Tag: The Countess of Mar

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 July (HL831), how many of the recorded fume or smell events during the 100 flights referred to in that answer were reported to the Civil Aviation Authority under the mandatory reporting scheme.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

No fume event occurred during this study (Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Study, Cranfield University, 2011) which triggered the airline’s formal reporting procedures to the Civil Aviation Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Nordic Cochrane Centre complaint to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) over maladministration at the EMA dated 26 May in relation to the EMA report on the safety of human papilloma virus vaccine.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Whilst the issues raised in the Nordic Cochrane Centre document are a matter for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), we are satisfied that the EMA has adequate processes in place to manage any potential conflicts of interest of its scientific experts and to uphold the integrity and impartiality of its decision-making. There was consensus agreement amongst European Union Member States on the conclusions of the recent human papilloma virus vaccine safety review, and we have confidence in the outcome of this review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 23 July (HL1538), whether workplace exposure limits apply legally to passengers as well as crew; and what evidence they have that damage to a foetus cannot occur from a single exposure at those limits.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Air passengers, and by extrapolation an unborn child, are within the scope of workplace exposure limits, which take into account susceptible groups and therefore would protect pregnant women.

No specific evidence was collected during the studies regarding damage occurring to a foetus from a single exposure at workplace exposure limits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to amend Section 4:4 of The Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (England) to exclude the first sentence that specifies certain medical conditions in order to ensure that eligibility is based on disability or ill health regardless of diagnosis.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government has no current plans to amend the non-statutory guidance to local authorities about the Blue Badge scheme. As the guidance makes clear “Each application should be considered on its merits – not on a “one size fits all” basis. The final decision about whether an applicant meets the criterion is for the issuing authority to make.”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 July (HL1538), whether, in preparing that answer, they took into account that a component of tri-cresyl phosphate (TCP) used in some engine oils is tri-xylyl phosphate (TXP), which is currently listed as a Substance of Very High Concern under Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 and as a hazardous substance under Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 because of its classification as toxic for reproduction, and that both TCP and TXP are listed as being suspected of causing harm to the unborn child or fertility.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Trixylyl phosphate (TXP) has been identified as reproductive hazard with effects on fertility based on the oral combined repeated dose and reproductive/developmental study submitted by the company Supresta Netherlands BV. The evidence in the study is derived from oral dosing of rats with various amounts of pure compound during time period of 33 to 48 days. Some effects to fertility were found in mid and high dose groups, however there was no evidence of the substance harming the development of the foetus.

Based on the study, it is not plausible that the occupants of an aircraft would be exposed to sufficient quantities of TXP to have an impact on fertility.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any provision for people claiming Personal Independence Payments who have difficulty in completing questions by hand to be able to complete the forms electronically; and if not, whether they plan to introduce such a facility.

Baroness Altmann

We are developing a digital service for claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which brings the current PIP telephony claim and paper form together.

We have tested a number of different design approaches with users and, based on feedback, are developing an application process that is more tailored to individual needs. From April 2016 we started making the online PIP claim available to a small number of PIP claimants on a voluntary basis. This will allow us to get direct feedback, make ongoing improvements and ensure this new service is effective and secure before it is available nationally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 July (HL831) and 2 November (HL3215), why those fume events that did occur did not trigger the airline’s formal reporting procedures to the Civil Aviation Authority under its mandatory reporting scheme, CAP382.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Under the Civil Aviation Authority’s mandatory reporting scheme (CAP382), a trigger for a report is an event that is considered by crew to be a “safety-related event which endangers or which, if not corrected or addressed, could endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person”.

None of the flights where fumes/smells were reported on post flight questionnaires met this criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Altmann on 16 June (HL502), what provision is made for claimants suffering severe myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome who are housebound or bedbound and who are unable to attend a face-to-face consultation.

Baroness Altmann

A home consultation can be offered where a claimant is unable to travel to a consultation as a result of their health condition or impairment.

Situations where a claimant may need a home consultation can include where a person’s diagnosis suggests a significant disability that may make travel extremely difficult or the claimant provides evidence from a health professional that they are unable to travel due to their health condition or impairment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 July (HL1265), how they reconcile their claim that 95 per cent of the cabin air samples taken in the Cranfield air quality study showed no detectable amounts of tri-cresyl phosphate (TCP) or tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) when Part 2 of the final report shows that TCP and TOCP were detected in 25 per cent of the 100 samples.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The study itself concludes that “It is notable that no detectable amount of TOCP or other TCPs were found in over 95% of the cabin air samples.” The Government has taken this peer-reviewed finding at face value and sees no reason to dispute the conclusions of the report.

The study was published in two parts, Part 1 containing the conclusions and Part 2 setting out the raw data. During analysis some of the data samples in Part 2 were discounted from the study due to various reasons such as fault with the equipment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether jet engine oils and hydraulic and de-icing fluids contain substances that attract harmonised and notified hazard classifications under the CPL Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.

Lord Freud

Suppliers of jet engine oils, hydraulic and de-icing fluids are required to provide information on their products and on certain hazardous components under the direct-acting EU CLP Regulation. Some hazardous components/substances in these oils and fluids may attract harmonised hazard classifications under the CLP Regulation.

Information for users of these products about hazardous components/substances must be included in the safety data sheets required by the REACH Regulation ((EC) No 1907/2006) and, where appropriate, on the labels for these products before the products can be placed on the market in the EU.