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100578

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Parole: Learning Disability
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to ensure reasonable adjustments for people with learning disabilities who are released from custody on licence so that the licence conditions are (1) necessary, and (2) proportionate.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bradley
	uin	HL2315
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>All offenders released from custody on licence are subject to six standard conditions. There are no exceptions. The standard licence conditions include requirements to keep in touch with their supervising officer, to seek permission prior to obtaining employment or moving address, and restrictions on travel outside the UK.</p><p> </p><p>It is also possible for additional conditions or restrictions to be placed upon the licence - for example, to prevent the offender in question from contacting a previous victim, or from visiting certain locations or premises. Any additional condition must be justified as being necessary for the effective management of the offender in question, as well as being proportionate to the risk the offender poses.</p><p> </p><p>The process for requesting and approving any additional conditions is the same for all offenders released on licence, so that the supervising officer may have specific regard to any offender with learning disabilities. If the supervising officer who manages the case considers that additional conditions are necessary and proportionate, they must request these of the Governing Governor of the releasing prison, or the Parole Board, whoever has responsibility for release in that case. The decision on whether to include such conditions rests with that authority.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 05/11/2014 17:35:25 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	452 label Biography information for Lord Bradley

100603

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners: Suicide
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of suicides in HM prisons.
	tabling member printed	Lord Clinton-Davis
	uin	HL2334
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Every death in custody is a tragedy, and the Government is committed to reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prisons. All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves. These procedures include the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process, which is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for prisoners identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm. Prisons are also required to ensure that they have procedures in place to learn from deaths in custody to prevent future occurrences.</p><p> </p><p>We are working hard to understand the reasons for the recent rise in the number of self-inflicted deaths, but there is no simple explanation. Additional resources and support are being provided for safer custody work in prisons, and in particular to improve the consistency of the ACCT system. The National Offender Management Service has also put in place additional staff at regional level to support staff in prisons and to share good practice, and created a dedicated learning and knowledge management team at headquarters which is providing further support for safer custody work.</p><p> </p><p>Data on deaths in custody is published quarterly in the Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin, available at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody-statistics</a>.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 06/11/2014 17:46:36 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	1116 label Biography information for Lord Clinton-Davis

100624

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Tribunals
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much it cost to prepare the Senior President of the Tribunals’ annual report on the performance of decision-making in the Ministry of Justice, in each of the last ten years.
	tabling member printed	Lord Sharkey
	uin	HL2355
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Section 15A of the Social Security Act 1998 requires the Senior President of Tribunals, annually, to make a written report on the standards achieved by the Secretary of State for Work &amp; Pensions in the making of decisions against which an appeal is made to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber – Social Security and Child Support). That report must be published by the Lord Chancellor.</p><p> </p><p>The duty to report was discharged by the President of the Appeals Tribunal prior to the implementation of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The Senior President of Tribunals has delegated this responsibility to the President of the Social Entitlement Chamber since the implementation of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.</p><p> </p><p>Preparation of the report costs approximately £20,000 in judicial time each year; however, this is within their salaried hours, so there is no additional cost beyond their salary. There are some associated printing costs but records of these are not held centrally.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 06/11/2014 17:49:39 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	4196 label Biography information for Lord Sharkey

100930

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the steps they are taking to reduce the cost of benefit fraud, what they propose to do, and how much they plan to spend, to reduce underpayments to claimants due to mistakes by officials or claimants.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
	uin	HL2398
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Department takes both under and overpayments seriously and has in place a number of initiatives to address the errors that cause them. These activities address fraud as well as error, and both under and overpayments. It is therefore not possible to separate out the cost of activities focused exclusively on underpayments as a result of error.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit will make the welfare system simpler by replacing six benefits and credits with a single monthly payment. This simplification is expected to lead to a reduction in fraud and error due to the fact that information about claimants will be held in one place and updated more frequently and easily.</p><p> </p><p>For claimants that have income taxed under PAYE, Universal Credit will be linked to HMRC’s Real Time Information system, which will provide an automatic monthly update of their income thus reducing the potential for both error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has invested in compliance activity, so that case correctness is maintained and fraud and error entering the system are detected and resolved quickly. Across all delivery arms there is a focus on accuracy and quality, including a continuous quality checking regime to review claims and check processing accuracy.</p><p> </p><p>We constantly review claims by checking them against data coming into our systems, in order to highlight potential anomalies. We do this by using business rules which focus on potential error to identify both under and overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is taking steps to encourage claimants to ensure that the information provided to us is accurate and up-to-date. This includes a fraud and error communications campaign about driving behaviour change and emphasising that claimants must report any change of circumstances.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 07/11/2014 13:39:35 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

93527

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Defence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list his Department's (a) category A, (b) category B and (c) category C defence projects.
	tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
	tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
	uin	210645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p>A list of all Ministry of Defence (MOD) Category A, B and C Projects is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.</p><p>A list of Category A, B and C Projects for Equipment (including Information, Communications and Technology but excluding Equipment Support Programmes) and Infrastructure is held and is provided in the tables attached. I am, however, withholding a number of project titles for the purpose of safeguarding national security, and that their release would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.</p><p>Category A, B and C Equipment Projects are defined as those valued in excess of £400 million; between £100 and £400 million; and between £20 and £100 million respectively. The tables contain only those projects at the post Initial Gate/pre-In-Service Date stage.</p><p>Infrastructure projects categories A and C are defined as those valued in excess of £100 million; and between £10 and £100 million respectively. There is no Category B for Infrastructure Projects.</p><p>Further information on major projects throughout Government, including Defence, can be found in the Cabinet Office Government Major Projects Portfolio. This is available on the gov.uk website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/major-projects-authority-annual-report-2014</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne question first answered 07/11/2014 14:14:25 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne attachment 1 file name Equipment Projects.doc HOC 210645.doc title Infrastructure Projects previous answer version 23769 answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
	tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

93673

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Afghanistan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to the future of the tented camp used by British Forces in Kandahar; whether Agility and those involved in its disposal have been instructed to examine urgent humanitarian uses to which it could be put; whether any discussions have taken place with non-governmental organisations willing to purchase it; whether commercial interests will be given priority; and what plans they have for assistance to be given by the Department for International Development to enable the camp to be transported for use by refugees in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2102
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Agility operates on behalf of the Defence Disposal Services Authority and is charged with securing the best value for money for items that our redeployment process has determined should be disposed of in theatre. It is for Agility to make subsequent arrangements, in line with this objective.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 11/11/2014 16:07:18 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

100584

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Afghanistan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the United Kingdom intends to ensure that at the London Conference on Afghanistan, due to take place on 24–25 November, Afghan women in attendance will be able fully to participate in the Conference’s deliberations.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
	uin	HL2321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>As co-hosts of the London Conference on Afghanistan (LCA), the UK government has agreed the overall invitation list in partnership with the Afghan Government. However, decisions on civil society attendees have been made by Afghanistan civil society themselves (rather than the UK or Afghan Government) through a democratic process in Kabul. At least 45% of these elected, sponsored attendees are Afghan women who are scheduled to contribute fully to the civil society event and its outcomes<em>. </em>The make-up of the official Afghan government delegation is for the Afghans themselves to decide, however we will be encouraging them to ensure that this includes female Afghan representatives.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 05/11/2014 17:49:18 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	3895 label Biography information for Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead

100625

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why North Korea is not one of the countries that the Department for International Development has prioritised for the funding of journalistic training for escapees; whether, in considering the allocation of resources, it considered that country’s media environment; and whether the Department for International Development is considering extending its funding to groups run by North Korean refugees that broadcast information into that country.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2356
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>DFID does not have a bilateral programme with North Korea. In the Financial Year 2014/15 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human Rights and Democracy Programme is funding a project delivered by the Thomson Foundation titled ‘Inside Out: Working in North Korea to connect its journalists to the Internet world’, which aims to give North Korean journalists a greater understanding of freedom of expression and using the internet to express it.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 06/11/2014 17:01:02 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

100648

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent assessment of food shortages in North Korea.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL2379
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>Despite generally good aggregate cereal harvests for the fourth consecutive year in 2014/15, 16 million people remain chronically food insecure and highly vulnerable to production shocks. The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation/ World Food Programme Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to the Democratic people’s Republic of Korea, 2013, reported an estimated uncovered food deficit of 40,000 tonnes for that marketing year. The report stated that the food security situation remained similar to previous years with most households having borderline poor food consumption.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 06/11/2014 17:04:01 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

100081

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	UK Export Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of successful applicants to the UK Export Finance line of credit facility have been small and medium-sized enterprises in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North
	tabling member printed	Ann McKechin
	uin	211318
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>Exporters do not apply for lines of credit. Lines of credit are umbrella buyer credit facilities put in place at the request of an overseas buyer to purchase goods and services from a number of UK exporters.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/11/2014 16:00:10 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	1419 label Biography information for Ann McKechin