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1242217

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Garo Paylan
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey following reports that Garo Paylan has been subjected to intimidation tactics including (1) threats to his safety, and (2) hate speech.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL9001
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>We have seen press reports that the People's Democratic Party (HDP) MP, Garo Paylan, has been targeted publicly by a Turkish research centre over his comments on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have also noted reporting that the Turkish authorities may be preparing a case against him. We have made it clear previously to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes against MPs, party officials, elected mayors, human rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of fundamental rights of all people, particularly in the areas of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 26/10/2020 12:52:39 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1242221

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Union Learning Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consulted with (1) the Trades Union Congress, and (2) individual trade unions, prior to terminating the Union Learning Fund.
tabling member printed	Lord Balfe
uin	HL9008
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The government did not consult with any outside bodies prior to making the decision not to continue to provide funding for the Union Learning Fund after 31 March 2021.</p><p>We have made no commitment to funding beyond this date and have always been clear any future funding would depend on the Government’s Spending Review. The decision to cease funding after April 2021 has been communicated at this stage in the Spending Review process in order to give a greater period of notice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL9009 HL9010 question first answered 26/10/2020 12:50:56 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4302 label Biography information for Lord Balfe

1242222

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Union Learning Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consulted with (1) employers, and (2) business and trade representative bodies, prior to terminating the Union Learning Fund.
tabling member printed	Lord Balfe
uin	HL9009
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The government did not consult with any outside bodies prior to making the decision not to continue to provide funding for the Union Learning Fund after 31 March 2021.</p><p>We have made no commitment to funding beyond this date and have always been clear any future funding would depend on the Government’s Spending Review. The decision to cease funding after April 2021 has been communicated at this stage in the Spending Review process in order to give a greater period of notice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL9008 HL9010 question first answered 26/10/2020 12:50:57 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4302 label Biography information for Lord Balfe

1242223

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Union Learning Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consulted with (1) training providers, (2) Sector Skill Councils, and (3) further education organisations, prior to terminating the Union Learning Fund.
tabling member printed	Lord Balfe
uin	HL9010
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The government did not consult with any outside bodies prior to making the decision not to continue to provide funding for the Union Learning Fund after 31 March 2021.</p><p>We have made no commitment to funding beyond this date and have always been clear any future funding would depend on the Government’s Spending Review. The decision to cease funding after April 2021 has been communicated at this stage in the Spending Review process in order to give a greater period of notice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL9008 HL9009 question first answered 26/10/2020 12:50:57 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4302 label Biography information for Lord Balfe

1242224

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Union Learning Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allocate a proportion of the National Skills Fund to projects that aim to directly engage learners in the workplace, replacing the current work undertaken by Union Learn, following the decision to cease funding for the Union Learning Fund.
tabling member printed	Lord Balfe
uin	HL9011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The government has taken the decision not to continue to provide grant funding to Unionlearn in the next financial year. This decision should not be seen in isolation but as part of the department’s overall plans for improving the skills offer.</p><p>This was a difficult decision. However, we need to prioritise how we use our resources in these challenging times and have decided to concentrate on a number of major investments in further education. The government has announced it will introduce a £2.5 billion National Skills Fund to help adults get the skills they need. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, as part of his Lifetime Skills Guarantee, recently announced that for adults, who do not currently have a level 3 qualification, we will be fully funding their first full level 3, focusing on the valuable courses that will help them get ahead in the labour market. The offer will be funded from the National Skills Fund and offered from April 2021.</p><p>My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, also recently announced digital bootcamps to support local regions and employers to fill in-demand vacancies by providing valuable skills. Adults in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Liverpool City Region can now register their interest to take part in the digital bootcamps. In early 2021, the digital bootcamps will also be available in Leeds City Region, Heart of the South West, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. We are planning to expand the bootcamps to more of the country from Spring 2021 and we want to extend this model to include other technical skills training.</p><p>Further plans for the National Skills Fund will be announced in due course.</p><p>Alongside the National Skills Fund, the department has been working to provide further support in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. In his Summer Economic Update, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced investment of over £500 million to deliver a package of support for people to access the training and develop the skills they will need to go on to high-quality, secure and fulfilling employment. The Skills Recovery Package included:</p><ul><li>Apprenticeships: A new payment of £2,000 to employers in England for each new apprentice they hire who is aged 24 or below and a £1,500 payment for each new apprentice they hire who is aged 25 and over, from 1 August 2020 to 31 January 2021.</li><li>Traineeships: £111 million to triple the scale and reform traineeships for those aged 16 - 24 (25 with an Education, Health and Care plan), with additional funding available to providers in 2020-21 to support 30,000 new places. We have also introduced, for the first time, payments of £1,000 per trainee for employers who offer new or additional work placements (up to 10 trainees).</li><li>Careers information, advice and guidance: £32 million over two years to help 269,000 more people of all ages receive advice from the National Careers Service.</li><li>Sector-based work academy programme (SWAP): £17 million to triple the number of SWAP placements in 2020/21, enough funding to support an extra 40,000 job seekers with additional training opportunities and the chance of a job.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In addition, the recently announced expansion of The Skills Toolkit means that people can now choose from over 70 courses, covering digital, adult numeracy, employability and work readiness skills, which have been identified as the skills employers need the most. These courses will help people stay in work or take up new jobs and opportunities.</p><p>The government appreciates the importance of adult education to improving people’s life chances. We will continue to explore options within adult education to aid the post COVID-19 recovery.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 26/10/2020 13:07:48 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4302 label Biography information for Lord Balfe

