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1676522

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	UK Trade with EU
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist businesses in overcoming challenges with customs bureaucracy and logistics issues in trade with the EU.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL1005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>HMRC has provided practical support to businesses to enable them to adapt to the new trading environment. This support includes comprehensive guidance on GOV.UK, as well as a range of other supportive information, including recorded webinars and short explainer videos. HMRC has invested in building capacity and capability in the Customs &amp; International Trade Helpline and webchat service to ensure businesses who need additional support are able to access it promptly. Businesses can use this helpline service for assistance with UK customs enquiries via online, webchat, phone, and post. Support is also available to exporters via the Department for Business and Trade’s Export Support Service. This is a dedicated service to help more British businesses export and is a ‘one stop shop’ bringing together UK government information, making it easier for exporters to access advice and support.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is working with traders and businesses to simplify customs processes in order make it easier for them to import and export goods to and from the UK. HMT and HMRC recently announced the next steps on a package of improvements to streamline customs processes and reduce admin burdens for businesses. The announcement follows extensive consultation with industry on potential improvements to the UK customs system, first announced at Spring Budget 2023. Information on the improvements can be found on Gov.uk.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 18/12/2023 15:59:27 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1676523

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	217
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Charities and Food Banks: Government Assistance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support local charities and food banks during the increased cost of living.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL1006
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2023 answer text <p>His Majesty’s Government understands that the cost of living is affecting many civil society organisations, which are seeing increased demand as well as higher running costs. That is why, in the Budget this Spring, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of over £100 million for charities and community organisations across England.</p><p>This funding is split into two strands and is supporting organisations in need right now. The £76 million Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund has closed for applications, and is awarding funding to frontline organisations supporting vulnerable people and households.</p><p>The second strand, the £25.5 million Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise Energy Efficiency Scheme, is now open for applications. Eligible frontline organisations can first apply for an independent energy assessment, and can then apply for a capital grant of between £2,000 and £150,000 to install capital energy measures. Applications for assessments are now open, and applications for capital funding will be open from January 2024. More information can be found at <a href="http://www.groundwork.org.uk/vcseenergyefficiency" target="_blank">www.groundwork.org.uk/vcseenergyefficiency</a>.</p><p>HM Government is also supporting all organisations, including civil society ones, with their energy bills until March 2024 through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 11/12/2023 16:31:25 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1676099

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Assets: Russia
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total value of Russian state assets in the UK.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL904
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>In conjunction with our partners, we have immobilised approximately $280 billion of the Russian Central Bank’s (CBR) foreign currency reserves globally. The CBR’s assets are not subject to an asset freeze but have been immobilised in the UK as it is prohibited to provide financial services in respect of these assets. HM Treasury is working closely with relevant authorities to map the scale and nature of these assets.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will legislate to require persons to inform HM Treasury if they hold any foreign exchange reserves or assets in the UK on behalf of the Central Bank of Russia, Russian Ministry of Finance or Russian National Wealth Fund.</p><p> </p><p>Separately, the Government has imposed asset freezes against designated persons under the Russia Sanctions regime. Between February and October 2022, £18.39 billion in frozen funds were reported to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in relation to this regime.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 18/12/2023 13:01:29 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1676112

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
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	Food: Safety
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 numbers of (1) vets, (2) food inspectors, and (3) other personnel who contribute to maintaining food safety, and what plans they have to ensure sufficient numbers.
tabling member printed	Baroness Hayman of Ullock
uin	HL923
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>Data for local authority food inspectors on 31 March 2023 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in the attached document. Local authorities report their resources by food hygiene and food standards as there are two separate returns.</p><p>The Food Standards Agency (FSA) employs vets in abattoirs, through a Service Delivery Provider (SDP), who deliver Official Controls in England and Wales. They also directly employ vets to approve, audit and assurance Food Business Operators. There are approximately 270 Official Veterinarians (OVs) in abattoirs every day.</p><p>The FSA is implementing a suite of measures to maintain sufficient numbers of both OVs and Official Auxiliaries (OAs) in a difficult recruitment environment. This includes, but is not limited to, careful consultation and consideration through our SDP Retender Programme, planning for contingency measures, working across government to address the systemic veterinary challenges impacting on the ability to recruit OVs and running both trainee and qualified OA recruitment exercises.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 19/12/2023 17:31:47 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham attachment 1 file name PQ food inspectors data.xlsx title Food inspectors data
tabling member	4395 label Biography information for Baroness Hayman of Ullock

1676113

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
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	Environmental Health and Trading 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 numbers of (1) trading standards, (2) environmental health, and (3) food safety personnel in local authorities, and what plans they have to ensure sufficient numbers.
tabling member printed	Baroness Hayman of Ullock
uin	HL924
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2023 answer text <p>Data for local authority food inspectors on 31 March 2023 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in the attached document. Local authorities report their resources by food hygiene and food standards as there are two separate returns.</p><p>Local authorities are responsible for enforcing compliance with food safety and standards legislation for most food businesses. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has statutory duties to monitor and report on their performance in doing so. It does this by collecting data from local authorities. The most recent data from October 2023 survey found:</p><p>- Full Time Equivalent (FTE) allocated by local authorities to deliver food hygiene work is 1,616 with 1,464 occupied; and</p><p>- The allocated FTE for food standards is 432 with 384 occupied.</p><p> </p><p>The FSA recently commissioned research to understand the challenges and opportunities to recruit and retain Local Authority Officers to deliver Official Food and Feed Controls. A copy of <em>Local Authority Capacity and Capability: Executive Summary</em> is attached.</p><p>The overall findings of the research are complex, and the FSA has started to address the areas they have direct influence over, for example by reviewing the qualifications and competence requirements for local authority food officers.</p><p>The FSA has started to collaborate with other government departments and relevant professional bodies to discuss the findings and work together to shape and influence potential solutions.</p><p>At the FSA board meeting on 13 December 2023, the board considered a paper on local authority performance where one of the recommendations is to write to Local Authority Chief Executives and section.151 Finance Officers to set out their concerns about resourcing and delivery, and to remind them of the statutory nature of official food controls when considering and setting the budget allocation for the next financial year. A copy of the paper is attached.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham attachment 1 file name Annual Local Authority Performance Review HL924.pdf title Local authority performance review 2 file name 22-091130-01 WP43 LA Capacity Report -FINAL VERSION.pdf title Capacity report question first answered 20/12/2023 09:38:11 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4395 label Biography information for Baroness Hayman of Ullock

