House of Lords Business

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 9 December about the situation in Ethiopia; what steps they intend to take (1) to implement independent monitoring, (2) to protect human rights, and (3) to hold those responsible for human rights violations to account, in that countr… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports (1) that UN workers were shot at by Ethiopian forces in Tigray, and (2) that the provision of humanitarian aid to areas of Tigray that are not controlled by the government of Ethiopia has been blocked; and what steps they intend to take in response to the statement by the Internationa… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact of (1) removing, and (2) reducing the rate to 0 per cent for, VAT on domestic (a) renewable energy installations, and (b) energy efficiency measures, for 10 years on increasing the uptake of microgeneration in domestic properties.  HL11337

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 6 August (HL7322), what progress they have made on the travel plan for COP26; and what plans they have (1) to block book trains or carriages, (2) arrange special trains or carriages, and (3) to appoint official agents to arrange travel, for those attending COP26.  HL… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban the advertisement of high-polluting vehicles.  HL11339

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of avian influenza occurring at intensive poultry rearing units compared to the farming of poultry on open field sites; and whether they have identified any need to improve biosecurity measures for intensive poultry rearing units.  HL11340

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation comparable with the proposal by the European Commission to establish a circular economy for all batteries on the European market; and whether any such plans will include requirements for (1) environmentally and socially responsible extraction of raw materials, (2) recycla… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Berkeley to ask Her Majesty's Government why they have reduced Network Rail’s enhancement budget for the current five year Control Period whilst increasing spending on trunk road schemes; and what assessment they have made of how such a change in spending will contribute to their net-zero carbon emissions target.  HL11342

Lord Berkeley to ask Her Majesty's Government what is the funding allocation in the 2020 Spending Review for (1) enhancements and (2) new works, in the next five years for (a) Network Rail, (b) HS2, and c) Highways England; and for each (i) when such enhancements or works are planned to be complete for the use of the public, and (ii) how such enhancements or works contribute to th… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Field of Birkenhead to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to coordinate international partners to support Taiwan's sovereignty.  HL11344

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) crowding, and (2) corridor care, on nosocomial outbreaks of COVID-19 in hospitals.  HL11345

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) crowding, and (2) corridor care, in accident and emergency departments, on patient safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.  HL11346

Lord Foster of Bath to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Prime Minister on 9 December (HC Deb, col 840), what plans they have to set up a working party to take forward the Turn on the Subtitles campaign that includes representatives of (1) that campaign, (2) Government departments, and (3) children's programming broadcasters.  HL11347

Baroness Fox of Buckley to ask Her Majesty's Government which local authorities the Prime Minister’s Special Adviser on Transport and Infrastructure has had direct communication with since March about the installation of bicycle lanes; and whether he indicated to any councils that any local authority that failed to install bicycle lanes could have its powers as a local highways' a… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the The State of the Planet address by the United Nations Secretary-General at Columbia University on 2 December.  HL11349

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the deferred local elections which are expected to take place in May 2021 will be for (1) three, or (2) four, year terms of office.  HL11350

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of using schools as polling stations for the local elections in May, in particular if those schools are required to close (1) for polling day, and (2) to undertake a deep clean following polling day.  HL11351

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting government policies on (1) incomes, (2) unemployment levels, (3) furlough levels, (4) benefit payments, (5) the number of companies ceasing to trade, and (6) regional levels of GDP, in each region of England including London.  HL11352

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their assessment of proposals for (1) the preservation of the Queensbury Tunnel, and (2) the use of that tunnel as part of a cycleway between Queensbury and Keighley.  HL11353

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to establish, and (2) to publish, a register of participants of the Environmental Land Management Scheme; if so, where any such register will be published; and whether any such register will include detail on the scheme (a) requirements, and (b) participant’s (i) land holdings, (ii) land area, (iii) land manager… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to develop a national comprehensive severe asthma guideline to ensure that people with severe asthma are identified and treated correctly.  HL11355

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion by the Local Government Association in its report Spending Review 2020: On-the-Day Briefing, published on 25 November, that “no proposals for putting local welfare funding on a more sustainable footing to ensure a consistent approach to locally-led support to add… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide long-term sustainable funding to local government for councils (1) to undertake preventative work to address the causes of hardship and disadvantage, and (2) provide support to those households who need it.  HL11357

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government how the Department for Work and Pensions will use the information it collects from councils on the implementation of the Winter Grant Scheme to inform future approaches to supporting vulnerable low-income families.  HL11358

Baroness Manzoor to ask Her Majesty's Government who sets the date for SATS examinations; why the date for such examinations has been set for the week beginning 10 May 2021; what assessment they have made of the impact of such examinations taking place in that week on those who will be celebrating Eid in that same period; what action they are taking to support any (1) schools, (2)… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Manzoor to ask Her Majesty's Government how long the immunity resulting from the COVID-19 vaccines lasts for in different (1) age, and (2) ethnic, groups.  HL11360

Baroness Manzoor to ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken on the impact of the COVID-19 (1) virus, and (2) vaccines, on the development of embryos in the (a) first, (b) second, and (c) third, trimesters of pregnancy.  HL11361

Baroness Manzoor to ask Her Majesty's Government what information they had about the impact of the COVID-19 vaccines on people with pre-existing health conditions prior to authorising the use of those vaccines.  HL11362

Baroness Manzoor to ask Her Majesty's Government how many operations were conducted by private healthcare providers on behalf of the NHS in (1) March, (2) April, and (3) May; whether any contracts with such providers to provide such operations included financial penalties relating to the number of operations to be undertaken and any subsequent lack of uptake; if so, (a) what were… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the total estimated cost of the report by the Conduct Committee: The conduct of Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (HL Paper 185).  HL11364

Lord Pearson of Rannoch to ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the cost of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to date; and what they estimate the total cost of that Inquiry will be.  HL11365

Baroness Randerson to ask Her Majesty's Government which rail upgrade projects will be (1) cancelled, and (2) reduced in scope, as a result of the reduction in the five year rail enhancements budget.  HL11366

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the UK’s preparedness for the end of the transition period following the UK's departure from the EU.  HL11367

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) maintain jobs, and (2) support businesses, after the end of the transition period following the UK's departure from the EU.  HL11368

Lord Robathan to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), what assessment they have made of the efficacy of lockdowns in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.  HL11369

Lord Robathan to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many hospitals have no spare bed capacity; and how many beds are currently occupied above the seasonal norm.  HL11370

Lord Robathan to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many beds are currently occupied in each of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals.  HL11371

Lord Robathan to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), how many people have been infected with COVID-19 in the UK.  HL11372

Lord Robathan to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bethell on 1 December (HL Deb, cols 717–21), what assessment they have made of the life expectancy of people dying from COVID-19 compared with those dying from other illnesses.  HL11373

The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Our work on motor finance—final findings, published on 1 March 2019, and the decision by the FCA announced on 28 July to ban discretionary commission models of car finance, what assessment they have made of whether personal contract purchase finance… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between HSBC Bank and the Chinese Communist Party.  HL11375

The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to HSBC Bank following that bank's suspension of the bank accounts of pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong.  HL11376

Lord Scriven to ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards they have put in place to ensure equitable outcomes for prosecutions using the single justice procedure introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.  HL11377

Lord Scriven to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the disproportionate rate of fines issued to BAME communities under regulations introduced to address the COVID-19 pandemic.  HL11378

Lord Truscott to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to HSBC Bank following that bank's suspension of the bank accounts of pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong.  HL11379

Lord Truscott to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the independence of HSBC Bank from the undue influence of foreign governments.  HL11380