Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 6 June (HL8104), what steps they intend to take to ensure the Emergency Services Network will continue to operate during a prolonged power outage.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 6 June (HL8104), whether the existing emergency services communications network, Airwave, would operate during a prolonged power outage.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 6 June (HL8104), what systems are in place across existing mobile networks to ensure that they continue to operate during a prolonged power outage.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My noble friend is quite right to refuse to speculate about the causes of this, but will she ask the media not to speculate about possible causes as to why this couple were found in a distressed situation? Some disgraceful things have been said in the media which should not have been aired there; that was most unhelpful.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I begin by congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Harris, on three things: first, on securing this debate, which is not an easy thing to do; secondly, on his excellent work on London’s preparedness to respond to a major terrorist incident; and, thirdly, on his speech, in which he has said many of the things that I would like to say but has done so with more eloquence, and so I shall...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 25 June (HL8482), what provisions are in place to ensure that the electric relays of the fibre networks to which Airwave sites are connected would continue to work during a prolonged power outage.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was meant by the word "additional" in the NATO Brussels Summit Declaration of 11 July which stated in paragraph 14 that "Allies will offer an additional 30 major naval combatants, 30 heavy or medium manoeuvre battalions, and 30 kinetic air squadrons, with enabling forces, at 30 days readiness or less".
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they intend the UK to make to NATO's Four 30s initiative.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use when considering whether to give permission under Article 11.1(O) of the Articles of Association of Post Office Limited to incur a commitment or liability of more than £50 million.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I wonder whether my noble friend can help me. In view of the contingent nature of these SIs, is it the Government’s policy to honour the result of last night’s vote in another place?
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 19 November 2018 (HL11350), how many such requests for permission have been requested by Post Office Limited under that Article within the last two years.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to protect against geomagnetic disturbances; and whether they have published, or intend to publish, the details of any such measures.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her helpful answers so far. Is one of the problems that there is a contradiction between our natural desire to make sure that there is no variation in treatment or administration across the country and our equally natural desire to ensure that local people can make decisions on the basis of their local resources? Is there a sense that the...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I agree with absolutely every word of what the right reverend Prelate said. He reminds us of what is at stake when we speak of defence, but also of the value of alliances. I draw attention to my interests declared on the register, particularly the fact that I am chairman of the advisory board of Thales UK and chairman of the Information Assurance Advisory Council, a cybersecurity...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I am quite sure that it is my fault, but I remain confused. Has the naming and shaming scheme been suspended?
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the Post Office’s powers to conduct prosecutions.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that Answer. Last year, the Post Office had to settle litigation brought by 555 sub-postmasters at a cost to it of nearly £60 million. The Court of Appeal described the Post Office as treating sub-postmasters “in capricious or arbitrary ways which would not be unfamiliar to a mid-Victorian factory-owner.” The judge at first instance held...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of compensation received by sub-postmasters as a result of the Horizon accounting system litigation, as compared to the losses those sub-postmasters incurred due to Post Office Ltd’s policies.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. Many of your Lordships will have been delighted to hear the Prime Minister say last week in Prime Minister’s Questions that there would be an independent inquiry into what he described as the Post Office Horizon IT system “scandal”. Can my noble friend give us details of that inquiry, in particular of how it will be independent of not only the...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: My Lords, the last time I was in Israel, I told the mayor of Jerusalem that the settlements were a mistake. He said: “What do you want me to do, police the ethnicity of land sales between Israelis and Palestinians?” If most Palestinians recognise that a land swap for the settlement blocks is the pragmatic way forward, should not we in the UK be doing the same?