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1105359

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families are subject to the benefit cap.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Durham
	uin	HL14822
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Households can have their benefits capped either under Housing Benefit, or under Universal Credit, and the latest statistics were published in February 2019, covering households capped to November 2018.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Point-in-time caseload: Number of households capped by family type at November 2018, GB</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>Single, no child dependant</p></td><td><p>Single, with child dependant(s)</p></td><td><p>Couple, no child dependant</p></td><td><p>Couple, with child dependant(s)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Housing Benefit</strong></p></td><td><p>52,650</p></td><td><p>3,540</p></td><td><p>38,850</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>10,210</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Universal Credit</strong></p></td><td><p>9,810</p></td><td><p>1,600</p></td><td><p>5,920</p></td><td><p>..</p></td><td><p>2,290</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>Data Sources:</strong> DWP 100% Single Housing Benefit Extract and DWP Universal Credit Official Statistics Database</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Table Notes:</strong></p><ol><li>Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers less than 10 have been replaced with '..'</li><li>Figures include households that have had their Housing Benefit or Universal Credit full service capped. Universal Credit full service is available to all claimant types but only in certain areas of the country at November 2018.</li><li>Figures for Universal Credit may be revised in future publications, as Universal Credit awards may be retrospectively revised.</li></ol><p> </p><p>The Housing Benefit caseload data is taken from DWP Stat-Xplore, whilst the Universal Credit caseload data is taken from the official statistics caseload tables, published on 7th Feb 2019.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 04/04/2019 16:01:20 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4312 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Durham

1092792

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Hare Coursing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police reports were made for hare coursing in England and Wales in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, (3) 2015, (4) 2016, (5) 2017, and (6) 2018.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL14743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold the information requested.</p><p>It is an operational matter for the police.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/04/2019 15:58:14 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1092804

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Slavery
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many potential victims of modern slavery referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2018 had been through the NRM before.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Stroud
	uin	HL14755
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The National Crime Agency regularly publishes National Referral Mecha-nism (NRM) data but does not publish data on potential victims that have been through the NRM previously. <br>The National Crime Agency published the National Referral Mechanism Statistics Annual Report 2018 on 20th March 2019:</p><p>http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics/2018-nrm-statistics/1019-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-annual-report-2018</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/04/2019 16:27:25 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4546 label Biography information for Baroness Stroud

1105354

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2019
	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	North Korea: Human Trafficking
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of estimates in the Global Slavery Index relating to the number of North Koreans who have been trafficked to China.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL14817
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The British Government is deeply concerned at reports of North Korean women who have experienced sexual exploitation or forced marriage, in North Korea or China. Our Ambassador has raised our concerns directly with the Government of North Korea. Although it is hard to assess accurately how many North Koreans have been forced into human trafficking in China or other countries, the Global Slavery Index indicates that the numbers involved are distressingly high. We are committed to the eradication of all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking by 2030, as unanimously adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 04/04/2019 15:29:03 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1092777

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Christianity
	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 the Home Office refused asylum applications because of (1) quotations used by applicants from the Bible which “are inconsistent with your [the applicant’s] claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a ‘peaceful’ religion...”; and (2) a candidate “affirmed in your Asylum Interview Record that Jesus is your saviour, but then claimed He would not be able to save you from the Iranian regime. It is therefore considered that you have no conviction in your faith and your belief in Jesus is half-hearted”.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
	uin	HL14728
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>We are urgently investigating reports which indicate that some asylum decisions were not drafted in accordance with our policy.</p><p>Published Home Office policy guidance contains detailed instructions on how asylum decision makers are expected to approach religious based claims. Our policy makes clear that when assessing such claims, decision makers are expected to ask appropriate and sensitive questions based on an understanding of religious concepts, philosophical viewpoints and forms of persecution a person may suffer due to their religion, belief or lack of belief.</p><p>Where credibility of a conversion to a faith needs to be established, an interview should be far more an exploration of a claimant’s personal experiences and journey to their new faith, both in their country and in the UK, rather than a test of religious facts.</p><p>The Home Office have worked closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Asy-lum Advocacy Group (AAG) for many years, to help improve their approach to religious based claims and have recently worked with them to develop and produce a specialist training package.</p><p>The aim of this course is to ensure that where religion or belief is raised in an asylum claim, asylum decision makers appropriately consider all the available evidence in accordance International, European &amp; Domestic law and Home Office Asylum Policy, when interviewing asylum applicants and making decisions on their claims.</p><p>The course will be rolled out to Asylum Senior Caseworkers and Technical Specialists in April 2019 and all asylum Decision Makers over the course of the subsequent three months.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/04/2019 16:02:30 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1105353

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2019
	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	North Korea: Forced Labour
	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 findings of the report by Human Trafficking Search State-sponsored Slavery: an North Korean Export, published in 2018, that an estimated 200,000 North Korean state-sponsored workers are used as forced labour in 45 countries.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL14816
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The UK is aware of the report by Human Trafficking Search and deeply concerned by its findings. North Korea has sent large numbers of workers overseas to earn money for the regime though estimates of the total number vary considerably. We urge all countries to meet their obligations under UNSCR 2397 to repatriate DPRK overseas workers by December 2019. The UK has actively in encouraged all UN member states to submit implementation reports to the UN as part of these obligations and continue to engage with states that host DPRK workers in violation of UN sanctions.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 04/04/2019 15:26:44 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1104673

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2019
	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	Automation
	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 1.5 million jobs could be lost due to increased automation.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL14798
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s ambition to make the UK a global centre for AI and data innovation and to embed the power of these technologies across our economy.</p><p>The estimate does not consider the potential job creation resulting from automation. World Economic Forum estimate that automation will create 133 million new globally by 2022.</p><p>The Government recognises that demand for skills will continue to change, in part in response to automation. In order to equip the UK to capitalise on this opportunity, we have committed to improving the UK's system for training in digital skills, lifelong learning to ensure that working people have the support they need to navigate the challenge of automation to a higher-wage future. The Government are investing £406 million in maths, digital and technical education and have committed £100 million for the first phase of developing the National Retraining Scheme to support people vulnerable to technological change.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 04/04/2019 15:29:54 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1104645

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2019
	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	Pensioners: Social Security Benefits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued, or intend to issue, to advise mixed age couples to claim (1) pension credit, and (2) pension age housing benefit before 15 May.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
	uin	HL14770
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government announced on 14 January that the mixed age couple policy change legislated for in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 will come into force on 15 May, following the roll out of Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Information was placed on GOV.UK regarding the change and how people could be affected for the purposes of claiming Pension Credit and Housing Benefit for pensioners. This sets out that mixed age couples already claiming Pension Credit or Housing Benefit for pensioners at the point of change will not be affected for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit. It also makes clear that mixed age couples who would be eligible for either benefit on 14 May but who have not yet claimed will have until 13 August to make a backdated claim from that date.</p><p> </p><p>Following the announcement, we are implementing comprehensive plans to raise awareness of the change among people who may be affected. We have written directly to mixed-age couples who are already in receipt of Pension Credit or Housing Benefit for pensioners to ensure they know about the change and how they could be affected if their circumstances change on or after 15 May. The Department has also engaged with a number of relevant organisations, including Age UK, Citizen’s Advice and Local Authority representatives. A factsheet about the change has been provided, to help ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p><p> </p><p>DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres will be able to provide information and advice, as will staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 04/04/2019 16:34:12 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1092778

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Religion
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that officials assessing asylum applications have sufficient theological information to interrogate claims made by those seeking refuge from persecution on account of their faith.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
	uin	HL14729
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights.</p><p>Asylum decision-makers carefully assess protection needs following an interview by considering all available evidence provided by the claimant in light of published country information. They receive extensive training on considering asylum claims and must follow published Home Office policy guidance. Guidance on interviewing and decision making are provided in published policy instructions on gov.uk:</p><p><br>https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/asylum-decision-making-guidance-asylum-instructions and</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/considering-asylum-claims-and-assessing-credibility-instruction</p><p>The Home Office have worked closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Asylum Advocacy Group (AAG) for many years, to help improve their approach to religious based claims and have recently worked with them to develop and produce a specialist training package.</p><p>The aim of this course is to ensure that where religion or belief is raised in an asylum claim, asylum decision makers appropriately consider all the available evidence in accordance International, European &amp; Domestic law and Home Office Asylum Policy, when interviewing asylum applicants and making decisions on their claims.</p><p>The course will be rolled out to Asylum Senior Caseworkers and Technical Specialists in April 2019 and all asylum Decision Makers over the course of the subsequent three months.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/04/2019 16:35:00 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1108819

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2019
	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	Asbestos: Industrial Diseases
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they are making to the announcement by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health that diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos are killing 5,000 people a year and that more than 130 companies or individuals have been ordered to stop work activities over the past year after being found to be non-compliant.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL14926
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomes the efforts by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) to raise awareness of the health risks arising from workplace exposure to asbestos. The announcement by IOSH highlights the need for employers and employees to remain vigilant when undertaking work which may disturb asbestos. The Health and Safety Executive and Local Authority inspectors will continue to take action in cases of non-compliance with the law, as indicated in the IOSH announcement.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 04/04/2019 16:17:38 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool