
Where permission under the contract is required to sub-let but is not obtained, landlords already have legal routes to enforce the contract and the Government has no plans to introduce additional controls.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for future relationships post-Brexit between (1) UK public agencies, and (2) UK industry, and the European Environment Agency.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Our future relationship with the EU is still to be determined and is the subject of negotiations. As part of Exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States our future status and arrangements with regard to EU bodies, including the European Environment Agency.