Tag: Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of UK GDP is spent on science and research in the UK, and how that figure compares with other countries in the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK invested 1.7% of GDP in research and development in 2013, compared to an EU28 average of 1.9%.

The UK has a world-class science and research base and achieves a high rate of return for its investment. With 0.9% of global population, 4.1% of researchers and 3.2% of R&D expenditure, the UK accounts for 6.4% of articles, 11.6% of citations, and 15.9% of the most highly cited articles. We are the most productive science base in the G7, and rank first amongst comparable major research nations for Field Weighted Citations Impact.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the decision was taken to lay the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2015 on 2 November, and which Ministers were involved in taking the decision.

Lord Dunlop

Northern Ireland Office Ministers took the decision to lay the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2015 on 30 October 2015, following discussions with Ministerial colleagues at the Cabinet Office. Northern Ireland Office officials began work on the Order in May 2015, although work was delayed by the department’s focus on the Northern Ireland Talks process. The Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland was advised of the impact of the proposed changes relating to procedural error by letter on 31 July 2015. The Chief Electoral Officer expressed support for the proposed content of the Order in meetings in June 2015. The Electoral Commission was consulted on the Order on 1 October 2015. As the Explanatory Memorandum to the Order sets out, there are significant differences in the systems operating in Northern Ireland and Great Britain and a one size fits all approach is not justified.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the co-operation between highway authorities and statutory service providers who need to dig up the highway and footway to maintain, repair and replace their services.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the co-operation between highway authorities and statutory undertakers.

However, section 59 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 places a duty on local highway authorities to co-ordinate works on the highway and section 60 provides a mirror duty on statutory undertakers to co-operate with them in that role.

Additionally the Traffic Management Act 2004 introduced the Network Management Duty which requires local authorities to manage their networks with a view to making the most effective use of them. The 2004 Act also introduced permit schemes, which enable highway authorities to have a more proactive role in the management of their road networks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action the National Food Crime Unit is taking to protect consumers from counterfeit alcoholic drinks.

Lord Prior of Brampton

During November, the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) jointly headed Operation OPSON, which encourages participating countries to observe a period of particular focus on fake and illicit food and drink. A day of action against counterfeit vodka took place on 11 November. Intelligence gathered from seizures will be fed into the NFCU and results sent onwards to Europol for analysis. Alongside this, the NFCU will conduct its own assessment in order to inform the overall understanding of the threat. This assessment will be published after the official publication of the OPSON results by Europol/Interpol.

The NFCU has also worked with partners (including HM Revenue & Customs, the Intellectual Property Office, UK Border Force, the National Trading Standards Intelligence Hub and Food Standards Scotland) to form a counterfeit alcohol working group. This group is working to improve the United Kingdom’s strategic understanding of the threats from counterfeit and substandard alcohol.

In support of the Food Standards Agency’s wine inspectorate, the NFCU is coordinating enquiries with the Government Agency Intelligence Network and with the European Food Fraud Network in relation to wine fraud. The NFCU has also developed an intelligence bulletin to be shared with local trading standards and other agencies nationwide in order to raise awareness of this form of crime and increase reporting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to eliminate food insecurity in developing countries.

Baroness Verma

The UK believes that poverty is the main cause of hunger, as most people are hungry or undernourished because they cannot afford to buy sufficient nutritious food. Much of the solution to hunger will therefore depend on inclusive economic growth, in particular in the agriculture sector. We have just published our new Conceptual Framework on Agriculture which sets out our priorities to accelerate impact on economic development, poverty reduction, and sustainable food systems and nutrition.

Alongside this policy work, the UK has committed to a number of results that will deliver on the Global Goals, particularly on ending hunger. First, our nutrition manifesto commitment will improve by 2020 the nutrition of 50 million people who would otherwise go hungry. Second, with other Nutrition for Growth (N4G) signatories, we will prevent 20 million children becoming stunted. Lastly, in 2015, alongside other G7 countries, we will help address hunger and malnutrition among 500 million people by 2030 as part of the G7 Broad Food Security and Nutrition Development Approach agreed in Elmau.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the additional expenditure reductions that will be required of local authorities following the announcement of the changes to business rates made in the Budget.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

These tax cuts provide significant support to local businesses. The Small Business Rate Relief measure announced at the Budget will mean 600,000 of the smallest businesses will not have to pay business rates.

Local authorities will be compensated in full for their loss of income as a result of these changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require bus operators to use greener fuel.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

A series of measures have been brought in in recent years to encourage bus operators to use greener fuels.

Under the Green Bus Fund which ran from 2009-2014, £89m of Government funding helped purchase over 1200 buses. These vehicles met strict rules covering reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with ordinary buses, taking into account both the production and consumption of the fuel. The Low Emission Bus Scheme (LEBS), announced last year, will provide over £30m to help buy several hundred more low emission buses.

The Government is also encouraging the uptake of greener vehicles through the Bus Service Operators Grant low carbon emission bus incentive under which eligible services receive an additional 6p per kilometre.

The Bus Services Bill, which was introduced into the House of Lords on 19^th May, will provide local transport authorities with new powers to specify the emission standards to be met by local bus services – including through franchising and, with sufficient support from bus operators, under enhanced partnership arrangements.

The Government has also invested over £26m since 2011 under the Clean Bus and Clean Vehicle Technology Funds for local authorities in pollution hotspots across England to retrofit 1000s of buses, and other vehicles, with pollution reducing technology. This includes converting some buses to either natural gas or to electric propulsion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the London Fire Brigade’s proposal for a single, publicly accessible UK register of product recalls.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We want to ensure consumers have easy access to information on product recalls. We have already asked an industry led Recall Review Steering Group to explore how a single source of information on product recalls can be delivered for business and consumers. We will be discussing proposals on this with them shortly. The London Fire Brigade are represented on the Recall Review Steering Group by the Chief Fire Officers Association.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that the UK should send a new delegation to the European Parliament in June 2019 if Brexit has not been completed, or whether as part of their negotiations they will they seek to extend the term of the present delegation.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Until the UK ceases to be a member of the EU, the Government intends to continue to play its full role, observing the obligations and abiding by the procedures that membership brings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government set out an assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia in the UK statement to the UN’s Human Rights Council’s 33rd Session on 28 September 2016. In summary, Somalia has committed to upholding human rights, but implementation has been slow. Some progress has been made but overall the human rights situation in Somalia remains severe

We will urge the Federal Government of Somalia to uphold human rights and respect its international obligations. Key human rights legislation should be implemented swiftly and effectively.