The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Chairman of Committees which members of House of Lords’ staff are entitled to free food or refreshments in the House’s facilities.
Lord Laming
Catering and Retail Services staff are provided with meals without charge during shifts, in accordance with arrangements made by the Head of Catering and Retail Services. This is standard practice in the hospitality industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to the Written Answer by the Chairman of Committees on 18 September (HL2226), what costs were incurred in recruiting the last House of Lords Executive Chef, and for how long that postholder was employed.
Lord Laming
The last Executive Chef was employed by the House for just over a year. We paid £360to publicise the permanent vacancy in relevant forums. Reasonable travel expenses of several candidates were reimbursed at £83.40. An external consultant already engaged by Catering and Retail Services assisted with the selection process – a reasonable estimate of the cost of his time is £278. There were also marginal costs for the refreshment for the panel and ingredients to support a work-based skills test. The successful candidate had previously been employed on a fixed-term contract for which we paid an agency fee of £3,600.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 May (WA 447), whether they will now place in the Library of the House correspondence received by the Department of Health regarding the proposed introduction of standardised tobacco packaging from all other government departments and agencies including police forces.
Earl Howe
The Government’s position has not changed since the answer that has been referred to was provided.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 May (WA 444), whether they will place in the Library of the House correspondence between the Intellectual Property Office and the Department of Health regarding the proposed introduction of standardised tobacco packaging.
Earl Howe
The Department has no current plans to publish information on the development and formulation of Government policy on standardised packaging of tobacco products
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by Earl Howe on 3 April (HL Deb, col 1121–2), whether in preparing for the publication of the draft regulations on standardised packaging for tobacco products they are considering the scope of the types of tobacco products to be included, such as drawing a distinction between cigars and pipe tobaccos and mainstream tobacco products.
Earl Howe
The Government continues to carefully consider all issues relevant to the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products, including the scope of the types of tobacco products covered by the policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-05-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House all risk assessments into standardised tobacco packaging undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs.
Earl Howe
The Government continues carefully to consider all issues relevant to the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products.
The Government will be holding a final, short consultation including draft regulations in which Ministers will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy.
A further, developed consultation stage Impact Assessment (IA) will be published alongside the upcoming public consultation. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has contributed to the revised IA.
The Department of Health will continue to work with other government departments on the development of proposals for standardised packaging of tobacco products.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the challenge made via the World Trade Organisation to the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging in Australia, in the light of their plans to consider introducing a similar regime in the United Kingdom.
Earl Howe
The Government is aware of the complaints made in respect of the Australian plain packaging legislation, within The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute procedures. The Government continues to carefully consider all issues relevant to the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products, including all legal aspects.
In accordance with normal practice, the Government is not intending to disclose legal advice received.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to continue with the introduction of restrictions on the display of tobacco in smaller shops from April 2015, in the light of their plans to consider introducing standardised tobacco packaging; and, if so, what is their rationale for doing so.
Earl Howe
Legislation to end the open display of tobacco products in shops has been made and will come into force for all shops on 6 April 2015.
Standardised packaging of tobacco products is a policy that is still under consideration by the Government. No final decisions have been made regarding the policy. The Government will be publishing a final, short consultation that will contribute to final decision-making.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which companies and organisations, other than those involved in the tobacco industry, they have received representations since October 2013 regarding their plans to consider introducing standardised tobacco packaging.
Earl Howe
The information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of introducing standardised tobacco packaging on the United Kingdom’s ability to trade globally.
Earl Howe
The Government continues to carefully consider all issues relevant to the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products, including aspects related to trade.
The Government will shortly publish a final, short consultation that will contribute to final decision-making on whether standardised packaging will be introduced. The Government encourages anyone with an interest to respond to the consultation, which may include evidence on the impact of standardised packaging on trade.