Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from the Report of the Armoured Cavalry Programme (Ajax) Lessons Learned Review, published on 19 May.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Review highlighted a culture that led to issues not being escalated and makes recommendations to improve that and information flows.
We are working to build and sustain an environment of psychological safety in our programmes where individuals feel they can raise issues, and reinforcing the requirement to share information across organisational boundaries in support of a "One Team" approach.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the effect of the two-child limit to families on benefits in the UK.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The two-child limit policy aims to introduce fairness between households claiming benefits and taxpayers who support themselves solely through work. Families on benefits should face the same financial choices when deciding to grow their family as those supporting themselves solely through work. A benefits structure adjusting automatically to family size is unsustainable. Child Benefit continues to be paid for all children in eligible families as well as an additional amount for any disabled children.
Statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children was published in July 2022 and can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-and-child-tax-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2022
Some key statistics from the link below are as follows:
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to curb the decline of the High Street in many towns and cities.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government is introducing several measures to help places have more control over their high streets and town centres. High Street Rental Auctions, for example, aim to empower places to tackle decline by bringing vacant units back into use. They will make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.
This builds on long-term investment in our high streets and small businesses, including through £2.35 billion worth of Towns Deals, £830 million Future High Streets Fund and the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund.
Over five years the Government's High Streets Task Force is providing support to local leaders by giving high streets and town centres expert advice to help adapt and thrive, with local authorities receiving access to expert support in areas such as placemaking, planning and design.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the time taken to secure a driving test appointment.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
People can book driving tests up to 6 months before they take their test.
As of 19 June 2023, there were 545,138 car practical driving tests booked and 53,292 driving tests available within the next 24-weeks.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve safety for people using electric scooters on the public highway.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Safety will always be a top priority as the Department considers options for regulating e-scooters. E-scooter trials were launched in July 2020 and were designed to assess the safety of e-scooters and their wider impacts.
The Department commissioned an independent evaluation of the e-scooter trials, covering data up to December 2021. The evaluation examines how and why rental e-scooters are used, as well as safety.
The Department published the findings report of the national evaluation of e-scooter rental trials in England on 15 December 2022. The findings have already been used to inform updates in guidance and regulation of the e-scooter trials and will continue to be used to inform development of safety standards for micromobility legislation to be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the effectiveness of the Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998 (PACAR) prohibit anyone allowing children under the age of 13 to ride on machinery used in the course of agricultural operations.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) enforces the Regulations and considers they are clear in their intent and requirements. The provisions are well known in the agriculture industry and stem from protections that have been in place since 1958.
Within the last ten years, (since 01/04/2013), under the Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998, HSE have:
If followed, the Regulations are effective at controlling farm related risk to children under 13 years of age riding on farm machinery. However, they do not extend to control all farm related risk. These hazards include for example, cattle, moving vehicles, slurry lagoons, and bale stacks.
The risks presented by these other hazards can only effectively be controlled because HSE uses more general legislation in conjunction with specific guidance. The broader legislation relevant to the protection of children is:
HSE continues to monitor the legislative framework for the control of risk to children in agriculture and considers the legal provisions are sufficient to allow HSE to take proportionate enforcement action where necessary.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the health of the bee population in the UK.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The bee population is comprised of wild bees, of which there are more than 250 species in the UK, and honey bee colonies managed by beekeepers and bee farmers.
Defra’s indicator of the status of pollinating insects was last published in December 2022. Within this wider indicator, the wild bee index fluctuates around its initial value over much of the time series, and in 2019 (the latest year for which we have published data) it was estimated to be 2% higher than in 1980. However, a larger proportion of bee species have declined than increased over the long term (33% declined and 22% increased), as well as over the short term, (37% declined and 28% increased).
The wider pollinating insect indicator identifies changes in the distribution of wild bees and hoverflies in the UK and shows an overall decrease from 1987 onwards. In 2019 the indicator had declined by 21% compared to its value in 1980 and 6% compared to its value in 2014.
Protecting pollinators such as bees, and halting their decline, is a priority, and we are taking action to support them and the wider natural environment of which they are a vital component. Our legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 underlines our ambition. The Government is working alongside many partners to implement the provisions in the National Pollinator Strategy. The Strategy sets out how Government, conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers and researchers can work together to improve the status of wild and managed pollinating insect species in England on farmland, in urban areas and in gardens. Additionally, our Pollinator Action Plan for 2021-2024 sets out more specifically how we will continue to act to fulfil the vision, aims and objectives of the strategy.
Our annual Hive Count exercise indicates that numbers of managed honey bees have increased in recent years, from around 252,000 UK colonies in 2017 to 288,000 in 2022. Defra supports the honey bee population through the work of the National Bee Unit inspectorate, which operates our bee pest surveillance programmes and provides free training and advice to beekeepers, including on pest and disease recognition. Bee health is a devolved matter. However, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on bee health and, in 2020, we jointly published the Healthy Bees Plan 2030. The Welsh Government also funds the National Bee Unit to deliver a bee health programme in Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) maximise food production in the UK, and (2) enhance food security.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 61% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.
The Government committed to broadly maintain current levels of domestic food production in its Food Strategy, which also set out what we will do to create a more prosperous agri-food sector.
We have taken several steps to support the long-term resilience and profitability of the agricultural sector. For example, we are making Direct Payments in England in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period, to help farmers with their cashflow; we are committed to spend around £600 million on grants and other support for farmers to invest in productivity, animal health and welfare, innovation over three years; and we have provided 10,000 farmers with help and advice through the Future Farming Resilience Fund, which provides farmers with free advice to help farmers work out what to do for their business.
Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It recognises the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience and considers the UK's food supply sources overall, noting that domestic production and diversity of supply are both important to our food security. The next Food Security Report will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing for the creation of more community land trusts to build more social housing.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises that the community-led housing sector, of which housing co-operatives and community land trusts are an important part, offers significant untapped potential for helping to meet housing need across England. In addition to helping increase the rate of delivery of new housing, it can help deliver a range of benefits including diversifying the housebuilding sector, improving design and construction quality, developing modern methods of construction, and helping sustain local communities and local economies. The support and close involvement of the local community can enable the community-led approach to secure planning permission and deliver housing that could not necessarily be brought forward through mainstream development.
Since the most recent round of the Community Housing Fund (CHF) closed in March 2022, the Government has been considering what support it may provide to the community-led housing sector and a decision will be made in due course. In London, the Greater London Authority continues to deliver a programme to support for community-led housing using a grant of £38 million awarded to it from the CHF by this department in 2018/19.
For certain tenures of affordable housing, community-based groups - or their partner organisations - registered as providers of social housing may apply for capital grant through the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing for the building of more housing co-operatives.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises that the community-led housing sector, of which housing co-operatives and community land trusts are an important part, offers significant untapped potential for helping to meet housing need across England. In addition to helping increase the rate of delivery of new housing, it can help deliver a range of benefits including diversifying the housebuilding sector, improving design and construction quality, developing modern methods of construction, and helping sustain local communities and local economies. The support and close involvement of the local community can enable the community-led approach to secure planning permission and deliver housing that could not necessarily be brought forward through mainstream development.
Since the most recent round of the Community Housing Fund (CHF) closed in March 2022, the Government has been considering what support it may provide to the community-led housing sector and a decision will be made in due course. In London, the Greater London Authority continues to deliver a programme to support for community-led housing using a grant of £38 million awarded to it from the CHF by this department in 2018/19.
For certain tenures of affordable housing, community-based groups - or their partner organisations - registered as providers of social housing may apply for capital grant through the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).