Tag: Lord Wills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the corrected Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 March (HL6286), what consideration they have given to the impact of technological change on the definition of electrical and electronic equipment specified in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Electrical and electronic equipment in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is defined as that “which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly" and "equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields” below specified voltages.

Whilst the Directive does provide for certain exclusions, the Government believes that the definition is already sufficiently broad to embrace technological change and computer hardware that incorporates browsers and operating systems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the needs of mesothelioma patients in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Spending Review has not made such an assessment. It makes an overall assessment at the national level of the activity increases the National Health Service needs to meet, including as a result of need and demographic change. The assessment is not condition or location specific. It is for individual clinical commissioning groups to assess the health needs of their local populations and how best to meet them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the corrected Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 March (HL6286), what consideration they have given to the impact of the increased bundling together of computer hardware with operating systems and browsers on the definition of electrical and electronic equipment specified in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Electrical and electronic equipment in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is defined as that “which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly" and "equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields” below specified voltages.

Whilst the Directive does provide for certain exclusions, the Government believes that the definition is already sufficiently broad to embrace technological change and computer hardware that incorporates browsers and operating systems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the incidence of mesothelioma in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Spending Review has not made assessments on the incidence, or expected incidence, of mesothelioma in constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to respond to the recommendations set out in What’s important to me: A review of choice in end of life care, also known as the Choice Review.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are committed to ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

The Government’s forthcoming response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care, which will be published shortly, will set out our vision for high quality, personalised care and the steps we will take to achieve this. The response will also address each of the Review recommendations, including on care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the expected incidence of mesothelioma over the next fifty years in children born since 2010 in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Spending Review has not made assessments on the incidence, or expected incidence, of mesothelioma in constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that high quality end of life care is available in every setting, including for people who wish to die at home.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are committed to ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

The Government’s forthcoming response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care, which will be published shortly, will set out our vision for high quality, personalised care and the steps we will take to achieve this. The response will also address each of the Review recommendations, including on care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the number of schools in which asbestos is present in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.

Lord Nash

An assessment of the number of schools where asbestos is present in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse has not been made as part of the Spending Review.

The Department expects schools and responsible bodies to address a range of building-related issues, including asbestos, through the more than £4 billion in condition funding over the next three years.

The amount of condition funding that responsible bodies receive is partly based on the Property Data Survey, which gathered information about the condition of buildings at 19,000 schools, meaning that our investment can now be targeted where it is needed most. The condition of a school building is likely to influence the level of hazard posed by any asbestos it contains and the information from the Property Data Survey has been considered as part of the Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion by Professor Bee Wee, National Clinical Director for End of Life Care, in the National Survey of Patient Activity Data for Specialist Palliative Care Services MDS Summary Report for the year 2013–14, that there is still a need to improve the quality and use of data in the palliative care sector”; and what action they are taking to address that issue.”

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are committed to ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

The Government’s forthcoming response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care, which will be published shortly, will set out our vision for high quality, personalised care and the steps we will take to achieve this. The response will also address each of the Review recommendations, including on care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible advantages and disadvantages of licensing bicyclists.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We consider that the costs of a formal testing and licensing system for cyclists would significantly outweigh the benefits cycling has to the country’s economy, health and environment. Evidence suggests that increased cycling could create significant savings for the NHS, less pollution and congestion, and a happier and healthier population. It is likely that a licensing system will discourage many existing and potential cyclists, leading to a dramatic fall in the numbers of people cycling.

Around 80% of adult cyclists also hold driving licenses, meaning that the majority of cyclists on the road have already been tested on operating safely in different road and traffic conditions. Furthermore, the safety case for a testing/licensing system is not as strong as that for drivers since, by contrast with motorised vehicles, bicycles involved in collisions on the highway are highly unlikely to cause serious injury to other road users.

Cyclists as well as all road users must obey the Highway Code, and the Government has provided funding for training schemes such as Bikeability which provides practical training and teaches the Highway Code to the next generation of cyclists. The Bikeability programme currently trains approximately 50% of primary schoolchildren in England and more than 1.5million children have received training since the programme’s inception.

The recent Spending Review committed £300m to cycling investment between 2015-16 and 2020-21, this includes delivering in full the £114 million Cycle Ambition City scheme, with construction of segregated cycle lanes including 115 kilometres in Birmingham and 56 kilometres in Manchester.