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  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on completing the coastal path in England.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The coastal access programme has so far opened up 101 miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy.

    The Government is working closely with Natural England to build on the progress already made, with the aim of completing the coastal path around England by 2020. We have approved Natural England’s coastal access proposals for a further 176 miles. By the end of this financial year we expect Natural England to have submitted proposals for another 349 miles and to be working on proposals for an additional 986 miles.

    The Government has announced Defra’s capital allocation for the next five years, and funding to complete the coastal path around England by 2020 will be protected. When complete, the path will be one of longest coastal walking routes in the world at around 2,700 miles in length.

    The Government will publish the detailed allocation of funding in the Department’s Main Estimate early next year.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the number of schools in which asbestos is present in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

    Lord Nash

    An assessment of the number of schools where asbestos is present in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse has not been made as part of the Spending Review.

    The Department expects schools and responsible bodies to address a range of building-related issues, including asbestos, through the more than £4 billion in condition funding over the next three years.

    The amount of condition funding that responsible bodies receive is partly based on the Property Data Survey, which gathered information about the condition of buildings at 19,000 schools, meaning that our investment can now be targeted where it is needed most. The condition of a school building is likely to influence the level of hazard posed by any asbestos it contains and the information from the Property Data Survey has been considered as part of the Spending Review.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the expected incidence of mesothelioma over the next fifty years in children born since 2010 in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Spending Review has not made assessments on the incidence, or expected incidence, of mesothelioma in constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the incidence of mesothelioma in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Spending Review has not made assessments on the incidence, or expected incidence, of mesothelioma in constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the needs of mesothelioma patients in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Spending Review has not made such an assessment. It makes an overall assessment at the national level of the activity increases the National Health Service needs to meet, including as a result of need and demographic change. The assessment is not condition or location specific. It is for individual clinical commissioning groups to assess the health needs of their local populations and how best to meet them.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding they provide for (1) research and development in new technologies to monitor inactivity, and (2) evaluating the impact of local programmes to tackle inactivity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The usual practice of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and of the Medical Research Council (MRC) is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available.

    Public funders including the NIHR, the MRC, other Research Councils and Innovate UK fund a wide range of research relating to monitoring of physical activity/inactivity and the development and evaluation of interventions to support and encourage healthy behaviours including physical activity.

    For example, the NIHR has recently funded a £0.8 million trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Football Fans in Training (FFIT) – a group-based, weight management and healthy living programme delivered by community coaches. The report of the study has been published in the NIHR Journals Library and is attached.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support and promote the Erasmus+ programme, which aims to boost skills and employability through education, training and sport.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Erasmus+ programme enables organisations and citizens to achieve their potential through international education, training and sport opportunities.

    A body called the National Agency (a consortium of the British Council and Ecorys UK) deliver the Erasmus+ programme in the UK. The Government supports the National Agency’s delivery, aligns the programme with Government objectives, and represents the UK in European meetings on Erasmus+. The National Agency has a communications team that is dedicated to raising awareness of the Erasmus+ programme. The Government does not duplicate this work.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the work of the World Anti-Doping Agency, in particular in setting regulatory standards against doping and educating athletes and coaches to shift the culture against cheating.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has improved its compliance and reporting processes, resulting in the recent suspension of six countries for non-compliance and a further six countries placed on its watch-list. Last week, WADA’s Foundation Board increased its scope to conduct internal investigations and strengthen its whistleblowing process. WADA President Craig Reedie’s statement that values-based education is the best weapon for clean sport is a view shared by UK Anti-Doping and implemented through its successful 100% Me education programme.

  • Lord Luce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Luce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Luce on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering recognising Palestine as a state.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is a longstanding supporter of seeing a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel, and continues to be one of the largest donors to Palestinian state building efforts to that end. We reserve the right to recognise a Palestinian state at a time of our choosing and when we judge it will best help bring about peace.

  • Lord Lansley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Lansley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lansley on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the impact in England of the exemption of a main home from the calculation of assets on the charges that would be payable under the means test for domiciliary care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Under the Care Act (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, local authorities may not charge a recipient of domiciliary care against the value of their main or only home.

    The Department estimates that around 120,000 people benefit from this exemption at any given time, and that the beneficiaries collectively save approximately £1.3 billion annually.