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747344

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government against whom a worker earning £11,500 can claim if they discover that their employer has used a workplace pension scheme operating on a Net Pay basis for auto-enrolment, in order to recover the 25% taxpayer bonus they could have received in a Relief at Source scheme.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL320 HL322 HL323 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

755135

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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: EEA Nationals
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government how many EEA migrants who have had benefit applications refused have brought a claim to the Social Entitlement Chamber Tribunal in each of the last five years.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hain
	uin	HL1143
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2017 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/08/2017 15:40:30 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain

752466

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government how many advance payments of universal credit have been made following a claim for universal credit since its introduction; and what proportion of all claims that number represents.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL912
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p>We are planning to publish data on the Universal Credit Advances in due course.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 25/07/2017 10:30:07 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

752465

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government how many claimants of universal credit have had to wait for more than six weeks for the first payment of universal credit; and what is the average waiting time.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL911
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p><em> </em></p><p>The assessment period and payment structure of Universal Credit creates a fixed period between date of entitlement and the first payment.</p><p> </p><p>The policy intention is that claimants receive the first payment 5 weeks after their date of entitlement (6 weeks if waiting days are served). The assessment period runs for a full calendar month from the date of entitlement, and the UC pay date will be 7 calendar days after the end of the assessment period. This mirrors the world of work and allows for a 1 month period in which to gather information about a claimants’ earnings. Advances and budgeting support are available to support claimants during this period. Advances can provide up to 50% of a claimants indicative award straight away.</p><p> </p><p>The latest internal data, for week ending 19 June, suggests some 80% of cases were paid in full at the end of the first assessment period. For the 20% of cases who were not paid in full we estimate around a third have not signed up to their claimant commitment so cannot be paid until they have. The other two thirds have an outstanding verification issue, such as providing bank statements, evidence of childcare costs, or proof of rent. Many of these claimants receive a part-payment where elements of the claim have been verified.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL910 question first answered 25/07/2017 10:29:56 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

755106

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government how they define, monitor and assess (1) poverty, and (2) the root causes of poverty, in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL1114
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2017 answer text <p>This Government is committed to an approach that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage. Through <em>Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families</em>, published on 4 April, it published its evidence and analysis on the root causes of disadvantage and the impact they can have on children’s lives. It also set out nine national indicators and underlying measures to track progress in tackling these disadvantages and to drive continued action on improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and families, now and in the future.</p><p>The most commonly used measure of poverty is ‘relative low-income’. Estimates on the number and proportion of people in low income are published annually in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ series. It measures how the incomes of one group compare to median incomes in the UK, with those incomes below 60 per cent of the median classified as being in relative low-income.</p><p>For more details on the definitions of low income please see the latest Households Below Average Income report attached.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/08/2017 15:42:37 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name HBAI Report.PDF title HBAI Report
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

748862

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support boxers and footballers with dementia pugilistica who currently rely on financial assistance from various charities.
	tabling member printed	Lord Pendry
	uin	HL525
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2017 answer text <p>The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council’s (IIAC) 2005 review of Dementia in boxers and footballers concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend an addition to the list of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (available to employed earners) prescribed diseases. In 2014 IIAC sought high quality research evidence about the risks of neurodegenerative diseases in professional sportspersons. The IIAC response in May 2016 concluded that despite the passage of time, epidemiological evidence on risk of dementia pugilistica in boxers relative to other workers remains elusive, and that there was no new important evidence to change the previous appraisal of prescription in respect of soccer players. As in 2005, there remains insufficient evidence to indicate a more than doubled risk of a dementia in boxers.</p><p> </p><p>IIAC has no plans at present to revisit this, but would likely reconsider should new evidence emerge. However the department provides a range of benefits to support with extra costs of disability, which individuals may be entitled to depending on their circumstances.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/07/2017 11:13:51 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	457 label Biography information for Lord Pendry

747346

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of low paid workers' claims against their employers for the money they are due in tax relief if it is denied to them by their employer's choice of pension scheme.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL322
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL320 HL321 HL323 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

753265

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the lessons to be learned from the reports of the Scottish Government's Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality in the light of persistent poverty levels in the United Kingdom.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL953
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p>The Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality was appointed in 2015 to offer advice to the Scottish Government on the action it could take to tackle poverty in Scotland.</p><p> </p><p>Nevertheless, the UK Government has taken note of the Advisor’s two publications: <em>Shifting the Curve</em> (and its most recent progress report) and <em>The Life Chances of Young People</em>.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government remains committed to tackling the root causes of child poverty and disadvantage, and has set out a framework for continued action in <em>Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families</em>, published on 4 April.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 25/07/2017 10:30:43 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

753266

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of (1) children, (2) adults, and (3) working families, living in poverty across the United Kingdom; and what long-term plan they have to prevent such poverty.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2017 answer text <p>The most commonly used measure of poverty is relative low income.</p><p> </p><p>The latest statistics from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data series show that there are: 2.7 million children, 5.7 million working-age adults, and 2.1 million pensioners in relative low income in the United Kingdom on a ‘before housing costs’ (BHC) basis.</p><p>Analysis of the HBAI data shows that there are 2.1 million families in relative low income BHC where at least one adult member works at least part-time.</p><p>This Government is committed to tackling the root causes of poverty, thereby preventing the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage.</p><p> </p><p>This is why we repealed the income-related targets set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010 and replaced them with statutory measures that drive action on parental worklessness and children’s educational attainment – the two areas that we know can make the biggest difference to disadvantaged children, now and in the future.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions published Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families in April 2017. Here we set out further non-statutory indicators on a wider set of parental disadvantage and children’s outcomes, which will drive collective action on areas that matter in tackling disadvantage.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL955 question first answered 28/07/2017 10:40:12 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

747963

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of introducing a double lock on Pension Credit uprating from 2018–19 onwards, uprating pensions by the highest of the consumer price index or earnings inflation, (1) over the course of this Parliament, (2) over the next 10 years, and (3) up to 2050.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL417
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2017 answer text <p>No estimate of the cost of introducing a double lock on Pension Credit uprating has been made. The legislative requirement is that the standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit should increase at least in line with earnings.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/07/2017 16:24:54 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

747350

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost saving, in long-term expenditure on State Pensions, from changing the current triple lock into a double lock using the best of earnings or CPI inflation, from 2020 onwards.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL324
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p><br>The Government is committed to ensuring economic security for people at every stage of their life, including when they reach retirement. The Government is also clear that fairness between the generations must be maintained. We are committed to the Triple Lock for the remainder of this Parliament. Economic forecasts suggest that State Pensions will go up by at least 2.5% each year for the length of this Parliament and so maintaining the Triple Lock for this Parliament will cost no extra money.</p><p> </p><p>It is estimated that uprating the State Pension by a double lock (highest of earnings or inflation) from April 2020 would reduce State Pension expenditure by the following compared to the Triple Lock:</p><p>(1) 0.03% of GDP in 2029/30;</p><p>(2) 0.08% of GDP in 2039/40;</p><p>(3) 0.13% of GDP in 2049/50;</p><p> </p><p>It is estimated that in 2066/67, uprating by a double lock would reduce State Pension expenditure by around 0.2% of GDP compared to uprating by the Triple Lock.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL325 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:41:13 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

755134

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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: EEA Nationals
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have, if any, that EEA migrants come to the UK for the specific purpose of claiming benefits.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hain
	uin	HL1142
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2017 answer text <p>While the Government checks the immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud, the Department does not collect information of an individual’s specific purpose for coming to the UK and so this information is not available.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/08/2017 15:40:49 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	567 label Biography information for Lord Hain

753299

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what is the budget for the Health and Safety Executive for 2017–18; how many inspectors it expects to employ in 2017–18; and how many inspectors it employed in each of the last five years.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jolly
	uin	HL987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2017 answer text <p>HSE’s net budget for 2017-18 is £136 million (which includes planned expenditure of £232 million, offset by planned income of £96 million).</p><p> </p><p>During 2017-18 we are seeking to maintain inspector numbers at or around the level as at 31 March 2017 which is stated below, along with the four previous years.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Number of HSE inspectors at 31 March</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>31 March 2013</p></td><td><p>31 March 2014</p></td><td><p>31 March 2015</p></td><td><p>31 March 2016</p></td><td><p>31 March 2017</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1,115</p></td><td><p>1,051</p></td><td><p>1,038</p></td><td><p>1,037</p></td><td><p>988</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 28/07/2017 11:12:54 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4203 label Biography information for Baroness Jolly

747992

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
	uin	HL446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2017 answer text <p>The Agency collects and shares good practice information on national and European Union priorities for safety and health at work, working with national contact points in all Member States. Its activities are particularly valuable to recent and proposed EU entrants and those with less well developed health and safety systems.</p><p> </p><p>The European Court of Auditors publishes annual reports on the accounts of the Agency that are automatically deposited with Parliament for scrutiny purposes. For the latest report (financial position as of 31 December 2015), the budget was €16.9 million and the auditors stated that the Agency’s accounts were reliable and transactions were legal and regular.</p><p> </p><p>Our relationship with the European Union's decentralised bodies upon exit, including the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, will be evaluated in light of delivering the twelve objectives outlined by the Prime Minister to achieve a deep and special positive and constructive partnership between the UK and the European Union.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/07/2017 14:24:18 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

747351

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the cost saving over (1) 10 years, (2) 20 years, and (3) 30 years, of changing the current triple lock on State Pensions into a double lock consisting of the best of earnings or CPI inflation, from 2020 onwards.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL325
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p><br>The Government is committed to ensuring economic security for people at every stage of their life, including when they reach retirement. The Government is also clear that fairness between the generations must be maintained. We are committed to the Triple Lock for the remainder of this Parliament. Economic forecasts suggest that State Pensions will go up by at least 2.5% each year for the length of this Parliament and so maintaining the Triple Lock for this Parliament will cost no extra money.</p><p> </p><p>It is estimated that uprating the State Pension by a double lock (highest of earnings or inflation) from April 2020 would reduce State Pension expenditure by the following compared to the Triple Lock:</p><p>(1) 0.03% of GDP in 2029/30;</p><p>(2) 0.08% of GDP in 2039/40;</p><p>(3) 0.13% of GDP in 2049/50;</p><p> </p><p>It is estimated that in 2066/67, uprating by a double lock would reduce State Pension expenditure by around 0.2% of GDP compared to uprating by the Triple Lock.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL324 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:41:13 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

731003

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the finding by the Equality and Human Rights Commission review published on 3 April, Being disabled in Britain: a journey less equal, that across the UK 18.4 per cent of disabled people aged 16 to 64 were considered to be in food poverty in 2014 compared with 7.5 per cent of non-disabled people.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
	uin	HL22
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2017 answer text <p>It is widely acknowledged that the reasons why people are in food poverty are complex and overlapping, and therefore would be misleading to link this to any particular cause. The Government’s approach has been about recognising the value and importance of work, to make work pay and to support people into work whilst protecting the most vulnerable in society. We are committed to ensuring that those in work are paid a fair wage; have opportunities to progress and achieve their potential. We are getting disabled people into employment and working to change attitudes, introducing reforms to make sure that work always pays and that we support people into work. Since June 2016 over 750,000 of people who were receiving incapacity benefits are now either preparing for or looking for work.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 05/07/2017 12:20:20 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

731062

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	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	Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to simplify the benefits regime to reduce the extent of the form filling and assessment burdens on benefits recipients.
	tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
	uin	HL70
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2017 answer text <p>The DWP is currently implementing Universal Credit. This flagship welfare reform policy simplifies the benefits regime for working-age people. It replaces 6 former benefits administered by DWP, HMRC and Local Authorities, with 1 single application process to DWP. Universal Credit also makes extensive use of digital services to reduce the extent of form filling for benefit recipients, who can interact with the Department using an online account.</p><p> </p><p>The introduction of the New State Pension on 6 April 2016 also provided a simpler and more straightforward benefit for pension-age customers. This is less open to misunderstanding and dispute. State Pension claims are supported by an, increasingly popular, online claims service alongside a well established telephony channel. These two channels account for the vast majority of claims and have significantly reduced form filling. DWP is currently testing a new claims portal for State Pension to further improve the citizen experience.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/07/2017 14:48:27 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

746096

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Personal Independent Payment assessors receive appropriate training to allow them to take a holistic approach to a claimant's assessment.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL238
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2017 answer text <p>All Health Professionals (HPs) working on the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments must be either an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience. In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.</p><p> </p><p>All new assessors complete one month of intensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. This is followed by on-going professional training and support which continues for the duration of their employment in the role.</p><p> </p><p>Final approval to work as a health assessor must be conferred by the Department for Work and Pension’s Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 04/07/2017 14:40:36 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

749916

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2017
	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	Plastics: Waste
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy to continue with the plans to address parental conflict in workless families set out in Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, published in April.
	tabling member printed	Lord Farmer
	uin	HL601
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2017 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families set out our plans to tackle the root causes of disadvantage, with a focus on workless families. As part of this approach, we announced an innovative new programme of support to help parents, whether they are together or separated, to reduce conflict. This is based on the most recent evidence, which tells us that children who are exposed to frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict are at risk of experiencing poorer long term outcomes. Plans are currently underway to develop this support, and more details of this will be announced in due course.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 17/07/2017 15:25:21 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4321 label Biography information for Lord Farmer

747348

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether low paid workers who earn less than the personal tax threshold may claim against the Pensions Regulator for failing to ensure that employers use a suitable auto-enrolment scheme that does not force them to pay more than they should for their pensions.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL320 HL321 HL322 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

749951

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2017
	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	NHS: Listed Buildings
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether the Health and Safety Executive will send a representative to the International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference at Imperial College, London in September; and if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	The Countess of Mar
	uin	HL636
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2017 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will not be attending the International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference at Imperial College, London in September 2017. HSE works with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to regulate health and safety at work in the aviation industry. This operates through a memorandum of understanding and associated guidance document CAP 1484 (see documents attached).</p><p>CAP 1484 states that by agreement CAA regulates health and safety on board aircraft and advises on the health implications of exposure to hazardous substances on crew and passengers. CAA is the most appropriate regulatory attendee and HSE will seek information and updates on such issues through its regular contacts with CAA.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name HL636 - Associated Guidance Document CAP 1484 (March 2017).pdf title Associated Guidance Document CAP 1484 2 file name HL636 - HSE CAA Memorandum of Understanding.pdf title HSE CAA Memorandum of Understanding question first answered 18/07/2017 13:18:23 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	1861 label Biography information for The Countess of Mar

746098

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether there is enough flexibility in the Personal Independence Payments criteria to allow for claimants with unusual conditions.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL240
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment works effectively for individuals with any health conditions or disability. This is achieved by measuring the impact on an individual’s ability to undertake a range of activities.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 11/07/2017 13:00:09 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

748861

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering a review of Carers Allowance to ensure that it is sufficient to meet the financial support needs of carers.
	tabling member printed	Lord Pendry
	uin	HL524
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2017 answer text <p>This Government recognises and appreciates the valuable support that carers provide to those with care needs.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010 the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £62.70 a week, meaning an additional £450 a year for carers. Carer’s Allowance is excluded from the benefit freeze and is uprated annually in line with the Consumer Prices Index.</p><p> </p><p>Carers on low incomes can access other financial support through income-related benefits. Income Support, Housing Benefit and Pension Credit include an additional carer’s premium of £34.95 a week. Universal Credit includes a carer’s element of £151.89 per monthly assessment period. People entitled to Carer’s Allowance or the carer’s element in Universal Credit are not subject to the benefit cap.</p><p> </p><p>As society ages and care needs increase, it is important that carers are able to combine caring with paid employment, or return to paid work when their caring duties allow. The Government’s Fuller Working Lives Strategy, published in February 2017, sets out proposals to help carers combine work and care or prepare for returning to the labour market. In addition, earned income up to £116 net a week is ignored for the purposes of Carer’s Allowance. Means-tested benefits and Universal Credit also provide for care to be combined with earnings.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 19/07/2017 10:59:53 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	457 label Biography information for Lord Pendry

749917

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2017
	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 Convention
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they continue to collect data against the family stability indicator measures, in particular (1) the percentage of all children who are not living with both their birth parents, broken down by age of child, and (2) the percentage of children in low income households not living with both parents compared to the percentage of such children in middle to higher income households.
	tabling member printed	Lord Farmer
	uin	HL602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2017 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pension’s publication <em>Improving lives: Helping Workless Families,</em> presented evidence on the root causes of disadvantage and their impact on the outcomes for children. This included nine national indicators to track progress in tackling the disadvantages that affect families’ and children’s lives and replace all the former <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-justice-outcomes-framework" target="_blank">social justice outcomes framework</a> indicators. A copy of this framework has been attached.</p><p> </p><p>One of the new indicators measures parental conflict to reflect evidence that inter-parental relationship quality is of fundamental importance to children’s outcomes, including their mental health, wellbeing and future employment prospects. On the basis of this evidence and after consulting with academics, a new indicator has been developed. This measures quality of the inter-parental relationship among coupled and separated parents as the proportion of children in couple-parent families experiencing relationship distress. Where parents are separated, research suggests that positive involvement from both parents in the child’s life can help address the potential negative impacts of parental separation therefore as a proxy for the quality of relationship between separated parents the proportion of children in separated families who see their non-resident parents regularly is also being measured.</p><p> </p><p>The Analysis and Research Pack published alongside <em>Improving Lives</em>, presents an update of the proportion of children in couple-parent families living with parents who report relationship distress, broken down by the age of the child. The measure is not broken down by income.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 19/07/2017 11:01:37 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name Social justice outcomes framework October 2012.pdf title Social justice outcome framework October 2012
	tabling member	4321 label Biography information for Lord Farmer

747343

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the number of workers earning below the personal tax threshold who have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme that operates on a Net Pay basis; and if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL320
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL321 HL322 HL323 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann