Tag: Lord Hunt of Chesterton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK government agencies were providing remote sensing data to detect, forecast and provide warning of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan to the affected communities and government agencies.

Baroness Verma

The science is clear on this matter – earthquakes cannot be forecast with any degree of reliability. Remote sensing does exist, but can only operate in extremely technically sophisticated environments, and even then can only provide limited warning of a few seconds or minutes in which to respond. As such the UK Government does not provide remote sensing data to detect, forecast, and provide warning of earthquakes in Afghanistan.

When it comes to other forms of natural disaster, DFID funds a resilience and disaster risk reduction programme in Afghanistan which provides £9.6m over four years (2015-18) to an NGO consortium called Afghanistan Resilience Consortium (ARC). Implementation is focused in the eight northern provinces of Afghanistan which are the most disaster prone.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the French Foreign Minister’s visit to Iran, they plan to use the UK’s political and official diplomacy to promote Airbus products and make clear that they are not solely French products, but contain significant components from the UK.

Lord Maude of Horsham

We will continue to promote the UK interests in Airbus in support of their global sales campaigns. We work closely with the Company and the governments of France, Germany and Spain on these campaigns given the shared economic benefits that arise from sales of Airbus aircraft. Because of the significant level of UK products on Airbus aircraft, the company is frequently represented on UK trade missions; it also enjoys the financial support of UK Export Finance and the commercial support of UK Trade & Investment’s overseas network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average training period for graduates newly appointed to the UK civil service, and whether that training includes learning about UK government and history.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Civil Service graduate programme is known as the Fast Stream and its average training period is up to four years. The Fast Stream core curriculum includes learning about UK Government and history and the central induction for Fast Streamers also has activities relating to this topic. Graduates can also enter the civil service via direct appointment without being part of a formal training scheme. Those who do so have access to a wide range of training options, including how the UK government operates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce planning and building regulations to ensure that within public and private buildings the concentrations of atmospheric pollutants do not exceed safety standards.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

There are already strong protections in place to safeguard people from unacceptable risks from air pollution. National planning policy in England is clear that new development should be appropriate for its location, taking proper account of the effects of pollution on people’s health, and building regulations require adequate means of ventilation for people in buildings. This requirement applies when new buildings are constructed or work is carried out on existing buildings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to introduce standards to minimise the risk of the malfunctioning of electronic financial transactions and data storage by financial and public organisations; and what information is available to the general public to enable them (1) to choose which organisations and services to use, and (2) to know whether or not to use electronic systems depending on those services.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

On 18^th March, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matthew Hancock, announced that the new National Cyber Security Centre will work with the Bank of England to produce advice for the finance sector for managing cyber security effectively. This will build on tools such as the Cyber Essentials scheme, which sets out the technical controls organisations should have in place to demonstrate that they are following a basic level of ‘good practice’ in terms of their cyber security.

It is the responsibility of firms to ensure the resilience of their Information Technology (IT) systems. Through the Dear Chairman Exercise I and II, the Financial Authorities have assessed large UK deposit-takers’ technology resilience, and are working with firms to ensure that further improvements are made and customers are protected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that UK scientific institutions have the funds to collaborate with those in Arctic countries to monitor and predict the melting of permafrost and the release of methane; and what practical steps are being considered to minimise the environmental impact of the melting of permafrost and the release of methane in the Arctic.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK is funding and participating in a number of projects that will improve our knowledge of the Arctic, for example the current NERC Arctic Research Programme, the European JPI (Joint Programming Initiative) Climate collaboration between 16 European countries to coordinate jointly their climate research, and NERC’s Discovery Science grant programme. The UK also continues to invest in infrastructure to support polar science such as the new £200m polar research vessel.

The best practical way to limit the melting of permafrost and the subsequent release of methane is to keep the rise in global temperatures as low as possible. At the recent United Nations conference on climate change in Paris, the world took an important step forward with an unprecedented number of countries agreeing to a deal to limit global temperature rises.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Met Office will cease to provide forecasts for the BBC; what assessment they have made of the impact of that change on the provision of the shipping forecast in particular; and what discussion they have had with the BBC about ensuring that future providers have detailed knowledge of the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Details of the contract between the Met Office and BBC are a matter for the BBC.