1676114

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
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	Food: Organised Crime
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 level of organised crime relating to food and drink, and what plans they have to facilitate information sharing among relevant public authorities and industry stakeholders.
tabling member printed	Baroness Hayman of Ullock
uin	HL925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a dedicated National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) to prevent, detect and investigate food crime. The NFCU plays a key role in the prevention of food crime by monitoring current and future threats. The unit can also lead and support partners in conducting investigations to enable the prosecution of food criminals. The FSA’s understanding of the nature and levels of food crime within the food and drink sector is set out within their Food Crime Strategic Assessment. The publication of an updated Food Crime Strategic Assessment, compiled in partnership with Food Standards Scotland, is planned for spring 2024.</p><p>The FSA has a strong partnership with industry to detect food fraud risks and vulnerabilities. One such partnership is with the Food Industry Intelligence Network who the FSA liaises closely with on sampling data and potential authenticity issue signals. The FSA works closely with local authorities, who enforce food hygiene and safety standards across much of the food sector. The FSA has regular communication through their networks where intelligence is shared on issues that would fall under their remit for enforcement. The FSA also has well established links with other enforcement agencies and the police to share and discuss relevant intelligence around serious criminality in the food sector and to explore crossovers with other offending so that an effective and collaborative response can be applied to such issues.</p><p>Earlier this year, the FSA established a working group with industry, focusing on food fraud. The working group agreed improvements to the format, content, timeliness, and distribution of intelligence-based alerts, issued by the NFCU to industry networks to allow them to better protect themselves against the threat. All members agreed to promote or otherwise support a new freephone confidential food fraud hotline operated by the FSA. The working group also agreed to the provision of more information to the FSA from voluntary Third-Party Assurance schemes. Sharing arrangements around information exchange with Third-Party Assurance schemes are being explored.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 19/12/2023 17:32:22 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4395 label Biography information for Baroness Hayman of Ullock

1676128

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
answering dept id	215
answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
hansard heading	Fuels: Prices
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish legislation on establishing a price monitoring body for fuel pricing and the requirement for retailers to provide real-time pump prices by site.
tabling member printed	Baroness Randerson
uin	HL944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2023 answer text <p>The Government announced on 15 November that the Competition &amp; Markets Authority (CMA) would undertake the ongoing road fuels price monitoring function. The Digital Markets, Competition &amp; Consumers (DMCC) Bill was amended at Commons Report stage to give the CMA information-gathering powers for the monitoring function.</p><p> </p><p>We will consult shortly on the statutory road fuel prices open data scheme and elements of the monitoring function not outlined in the DMCC Bill. Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Data Protection &amp; Digital Information Bill, secondary legislation will be laid using Smart Data powers to establish the open data scheme.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 14/12/2023 11:31:02 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	4230 label Biography information for Baroness Randerson

1676142

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Windsor Framework
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether all five joint consultative UK–EU sub-groups as outlined in the Windsor Framework have been established and complete membership appointed on both sides.
tabling member printed	Lord Weir of Ballyholme
uin	HL961
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The rules of procedure of the Joint Consultative Working Group (JCWG) provide for the establishment of structured sub-groups. Five new structured sub-groups have been established and UK and EU co-chairs for each group have been appointed. Consistent with the JCWG rules of procedure, before each meeting, those sub-groups inform each other of the intended composition of their respective delegations. The delegations are confidential unless otherwise decided by the co-chairs.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 21/12/2023 09:58:08 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4970 label Biography information for Lord Weir of Ballyholme

1676143

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Windsor Framework
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place of each of the five joint consultative UK–EU sub-groups established under the Windsor Framework.
tabling member printed	Lord Weir of Ballyholme
uin	HL962
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>Consistent with the Joint Consultative Working Group (JCWG) rules of procedure, meetings of the structured sub-groups to the JCWG are held as necessary and on a confidential basis.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 21/12/2023 09:58:26 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4970 label Biography information for Lord Weir of Ballyholme

1676144

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Windsor Framework
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) further statutory instruments, or (2) other pieces of legislation, they still need to bring forward to fully implement the Windsor Framework.
tabling member printed	Lord Weir of Ballyholme
uin	HL963
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>Since the Windsor Framework was agreed in February 2023, the Government has been working to deliver the full benefits of that agreement for people and businesses in Northern Ireland. The Government has introduced secondary legislation to that effect and any further legislation would be introduced in Parliament in the usual way.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 21/12/2023 09:59:05 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4970 label Biography information for Lord Weir of Ballyholme