Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of when all retail products sold in the UK will be peat-free.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In 2015 2.1 million cubic metres of peat were sold in growing media products in the UK. Data was not collected for 2016 and 2017. Sales data for 2018 is currently being compiled and 2019 data will be collected later this year.
Of the peat sold in growing media products in 2015, 0.9 million cubic metres were extracted in the UK and 1.1 million cubic metres were extracted in the Republic of Ireland. The remaining 0.1 million cubic metres were extracted in other EU countries. This data comes from the same survey which gathered data for 2018 and 2019 and data will be available for subsequent years on this basis.
The forthcoming data will allow us to assess progress towards the phasing out of peat in both the retail and commercial horticulture markets. However, this data will not include some significant market changes this year with the introduction of new peat-free and products with significantly reduced peat content by major retailers and brands. Data from 2020 sales will be collected in 2021.
The Government is committed to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture in England by 2030. In 2011 we introduced a voluntary target for amateur gardeners to phase out the use of peat by 2020 and a final voluntary phase-out target of 2030 for professional growers of fruit, vegetables and plants. While some progress has been made, we stated in the 25 Year Environment Plan that we would consider implementing further measures if there is insufficient movement to peat alternatives by 2020. We will set out our plans around the use of peat in horticulture in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of when commercial horticulture will have ceased using peat and peat-based products.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In 2015 2.1 million cubic metres of peat were sold in growing media products in the UK. Data was not collected for 2016 and 2017. Sales data for 2018 is currently being compiled and 2019 data will be collected later this year.
Of the peat sold in growing media products in 2015, 0.9 million cubic metres were extracted in the UK and 1.1 million cubic metres were extracted in the Republic of Ireland. The remaining 0.1 million cubic metres were extracted in other EU countries. This data comes from the same survey which gathered data for 2018 and 2019 and data will be available for subsequent years on this basis.
The forthcoming data will allow us to assess progress towards the phasing out of peat in both the retail and commercial horticulture markets. However, this data will not include some significant market changes this year with the introduction of new peat-free and products with significantly reduced peat content by major retailers and brands. Data from 2020 sales will be collected in 2021.
The Government is committed to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture in England by 2030. In 2011 we introduced a voluntary target for amateur gardeners to phase out the use of peat by 2020 and a final voluntary phase-out target of 2030 for professional growers of fruit, vegetables and plants. While some progress has been made, we stated in the 25 Year Environment Plan that we would consider implementing further measures if there is insufficient movement to peat alternatives by 2020. We will set out our plans around the use of peat in horticulture in due course.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the (a) market value of courts sold as part of HM Courts and Tribunal reform programme and (b) the resale value of those courts after they entered private ownership.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
HMCTS achieves market value when selling surplus buildings and takes professional advice as part of the disposal process to make sure that this is the case.
Sale receipts for court and tribunal buildings sold since 2016 are as follows
Property | Receipt (£) |
Abergavenny Magistrates Court | 499,809 |
Barnstaple Magistrates' & County Court | 95,000 |
Bolton Magistrates' Court | 750,000 |
Bow County Court | 3,500,000 |
Bracknell Magistrates' Court | 1,000,001 |
Brecon Law Court | 575,000 |
Bridgend Magistrates Court | 375,000 |
Caerphilly Magistrates Court | 445,000 |
Carmarthen Law Courts (The Guildhall) | 223,000 |
Chester-le-Street Magistrates Court | 100,000 |
Dolgellau Mags & Crown Court | 67,509 |
Feltham Magistrates Court | 2,150,000 |
Gloucester Western Road | 850,000 |
Grantham Magistrates Court | 560,000 |
Greenwich Magistrates Court | 12,005,000 |
Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court | 43,000,000 |
Holyhead Magistrates Court (North Anglsey), | 112,500 |
Lambeth County Court | 100,000 |
Liverpool, Dale Street Magistrates | 1,000,000 |
Llangefni County Court | 72,000 |
Neath And Port Talbot County Court | 250,000 |
Northallerton Magistrates' Court | 450,000 |
Pontypridd Magistrates Court | 350,000 |
Rhyl County Court | 92,150 |
Richmond Upon Thames Magistrates Court | 9,850,000 |
Solihull Magistrates Court | 4,300,000 |
Spalding Magistrates' Court | 278,350 |
Tottenham (Enfield) Magistrates Court | 4,570,000 |
Waltham Forest Magistrates Court | 3,471,040 |
Watford Magistrates Court | 3,836,000 |
Weston Super Mare Magistrates' Court | 116,078 |
Woolwich County Court | 2,555,000 |
The table above excludes transfers of surplus properties to other government departments (such as Homes England) as these are not categorised as sale transactions, but as internal transfers within government.