The Met Office and BBC are in discussion over the future use of Met Office public weather service data and National Severe Weather Warnings during periods of significant weather.

The Shipping Forecast is paid for and provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The MCA have responsibility for providing maritime weather products (including a Shipping Forecast), ensuring that the contracted supplier meets the necessary required standards. The current supplier contracted by the MCA is the Met Office. Their current contract runs for a minimum of 3 years, until 2018, with the possibility of a further 2 years. The MCA are in the process of finalising a written agreement with the BBC that will ensure the maritime forecasts that they broadcast will be the ones supplied by the MCA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the debate on the North Sea on 30 November (HL Deb, cols 1002–1024), whether they will provide definitions of the different types of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the UK’s coastal waters, the locations of those MPAs, of each type; and where new MPAs are to be introduced, to which type those belong.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) network is made up of different types of designations, made under national law, EU directives and international agreements. As designation of MPAs is a devolved matter, Defra is responsible for designations in Secretary of State waters only, which are, English inshore and offshore waters, Northern Irish offshore waters, and Welsh Offshore waters, with responsibility for conservation in the latter proposed to be devolved to the Welsh Government in the Wales Bill. In these waters, the MPA network is made up the following types of sites.

• Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which are designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. They protect marine habitats and species that are either typical of the life in our seas, or are rare or vulnerable.
• Two types of MPA can be designated under European legislation: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), which protect habitats listed in Annex I and species listed in Annex II of the Habitats directive (92/43/EEC); and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), which protect birds listed in Annex I of the Wild Birds directive (2009/147/EC) and migratory species.
• Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which are designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These sites can be designated for either biological or geological interest.
• Ramsar sites, which are wetlands of international importance, designated under the Ramsar Convention. This includes marine areas with a water depth at low tide of less than six metres. Ramsar sites are generally also underpinned by designation as SSSIs.

Together, these sites contribute to the Blue Belt, a network of sites around the coasts of the UK, which forms our contribution to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in the North East Atlantic.

We have already made good progress in designating a network of sites in the Blue Belt. Over 16% of UK waters and almost a quarter of English inshore waters are now within MPAs.

Based on current evidence the SAC network contribution for habitats can be considered complete. UK governments are considering advice on SACs for harbour porpoise, although no decision with regard to consultation has yet been taken.

Defra and the devolved administrations in the UK plan to complete the identification of SPAs for birds in the UK marine area during 2016.

Defra is seeking to fill the remaining gaps in the Blue Belt through two more tranches of MCZs. Details of this will be announced shortly. A map showing the existing network of MPAs in the waters for which the Secretary of State is responsible is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that Uber drivers in London and other cities hold genuine driving licences and valid insurance; what penalties are applied by the police and others to Uber drivers who fail to meet those requirements; and what measures are being taken to ensure that owners of Uber vehicles pay the same level of taxes as owners of black cabs and minicabs.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The licensing of private hire vehicles, operators and drivers is the responsibility of local licensing authorities, including Transport for London. The Department for Transport issues Best Practice Guidance to assist with this but it remains a licensing authority’s responsibility to enforce its licensing conditions. Driving without a valid driving licence or valid insurance are both offences, for which penalties, including fines and points on a licence, are ultimately a matter for the courts. Uber drivers have the same tax liability as any other self-employed person.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider distributing hand-held devices to households in flood-prone areas to allow them to transmit information, and to receive real-time news, about local water levels.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

There are currently no plans to consider such devices. However, we do already urge households to take care and be prepared by checking their flood risk, signing up to free flood warnings and keeping an eye on the latest flood updates, which are available on the Environment Agency website and Twitter. These are readily accessible from personal mobile phones with internet access. People can also call our 24-hour Floodline for updates.