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1700696

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Poverty: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 27 March (HL3520), why it is not possible to undertake a robust assessment of the impact of the two-child limit.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Leicester
	uin	HL3765
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>We do not have the data to fully measure health and well-being behavioural impacts that may have resulted from the two-child limit.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 24/04/2024 16:01:52 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	4947 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Leicester

1700682

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Household Support Fund: Parkinson's Disease
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the Household Support Fund meets the needs of people with Parkinson’s disease.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Gale
	uin	HL3740
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a scheme run by Upper Tier Local Authorities in England to provide support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials. Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination set out for them by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).</p><p> </p><p>The Household Support Fund is an intentionally flexible scheme, designed to enable Local Authorities to respond to local need. Local Authorities have the ties and knowledge to best determine how this support should be provided to their local communities.</p><p> </p><p>We encourage Local Authorities to consider a wide range of households who are potentially in need of support, including families with children, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people. Local Authorities have the flexibility to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes, including offering vouchers to households, directly providing food, or issuing grants to third parties. It is for each local council to decide how, where and when they distribute their funding and to ensure that it is accessible to those who need it.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 24/04/2024 16:01:42 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	2503 label Biography information for Baroness Gale

1700681

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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: Parkinson's Disease
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide targeted financial support for people with long-term conditions such as Parkinson’s disease during the cost of living crisis.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Gale
	uin	HL3739
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, including people with Parkinson’s disease. Over recent years, the government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable with one of the largest support packages in Europe. The total support over 2022- 2025 to help households and individuals with higher bills amounts to £108 billion – an average of £3,800 per UK household.</p><p> </p><p>We provided a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 in June/July 2023 to people in receipt of certain disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). This is in addition to the £150 payment paid in September 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that nearly 60 per cent of individuals who received an extra costs disability benefit would have received the means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payments, worth up to £900. Over 85 per cent would have received either or both of the means-tested and the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.</p><p> </p><p>We also increased extra costs disability benefits by 10.1 per cent from April 2023 and by 6.7% from April 2024 in line with the Consumer Price Index.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 24/04/2024 16:01:15 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	2503 label Biography information for Baroness Gale

1700673

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Climate Change: Risk Management
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will update statutory guidance on climate risk management, as part of their review of climate risk reporting requirements which was due to take place in the second half of 2023 or otherwise; and in particular whether any updated guidance will take account of the report of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and the University of Exeter Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail published in March.
	tabling member printed	Lord Davies of Brixton
	uin	HL3731
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>My Lords, we are undertaking a post-implementation review of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021. We aim to conclude the review this year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We recognise that recent reports, including “Climate Scorpion-the sting is in the tail” have shown the limitations of the models currently available for scenario analysis. Therefore, we welcome work within the industry to ensure that scenario analysis models are decision useful and will look to acknowledge the issue in the review.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>However, we do not believe that the Government should mandate which models should be used by Pension Schemes. It is important that modelling which takes into account of ESG is allowed to develop and evolve as data availability increases.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 24/04/2024 16:00:52 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	4893 label Biography information for Lord Davies of Brixton

1700761

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Personal Savings
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, following the findings of the Financial Conduct Authority survey indicating a decrease in savings and investing among UK adults, what steps they are taking to help individuals and families save and invest.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL3813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment, to help hard working people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience.</p><p> </p><p>The Help to Save scheme was launched in September 2018 and is intended to promote financial resilience among working households on low incomes by supporting them to kickstart a regular, long-term savings habit and build a financial buffer for a rainy day.</p><p>Individuals can also save up to £20,000 into an Individual Savings Account (ISA) each year, and any savings income received within an ISA is tax free. This, along with the Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers means that around 85% of people with savings income pay no tax on that income.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government also recognises that people need support to make effective investment decisions. This is why the Government and FCA are working on a joint review of the boundary between financial advice and guidance to ensure people can access appropriate support with their financial decision-making.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 24/04/2024 14:44:04 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1702350

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2024
	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	Environmental Land Management Schemes
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government why existing agri-environment schemes such as the Countryside Stewardship scheme are based on the claim deadline of 15 May 2023 while the Rural Payments Agency window runs up until 30 June 2024, resulting in wait times of up to 13 months for farmers and land managers to receive their payments; and whether they have any plans to change this in future.
	tabling member printed	The Earl of Sandwich
	uin	HL3961
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>Within the European Union, policies were set for seven years with limited opportunity to change, however, now that we have left the EU, we are rolling out our new environmental land management schemes and are adopting new approaches, including to our payment frequencies. We have already introduced more frequent payments in our new schemes, to make them work better for farm businesses. For example, SFI offers payments on a quarterly schedule, so that farmers start getting paid in the fourth month of their agreement, and every 3 months after that. Where possible, as we expand the offer, we will offer more frequent payments to more participants.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 24/04/2024 13:46:58 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	2109 label Biography information for The Earl of Sandwich

1700726

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	hansard heading	Belfast Agreement
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether the informal implementation group for the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement set up with Sinn Féin is still in existence; and when it last met.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Hoey
	uin	HL3747
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The group to which the Noble Baroness refers no longer exists.</p><p>Relevant documents relating to this issue are freely accessible in the National Archives at Kew, to which the Noble Baroness might wish to refer. The Government takes seriously its obligations under the Public Records Act 1958.</p> answering member printed Lord Caine question first answered 24/04/2024 13:46:36 answering member 4581 label Biography information for Lord Caine
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

1700746

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Fishing Catches: Conservation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies prohibits fuel subsidies for fleets and vessels catching depleted fish stocks in UK waters.
	tabling member printed	Lord Randall of Uxbridge
	uin	HL3786
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies prohibits specific subsidies, including specific fuel subsidies, for fishing or fishing related activities regarding an overfished stock. The UK does not provide specific fuel subsidies to the UK fishing fleet.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 24/04/2024 13:46:10 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	209 label Biography information for Lord Randall of Uxbridge

1700741

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Floods: Somerset
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Somerset Levels' resilience to flooding during the winter of 2023–24.
	tabling member printed	Lord Patten
	uin	HL3780
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>Catchments like the Brue on the Somerset Levels &amp; Moors have seen record breaking conditions. Hundreds of properties have been flooded across Somerset and the Lead Local Flood Authority (Somerset Council) is planning to publish 11 Section 19 flooding reports.</p><p>Protecting some communities on the Somerset Levels and Moors from flooding is reliant on careful management of water levels, the storage and pumping of water from the moors, mobilisation of enhanced pumping capacity as well as targeted water injection dredging and the delivery of further flood/drought risk management interventions. Continued operation and maintenance of flood risk structures and equipment is essential to manage the risk. Future investment needs to factor in climatic change and help reach net zero.</p><p>Led by the Environment Agency, tens of millions are being invested in flood storage reservoirs to ensure they are safe and the Bridgwater tidal barrier will reduce tidal flood risk to 11,300 homes and 1,500 businesses. The detailed design is complete and enabling works are underway.</p><p>The natural geography of the Somerset Levels and Moors, in combination with climate change, indicates communities and businesses must remain prepared for flooding. The Somerset Rivers Authority Partnership, which has recently consulted on and published a new 10-year strategy, is helping Flood risk management authorities to work together so the Levels and Moors become a more climate resilient place.</p><p>The Government’s drive to tackle climate change, alongside exiting the EU is delivering an evolution of environmental, flood risk and farming policy. This change is presenting tangible economic and environmental opportunities for the communities living and working on the Levels and Moors in this pump drained landscape.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 24/04/2024 13:45:51 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1700739

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Agriculture: Floods
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat to food security and farm productivity of the ongoing flooding on farmland across large parts of the country, and steps they intend to take to secure a steady supply of affordable vegetables and meat from UK sources.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
	uin	HL3775
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market with the value of commodities established by those in the supply chain.</p><p> </p><p>The recent prolonged period of wet weather has impacted the UK arable and livestock sectors in several ways. These include late/limited planting opportunities for arable and horticulture crops; delayed turn out of grazing animals and the associated risk of diseases in keeping animals housed indoors for longer periods than usual, concerns about the potential scarcity and cost of straw; a build-up of stored slurry and reduced application opportunities; and wider concerns about the impact on mental health of farmers. Yields and productivity will also vary depending on individual farmer decisions, region, area and in the case of the arable sector, crop and soil type amongst other factors.</p><p> </p><p>A number of individual farms have clearly been affected by the wet weather. While the current market assessment is that there may be implications over the coming months for certain commodities, particularly in the expected yield and quality of several arable crops this summer/autumn, it is still too early to predict the full impact on domestic food production, especially if the weather improves in the coming weeks.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to monitor the on-going situation, working closely with the industry and through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG). The UK AMMG held an interim meeting on 16 April to specifically consider the impacts of the weather on each commodity sector.</p><p> </p><p>The Farming Recovery Fund has been opened to provide farmers support to recover from uninsurable damage with grants of between £500 and £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was before exceptional flooding of Storm Henk. The fund was initially opened in nine English local authority areas where the Flood Recovery Framework has been activated to help farms which have experienced the highest levels of flooding. Eligibility for the Fund is actively under review.</p><p> </p><p>This forms part of a package of support available to farmers through the Flood Recovery Framework, including a grant of up to £2,500 through the Business Recovery Grant Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security, fulfilling the duty in the Agriculture Act 2020 to present a report on food security to Parliament at least once every three years. It examines trends relevant to food security to present the best available understanding. The report was last published in December 2021 and will next be published by December 2024.</p><p> </p><p>Starting this year, we are strengthening our food security monitoring by producing the Annual Food Security Index. This will complement the UKFSR with a shorter and more regular report. The first version will be published at the Farm to Fork Summit in the Spring.</p><p> </p><p>The next UKFSR, which will be published later this year, will include analysis on the risk of flooding to food security as part of its assessment of longer-term climate-related trends.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller grouped question UIN HL3773 HL3774 question first answered 24/04/2024 13:45:13 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering