Tag: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organization research showing that eating processed meat increases the risk of cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The World Health Organization published its conclusions on the carcinogenicity of eating red and processed meat on 26 October. The detailed evaluations will be published in the future; until these are available, we cannot assess them in detail.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the future viability of the Thames Barrier will be considered as part of the National Flood Resilience Review.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The viability of the Thames Barrier has been extensively reviewed, and conclusions were published in 2012. This Review will focus on updating our climate modelling and stress-testing the nation’s resilience to flood risk.

We will make appropriate decisions on next steps using any new evidence that comes out of that work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to review and propose simplification of household waste and recycling collection across the UK.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra and the Waste and Resource Action Programme are working with local authorities and other waste management stakeholders to develop a vision and business case for greater consistency in the way materials are collected for recycling. This will set out the benefits that could be achieved for householders, local authorities, reprocessors and others. The vision is to be published in the summer and will include proposed models for more consistent arrangements for collection of recyclable materials.

The broad aims for this work are to help local authorities to reduce costs; improve the quality and quantity of materials collected and to improve householder engagement and participation in recycling through reducing confusion and inconsistency and providing opportunities to improve communications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people were convicted of food crime following the horsemeat scandal in 2013.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The City of London Police investigation into how food products became adulterated with horsemeat led to three men being charged with fraud offences on 26 August 2016.

The charges follow a complex international criminal investigation that saw the City of London Police, which is the National Policing Lead for Fraud, working in partnership with the Food Standards Agency and Crown Prosecution Service, as well as law enforcement agencies from across the United Kingdom and Europe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they are giving to consumers about the health risks of eating processed meat.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England’s advice is that, on average, people should be eating no more than 70 grammes of red and processed meat a day. People who eat a lot of these meats are at higher risk of bowel cancer than those who eat small amounts. Therefore, people who eat more than 90 grammes of red or processed meat a day are advised to cut down.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the Welsh Government about the benefits of the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and in particular about a duty on all public bodies to carry out sustainable development being adopted across the UK.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

None.

The Government is strengthening environmental protection by developing a 25 year framework for a healthy, diverse and resilient natural environment. We are also supporting the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the UK and will continue to take a leading role in championing the SDGs internationally.

We recognise the inter-dependent nature of our economy, environment and communities. Government Departments will continue to consider and seek to improve the impact on all three areas when developing their policies in line with HMT’s Green Book Guidance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings of the National Flood Resilience Review have taken place, and when that review is expected to report.

Lord Bridges of Headley

To protect the integrity of the policy making process, we do not comment on specific frequency or timings of ministerial meetings. The Review is set to be published this summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they will use to decide whether the National Food Crime Unit should have direct enforcement powers.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The review of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) will consider the following issues:

– Current and likely future reactive demand from food crime;

– Current and likely future proactive opportunities to disrupt and prevent food crime;

– Gaps between reactive/proactive demand and current response;

– The current and future role of local authorities, the police service, other government departments/agencies and the wider food crime response landscape, including the international response and cross border collaboration post European Union exit;

– Value for money of current and potential responses; and

– The current form and function of the NFCU, and whether this meets current and future demand.

In the first Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment, the NFCU highlighted the limitations of current intelligence and reporting, and the difficulties in estimating the scale and impact of food crime. The review will therefore take these limitations into account when considering the current and future demands and opportunities, and make reasonable judgements where evidence is incomplete or lacking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage builders of new homes to give potential purchasers details of the flood risk affecting those properties at an early stage.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

DEFRA and the Environment Agency provide readily available information on flood risk that any prospective house buyer can access and the Law Society have agreed that flood risk will form part of solicitors’ searches before final purchase. The Law Society have a good practice note (attached) on how this can be carried out, which can be found online at:

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/practice-notes/flood-risk/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what independent research is being carried out on the availability and affordability of flood insurance for small businesses in flood affected areas.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

We have recently published a report, carried out on our behalf by Ipsos MORI that considers the availability of flood insurance for small businesses in areas of high flood risk.

The study found that uptake of insurance in small and medium sized businesses is high, with 95% of businesses having commercial insurance cover and only 2.5% reporting any difficulties in accessing insurance.

The report is available on-line on the science and research section of Defra’s website, under the heading “Affordability and Availability of Flood Insurance – FD2688”.

We continue to keep this important issue under review.