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1471559

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bureaux de Change
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require currency exchange services for consumers to display both (1) the live interbank exchange rate, and (2) the commission charged, following the UK’s departure from the EU.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL1077
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2022 answer text Where currency conversion is provided as part of a payment transaction, the Payment Services Regulations 2017 make requirements on UK payment service providers regarding disclosure of fees and charges to the payer, for example, the exchange rate used for a currency conversion transaction. Provisions under the Cross Border Payments Regulation, which continue to apply in the UK as part of retained EU law, also contribute to price transparency, with further requirements regarding how foreign exchange costs are communicated before a payment is made. The Government has no plans at this time to amend the requirements on firms, but keeps all policy under review.<p><strong> </strong></p>The Government recognises the importance of transparency of fees and charges in ensuring effective competition between payment service providers. These regulations, amongst other things, are intended to enable consumers to make informed decisions when making use of payment services including where currency conversion is offered as part of a payment transaction. answering member printed Baroness Penn question first answered 28/06/2022 15:28:52 answering member 4726 label Biography information for Baroness Penn
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1518483

	registered interest
	date	26/09/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Exchange Rates: Dollar
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the main reasons for the long-term decline of the value of the pound against the US dollar.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL2327
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/10/2022 answer text Financial market movements are determined by a wide range of domestic and international factors. It is not appropriate for the government to comment on specific currency market movements. The UK does not have an exchange rate target and the Government does not have a desired level for sterling – the price is determined by the market. The UK's macroeconomic framework is based on an inflation target, and it is for the independent Monetary Policy Committee to set monetary policy to meet this target. answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 10/10/2022 16:33:17 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1381588

	registered interest
	date	23/11/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Mathematics: Higher Education
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total annual investment at Higher Education level in the pure mathematical sciences; and how, as a share of GDP, this compares with that of countries with the best mathematics results at that level.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL4330
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2021 answer text <p>​The government strongly supports mathematical sciences in higher education. Ensuring that there is high-quality provision in a range of subjects is critical in order to build our workforce and support our public services. We are pleased many students chose to take up courses in mathematical sciences, with 39,210 students enrolling in England in 2019/20 academic year: <a href="https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49" target="_blank">https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49</a>.</p><p>Our student loan system supports students who have the qualifications to access higher education, including a range of mathematics courses. In the 2019/20 academic year, a total of £300 million was made available as tuition fee and maintenance loans for students doing mathematics courses.</p><p>The UK continues to be a world leader in mathematics. To support mathematics research and development, UK Research and Innovation has awarded £104 million of additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, over and above the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional investment has funded institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships and postdoctoral awards.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/12/2021 16:59:18 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1520142

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2022
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	General Practitioners: Standards
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness and timeliness of the patient care offered by GP practices.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL2385
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2022 answer text <p>While no formal assessment has been made, the National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including in general practice, in each local area. In addition, as the independent regulator of health and social care the Care Quality Commission assesses the overall quality of individual practices.</p><p>As announced in ‘Our plan for patients’ on 22 September 2022, the Government expects that patients who need an appointment with their practice within two weeks should receive one and patients with urgent needs should be seen on the same day. We also expect local integrated care boards to intervene where services need to be improved.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 07/11/2022 12:08:53 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1452531

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ukraine: Antiaircraft Missiles
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to supply high-altitude anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian forces.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL7080
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>We were the first European country to send defensive weapons; we have already donated more than 4,200 next generation light anti-tank weapons and are now exploring the option of supplying Javelin missiles.</p><p>In response to Ukrainian requests, the Government have taken the decision to supply Starstreak high-velocity, man-portable anti-air missiles to allow the Ukrainian forces to better defend their skies.</p><p>The UK will continue to review Ukrainian requests and work with our Allies and partners to enhance Ukraine's ability to defend itself.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 01/04/2022 11:07:35 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1184984

