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1127182

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many further submissions relating to asylum applications were submitted in each year since 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
	tabling member printed	Kate Green
	uin	255321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2019 answer text <p>Home Office records report that, between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018, a total of 28,953 people lodged Further Submissions after initially having their asylum claim refused.</p><p>A breakdown for each year is provided in the table below.</p><p>Since March 2015, the Home Office has required non-detained refused asylum seekers to lodge Further Submissions by appointment at the Further Submissions Unit based in Liverpool. The figures in the table note how many people lodged a Further Submission at the Further Submissions Unit, and how many people lodged their submission by a different route, including cases where a Further Submission was raised in detention and cases where a Further Submission is raised during the Family Returns Process.</p><p>Table showing breakdown of people who made Further Submissions following refusal of asylum between 2014 and 2018.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Submission not made in person in Liverpool</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Submission made in person at Further Submissions Unit in Liverpool</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>(Total)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>4,521</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>1,971</p></td><td><p>2,124</p></td><td><p>4,095</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1,420</p></td><td><p>3,324</p></td><td><p>4,744</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,546</p></td><td><p>5,053</p></td><td><p>6,599</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>1,618</p></td><td><p>7,376</p></td><td><p>8,994</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(Total)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> 6,555 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> 17,877 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> 28,953 </strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 04/06/2019 10:22:31 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

1127862

	registered interest
	date	21/05/2019
	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	China and India: Diplomatic Service
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many diplomatic staff employed by his Department on matters relating to (a) India and (b) China are stationed in (i) London, (ii) India and (iii) China.
	tabling member constituency	West Dorset
	tabling member printed	Sir Oliver Letwin
	uin	256907
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/05/2019 answer text <p>In London as at 30 April 2019, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has 20-39 FCO diplomatic staff that work within South Asia and Afghanistan Directorate (SAAD) which includes India, and 40-59 diplomatic staff that work within Asia Pacific Directorate (APD), including China. This does not include home civil servants. We are unable to offer numbers working on inividual countries within these Directorates. In addition, there are officers in other areas of the FCO whose work relates to China or India but we do not hold this level of detail on our central Human resources management systems.</p><p>The Her Majesty's Government networks in India and mainland China are two of the largest in the world. There are nearly 700 UK government staff nationwide in China and around 1,000 UK government staff in India, in both cases representing a number of British government departments.</p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field question first answered 30/05/2019 15:26:57 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
	tabling member	247 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Letwin

1126537

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what response her Department makes when notified by a local authority of an error in a resident’s universal credit calculation.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	254086
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254088 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119078 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126539

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to local authorities to help (a) identify and (b) remedy errors in universal credit calculations.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	254088
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254086 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119077 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126941

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2019 to Question 249847, what assessment of a universal credit claimant’s financial situation is made when calculating what percentage of their payment will be deducted in order to repay an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	254734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>The maximum amount a claimant can receive as a new claim advance payment is 100 per cent of their total indicative Universal Credit award. The claimant can decide the length of repayment period when they request the advance. This can be up to a maximum 12 months. The rate of repayment is decided by dividing the total advance amount by the agreed repayment period.</p><p>Affordability is managed by ensuring the recovery rate is not more than the equivalent of 40 per cent of the standard allowance and help is available for those struggling to meet the recovery rate once recovery begins. In many cases, because claimants choose to repay advances over many months, advance repayments constitute less than 40% of a standard allowance. In exceptional circumstances, recovery can be deferred for up to 3 months from the start of the recovery period.</p><p>Advances are not loans; they are an interest free advance payment of benefit, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period. The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 03/06/2019 13:51:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119076 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1127254

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Home Office: Staff
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 14 May (HL15405), whether they will name the three Home Office officials who were convicted in open court of criminal offences in connection with their official duties.
	tabling member printed	Lord Marlesford
	uin	HL15807
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/05/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office withheld the names of staff members to ensure that it did not breach statutory and data protection obligations.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 31/05/2019 10:34:29 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1854 label Biography information for Lord Marlesford

1127258

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 10 May (HL15362), if such data on the waiting times for appeal hearings on Personal Independence Payment claims are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost, how they determine whether (1) claims are being dealt with in a timely manner, and (2) the resources allocated to deal with appeals are adequate to meet the backlog of appeal claims.
	tabling member printed	Lord Scriven
	uin	HL15811
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/05/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) closely monitors waiting times. However, HMCTS does not keep data on waiting times within the specific and localised timeframes cited in the earlier question, answered on 10 May (HL15362), to which this question refers – namely, (1) up to six months, (2) six to 12 months, (3) 12 to 24 months, and (4) over 24 months. Information about volumes and waiting times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunals and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. HMCTS receives a bi-annual forecast of expected appeals from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and that informs our resourcing plans as well as informing judicial recruitment. Additional fee-paid judicial office holders have been recruited: 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 118 disability qualified members and up to 232 medical members. In addition, more PIP appeals are being listed per session and case-management “triage” sessions have been introduced, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination. All these measures will increase the capacity of the tribunal, with the aim of reducing waiting times for appellants.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 31/05/2019 11:15:22 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	4333 label Biography information for Lord Scriven

1127413

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2019
	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	Nigeria: Churches
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that 900 churches in Nigeria have been destroyed by Boko Haram; and what assessment they have made of whether such activity is part of a campaign to eradicate Christianity in the north of that country.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL15824
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/05/2019 answer text <p>We are aware of the statement by the Christian Association of Nigeria in January 2017 which claimed that 900 churches have been destroyed by Boko Haram since 2009. We are unable to substantiate these numbers given the challenges of obtaining precise data in north east Nigeria. Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation with a vile ideology and history of attacking civilians, both Christian and Muslim. The majority of Boko Haram's victims have been Muslims. The UK condemns attacks on civilians, including on the basis of their religious belief. The Foreign Secretary discussed the issue of freedom of religious belief and UK support to combat extremists with the Nigerian Vice President during his visit to Nigeria in April. He also met with a wide range of religious leaders to discuss how the UK can support their work to promote interfaith dialogue and long-term peace, and visited North East Nigeria.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 30/05/2019 15:56:02 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1127414

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	North Korea: Food Supply
	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 UN World Food Programme's food security anylsis, published on 3 May, which states that North Korea’s food situation is critical and is set to worsen and that South Pyongan Province faces a severe food security crisis.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL15825
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>Limited availability of official data from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) makes comprehensive analysis of the situation difficult. DFID is currently the fourth largest donor to the World Food Programme (WFP). DFID provides both multi-year core funding (£40 million a year) and non-core funding. WFP can use these resources to respond rapidly to food insecurity where needs are greatest. DFID continues to track and monitor humanitarian risks around the globe.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 03/06/2019 14:55:16 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1127438

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	British Steel: Loans
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they took into consideration British Steel’s acquisition of Ascoval when reaching their decision on lending to that company.
	tabling member printed	Lord Myners
	uin	HL15849
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>The purchase of Ascoval was undertaken by the shareholder, and not by British Steel.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 03/06/2019 11:17:09 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
	tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners