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1584757

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept id	211
	answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	hansard heading	Freeports: Human Trafficking and Money Laundering
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address concerns of criminality relating to (1) money laundering, or (2) people trafficking, in instances where a freeport is located within an existing port approved location or within a freeport boundary with a variation from normal customs rules.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Adams of Craigielea
	uin	HL5421
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p><a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Ffreeports-monitoring-and-evaluation-strategy%2Ffreeports-programme-monitoring-and-evaluation-strategy&amp;data=05%7C01%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C920ae6f2626f4e8f197108db132dcd50%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638124859655873295%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=z5%2BzBw1Lq1pEcsgEqH9E5l3FrOVP0k4C1JNLWScbc0I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy</a> (attached) sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.</p><p>A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fuk-freeports-programme-annual-report-2022%2Fuk-freeports-programme-annual-report-2022&amp;data=05%7C01%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C920ae6f2626f4e8f197108db132dcd50%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638124859655873295%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=EkFfPVUQ0EA0wPGrq1lmrnelz9wIX0NaG0orWxOoxHs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">UK Freeports programme annual report</a> (attached). In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Ffreeports-monitoring-and-evaluation-strategy%2Ffreeports-programme-monitoring-and-evaluation-strategy&amp;data=05%7C01%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C920ae6f2626f4e8f197108db132dcd50%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638124859655873295%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=z5%2BzBw1Lq1pEcsgEqH9E5l3FrOVP0k4C1JNLWScbc0I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">monitoring and evaluation of the programme</a> (attached).</p><p>With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fuk-freeports-programme-annual-report-2022%2Fuk-freeports-programme-annual-report-2022&amp;data=05%7C01%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C920ae6f2626f4e8f197108db132dcd50%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638124859655873295%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=EkFfPVUQ0EA0wPGrq1lmrnelz9wIX0NaG0orWxOoxHs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">UK Freeports programme annual report</a> (attached).</p><p>Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook attachment 1 file name HL5421 Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy - GOV.UK.pdf title Monitoring and evaluation strategy 2 file name HL5421 UK Freeports Programme Annual Report 2022 - GOV.UK.pdf title Annual Report question first answered 20/02/2023 15:42:45 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
	tabling member	631 label Biography information for Baroness Adams of Craigielea

1146912

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	NHS: Drugs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurance, if any, they have received that medication brought from new sources other than the EU will meet the same standards as present.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Afshar
	uin	HL17886
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>All human medicines marketed in the United Kingdom must meet stringent requirements for quality, safety and efficacy set out in UK medicines legislation and supporting guidelines. These apply regardless of the source of the medicine.</p><p>The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Government body responsible for the safety and licensing of medicines in the UK, regularly inspect pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in the UK and in third countries.</p><p>Regardless of the location of the site of manufacture, the manufacturer must demonstrate to the MHRA that the product is manufactured according to the registered UK licence (marketing authorisation) and to at least the minimum standard detailed in the European Union Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice.</p><p>In addition, each batch of medicine manufactured in a third country is tested within the UK on import and the manufacturing document reviewed by the license holders Qualified Person before being certified for release to the market.</p><p>All these measures will remain in place if the UK leaves the EU.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 08/10/2019 14:37:53 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	3847 label Biography information for Baroness Afshar

1151630

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Exploitation: Ethnic Groups
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response by Baroness Williams of Trafford to Baroness Kennedy of Cradley's oral question on 22 October, what plans they have to establish, as points of contact for minority women who are at risk of exploitation, specific individuals who are familiar with the cultural practices of minority ethnic groups.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Afshar
	uin	HL267
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice provides funding to specialist sexual violence services to support victims to cope and, where possible, recover from the impact of crime. On 18 September, we announced an additional £5m to support victims of sexual violence, which commits £32m over three years.</p><p>In addition, local Commissioners (be they Police and Crime Commissioners, Local Authorities or health commissioners) will also seek to provide specialist support to victims in their area. To support this, in December 2016 we published the National Statement of Expectations, which sets out a blueprint for local service provision, including how Commissioners can best respond to the needs of minority or marginalised groups.</p><p>In 2016/17 MHCLG also provided £300k to Imkaan to build capacity and strengthen specialist BAME organisations, including through training, quality standard accreditation and access to the tools they need to measure their impact.</p><p>On 18<sup>th</sup> September we appointed Nicole Jacobs as the first Designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner, who will raise awareness of domestic abuse, stand up for victims, and drive up consistency in the response to domestic abuse. The Commissioner is required to appoint a specific thematic lead within her office to consider and address the needs of BAME victims.</p><p>We are also exploring ways to improve support for BAME victims as part of our work to tackle racial disparity in the Criminal Justice System.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/11/2019 17:41:27 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3847 label Biography information for Baroness Afshar

1151631

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Police: Ethnic Groups
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of current police officers are from BAME backgrounds; and what assessment they have made of how familiar police officers are with the cultural practices of the communities they are policing.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Afshar
	uin	HL268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office collects and publishes information on the ethnicity of police officers on an annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales</a>.</p><p>The latest data show that, as at 31 March 2019, there were 8,329 BAME police officers in the 43 forces in England and Wales, representing 6.9% of all officers who stated their ethnicity.</p><p>Police professional training standards are set and maintained by the College of Policing which the Government established as the first professional body for the police in 2012.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/11/2019 12:56:29 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name police-workforce-mar19-hosb1119.pdf title Police Workforce England and Wales - March 2019
	tabling member	3847 label Biography information for Baroness Afshar

1142430

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	General Practitioners: Nurses
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of pension provision for GP practice nurses and, in particular, the impact of their exclusion from the NHS pension scheme until 1997.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL17504
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/08/2019 answer text <p>Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme was extended to general practitioner (GP) practice nurses from September 1997, following an agreement reached with organisations representing nurses and GPs. Prior to this date, GP practice nurses were excluded because eligibility was originally limited to those directly employed by a National Health Service body. GP practice nurses are employed directly by self-employed GPs, rather than the NHS.</p><p>The pressure on NHS Pension Scheme costs, which are met mutually across all members and their employers, meant that practice nurses could not be offered retrospective membership for employment before 1997. This was accepted by staff representatives at the time of the agreement, and remains the current position.</p><p>However, GP practice nurses and their employers can make voluntary extra contributions to purchase units of ‘Additional Pension’ and so boost their NHS retirement pensions.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 07/08/2019 11:43:50 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1142431

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Taxation: Electronic Government
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to continue with the rollout of their Simple Assessment and dynamic coding projects, which were paused in May 2018.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL17505
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2019 answer text <p>HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) delivered Simple Assessment to a small number of customers in 2017. Due to the need to prioritise EU exit, HMRC temporarily suspended further work to extend the service to a larger number of customers. The service remains active for the original user base, and further enhancements are being made this financial year. HMRC are reviewing whether to make further investments into the service in the context of the Spending Review.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have long had a delivery plan for the dynamic coding-out of debt project. The service was successfully introduced for a number of taxation scenarios that cause an over- or under-payment of PAYE.</p><p> </p><p>After the closure of the Making Tax Digital for Individuals Programme, which included a wider dynamic coding option, and resource reallocation to EU exit, a new IT solution was required for this Budget 2017 project. HMRC remain committed to delivering this project. Further work on the wider dynamic coding activities will be considered as part of wider Spending Review planning.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 06/08/2019 14:08:44 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1142432

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	NHS: Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to compensate senior NHS staff who have inadvertently exceeded the tapered annual pensions allowance.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL17506
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2019 answer text <p>For the majority of people, their pension contributions are tax-free. This makes pensions tax relief one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. The reforms to the lifetime and annual allowance made in the previous two parliaments are expected to save over £6 billion per year and are necessary to deliver a fair system and protect public finances. Less than 1% of pension savers will have to reduce their saving or face an annual allowance charge as a result of the tapered annual allowance.</p><p>While there are no plans to compensate senior National Health Service staff who exceed their tax-free pension savings allowances, the Scheme Pays facility is there to assist NHS Pension Scheme members who breach the annual allowance, and allows them to settle their lifetime and annual allowance charges without making an upfront payment. The Scheme Pays facility was recently extended to cover tax charges of any amount and those arising from the tapered annual allowance.</p><p>The Government has launched a full public consultation setting out proposals to make the NHS Pension Scheme more flexible for clinicians, to give them more control over their pension growth and tax liabilities.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 06/08/2019 15:06:30 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1142433

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	PAYE
	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 use of Real Time Information (RTI) to ensure low earners receive the tax relief they are due; and what plans they have to require all employers to use RTI.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL17507
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2019 answer text <p>Information filed by employers through RTI is applied equally to all relevant customer records. HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) do not make a distinction between low and high earners when applying rules within tax calculations.</p><p> </p><p>Employers who pay all of their employees under the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and have no tax deducted are not required to register with HMRC. The employer is not required to report information to HMRC until there is a tax or NICs deduction payable to HMRC.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to mandate employers who pay small amounts of wages to all of their employees to register with HMRC.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 06/08/2019 13:38:40 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1144865

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, with respect to the National Statistics data published in April, which estimated the total cost of pension tax relief in respect of registered pension schemes for the year ending 5 April 2018 at £36.3 billion including £4.3 billion in tax relief on employee contributions to occupational pension schemes, (1) what is the estimated figure of gross pension contributions on which this figure was based, and (2) what specific assumptions were made as to the rates of tax applicable in arriving at the figure of £4.3 billion; and whether these assumptions included that all employees making contributions to occupational schemes receive the full tax relief to which they are entitled, including those contributing to net pay pension schemes.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL17699
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">HMRC publishes estimates of the cost of pension tax relief which is available in table 6 of HM Revenue and Customs Personal Pension Statistics on Gov.uk. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">These estimates were revised on 26<sup>th</sup> September 2019 as part of an overall update to HMRC’s Personal Pension and Pension Relief statistics. Estimates of the cost of tax relief on contributions are produced using the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) for income, individual and employer contributions for members of pension schemes that use the net pay mechanism; and administrative data HMRC holds on relief at source administrative data matched to the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) - for income, individual and employer pension contributions for members of pension schemes that use the relief at source mechanism.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The cost of tax relief for all contributions made by individuals is approximately £6.3bn, broken down as the cost of relief on employee contributions to occupational schemes (£4.2bn), to personal pension schemes (£1.6bn), and self-employed contributions to pensions (£0.5bn). Occupational pensions here includes some master trust pension schemes which use the relief at source method. Personal pensions here includes workplace personal pension schemes (such as group personal pensions).</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">i) The £4.3bn figure referenced is the cost of pension tax relief relating to occupational pension schemes. Estimates of the cost of pension tax relief were revised on September 26<sup>th</sup> 2019 as part of an overall update to HMRC’s Personal Pensions and Pension Relief Statistics. The £4.3bn figure referenced has since been revised to £4.2bn. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">This £4.2bn figure of tax relief is derived from around £15.9bn of estimated “relievable” individual pension contributions to occupational pension schemes, (where “relievable” refers to our best estimates of contributions which are within the individual’s pensions Annual Allowance). </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">ii) Marginal rate tax relief is applied to these estimates of “relievable” contributions as if these contributions were taxed. Estimates are produced assuming all members contributing to all pension schemes receive full marginal rate tax relief on their contributions.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">As noted in the publication, costs are subject to large revisions and have a particularly wide margin of error – reflecting the variety of sources of data (both administrative and survey) required to produce these estimates.</ins></p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 09/09/2019 16:33:08 question first ministerially corrected 08/10/2019 12:38:27 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown previous answer version 135351 answering member printed The Earl of Courtown answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1144866

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of tax relief forgone in net pay pension schemes by workers earning below the personal tax threshold while contributing to workplace pensions in the past three tax years.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL17700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Members of net pay pension schemes receive tax relief on their pension contributions at their marginal rate as these contributions are deducted before tax is calculated. Those individuals with income below the personal tax threshold do not pay tax.</p><p> </p><p>Members of relief at source pension schemes, however, receive a 20% basic rate top up on their pension contribution, even though they do not pay tax.</p><p> </p><p>The Economic Secretary to the Treasury provided the Work and Pensions committee an estimate of the cost of providing the same type of top-up as exist for those in relief at source scheme to those in net pay schemes. This estimate was around £100m per tax year.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 09/09/2019 15:42:07 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann