Tag: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on farmers and rural businesses of poor broadband provision in rural areas.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

This Government recognises that all businesses need access to reliable, fast broadband to compete, innovate, increase productivity and have access to Government digital services. Superfast broadband now covers almost 90% of UK premises and this will increase to 95% by the end of next year as a result of the Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme and further commercial delivery. Premises everywhere including rural areas which do not have speeds of at least 2 Megabits per second are able to access a subsidised broadband service, usually delivered through a satellite connection, which can deliver speeds of 10Mbps or more.

The Prime Minister has also announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) and our ambition to set this at 10Mbps. This new broadband USO will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection, at a minimum speed, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the delays by the Rural Payments Agency in making basic farm payments claimed in 2015, and of the causes of those delays.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), implementing the new Common Agricultural Policy, with its requirements and administrative checks, has created a number of challenges. The Rural Payments Agency focus has always been to pay as many claims as promptly as possible from the opening day of the payment window in December 2015. 99% of BPS 2015 claims have now received a payment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the NHS of opening hospitals seven days a week.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Spending Review provided the National Health Service in England with £10 billion in real terms additional funding by 2020-21. This fully funds the NHS’s Five Year Forward View, including delivering urgent and emergency hospital services which are of the same high quality at the weekend as during the week.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of basic farm payments claimed during 2015 had been paid as of 30 April.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

As at 2 May, the first working day following 30 April, 98% of Basic Payment Scheme claimants had received a payment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of agency doctors and nurses on duty in hospitals (1) during the week, and (2) at the weekend.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend the deadline for claims for basic farm payments for 2016 until 31 May or later.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards extending the remit of the Grocery Code Adjudicator to the contractual relationship between small family dairy farmers and dairy processors.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government introduced the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) which regulates the relationship between the UK’s ten largest supermarkets and their direct suppliers. The Code was put in place in 2009 by the Office of Fair Trading (now the Competition and Markets Authority), following a market investigation by the Competition Commission. The Code will be reviewed shortly.

The dairy industry code of best practice on contractual arrangements was created in Great Britain in 2012. Among its provisions is a requirement for 30 days’ notice of a cut to a farmer’s price or other significant change to contractual terms. In addition, a farmer who disagrees with a proposed price change or significant change to contractual terms can exercise a right to terminate the contract on three months’ notice. About 85% of processors have signed up to it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible impact on the local economy and the environment of hydraulic fracturing in Ryedale, and what were the results of the economic impact assessment carried out on that proposed development.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

A planning application for the extraction of shale gas in Ryedale is currently under consideration by North Yorkshire County Council. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on the specifics of any proposal. It will be for the Council to take into account the impacts of the proposed development on the local economy and the environment as relevant in its determination of that application.

The Government continues to support the development of the shale industry in the UK. It has the potential to power economic growth, create tens of thousands of jobs and provide a new domestic energy source, making us less reliant on imports from abroad.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce country of origin labels for dairy products in (1) the UK, and (2) across the EU; and if so, when.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government supports the industry voluntary agreement for labelling origin of food, which has resulted in clear and honest origin labelling in the vast majority of dairy products sold in UK shops.

We have also been pushing for improved origin labelling for dairy products in Europe, including a proper consideration of mandatory origin labelling for lightly processed dairy products such as butter, cheese and cream. Many producers and retailers in the UK provide this information voluntarily, reflecting consumer demand and the acceptable cost of such schemes, but consumers can feel misled where this information is not available.

New Implementing Acts on origin labelling of the main ingredients of food where these are different from the place of production of the food itself have recently been proposed by the Commission and the UK will engage with the Commission to ensure that these measures are effective.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that regulations governing the exploitation on a significant scale of shale gas by fracking will be robust and will not permit an unacceptable level of self-regulation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Shale companies need permission from independent expert regulators before any hydraulic fracturing operations can begin:

– A licence for onshore oil and gas exploration is required from the Oil and Gas Authority

– Planning permission is required from the local Mineral Planning Authority

– Permits to operate a site are required from the Environment Agency

– Safety on a drilling site and standards of well construction are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive

– A drilling consent is also required from the Oil and Gas Authority

We are confident that we have a robust regulatory regime in place. The Government will keep the regulatory regime for shale under review as the industry develops to ensure it is proportionate and fit for purpose.