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House of Lords Business

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Questions for Written Answer for 11 July 2023

Tabled on 10 July 2023 and due for answer by 24 July 2023.

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the BBC Panorama programme ‘Is China watching you?’, broadcast on 26 June; and what plans they have, if any, to bring forward further amendments to the Procurement Bill to address the dangers to national security and privacy identified in the Panorama documentary.  HL9188
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government whether they will respond to the letter from Professor Fraser Sampson, Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, to the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, concerning the ethical and security issues raised by surveillance camera technology.  HL9189
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the call from Professor Fraser Sampson, Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, for a review of public space surveillance.  HL9190
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022 (HCWS386), how they plan to implement the cessation of the deployment of visual surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites. &#… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the conclusion of Professor Fraser Sampson that "the need for a review [of surveillance cameras] is supported by the evidenced risks”, and (2) whether the Paymaster General will respond positively to the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s request for a meeting; and whether… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government which locations they believe to be 'sensitive sites' where surveillance cameras with links to the People’s Republic of China should not be located; how many such sites exist; and how many cameras are involved.  HL9193
Answered
Lord Balfe to ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Greater Anglia Railways about planned ticket office closures at Cambridge railway station; and what opportunities there are for (1) the public, and (2) parliamentarians, to express their views on the proposals.  HL9194
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government whether, and if so to what extent, they provide direct financial support for the development of veterinary clinical skill laboratories in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen animal health systems.  HL9195
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics for prophylactic and metaphylactic use in British poultry farming, with a view to limiting antimicrobial resistance.  HL9196
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the performance of Royal Mail against its universal service obligation; and what discussions they have had with Royal Mail about the effect of the current number of vacant posts in that organisation on its ability to fulfil that obligation.  HL9197
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of schools with codes on hairstyles that adversely affect school participation among students from ethnic-minority backgrounds; and what plans they have to ensure that all such codes are abolished.  HL9198
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of (a) the use of retrospective planning applications following deliberate breaches of planning rules, and (b) the level of resources available to local authorities to resist such breaches, and (2) what plans they have to prohibit inappropriate developments using retrospective plann… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of support available under the Pharmacy Access Scheme; and whether the criteria includes the (1) quality, (2) opening hours, and (3) range of provision, of existing pharmacies.  HL9200
Answered
Lord Blencathra to ask His Majesty's Government which minister is in charge of the prescription, supply and distribution of medicines supplied and delivered by homecare medicines services.  HL9201
Answered
Lord Blencathra to ask His Majesty's Government how many medical staff, including nurses, doctors, physios and pharmacists, spend part of their week resolving problems or delays with homecare medicines services.  HL9202
Answered
Lord Blencathra to ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the standard terms and conditions of homecare medicines service contracts, including the sanctions available for a failure to perform to the contract terms.  HL9203
Answered
Lord Blunkett to ask His Majesty's Government how many senior civil servants working at the Department for Education have a teaching qualification.  HL9204
Answered
Baroness Crawley to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise with the government of Iran the evidence gathered by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran.  HL9205
Answered
Baroness Crawley to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise with the government of Iran (1) the detention of lawyers defending Iranian protesters, and (2) the detention of 17 journalists, including Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who first reported on Jina Mahsa Amini's death in custody.  HL9206
Answered
Baroness Crawley to ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the government of Iran regarding the executions, and threat of executions, of many of those connected to the protests that began in that country in September 2022.  HL9207
Answered
Baroness Crawley to ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Iranian authorities about punishments for women and girls found in breach of provisions requiring the wearing of a headscarf.  HL9208
Answered
Lord Dodds of Duncairn to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the European Commission proposal to ban the use of recycled rubber infill in artificial pitches, and in particular of its differential impact on (1) Great Britain, and (2) Northern Ireland.  HL9209
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester to ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how much it would cost to expand the sample size for the Food Standards Agency's Food and You 2 survey to a minimum of 10,000 households.  HL9210
Answered
Baroness Grey-Thompson to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that public consultations on railway ticket office closures will be accessible for disabled people.  HL9211
Answered
Baroness Hoey to ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Crown Prosecution Service prior to the domestic abuse guidance, published on 5 December 2022, which states that a spouse who withholds money from their partner for gender transitioning may be committing domestic abuse.  HL9212
Answered
Baroness Hoey to ask His Majesty's Government what level of responsibility hauliers have in ensuring that commodity codes are correct on consignments going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.  HL9213
Answered
Baroness Hoey to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take when goods being transported to Northern Ireland which have been declared for the Green Lane are checked and are found not to qualify.  HL9214
Answered
Baroness Hoey to ask His Majesty's Government whether freight companies are liable for carrying wrongly declared goods into and out of Northern Ireland; in particular, when a trader has declared goods as originating from Great Britain when they are actually of a third country origin.  HL9215
Answered
Baroness Hoey to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Windsor Framework which stipulates that food products moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will operate in the same way as food products from Scotland to England, what arrangements they have in place for a load moving to a regional distribution centre rather than directly to the point of sale.  HL9216
Answered
Lord Hylton to ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the recent restoration of diplomatic relations between several Middle Eastern states.  HL9217
Answered
Lord Hylton to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) recent moves by the EU to seek to resolve tensions in northern Kosovo, and (2) the response by the Prime Minister of Kosovo to those efforts.  HL9218
Answered
Lord Hylton to ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consult the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on ways to prevent compulsory deportations of Syrians from Turkey and Lebanon.  HL9219
Answered
Lord Hylton to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to help prevent the potential suspension from September of all United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) services to registered Palestinian refugees, because of financial pressures on its budget; and what is their assessment of the capacity of other United Nations agencies… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Randall of Uxbridge to ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to re-establishing the roles of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex.  HL9221
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Southwark to ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with (1) international partners, and (2) the government of Azerbaijan, to encourage that country to lift its blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.  HL9222
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to recruit more supported lodgings hosts to accommodate 16 and 17 year olds in care.  HL9223
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham to ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to local authorities (1) to establish new supported lodgings schemes, or (2) to expand existing schemes.  HL9224
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support first-time house buyers.  HL9225
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide (1) stable, and (2) affordable, energy supply for manufacturers.  HL9226
Answered
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