Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) nursing home beds, and (2) residential care home beds, available in (a) 2005, (b) 2010, and (c) 2015.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent business rates revaluation, what are the average changes affecting (1) rural businesses, and (2) urban businesses.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government during the recent business rates revaluation, what regard was given to the impact on the turnover and profitability of businesses of seasonality in produce such as livestock, and of currency movements.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government over how long a period the recent rateable revaluation in respect of business rates was estimated.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on rural businesses that are operating at narrow margins of the impact of increases in rateable values.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the criteria used to determine the increase in rateable value as regards business rates in the recent rates revaluation.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the appeals procedure against a proposed increase in rateable value; and what estimate they have made of the average length of time which will be required for an appeal to be considered.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on rural areas of the proposed Industrial Strategy.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on cyclists cycling on footpaths.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the comparative access and speed of the internet between urban and rural areas; and what proposals they have to improve internet access and speeds in rural areas.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the performance of the Rural Payments Agency over the last 12 months.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of what is a fair form of contract between private and public sectors in flood defence funding.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to attract more private funding into the construction of flood defences; and whether this will include providing a return to investors on their investment in such projects and allowing corporate investo...

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) as a viable approach to the funding of flood defence projects; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which this approach would ensure...

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the prioritisation of projects designed to address drainage, water level and flood risks; and what is their estimate of the costs of funding a programme to address these risks.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to planning public investments for flood protection over a 25 year timeframe in order to align public investment planning more closely with corporate investment planning and to attract mor...

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of investment required in resources and skills to undertake necessary flood prevention measures.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to use the design build finance and operate method to manage private sector input into flood defence schemes.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Young of Cookham on 23 November, what criteria are used to allocate the £2.5 billion available for flood defence schemes.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that leaving the EU will have on farming; and whether they plan to implement a new seasonal agricultural workers scheme in order to attract non-EU workers onto farms to pick frui...