Since the start of the Reform Programme all money raised from the sale of surplus buildings has been reinvested in the reform of HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold information on the resale value of former court and tribunal buildings. HM Courts and Tribunals Service does however monitor resale values in instances that could yield overage. As with any property, details of any subsequent sales can be obtained from the Land Registry.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to use the powers set out in the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018 to seek information on the special health service medicine selected yy medical professional bodies.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Department selects medicines to be included in the quarterly collection of information on special medicinal products based on the level of prescribing. If medical professional bodies have selected special medicinal products that they believe should be included with a reimbursement price in Part VIIIB of the Drug Tariff then the Department will consider including those products in the quarterly collection, but only if those products are prescribed in primary care. If products are not prescribed in primary care then there is no sales, purchase and volume information for special medicinal products supplied to primary care that can be provided by suppliers in the quarterly information collection.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what contingency plans his Department has to mitigate (a) staff and (b) pharmaceutical shortages in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department continues to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels in the health and social care sectors and we have been monitoring leaver and joiner rates of European Union staff on a regular basis since the 2016 referendum. While we do not expect our exit from the EU to lead to a significant number of health staff leaving on or around exit day, we are not complacent and are continually monitoring staffing levels and working with other Government Departments and local areas to put in place mechanisms to respond to any shortages.
We hugely value the contribution of EU staff working in health and social care and the Government has made it clear that we want them to stay. That is why EU staff in health and social care have had early access to the EU Settlement Scheme since December 2018, allowing them to secure their rights to live and work in the United Kingdom. In March 2019, we put in place legislation that ensures the continued recognition of qualifications from EU countries by all professional regulators covering the health and social care sectors. This means EU staff who are currently practising in the UK can continue to do so, and that professionals qualified in the European Economic Area and Switzerland can continue to apply for registration after ‘exit day’, even if we leave without a ‘deal’.
Furthermore, the NHS Long Term Plan sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the National Health Service will have the staff it needs, so that nurses and doctors can administer the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing. Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement, working closely with Sir David Behan, Chair of Health Education England, will lead a number of programmes to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. Baroness Harding and Sir David will present these initial recommendations to the Department this spring.
On medicines, the Department has been working closely with trade bodies, product suppliers, the NHS in England, and the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, to ensure the continuation of the supply of medicines to the whole of the UK in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit. This includes the NHS, social care and the independent sector and covers licensed medicines (prescription only, pharmacy and general sales list medicines) and unlicensed medicines (specials, investigational medicinal products and UK imports).
The Department, together with industry and the NHS, has analysed the supply chains of 12,300 medicines and we are grateful for excellent engagement from all parties, which means our plans are well advanced. As a result of this analysis, the Department has put in place a multi-layered approach to minimise any supply disruption.
We are confident that, if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products will be uninterrupted in the event of exiting the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Attorney-General has provided the Government with advice on the legitimacy of UK arms sales to Saudi and Emirati-led coalition forces.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government's legal advice is subject to legal professional privilege. The High Court’s judgment of July 2017 confirmed that we have in place a robust and rigorous process for assessing export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia. We assess all export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia on a case by case basis against the Consolidated Criteria. Our assessments take into account evidence from a range of sources including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, other government departments, the media and Non - Government Organisations reports.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General on the legality of arm sales to the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government's legal advice is subject to legal professional privilege. The High Court’s judgment of July 2017 confirmed that we have in place a robust and rigorous process for assessing export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia. We assess all export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia on a case by case basis against the Consolidated Criteria. Our assessments take into account evidence from a range of sources including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, other government departments, the media and NGO reports.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Attorney General on the legality of UK arm sales to the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government's legal advice is subject to legal professional privilege. The High Court’s judgment of July 2017 confirmed that we have in place a robust and rigorous process for assessing export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia. We assess all export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia on a case by case basis against the Consolidated Criteria. Our assessments take into account evidence from a range of sources including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, other government departments, the media and NGO reports.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her department has made of the severity of the financial obstacles to youth attendance at professional sporting events; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The cost of attending live sport for all ages is something that must be kept under constant review, and we support a fair deal for fans, but respect that ticket-pricing policies should remain a matter for event hosts.
The Government's sport strategy, Sporting Future, recognises how attending live sporting events can benefit individuals, communities and the wider sporting economy. Ten major sporting events supported by UK Sport saw over 1.1 million people attend in 2017, including the IAAF World Championships in London, where over 100,000 children under 16 attended at a ticket price of £9.58, signifying Usain Bolt's 100m world record. The World Para Athletics Championships similarly saw over 100,000 schoolchildren attend, with 30,000 children being transported free of charge by Transport for London as part of a two session ring-fenced school project. The men's and women's World Series Triathlons held in Leeds in June also attracted over 50,000 spectators who were able to enjoy the events for free.
Football clubs are also offering concessions on ticket prices and associated costs for all fans, including younger supporters, which the recent BBC Price of Football 2017 study highlighted. Overall, English Football League (EFL) figures show that junior season ticket sales have increased by 37% over the past 10 years with 20% of all EFL club match attendees now under 16 years old. Premier League clubs agreed last season to cap the cost of away tickets to £30 up until 2019, and clubs are helping more with concessions on travel.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which anti-money laundering supervisory body is responsible for supervising the Trust and Company Services Provider that registered Intratex Sales LP (SL010150).
Answered by Simon Kirby
Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, HM Revenue and Customs supervises those Trust or Company Service Providers that do not fall under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority or legal or accountancy professional bodies. This includes company formation agents that register companies using Companies House web incorporation. HMRC is responsible for identifying firms that should be registered for supervision but are not. Supervisors, including HMRC, do not have access to details of all the transactions carried out by the firms supervised, and do not know which companies have been set up by specific agents.