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2020
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Mexico: Press Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Mexico following reports by the Legatum Institute that 12 journalists were murdered in Mexico between October 2018 and October 2019.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL2573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p>We recognise the challenges Mexico faces regarding ongoing violence against journalists: media freedom is vital for healthy societies everywhere, and journalists should to be able to investigate and report without fear of violence. We engage regularly with the Mexican authorities at ministerial, official, and state levels to discuss a broad human rights agenda, including freedom of expression and freedom of the press. We welcomed Mexico's co-hosting with UNESCO of the regional International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, in November in Mexico last year. The Foreign Secretary discussed human rights and violence against journalists with his Mexican counterpart when he visited Mexico in August 2019, and Baroness Williams did the same with Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero in September 2019.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 23/03/2020 11:41:50 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1174437

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Capital Investment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that International Monetary Fund data shows that the UK is placed 27th out of 28 EU countries for investment as a proportion of GDP between 2000 and 2019.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL897
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>We recognise that in recent years the UK has seen relatively low levels of investment. This Government has committed to increase investment through improving infrastructure. The National Infrastructure Strategy, to be published alongside the Budget, will set out further details of the Government’s plan to transform the UK’s infrastructure and the Government’s long-term ambitions across transport, local growth, decarbonisation, digital infrastructure, infrastructure finance and delivery.</p><p> </p><p>The UK corporate tax regime is highly competitive, with the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G20. Beyond this, businesses are benefitting from enhanced tax incentives, including the recent introduction of the Structures and Buildings Allowance (SBA), and a temporary increase in the Annual Investment Allowance to £1 million.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 11/02/2020 12:41:19 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1700720

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	General Practitioners
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the convenience and efficacy of the systems used by NHS GP practices for patients to make an appointment to see a doctor.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL3719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>We published our Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care in May 2023, which sets out how we are moving toward a ‘Modern General Practice’ model. This plan is backed by £240 million of retargeted funding going to provide digital services with the goal of increasing access. A copy of the plan is attached.</p><p>The sole method for general practices (GPs) to procure these digital services is via NHS England procurement frameworks, which list pre-approved suppliers for digital and IT services. This is to ensure consistency in service provisions, as each supplier must meet a set of requirements to be entered into a framework.</p><p>Each practice will run a procurement for these services and will select a supplier based on their differing specifications for how the IT systems will best meet their patients’ needs. Each supplier will offer varied services with varied benefits, including capabilities which allow patients and service users to request and receive support relating to healthcare concerns, at a time and place convenient for them.</p><p>As of March 2024, 93% of general practices now have digital telephony systems, this has enabled GP teams to manage multiple calls and helping to end the ‘8am rush’ for appointments. Trials show that this has increased patients’ ability to get through to their practice by almost a third.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 25/04/2024 14:22:53 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham attachment 1 file name PRN00283-delivery-plan-for-recovering-access-to-primary-care-may-2023.pdf title Delivery plan for recovering access
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1309990

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2021
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Disease Control
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) global, and (2) UK national, frameworks of (a) institutions, (b) capabilities, (c) processes, and (d) co-operation, that will be needed in the future effectively to detect and to counter pandemics.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL15036
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>We continually assess our pandemic preparedness plans to ensure that they remain as robust as possible. This assessment includes, as appropriate, incorporating lessons learned from exercises that test the readiness of our plans and from our experience in responding to pandemics, disease outbreaks, and other types of incident in the United Kingdom. The UK Health Security Agency, established in April 2021, will be dedicated to ensuring that we are protected from all future health threats including pandemics.</p><p>International cooperation is and will remain essential to detecting and countering pandemics and the Prime Minister, together with other world leaders, has called for a new international treaty on pandemic preparedness. We continue to take every opportunity to engage with our international counterparts, including through the G7 and G20, with the World Health Organization and with the European Union as set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 29/04/2021 09:44:07 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1220848

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Contact Tracing: Software
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government to publish the reasons for developing a bespoke COVID-19 contact tracing application; whether they sought to collaborate with the developers of such applications in operation in other countries; if not, why not; and what lessons they have learned from the decision not to continue with their initial approach to the development of such an application.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL6433
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2020 answer text <p>We are working with other countries to exchange ideas and like the United Kingdom, many countries are working on solutions that best support their local systems while taking into account cultural and societal differences.</p><p> </p><p>The challenges we have faced are not unique to us and have been experienced by a number of countries, including some who rolled out the app and then had to change their approach. It is only right that we test our approach and make sure we deliver a product that works.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 14/07/2020 11:15:32 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt