Tag: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Ofwat concerning the profits made by water companies between 2010 and 2015.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government has regular discussions with Ofwat about its strategic priorities and objectives for regulation of the water sector.

Ofwat sets price controls independently of Government. This independence is crucial to ensure stable economic regulation which keeps investment costs down and customer bills low.

In 2009, Ofwat set price controls for the period from 2010 to 2015. During this period water companies benefited from several factors outside their control, including low taxation and low borrowing costs. In March 2013, Ofwat challenged companies to share gains with their customers. The then Secretary of State wrote to companies in November 2013 in support of Ofwat’s drive. As a result, companies absorbed costs and provided water bill discounts worth £435 million over this period.

In 2014, Ofwat delivered a tough price review which means that bills will fall by around 5% in real terms from 2015 to 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further measures are planned for the labelling of meat and dairy products to recognise the high standards of welfare in British products.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Consumers buying meat and dairy products produced in the UK can be reassured that we have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the European Union.

We pressed for new EU legislation extending country of origin rules from beef to fresh and frozen sheep, goat, pig and poultry meat to help consumers identify food produced in the UK. These came into force in April 2015. We are also pressing for this rule to be extended to dairy products.

To support consumers further in making an informed choice, Defra is pressing the EU to implement rules to require that where food products indicate that they are produced in a specific country they must also state if the main ingredients are from a different country.

2016 is the Year of Great British Food. Through the Great British Food campaign Defra is working in partnership with industry to champion the outstanding quality of UK produce to help fuel demand for Great British Food.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the measurement of diesel emissions from cars in the light of evidence that nitrogen oxide emissions in real time road trials are up to 12 times higher than in laboratory tests.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The UK Government has been at the forefront of action at European level to introduce Real Driving Emissions (RDE) testing for new cars. The RDE test will be conducted on public roads and will require manufacturers to ensure new diesel (and petrol) cars control nitrogen oxide emissions to below 2.1 times the laboratory test limit from 2017. From 2020 the requirement will be tightened so they must be at or below the laboratory limit (with a margin for measurement uncertainty).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 4 April (HL7211), what progress they have made on the National Litter Strategy for England; and when they expect it to be completed.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

We have made good progress on the Litter Strategy for England. We are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government and industry to develop an ambitious Strategy. Our goal is to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering in England, ensuring that all our communities, natural landscape, roads and highways are free of litter. The Litter Strategy will focus on three key themes: education and awareness; improving enforcement; and better cleansing and litter infrastructure. These will be backed up by specific actions under each objective.

To help us shape the Strategy, we have established a Litter Advisory Group, which includes representatives from local government, campaign groups and independent experts, as well as representatives from the packaging and fast-food industries. The Strategy will be published shortly, after the publication of Defra’s 25 year Environment Plan framework.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they take into account social vulnerability and wider deprivation when making decisions about flood protection investment.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Governement’s contribution to capital flood protection schemes (Flood Defence Grant in Aid) takes into account the increased vulnerability of households in deprived areas. Schemes in these areas received an enhanced national grant contribution and so are more likely to be fully funded by Government. Levels of deprivation are assessed using the existing Index of Multiple Deprivation, commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions of criminal gangs in the food sector have been initiated by the National Food Crime Unit since it was established.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) is initially focusing on establishing the scale and nature of food crime in the United Kingdom at a strategic level through developing intelligence sharing relationships across the law enforcement community and with the food industry. This will also enable the Unit to instigate investigative interventions by law enforcement partners and local authorities to identify and disrupt specific instances of food crime. The NFCU’s budget is directed towards fulfilling this primary intelligence function.

Intelligence analysts within the Unit have just completed the first ever Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment (FCASA), which will be published soon. The FCASA sets out the Unit’s developing understanding of food crime in the UK and will drive its work to ensure resources are focused where the threat to consumers and other interests is the greatest.

At the end of this year, the Food Standards Agency will review progress on food crime, in line with Professor Elliott’s recommendations following the horsemeat incident. This review will inform decision-making about the Unit’s future form and function.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to legislate to make restaurants and food outlets display their hygiene ratings.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has responsibility for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The FSA has been monitoring the impact of mandatory display of ratings at food outlets in Wales and will look closely at the evidence from this. It is anticipated that proposals will be presented to the Government by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance published on 19 May, what actions they are taking to reduce to agreed target levels the use in the UK of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming by 2018.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance on 16 September 2016.

In response to the Review, we have committed to work closely with different individual sectors to ensure that appropriate sector specific reduction targets are agreed by 2017 so that future reductions are greatest where there is most scope, and that they are underpinned by improvements which focus on encouraging best practice and responsible use of antibiotics.

This work aligns with the actions already set out in the Government’s Five-Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, including improving the stewardship of existing antibiotics, improving infection prevention and control and optimising prescribing practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are reviewing their decision to exclude small businesses from the Flood Re insurance package.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

While we recognise the difficult challenges that some small businesses could face in areas of high flood risk, we are not currently aware of evidence that there is a systemic problem with the availability of commercial flood insurance.

We have, however, committed to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and other stakeholders to monitor the insurance market for small businesses. We are keen to work across Government, and with a range of business interests, to better understand the nature and extent of any problem that might exist.

The ABI have assured us that the insurance industry will continue to provide insurance to small businesses on a competitive basis.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the National Food Crime Unit’s annual budget is allocated to investigating serious crimes.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) is initially focusing on establishing the scale and nature of food crime in the United Kingdom at a strategic level through developing intelligence sharing relationships across the law enforcement community and with the food industry. This will also enable the Unit to instigate investigative interventions by law enforcement partners and local authorities to identify and disrupt specific instances of food crime. The NFCU’s budget is directed towards fulfilling this primary intelligence function.

Intelligence analysts within the Unit have just completed the first ever Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment (FCASA), which will be published soon. The FCASA sets out the Unit’s developing understanding of food crime in the UK and will drive its work to ensure resources are focused where the threat to consumers and other interests is the greatest.

At the end of this year, the Food Standards Agency will review progress on food crime, in line with Professor Elliott’s recommendations following the horsemeat incident. This review will inform decision-making about the Unit’s future form and function.