The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL7079), concerning parity of esteem” as specified in the Belfast Agreement 1998
Lord Dunlop
In the Belfast Agreement, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in relation to the people of different traditions in Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS plans to make minoxidil available to women who have lost their hair.
George Freeman
Minoxidil (Regaine) for the treatment of alopecia is available to purchase ‘over the counter’, without prescription.
Regaine cannot be prescribed in primary care as it is listed in Schedule 1 to the National Health Service (General Medical Service Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004 (the ‘blacklist’).
However other minoxidil products are available for clinicians to prescribe if they consider them to be clinically appropriate for an individual patient.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-07-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received about the decision of Birmingham Assay Office, pursuant to the Legislative Reform (Hallmarking) Order 2013, to open an office in Mumbai on 18 July that will use a mark for silver to be imported into the UK that is similar to the established anchor mark used for domestic production; and whether they will publish any assessment they have made of the prospective impact of that decision on the Birmingham silversmithing trade.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Hallmarks are not an indication of geographic origin and are already applied widely to articles manufactured in places other than the location of the four UK Assay Offices, including to articles manufactured outside the UK.
Government has received four representations expressing concern about the decision of Birmingham Assay Office, pursuant to the Legislative Reform (Hallmarking) Order 2013, to open a sub-office in Mumbai.
An impact assessment of the costs and benefits of removing the restrictions on overseas hallmarking was published alongside the government consultation on the proposals in 2012, and covered the whole of the hallmarking sector. The Impact Assessment estimated that there would be a benefit to business of £3.44 m. A copy of the impact assessment can be found on the Parliament website accompanying the Legislative Reform (Hallmarking) Order 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with other government departments on the forthcoming Carbon Plan.
Mr Nick Hurd
We are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and other government departments in order to meet the shared challenge of moving to a low carbon economy. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how we will meet our carbon budgets through the 2020s (the period covering the fourth and fifth carbon budgets).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on security of energy supply of failures this winter in the operation of those major coal power stations which are due to close in spring 2016.
Andrea Leadsom
National Grid, as part of their winter outlook process assesses the overall reliability of technologies based on their historic reliability. This is the ‘de-rating factor’ that is applied to calculate available margins.
There is nothing about the decision to cease connection to the transmission grid that would make a plant more unreliable prior to its planned withdrawal.
Our priority is to ensure that British families and business have access to secure affordable energy supplies that they can rely on and we are taking prudent steps to manage the margins in winter 2016/17. Since 2014 National Grid have had the ability to procure a Contingency Balancing Reserve (CBR), which consists of the Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR), where existing power stations stand by ready to generate additional electricity and the Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR) where companies bid for contracts with National Grid to receive payments in return for reducing their electricity usage times of peak demand should National Grid so require. National Grid and Ofgem agree that we should retain the ability to procure CBR for the next two winters. Government supports this position and we expect confirmation later this month following an Ofgem consultation. Beyond winter 2017/18, the Capacity Market will take over as the long term solution for security of supply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what humanitarian support the Government is offering in refugee camps in (a) Lesbos, (b) Idomeni, (c) Calais, (d) Dunkirk and (e) other locations.
James Brokenshire
Asylum seekers and refugees in other Member States are the responsibility of the authorities of those countries. Member States, furthermore, are bound by EU and international legal obligations to provide adequate care and reception to asylum seekers and refugees within their territory.
The UK, nevertheless, continues to provide practical support to other Member States and both France and the UK are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, the UK committed to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.
In addition to our work with France, we are also providing practical support to Greece through the European Asylum Support Office by deploying UK asylum experts to the border control ‘hotspot’ in Lesbos to assist with the swift screening of asylum applicants arriving there. We stand ready to provide further such assistance where necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will intervene in the case of Momand Qais, an interpreter for the UK armed forces in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2009, whose application for asylum has been rejected, together with his appeal against that decision.
Lord Bates
The Home Office does not comment publicly on individual cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their new prosperity fund will give priority to countries with large refugee and migrant populations, lack of own resources, or tourism reduced by wars, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia.
Baroness Verma
The Government has not yet approved any country allocations from the Prosperity Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the Postgraduate Loans Scheme in 2016–17 and 2017–18.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Student Loans Company has produced a suite of information and guidance materials for institutions and prospective students and this is available from SLC’s website, The Student Room and Gov.UK. Additionally, BIS and the SLC are working together with a number of organisations, including Universities UK, to ensure that information and guidance is also disseminated through their own channels. Plans for 2017-18 will be drawn up later this year once the loan has been launched
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the trend in the size of the hedgehog population in England since 2000; and what is the reason for that trend.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ State of Britain’s Hedgehogs Report 2015 estimated a population of 1.55 million hedgehogs in England, Wales and Scotland in the 1990s. Since 2000, rural populations are thought to have declined by at least a half and urban populations by up to a third. The current population is estimated at around 1 million.
The reasons for their decline are complex and include a number of factors including intensive agricultural practices (including loss of hedgerows), use of pesticides reducing availability of food, roads, a lack of available shelter in urban areas and restriction of movement and badgers which predate on hedgehogs and compete for their food.
The Government supports efforts to encourage local communities to work together in supporting the hedgehog such as making our gardens more hedgehog friendly and more welcoming to wildlife in general.
Working with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species the Government has recently published advice for homeowners in the form of five simple steps to make gardens more hedgehog friendly, from letting grassy areas grow wild to providing food and shelter.