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1138615

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	High Speed Two: Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of freedom of information requests received by HS2 Limited were resolvable requests withheld in full for (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) the first quarter of 2019.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	276515
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>From 2015 up to the end of first quarter of 2019, HS2 Ltd received 1,224 Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests. Where an exemption (FOI) or an exception (EIR) applied, all of the requested information was withheld on 239 occasions. The proportion of resolvable requests withheld in full for each period is as follows: (a) 2015, 12% (b) 2016, 19% (c) 2017, 25% (d) 2018, 19% and (e) first quarter of 2019, 24%.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wealden answering member printed Ms Nusrat Ghani question first answered 17/07/2019 13:18:11 answering member 4460 label Biography information for Ms Nusrat Ghani
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1138693

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he is taking to tackle universal credit fraud.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	276511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes its obligation to prevent, detect and investigate fraud very seriously and will investigate all claims where fraud may have been committed. We have recently set up a dedicated team to investigate a specific type of emergent fraud, and we are also committed to the use of penalties such as prosecutions and tough financial penalties to discourage fraudulent behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has also recently been working to further improve knowledge and awareness of Universal Credit (UC) fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that all staff are aware how to quickly refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>Most welfare losses, across Government, arise from claimants failing to report changes of circumstances. UC provides a single, digital interface through which claimants can more easily report these changes. UC also allows us to adjust benefit entitlement in line with changing circumstances in real time. Internal and external data matches are increasingly helping to inform benefit payments and alerting staff to check for any undeclared changes in people’s circumstances. Once UC is fully rolled out, we expect cross-welfare losses to fraud, error and overpayments to be reduced by around £1 billion per year</p><p> </p><p>As of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1 per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 12:58:00 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138694

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Proof of Identity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure accurate verification of universal credit claimants who request an advance.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	276512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>As of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1 per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has been working to improve knowledge and awareness of advances fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that staff are aware how to refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>We are developing our service iteratively and improving any areas in the service that may currently be presenting issues, to minimise the risk of fraud while ensuring that we can continue to provide financial support to those claimants who need it.</p><p>We cannot share advance detail of the specific security improvements we are making but this includes improving our process for verifying a claimant’s circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 12:46:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138699

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of universal credit scams.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	276513
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes benefit fraud very seriously and is committed to taking appropriate action when it is detected.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant has been the victim of fraud, and has not benefitted financially in any way, they will not be asked to repay the money. The Department considers all cases on their individual merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has been working to improve knowledge and awareness of advances fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that staff are aware how to refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>Most welfare losses, across Government, arise from claimants failing to report changes of circumstances, Universal Credit (UC) provides a single, digital interface through which claimants can more easily report these changes. As such, once UC is fully rolled out, we expect cross-welfare losses to fraud, error and overpayments to be reduced by around £1 billion per year.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 13:47:42 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1136751

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Television Licences: Older People
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 impact of the change to the TV licence concession for the over-75s from June 2020 on those with sight impairments; and whether such people will have that concession removed after 2020.
tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
uin	HL16901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC. However, the Government has no intention to change the blind (severely sight impaired) licence fee concession, regardless of the age of the recipient.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Guidance on the blind (severely sight imparied) licence fee concession can be found on the TV Licensing website: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/blindseverely-sight-impaired-aud5</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 17/07/2019 13:36:38 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1136754

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Television Licences: Older People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that people over the age of 75 who cannot afford to pay for a TV licence from June 2020 will be able (1) to access content, and (2) to be kept informed of current affairs, to support their continued democratic engagement.
tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
uin	HL16904
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The government recognises the importance of television to people of all ages, particularly for older people who value television as a source of entertainment, companionship and a way to stay connected with the world.</p><p> </p><p>We are very disappointed with the BBC’s decision that only people who are aged 75 and above and in receipt of pension credit will continue to receive a free television licence from June 2020. The Secretary of State has met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision.</p><p> </p><p>A TV licence is only required to watch or record live television programmes, or to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer. Therefore, those without a TV licence will still be able to access other BBC content via the BBC radio stations (including BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer Radio), and the BBC, BBC News and BBC Sport websites.</p><p> </p><p>Further television programming can also be reached via other On-Demand and subscription television services, and current affairs content is available through news websites, newspapers, social media channels and apps, enabling continued democratic engagement. Online parliamentary petitions can be found here: <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/" target="_blank">https://petition.parliament.uk/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>More information about when a TV Licence is required can be found on the TV Licensing website here: <a href="https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one" target="_blank">https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one</a></p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 17/07/2019 14:04:16 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1136759

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Bain and Company
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many consultancy contracts they have with Bain & Company, broken down by each government department.
tabling member printed	Lord Hain
uin	HL16909
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>In order to enable government departments to quickly secure resource for critical work on preparations and implementation of EU exit at pace, the Cabinet Office have put in place a set of contracts for all government departments to access. This includes a contract with Bain and Co. The contracts have been published on contracts finder and spend under this arrangement is published monthly on GOV.UK titled ‘Central EU Exit Consultancy’.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL16910 question first answered 15/07/2019 14:53:31 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain

1136760

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Bain and Company
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any government department has used Bain & Company for any consultancy or advisory work since 2010.
tabling member printed	Lord Hain
uin	HL16910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>In order to enable government departments to quickly secure resource for critical work on preparations and implementation of EU exit at pace, the Cabinet Office have put in place a set of contracts for all government departments to access. This includes a contract with Bain and Co. The contracts have been published on contracts finder and spend under this arrangement is published monthly on GOV.UK titled ‘Central EU Exit Consultancy’.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL16909 question first answered 15/07/2019 14:53:31 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain

1136761

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Bain and Company
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to the probity and quality of Bain & Company's consultancy work for the South African Revenue Service in regard to any work by that consultancy for government departments.
tabling member printed	Lord Hain
uin	HL16911
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is aware of this situation and is monitoring it. Assessments on the probity and quality of work on individual UK Government contracts are undertaken on a department by department basis.</p><p>A UK Government department seeking bids for contracts covered by the Public Contracts Regulations would need to follow the rules on exclusions as defined within Regulation 57.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 15/07/2019 14:54:50 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain

1136762

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
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	South African Revenue Service: Bain and Company
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to instruct Her Majesty's High Commissioner to South Africa to compile a report to the Prime Minister on the probity and quality of Bain & Company’s consultancy work for the South African Revenue Service; and if so, whether they will place a copy of any such report in the Library of the House of Lords.
tabling member printed	Lord Hain
uin	HL16912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>​We have no plans to instruct the High Commissioner to South Africa to compile a report on Bain &amp; Company. This is a matter for the South African Government and we note the various Commissions appointed to investigate this and related issues.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 15:12:02 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain