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House of Lords Business

See what is going on in the House of Lords today, as well as what has happened since June 1998. This includes the relevant Order Paper, Minutes of Proceedings, questions tabled and edition of House of Lords Business. These documents can also all be downloaded.

Questions for Written Answer for 10 December 2024

Tabled on 9 December 2024 and due for answer by 23 December 2024.

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government on how many occasions since 2019 (1) illegal bush meat products and (2) other illegal, non-compliant or contaminated meat products have been confiscated at ports of entry to the UK; where and when these confiscations occurred; from which countries these confiscated products originated; and which species were confiscated. �… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government how many successful prosecutions there have been in respect of the importation of (1) bushmeat and (2) other illegal, non-compliant or contaminated meat products since 2019.  HL3279
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the quantity by weight of (1) illegal bush meat products and (2) other illegal, non-compliant or contaminated meat products, illegally imported into the UK each year.  HL3280
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by Professor Chris Elliott of Queen's University Belfast in June that a series of threats to food security are converging to create “chaos” because it is "now much easier to get food that is not of the same quality and standards into the UK”; and what steps they are taking to imp… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the paper, 'Insights into the primate trade into the European Union and the United Kingdom', by Svensson et al, published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research on 25 April 2023; and what steps they will take to quantify the illegal importation of wildlife into Britain and to end it. &#… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in the number of whistleblowing complaints in respect of the Drax power station, from 14 in 2022 to 49 in 2023.  HL3283
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a scheme to permit or require the surrender of neonicotinoid pesticides for destruction to prevent them from entering waterways.  HL3284
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the campaign to introduce a "nature premium", modelled on the existing sports premium, to support school children’s access to nature.  HL3285
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of private medical insurance, including the degree to which pre-existing and chronic conditions are covered, and whether they consider the regulation of such insurance to be adequate.  HL3286
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government whether the independent review of physician associate and anaesthesia associate professions, led by Professor Gillian Leng CBE, will consider the impact of physician and anaesthetist associates on the availability of training places for junior doctors, the nature and structure of junior doctor training programmes, an… 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 environmental and human impact of the continued UK manufacture for export of pesticides banned for use within the UK; and whether they will extend existing and future pesticide bans to the production, as well as the use, of such pesticides.  HL3288
Answered
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to restrict private and corporate funding for political parties and election campaigns and, in particular, whether they plan to limit either the amount or the proportion of total funding that a single source can contribute to a party or campaign.  HL3289
Answered
Lord Campbell-Savours to ask His Majesty's Government whether private hospitals are required to provide information on costs for each patient treatment episode when seeking remuneration for the provision of NHS services.  HL3290
Answered
Lord Campbell-Savours to ask His Majesty's Government to what extent the scale and provision of NHS services are linked to individual treatment episodes in contracts for NHS services provided by private hospitals.  HL3291
Answered
Lord Campbell-Savours to ask His Majesty's Government on what basis private hospitals are contracted to provide NHS services; and whether remuneration arrangements are based on the provision of services to individual patients.  HL3292
Answered
Lord Cruddas to ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide financial education to every child in every school by the end of this Parliament; and whether financial education is being considered in their ongoing review of the school curriculum.  HL3293
Answered
Baroness Eaton to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increase in employer national insurance contributions on town and parish councils.  HL3294
Answered
Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell to ask His Majesty's Government whether they currently hold any Bitcoin, and if so, how much they hold; when and under what powers they accumulated it; which body or individual has custody over it; and how it is being stored.  HL3295
Answered
Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell to ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the UK and whether they will commission advice on this matter.  HL3296
Answered
Lord Foster of Bath to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation by the World Health Organization on 2 December to implement a public health approach to prevent gambling harm, including ending gambling advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of sports and other cultural activities.  HL3297
Answered
Lord Frost to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 2 December (HL2820), whether the Government plans to set out its objectives for the reset negotiation in more detail as was done in February 2020 with the publication of The Future Relationship with the EU, and if so, when.  HL3298
Answered
Lord Frost to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 5 December (HL2822), whether they have any plans to negotiate a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement which would require the UK to mirror, align with, or otherwise accept EU law in this area.  HL3299
Answered
Lord German to ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the validity of the Maldives’ claim to sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.  HL3300
Answered
Lord Gilbert of Panteg to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 3 December (HL2738), whether the guidance against unnecessary translation of documents into foreign languages in paragraph 44 of Guidance on Diversity and Inclusion and Impartiality Requirements for Civil Servants remains Civil Service policy.  HL3301
Answered
Lord Gilbert of Panteg to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 3 December 2024 (HL2738), what is the aggregate value of the Crown Commercial Service framework agreement on translation into foreign languages.  HL3302
Answered
Baroness Goudie to ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to join Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands in their case against Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice for violations of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  HL3303
Answered
Baroness Grey-Thompson to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings set out in the report Eroding the right to family life: human rights violations in Britain’s child protection systems, published by the Children and Families Truth Commission on 15 November, and whether they will produce guidance to ensure that local authorities intervene… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Baroness Grey-Thompson to ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the recommendations set out in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and whether the ministerial child protection group will issue a report on those recommendations.  HL3305
Answered
Lord Hampton to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase girls’ participation in physical activity in schools.  HL3306
Answered
Lord Hampton to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of teacher training in preparing teachers to deliver physical education to girls in (1) primary, and (2) secondary, schools.  HL3307
Answered
Lord Hampton to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to broaden the range of physical activities available to girls inside and outside schools.  HL3308
Answered
Lord Kempsell to ask His Majesty's Government what is its timeline for the agreement and ratification of a treaty with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, and whether they still plan to pursue ratification of such a treaty in 2025.  HL3309
Answered
Lord Kinnock to ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the 1940 proposal for the establishment of the Franco–British Union in 2025.  HL3310
Answered
Lord Kinnock to ask His Majesty's Government why the National School of Government was closed, and whether they have any plans to establish an equivalent institution in place of Civil Service Learning and the Government Campus.  HL3311
Answered
Lord Lebedev to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence-base for the use of ketamine to treat trauma-related mental health conditions, and whether they plan to provide such treatments through NHS mental health services.  HL3312
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the two-child limit on child poverty levels since it was introduced in 2017; and what steps the Child Poverty Taskforce is taking to address this impact.  HL3313
Answered
Baroness Moyo to ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to conduct an assessment of the impact of artificial intelligence on the UK workforce, and if so, when.  HL3314
Answered
Lord Oates to ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the financial savings to the UK when a fully trained healthcare worker is recruited from overseas to work in the NHS.  HL3315
Answered
Baroness Rebuck to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the National Literacy Trust Annual Literacy Survey 2024 results, particularly the finding that only 34.6 per cent of children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy reading in their spare time; and what steps they are taking to reverse this decline.  HL3316
Answered
Baroness Rebuck to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cause of the downward trend in students in England taking A-level English since 2013; and what steps they are taking to reverse this trend.  HL3317
Answered
Lord Rennard to ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of providing Royal Mail deliveries for candidates in the general elections in (1) 2024, and (2) 2019.  HL3318
Answered
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their Independent Pornography Review.  HL3319
Answered
Lord Roberts of Llandudno to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to assist in the rebuilding of civil society in Syria, including the judiciary and the police.  HL3320
Answered
Lord Roberts of Llandudno to ask His Majesty's Government what work the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative will undertake in Syria, especially in relation to recently released prisoners.  HL3321
Answered
Lord Roberts of Llandudno to ask His Majesty's Government what work the Mass Atrocity Prevention Hub will undertake in Syria in supporting the development of civil society.  HL3322
Answered
Lord Roberts of Llandudno to ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering the use of alternative financing mechanisms to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in Syria.  HL3323
Answered
The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask His Majesty's Government, further to their response to the consultation on the structure, distribution and governance of the statutory levy on gambling operators, updated on 27 November, what plans they have to ban gambling advertising.  HL3324
Answered
The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the appropriate frequency for the review of the structure of the statutory levy on the gambling industry to ensure the levy delivers its objectives.  HL3325
Answered
The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask His Majesty's Government on what basis they decided to set the statutory levy on gambling operators for land-based adult gaming centres at a different rate to that for casinos and other comparable land-based operators.  HL3326
Answered
Lord Sarfraz to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the policy implications of using copyrighted content as artificial intelligence training data.  HL3327
Answered
Lord Sarfraz to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of copyright protection for works of art generated using artificial intelligence.  HL3328
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support small GB–based businesses in overcoming barriers to trade with Northern Ireland, particularly in relations to shipping difficulties.  HL3329
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rising labour costs on employment levels.  HL3330
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage companies to increase diversity in senior leadership roles, particularly in relation to (1) ethnic minorities, and (2) women.  HL3331
Answered
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Item that is new or altered.
* Item is an oral question.
Numbers starting HL are unique identifiers for written questions, Bills or papers.