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1138607

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies: Multi-academy Trusts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that schools take the leading role in deciding whether to (a) form and (b) join a multi-academy trust.
tabling member constituency	Walsall North
tabling member printed	Eddie Hughes
uin	276587
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The process to become an academy is school led, with schools’ Local Governing Bodies taking the initiative to apply to their Regional School Commissioners’ office on whether to join an existing academy trust, or form one with partner schools. The only exception to this, where the department takes a leading role, is where a school is judged as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, as the law requires the Secretary of State to make an order enabling the school to become an academy.</p><p> </p><p>The department aims to ensure that all schools considering becoming academies are able to join strong academy trusts, and this has historically been supported through trust capacity funding. Ultimately, our ambition is for every school that wants to, to benefit from the autonomy and freedom to innovate that academy status offers, and for schools to collaborate through strong academy trusts.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 17/07/2019 14:43:33 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes

1138608

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
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	Jagtar Singh Johal
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the time taken to conduct the trial of Jagtar Singh Johal in that country.
tabling member constituency	Walsall North
tabling member printed	Eddie Hughes
uin	276588
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>​We regularly make representations on Mr <strong>Johal</strong>'s behalf, including raising his right to a fair trial. Our High Commissioner in India raised this with the Indian High Commissioner to the UK most recently on 10 June.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 17/07/2019 14:41:27 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
tabling member	4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes

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

1138628

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
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	Sri Lanka: Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart on the implementation of UN Human Rights Council resolutions regarding the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war.
tabling member constituency	Chipping Barnet
tabling member printed	Theresa Villiers
uin	276526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK continues to encourage and support Sri Lanka to deliver the commitments it made to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through Resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1. We firmly believe that this is the best framework for establishing truth and achieving justice and lasting reconciliation. The Government has made these points regularly to Sri Lankan Ministers, including during a Ministerial visit to Colombo in October and in a number of meetings since. The British High Commissioner in Colombo also holds regular discussions on the implementation of the UNHRC resolutions with the Government of Sri Lanka.</p><p>In March the UK welcomed the Annual Report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which assessed progress made by the Sri Lankan Government in the implementation of UNHRC resolutions 30/1 and 34/1. The Report found that the Government of Sri Lanka had taken some steps to address human rights concerns and to introduce more democratic and accountable government, including the return of some military-held civilian land, the establishment of an Office of Missing Persons and the ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances.</p><p>However, more needs to be done. The UK has urged further progress on these issues, and encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to deliver meaningful devolution through constitutional reform, and to establish and then utilise credible mechanisms for transitional justice. We continue to urge the Government to prioritise the steps required to deliver fully on the commitments it made in resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1, and to develop a comprehensive and time bound implementation strategy.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 17/07/2019 14:39:37 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
tabling member	1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers

1138678

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage (a) supermarkets, (b) restaurant chains and (c) hotel groups to sign up to the European chicken commitment.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	276519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare, and the welfare of our farmed livestock in all systems is protected by comprehensive and robust legislation. After we leave the EU we will look to strengthen our world class welfare standards as new research and evidence emerges. In England, we intend to develop publicly funded schemes for farmers to deliver animal welfare enhancements beyond our high regulatory baseline that are valued by the public, but not sufficiently rewarded by the market. We also want to provide greater transparency and certainty for consumers, so that they have a clear understanding of the animal welfare standards applying to products. We note that the European Chicken Commitment initiative is also promoting enhancements beyond the regulatory baseline and we look forward to seeing how this voluntary initiative progresses.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/07/2019 14:40:12 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

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

1138696

registered interest
date	12/07/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Japanese Knotweed: Weed Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that homeowners are aware of Japanese knotweed, and what guidance his Department provides to homeowners who are affected by that invasive species.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	276522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>Gov.uk contains a guidance page that provides information on the identification and treatment of Japanese Knotweed as well as providing links to The Invasive Non-Native Specialists Association and Property Care Association website for further advice.</p><p> </p><p>The Non-Native Species Secretariat website includes general information on Japanese knotweed and has also made a good practice management guide for Japanese knotweed freely available for download.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 17/07/2019 14:32:32 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

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

1136745

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Homelessness
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure adequate and sustainable funding to prevent homelessness in the long term.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL16895
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.</p><p>The Chancellor has said that there will be a Spending Review this year, and the Government will be looking at long term funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services as part of that. We have made very clear that homelessness and rough sleeping is a key priority for the Government. We are working with other Government departments to assess what more can be done to combat rough sleeping and wider homelessness. This work is being overseen by the Ministerial Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce which includes HM Treasury and will play an important part of our preparations for the forthcoming Spending Review.</p> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 10/07/2019 13:30:45 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham