Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered question first ministerially corrected answering member label attachment file name title previous answer version answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1129489

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free School Meals
	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 changes to the criteria for free school meals eligibility in 2018; and how many students now receive free school meals compared to the number who received them before these changes took place.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL15974
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answers I gave on 6 February 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-01-24/HL13093/" target="_blank">HL13093</a> and Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-01-24/HL13094/" target="_blank">HL13094</a>. I will also refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 February 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-02-06/HL13492/" target="_blank">HL13492</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Under the new eligibility criteria that we introduced in April 2018, we estimate that more pupils will benefit from free school meals (FSM) by 2022, compared with the previous criteria. In addition, generous transitional protections were put in place to ensure no child will lose their eligibility for FSM during the change to the new criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Under the benefits-based criteria, to be eligible to receive FSM, a pupil or their parent must be in receipt of any one of the qualifying benefits and must make a claim to the school for FSM. The qualifying criteria includes benefits for both out of work and low-earning families. The full eligibility criteria is attached and also available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 11/06/2019 13:21:03 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL15974_webpage.pdf title HL15974_FSM_eligibility
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1129514

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Government Departments: Procurement
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Cabinet Office has made of the potential benefits of the application of ISO 44001 to their procurement policy, and the procurement policy of all Departments.
	tabling member printed	Lord Evans of Watford
	uin	HL15999
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government has a long-established approach to identifying, developing and managing collaborative business relationships. For example, the Government recognises the importance of managing its relationships with strategic suppliers, on a cross-government basis, by observing their performance in the delivery of public services and monitoring financial health.</p><p>This year, the Government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of our strategic suppliers. The approach of using an MOU reflects the Government’s now well-developed relationships with, and understanding of, its strategic suppliers. Under this new approach, strategic suppliers will agree to provide the government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across its strategic supplier base, with the full cooperation of industry.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 11/06/2019 17:01:16 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	2766 label Biography information for Lord Evans of Watford

1129543

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Nuclear Weapons
	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 Renata Dwan, Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, warned on 21 May that the risk of nuclear weapons being used is at its highest since World War Two, and that the world should take this threat more seriously.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL16028
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>Today's security climate is challenging, with the threats faced by the United Kingdom increasing in scale, diversity and complexity. However, Her Majesty's Government does not believe that the risk of nuclear war is greater today than it was during the Cold War.</p><p>While the operation of an independent, minimum, credible nuclear deterrent continues to be necessary to protect the United Kingdom from the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, the UK has taken a number of unilateral actions that build confidence and reduce international tensions. Our negative security assurances, as set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, are designed to give Non-Nuclear Weapons States in compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty confidence that nuclear weapons will not be used against them. Further, since 1994, UK Trident missiles have not been targeted at any State; our Vanguard class submarines are at several days' notice to fire; only the Prime Minister has the authority to launch nuclear weapons maintaining political control at all times; and the UK has been transparent about its nuclear capability, including missile and warhead numbers.</p><p>The Government is committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons and continues to work internationally, within the framework of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, towards achieving the conditions in which all nuclear weapons possessor states are willing to relinquish their nuclear weapons.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 11/06/2019 15:17:19 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1129545

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	F-35 Aircraft
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the cost per flight hour of the F35-B aircraft; and what is their expected in service flight hours.
	tabling member printed	Lord Moonie
	uin	HL16030
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence does not yet have its own figure for the hourly flying cost for an F-35B Lightning as the aircraft has not been in service long enough to generate the required data. However, information would in any case be withheld as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.</p><p>The expected service life of an F-35B Lightning is 8,000 or more flying hours.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 11/06/2019 15:13:43 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	621 label Biography information for Lord Moonie

1130231

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Aviation: Scotland
	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 Vere of Norbiton on 3 June (HL15919), whether they will now answer the question put.
	tabling member printed	Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
	uin	HL16092
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>I refer to the answer of 3 June (HL15919), which states that the aviation sector operates in a competitive, commercial environment, investing to attract passengers and responding to demand when determining routes to operate. It is therefore not for the Department to carry out this type of assessment, nor to comment on whether there is sufficient competition.</p><p> </p><p>I can, however, confirm that CAA data for 2018 shows that the four largest airports in Scotland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow) have flights to two or more airports in the London system, with flights operated by multiple airlines.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the UK Government, in partnership with the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council, provide financial support for an air route from Dundee to Stanstead, through a public service obligation. Scotland will also benefit from an expanded Heathrow, where there will be further opportunity to enhance connections to the country’s biggest hub airport.</p><p> </p><p>This information, which is already in the public domain, shows that there is sufficient competition for air routes between London and Scotland.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton grouped question UIN HL16093 question first answered 11/06/2019 11:00:43 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
	tabling member	1141 label Biography information for Lord Forsyth of Drumlean

1130232

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Aviation: Scotland
	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 Vere of Norbiton on 3 June (HL15919), what evidence they have for the competitiveness of airfares between London and Scotland; whether they will provide the figures for the cost of such flights which informed their assessment that “Scotland is well-served by air services into London”; whether they have conducted a comparative analysis of the costs of flights from Scotland to all London airports; and if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
	uin	HL16093
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>I refer to the answer of 3 June (HL15919), which states that the aviation sector operates in a competitive, commercial environment, investing to attract passengers and responding to demand when determining routes to operate. It is therefore not for the Department to carry out this type of assessment, nor to comment on whether there is sufficient competition.</p><p> </p><p>I can, however, confirm that CAA data for 2018 shows that the four largest airports in Scotland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow) have flights to two or more airports in the London system, with flights operated by multiple airlines.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the UK Government, in partnership with the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council, provide financial support for an air route from Dundee to <del class="ministerial">Stanstead,</del> <ins class="ministerial">Stansted</ins> through a public service obligation. Scotland will also benefit from an expanded Heathrow, where there will be further opportunity to enhance connections to the country’s biggest hub airport.</p><p> </p><p>This information, which is already in the public domain, shows that there is sufficient competition for air routes between London and Scotland.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 11/06/2019 11:00:43 question first ministerially corrected 13/06/2019 11:22:31 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton previous answer version 121687 answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
	tabling member	1141 label Biography information for Lord Forsyth of Drumlean

1124136

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Employment: Equality
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has plans to introduce further auditing and fines for employers who cannot prove their gender equality practices.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	249918
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>Organisations with 250 or more employees are now required to publish specific gender pay gap data on an annual basis. We believe that this transparency is motivating employers to take action, but these regulations are new and we will be monitoring them closely.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to urge employers to go beyond the reporting requirements by publishing an action plan, setting out the steps they are taking to improve gender equality, just under half of employers did this in the first year. I intend to write to all public sector employers urging them to develop a plan, and will meet influential business leaders to press them to take action in their sectors.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 11/06/2019 14:56:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1125354

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, for what reasons the UK has not accepted the obligation under Article 4.3 of the European Social Charter to recognise the right of men and women workers to equal pay for work of equal value.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	251971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The UK Government supports the work of the Council of Europe and continues to support the European Social Charter (1961). Since the European Social Charter came into force in the UK we have introduced a number of policy and legislative reforms that provide equivalent or greater protections for individuals in the field of equal pay.</p><p> </p><p>We have also ratified a number of international conventions which provide equivalent protections and which the UK has implemented via national legislation.</p><p> </p><p>We are fully committed to the Equal Pay protections in the Equality Act 2010. In 2014, we introduced equal pay audits for when employers are found to have breached equal pay law and in 2017 we introduced gender pay gap reporting.</p><p> </p><p>Our equal pay legislation complies with EU requirements, which are reflected in Article 4.3 of the European Social Charter. We are committed to ensure that the robust protections provided by Equality Acts 2006 and 2010 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland continue to apply after the UK leaves the EU, as will Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which will become part of EU-retained law.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 11/06/2019 14:59:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1127763

	registered interest
	date	21/05/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Disability: Access
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to improve enforcement of requirements of the Equality Act 2010 on access to facilities for disabled people.
	tabling member constituency	Camborne and Redruth
	tabling member printed	George Eustice
	uin	256978
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 contains strong, enforceable protections for disabled people who experience discrimination, including a failure by employers or service providers to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to access work and services like everybody else.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018 the Government committed to the commencement of section 36 of the Equality Act, which will enable disabled tenants to require that landlords and building owners to make reasonable adjustments to the common parts of dwellings, such as entry points, landings and stairs. Work to determine the cost of implementation is proceeding and an announcement will be made in due course.</p><p> </p><p>The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which enforces the Equality Act, recently delivered a Legal Support Project to increase access to justice for people experiencing disability discrimination. It offered groups £189,000 for legal assistance across 94 cases in areas including employment.</p><p> </p><p>The EHRC has increased its capacity to advise on discrimination cases in its new strategic plan, and has supported several court cases which resulted in strengthened rights for disabled people, including those wishing to make reasonable adjustments to their homes and disabled children who may demonstrate a tendency to physical abuse as a result of their disability, whose schools must now make reasonable adjustments in such cases.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 11/06/2019 14:58:15 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	3934 label Biography information for George Eustice

1128280

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Department for Work and Pensions: Metro Newspaper
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department spent from the public purse advertising in The Metro newspaper on 22 May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	257542
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department provides services to around 22 million people, and has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences, in a similar way to other government departments. Newspaper advertising contributes to our routine communications activity that has been running alongside the rollout of Universal Credit since 2013.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit Uncovered media partnership with the Metro is currently underway and running for a further six weeks so we are unable to provide accurate spend to date figures for the partnership. However, we can commit to publish final full spend on the partnership at the end of July once all activity has concluded.</p><p> </p><p>The information used for the partnership was sourced by DWP officials. The content features actual claimant case studies and interviews from Jobcentre work coaches, and the advertorials have been developed in partnership with the Metro.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 257404 257471 257563 257573 question first answered 11/06/2019 16:36:52 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray