House of Lords Business

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government how they respond to the assessment of Lord Berkeley, former deputy chairman of the Oakervee Review into HS2, that (1) Parliament has been misled about the cost of HS2, (2) it could cost more than £100 billion, and (3) the costs are “out of control”.  HL96

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the risk to Eritrean refugees of being forcibly returned to Eritrea by the government of Sudan contrary to the principle of non-refoulement.  HL97

Earl Attlee to ask Her Majesty's Government how many command appointments there are in the Royal Navy at one star and above, broken down by role.  HL98

Earl Attlee to ask Her Majesty's Government how many command appointments there are in the British army at one star and above, broken down by role.  HL99

Earl Attlee to ask Her Majesty's Government how many command appointments there are in the Royal Air Force at one star and above, broken down by role.  HL100

Earl Attlee to ask Her Majesty's Government how many command appointments there are that are not single service, broken down by role.  HL101

Lord Beecham to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they were consulted by London North Eastern Railway in relation to changes in the system of off-peak return tickets which have increased fares on the East Coast line.  HL102

Lord Bird to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent any increase in childhood deprivation.  HL103

Lord Birt to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the 0.3 per cent improvement in UK productivity over the last decade; and why UK productivity is below that of other comparable countries.  HL104

Lord Birt to ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to local authorities and the Greater London Authority on the (1) closure of bridges, (2) factors to be considered when deciding to close a bridge to traffic, and (3) length of time for which bridges should remain closed.  HL105

Lord Blunkett to ask Her Majesty's Government how many honours were awarded in the New Year Honours List to people in (1) London, and (2) each English city region that has a mayor, per head of population of that city or region.  HL106

Lord Blunkett to ask Her Majesty's Government how many of each category of honours were awarded in the New Year Honours List to people in (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) each of the regions of England, as a (a) number, and (b) percentage, of that country or region's population.  HL107

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth to ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in improving education outcomes for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities.  HL108

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve participation in public bodies by members of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.  HL109

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote infrastructure projects in Wales.  HL110

Baroness Corston to ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to begin recording statistics on (1) the resettlement of offenders leaving prisons, and (2) prisoners who are released with no fixed abode.  HL111

Baroness Coussins to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat to the security of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, especially the Embera–Wounaan, on the Pacific coast of Colombia, following reports of armed skirmishes between paramilitaries, the Army of National Liberation and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for control of the land.… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Coussins to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of collusion between the Colombian security forces and illegal armed groups.  HL113

Baroness Coussins to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK's investment of funding to support the biodiversity hotspot on the Pacific coast of Colombia, of the (1) activities of paramilitary groups in the region, and (2) threat of displacement to the indigenous communities.  HL114

Baroness Cox to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Chief of Cabinet to the Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons played any role in redrafting the experts' report of their findings with regard to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma, Syria.  HL115

Baroness Cox to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Mayday Rescue Foundation, in its role as a UK-implementing partner, was involved in choosing witnesses for interview by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Douma Fact-Finding Mission on behalf of the UK; and whether they are aware of any investigation for possible financial irregularities in respect of t… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Crawley to ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance, if any, they have offered to the government of Australia to deal with the bushfire crises.  HL117

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria were used to choose the towns which may receive funding of up to £25 million each under the Stronger Towns Fund; whether there was a long list of towns from which they were chosen; and if so, which towns were on that long list but not chosen; whether a ranking system was used in the choice of those towns selected to receiv… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so when, they intend to lay orders for new parliamentary constituency boundaries before Parliament; and if not, what other proposals they intend to make on constituency boundaries.  HL119

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide local licensing authorities with greater powers to control the use of fireworks by members of the public at all times of day and all days of the year.  HL120

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government, for each of the last five years, (1) how many instances of infestation by Japanese Knotweed were recorded on Network Rail land and property, (2) how many complaints were received, and what was the cost to Network Rail of action taken to eradicate the species; (3) what action Network Rail takes in response to infestations and complaints… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government how the fund for re-opening railway lines closed by the Beeching Cuts will be administered; how decisions will be made on which lines it will be used for; how that fund is intended to interact with the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline system and Governance of Railway Investment Projects; and what over what period of time the funds will… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government how many arrests were made at the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in London in October 2019, how many of those arrested were (1) held overnight; (2) subsequently charged; and (3) released after being given a caution; and of those charged, how many (a) have had the charges dropped, (b) have been cleared, (c) have been found guilty of… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Green of Deddington to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the overall number of migrants coming to the UK following the end of free movement.  HL124

Baroness Hooper to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the necessary appointments of new judges are made to the World Trade Organisation Dispute Settlement Body in order to be able to enforce any rulings on international trade disputes.  HL125

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government what length of contract has been agreed with Amazon to provide health data from the NHS.  HL126

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government what benefits are anticipated to be accrued by the NHS as a result of the contract with Amazon to provide health data from the NHS.  HL127

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the artificial intelligence system used in relation to the contract with Amazon to provide health data from the NHS; and how that system compares with alternatives on the market.  HL128

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that Amazon staff working on the contract with Amazon to provide health data from the NHS will receive a living wage and be treated with dignity and decency.  HL129

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the NHS to meet the four hour accident and emergency waiting time target.  HL130

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the NHS to meet the Consultant Led Treatment waiting time target.  HL131

Lord Hutton of Furness to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost savings resulting from the use of pooled investment funds in the Local Government Pension Scheme.  HL132

Lord Hutton of Furness to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost savings resulting from the 2014 reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme.  HL133

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conditions under which migrants detained in Libya and Niger are held; and in particular, what steps they intend to take to ensure that those on boats who are stopped by the EU-funded Libyan coastguard are not subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment.  HL134

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the pledges by EU member states to re-settle 30,000 refugees in 2020, what steps they intend to take to encourage non-EU member states to make similar pledges.  HL135

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to Greece to speed up the movement of refugees and migrants from camps on the Aegean islands to the mainland.  HL136

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take, including in conjunction with other countries, to ensure that the first Palestinian elections in 13 years are held; and in particular, that Palestinians in East Jerusalem are able to vote.  HL137

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about (1) the convictions of 4,519 persons during the five years ending in June 2019 for failing to comply with military orders declaring closed military zones, and (2) the use of regulations dating from the time of the League of Nations Mandate.  HL138

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of permitted development rights for the deployment of ground mounted solar arrays which rotate to track the movement of the sun.  HL139

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to update permitted development rights to facilitate deployment of ground mounted solar arrays which rotate to track the movement of the sun.  HL140

Lord Lexden to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of section 63 of the Children and Families Act 2014 in ensuring that parents of children with special educational needs or a disability are able to choose an independent school if that is their wish.  HL141

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government when the government of the United States of America first informed them of their military operation on 3 January which killed General Qasem Soleimani.  HL142

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether the government of the United States' drone strike on 3 January constituted defensive action under international law.  HL143

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current situation in Mali and the wider Sahel region; what discussions they have had with the government of the United States about the number of US troops in West Africa further to reports that that government is considering a full or partial withdrawal; and what assessment they have mad… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken into the correlation between reductions in Public Health England's anti-smoking budget and the number of smokers in England; and what are their projections for the future costs to the NHS of treating smoking-related illnesses as a result of any such reductions.  HL145

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government when they last made representations to the government of Iran about the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe; when the Prime Minister last did so directly; whether they have done so since 3 January; and in all such cases, what response they received.  HL146

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their understanding of the current situation in Hong Kong.  HL147

Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court to ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards implementing the recommendations of the review of quality assurance of government models, published on 5 March 2013.  HL148

Lord Naseby to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the International Crisis Group is in receipt of any Government funding; and if so, whether that funding is provided to the charity (1) in general, or (2) for specific projects.  HL149

Lord Naseby to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have, or seek, a two-state solution for Sri-Lanka.  HL150

Lord Patten to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits to Coventry University of having, in addition to the vice-chancellor, five deputy vice-chancellors, eight pro-vice-chancellors and seven assistant pro-vice-chancellors.  HL151

Lord Patten to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of illegal immigrants living in (1) England, (2) Northern Ireland, (3) Scotland, and (4) Wales.  HL152

Lord Patten to ask Her Majesty's Government whether all local authority planning departments are required to employ or use landscape architects when assessing new housing or commercial developments that are proposed; and if not, whether they intend to require such architects to be used.  HL153

Lord Patten to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of current tree cover in the South Somerset District.  HL154

Lord Patten to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the present state of relations between the UK and Tunisia.  HL155

Lord Patten to ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) economic, and (2) security, assistance they intend to make available to Tunisia in 2020.  HL156

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove the restriction on Ofsted's inspection of schools which teach for less than 18 hours a week.  HL157

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of women and girls raped by Muslim men involved in grooming gangs since 1997.  HL158

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had, and with whom, about the investigation of whether any police officers, social workers and council officials failed to fulfil their statutory duty to protect victims of grooming gangs; and whether (1) there have been any, or (2) there are planned to be, prosecutions of any such officers a… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government how many council officials have been (1) charged with, (2) convicted for, and (3) are awaiting trial for, dereliction of duty for failure to support victims of grooming gangs since 1997.  HL160

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government, following the murders of Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones on 29 November 2019, what plans they have to reassess the recommendations of the Review of Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and youth justice led by Ian Acheson, published in August 2016.  HL161

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there has been any increased incidence of osteoporosis in women who wear the Burka.  HL162

Baroness Quin to ask Her Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made about the continuing imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.  HL163

The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of fly-tipping in England; whether it has increased over the last five years; and whether local authorities have sufficient powers to prevent fly-tipping.  HL164

Lord Shinkwin to ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of job outcomes for disabled people that can be definitively attributed to the Disability Confident Scheme; and what methodology they used to support that estimate.  HL165

Lord Shinkwin to ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) total employers, and (2) the total workforce, in the UK who fall within the Disability Confident Scheme.  HL166

Lord Shinkwin to ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence there is that organisations signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme (1) are more inclusive of disabled employees and jobseekers, and (2) employ disabled people in larger numbers, than employers who have not signed up to that scheme.  HL167

Lord Shinkwin to ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish their response to the Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting Consultation, first published on 18 October 2018.  HL168

Lord Shinkwin to ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation has been made of the decision to implement mandatory gender pay gap reporting.  HL169

Lord Shinkwin to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the briefing by Kim Hoque and Nick Bacon Response to the UK Government's reforms of Disability Confident level 3, published in November 2019.  HL170

Lord Singh of Wimbledon to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the comments by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 is fundamentally discriminatory against Muslims, what representations they are making to the government of India about ensuring equal treatment of people of all faiths when granting citizenship.  HL171

Lord Singh of Wimbledon to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of India about the proposed National Register of Citizens; and in particular reports (1) that the Register may leave more than two million Muslims in Assam without citizenship and stateless, and (2) that detention camps are being constructed for such stateless persons… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the interim report by the Competition and Markets Authority Online platforms and digital advertising, published on 18 December, in particular the consideration that online platforms should allow users to turn off personalised advertisements.  HL173

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by United for All Ages Together in the 2020s, published on 7 January; and what action, if any, they plan to take in response.  HL174

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with UK Universities about reports that universities are not reporting crime statistics.  HL175

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to introduce legislation to ban deepfake videos which promote misinformation.  HL176

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support technology start-ups.  HL177

Baroness Thornhill to ask Her Majesty's Government what are the essential differences between the existing legislation for Starter Homes and the new First Homes Initiative announced in the Queen’s Speech; and whether they have a timetable for the proposed consultation on the initiative.  HL178

Baroness Thornhill to ask Her Majesty's Government on what aspects of housing and planning reform announced in the recent Queen's speech they plan to introduce legislation; and whether they have a timetable for the introduction of those housing and planning related initiatives.  HL179

Baroness Thornhill to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to encourage local authorities to deliver the required number of new homes; whether the Housing Delivery Test will continue; and if so, what are the penalties for under-performing authorities.  HL180

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to give evidence to the International Criminal Court’s proposed investigation into war crimes allegedly committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.  HL181

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current assessment of the findings of the report Gaza in 2020: a liveable place?, published by the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process in 2012.  HL182

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the Human Rights Watch report Born without civil rights: Israel’s use of draconian military orders to repress Palestinians in the West Bank, published in December 2019.  HL183

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK Overseas Development Aid focuses on poverty alleviation and building the capacity of recipients.  HL184

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of having a dedicated department staffed with personnel with experience in development to ensure (1) that aid is delivered effectively, and (2) the best investment on return for the UK taxpayer.  HL185

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to retain (1) the Department for International Development as a separate Whitehall department, with a Secretary of State for International Development, and (2) the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.  HL186

Lord Vinson to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that criticism of any religion is not regarded as a hate crime.  HL187

Lord Willis of Knaresborough to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to establish an independent public advocate.  HL188

Baroness Young of Old Scone to ask Her Majesty's Government whether either the proposed (1) Nature for Climate Fund or (2) Blue Planet Fund will be open to UK Overseas Territories.  HL189