1242226

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Department for Transport: Consultants
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent on consultancy services by the Department for Transport and its related agencies in the 2019/20 financial year; and what was the (1) cost of, and (2) reason for, each such contract.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL9015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2020 answer text <p>The Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies spent £77.5m in the financial year 2019/20 on consultancy services.</p><p> </p><p>The Department publishes details of all spend above £25000 on Gov.uk and this includes details of consultancy contracts. The main areas for spend for consultancy were within rail, covering rail operations and upgrading rail infrastructure.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 23/10/2020 11:01:03 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

1242230

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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	Pheasants
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of pheasants in the UK, and (2) their impact on other wildlife.
tabling member printed	Lord Birt
uin	HL9020
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The number of pheasants and their impact are being considered as part of a review by Defra that was initiated in response to a Judicial Review. The findings of the review will be published in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 26/10/2020 17:00:51 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1242231

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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	Private Rented Housing: Social Security Benefits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent landlords and vetting agents from discriminating against, and refusing to accept, tenants who are in receipt of benefit payments.
tabling member printed	Baroness Goudie
uin	HL9031
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government wants everyone to have access to secure and safe housing. Blanket bans against tenants in receipt of benefits have no place in a fair and modern housing market. The Government has worked with the lettings industry to agree an approach to end this practice. Major lettings portals Zoopla and Rightmove agreed last year to stop the use of 'No DSS' adverts on their websites, and several major lenders agreed to remove restrictions on mortgages which prevented landlords from letting to tenants on benefits.</p><p>The Government will continue to strongly encourage landlords to look at all potential and existing tenants on an individual basis. Legislation exists to prohibit acts of discrimination against individuals in terms of race, age, disability, gender, religion and sexual orientation amongst others. Where a prospective tenant believes that they have been discriminated against, they should seek independent legal advice or contact Citizens’ Advice for free, impartial advice.</p><p>The Government has made a significant investment in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) of nearly £1 billion, lifting rates to the 30th percentile from April this year. The increase in LHA will help alleviate affordability challenges facing benefit claimants in the private rented sector by reducing shortfalls, benefiting over 1 million households who will see an average increase of £600 a year.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 19/10/2020 16:45:44 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
tabling member	3575 label Biography information for Baroness Goudie

1242233

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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	Think Tanks: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require think tanks who seek to influence government policy and the policy of registered political parties to publish the (1) source, and (2) amount, of donations they receive to fund their work.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL9041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>Think tanks which have opted for charitable status must ensure they abide by the rules that apply to all charities under charity law. Charities can undertake political activity but only in pursuit of their charitable purposes, and only to the extent that the political activity remains subsidiary to the charity’s purpose and does not become an end in itself. Charities must not participate in any party-political activity, or support a political party or candidate. The Charity Commission sets this out clearly in its guidance on campaigning and political activity which was published in 2008.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/speaking-out-guidance-on-campaigning-and-political-activity-by-charities-cc9" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/speaking-out-guidance-on-campaigning-and-political-activity-by-charities-cc9</a></p><p>Most charitable think tanks carry out their charitable purpose well. There are many examples where important contributions have been made in a responsible manner and in line with the law. Where charities, including charitable think tanks, do not operate in line with the law, or where they cross the line in terms of political activity, the Charity Commission, as the independent charity regulator and as tasked by Parliament, has the legal responsibility to hold charities to account under charity law and deal with those matters proportionately on behalf of the public.</p><p>The Government encourages greater transparency as a matter of good practice, but it is not a legal requirement for charities to publicly disclose the identity of individual donors. Donor anonymity is an important consideration in ensuring people have the confidence to donate to charitable causes they care about.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL9042 question first answered 26/10/2020 12:44:04 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

1242234

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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	Think Tanks: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of donations made to think tanks to influence government policy and the policy of registered political parties, which are impermissible to be donated to registered political parties under the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL9042
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>Think tanks which have opted for charitable status must ensure they abide by the rules that apply to all charities under charity law. Charities can undertake political activity but only in pursuit of their charitable purposes, and only to the extent that the political activity remains subsidiary to the charity’s purpose and does not become an end in itself. Charities must not participate in any party-political activity, or support a political party or candidate. The Charity Commission sets this out clearly in its guidance on campaigning and political activity which was published in 2008.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/speaking-out-guidance-on-campaigning-and-political-activity-by-charities-cc9" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/speaking-out-guidance-on-campaigning-and-political-activity-by-charities-cc9</a></p><p>Most charitable think tanks carry out their charitable purpose well. There are many examples where important contributions have been made in a responsible manner and in line with the law. Where charities, including charitable think tanks, do not operate in line with the law, or where they cross the line in terms of political activity, the Charity Commission, as the independent charity regulator and as tasked by Parliament, has the legal responsibility to hold charities to account under charity law and deal with those matters proportionately on behalf of the public.</p><p>The Government encourages greater transparency as a matter of good practice, but it is not a legal requirement for charities to publicly disclose the identity of individual donors. Donor anonymity is an important consideration in ensuring people have the confidence to donate to charitable causes they care about.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL9041 question first answered 26/10/2020 12:44:04 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark