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392044

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum Support (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to communicate the change in the rate of asylum support due to take effect as a result of the Asylum Support (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015 to recipients of that support.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL1799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>Asylum seekers, including dependants of asylum seekers, who are destitute are provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover their “essential living needs” - the legal test. The level of the allowance is kept under regular review.</p><p>The most recent review of asylum support payments earlier this year looked at data spending on essential items by the lowest decile (10%) income group in the UK taken from the latest report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on Family Spending published on 2 December 2014. Other data from the study, specifically in relation to spending by households with children, was also reviewed. In addition, research was undertaken into the actual costs of particular essential items, including the cost of food stuffs, clothing, toiletries, household cleaning stuffs and non-prescription medication, as well as travel and communications.</p><p>Whilst the ONS data is useful in identifying levels of spending on particular items, it does not provide the definition of “essential living items”. This is provided for in international and domestic legislation, most notably the EU Reception Conditions Directive 2003, Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Nationality Act 1999 and the Asylum support Regulations 2000. In addition, guidance in respect of which specific items could be considered as essential was provided by Justice Popplewell in his 2014 judgement in respect of the Refugee Action challenge to the Asylum Support Rates.</p><p>The Government has no plans to publish minutes of meetings held with external partners or to share more widely papers provided by them which were considered in the review. Despite the planned reduction in the rate, the payments are still sufficient to meet the essential needs of asylum seekers and their families. Those affected were notified of the changes by letter, sent out on Thursday 16 July, which provided more than 3 weeks notice of the intended reduction in their payments.</p><p>The adequacy of the payment rates will be kept under review through the annual review cycle and in line with the statutory test to ensure that the right level of support is provided to asylum seekers and their families.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL1796 HL1797 HL1798 HL1800 question first answered 30/07/2015 13:56:37 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

392045

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum Support (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sources of information other than data from the Office for National Statistics were used in identifying essential needs under the Asylum Support (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL1800
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>Asylum seekers, including dependants of asylum seekers, who are destitute are provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover their “essential living needs” - the legal test. The level of the allowance is kept under regular review.</p><p>The most recent review of asylum support payments earlier this year looked at data spending on essential items by the lowest decile (10%) income group in the UK taken from the latest report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on Family Spending published on 2 December 2014. Other data from the study, specifically in relation to spending by households with children, was also reviewed. In addition, research was undertaken into the actual costs of particular essential items, including the cost of food stuffs, clothing, toiletries, household cleaning stuffs and non-prescription medication, as well as travel and communications.</p><p>Whilst the ONS data is useful in identifying levels of spending on particular items, it does not provide the definition of “essential living items”. This is provided for in international and domestic legislation, most notably the EU Reception Conditions Directive 2003, Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Nationality Act 1999 and the Asylum support Regulations 2000. In addition, guidance in respect of which specific items could be considered as essential was provided by Justice Popplewell in his 2014 judgement in respect of the Refugee Action challenge to the Asylum Support Rates.</p><p>The Government has no plans to publish minutes of meetings held with external partners or to share more widely papers provided by them which were considered in the review. Despite the planned reduction in the rate, the payments are still sufficient to meet the essential needs of asylum seekers and their families. Those affected were notified of the changes by letter, sent out on Thursday 16 July, which provided more than 3 weeks notice of the intended reduction in their payments.</p><p>The adequacy of the payment rates will be kept under review through the annual review cycle and in line with the statutory test to ensure that the right level of support is provided to asylum seekers and their families.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL1796 HL1797 HL1798 HL1799 question first answered 30/07/2015 13:56:37 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

392055

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
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	Pakistan: Terrorism
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the level of terrorist activity in Karachi, Pakistan, and whether there is any involvement by Al Qaeda, Taliban and the Muttahida Quami Movement.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL1810
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>There is a high threat from terrorism and other violence throughout Pakistan, including Karachi. The British Government regularly reviews the security situation in the country and is aware of reports of attacks claimed by various militant groups in Karachi. The main terrorist threat continues to come from Tehrik-e Taleban Pakistan (TTP) who have a mainly anti-state focus but also maintain, and have stated, an intent to launch attacks on western interests. Although Al Qaeda is diminished in Pakistan and under severe pressure, it is still capable of devising sophisticated attacks. Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) is a political party.</p><p>The Government is committed to partnering Pakistan in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, in the interests of both countries. We will continue to support Pakistan in developing its capacity to deal with terrorism, and in addressing its root causes.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 30/07/2015 15:34:06 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed

392065

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Civilian Stabilisation Group
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are currently on the Civilian Stabilisation Group list maintained by the Department for International Development, broken down by gender.
tabling member printed	Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
uin	HL1820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>The Stabilisation Unit’s Civilian Stabilisation Group (CSG) consists of over 1,350 individuals. We are committed to being an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications to the CSG from every background. We would need to carry out a manual search of each individual’s profile to provide data broken down by gender, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 30/07/2015 14:15:31 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	4168 label Biography information for Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

392066

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Civilian Stabilisation Group
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many members of the Civilian Stabilisation Group have been deployed in other countries in each of the last five years; and how many are currently deployed.
tabling member printed	Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
uin	HL1821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>The Stabilisation Unit has deployed:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of CSG deployed</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>48</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>133</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>114</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>75</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>On 23 July 2015, 55 members of the Civilian Stabilisation Group were on deployment.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 30/07/2015 14:15:46 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	4168 label Biography information for Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

392067

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Civilian Stabilisation Group
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding is currently allocated to the deployment of members of the Civilian Stabilisation Group.
tabling member printed	Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
uin	HL1822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>Deployments are funded by the programmes they are supporting rather than as a standalone cost. This ensures deployments are directly tied to HMG objectives and can flex according to demand. The cost of maintaining the Civilian Stabilisation Group falls under the Stabilisation Unit’s core budget, which for CSG training and management comes to £1,345,000 p.a.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 30/07/2015 14:16:01 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	4168 label Biography information for Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

392068

registered interest
date	22/07/2015
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Civilian Stabilisation Group
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the Civilian Stabilisation Group in the light of emerging priorities and the anticipated agreement of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations in September 2015.
tabling member printed	Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
uin	HL1823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2015 answer text <p>The Stabilisation Unit is conducting an internal review of the Civilian Stabilisation Group skillsets to ensure it meets HMG priorities, both now and in the future. To inform this work, wider multilateral and international aims for UK capability will be considered.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 30/07/2015 14:12:30 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	4168 label Biography information for Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale