Tag: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

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.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in their application to the EU Solidarity Fund for flood relief, and when they anticipate the first payments from that fund will be made.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government submitted an initial UK application to the European Union Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February. We are in the process of refining our cost estimates and figures, and I will update Parliament once the application is finalised.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the membership and terms of reference of the group established to carry out their national flood review.

Lord Bridges of Headley

A National Flood Resilience Review will be led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin and include the Government’s Chief Scientist, Defra, DECC, DCLG, HMT and the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and the Met Office.

We will look afresh at how we calculate flood risk, in light of recent events. This will see Government updating ‘worst case scenario’ planning, considering the future impacts of climate change.

Work is already underway and we are testing the resilience of our critical infrastructure, including electricity substations, water treatments plants and telecoms. We have committed to keeping the public informed of progress, and will be providing an update in the coming months, and will publish findings from the review in the summer.