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945560

registered interest
date	20/07/2018
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Overseas Trade: South East Asia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to allocate more departmental resources to South East Asia in order to increase trading opportunities in that region.
tabling member constituency	Gloucester
tabling member printed	Richard Graham
uin	166486
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>We are looking at doing more to support UK businesses in high growth markets, including regular government-to-government dialogues in trade and investment and supporting trade reviews to identify key market access barriers in parts of Southeast Asia.</p><p>In February DIT established the first UK Export Finance post in Indonesia to improve access for UK businesses to trade finance. More recently we have appointed a new commercial cyber envoy in Singapore, and three new trade policy posts in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, jointly funded by DIT and FCO.</p><p>We have recently appointed Natalie Black as HM Trade Commissioner to Asia Pacific. Natalie will be based in Singapore and will be personally responsible for delivering our regional trade plan and overseeing this work in Southeast Asia.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 31/07/2018 15:42:19 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
tabling member	3990 label Biography information for Richard Graham

945600

registered interest
date	20/07/2018
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	Nigeria: Violence
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 July (HL9364), in what ways President Buhari has "strongly condemned" the killing of Nigerian Christians by Fulani militia; and whether any people have been (1) charged with, and (2) prosecuted for, those killings.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL9729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>​President Buhari has repeatedly condemned the violence and expressed his concern for the lives lost. This year, he has made public statements in February, when he ordered the arrest of those carrying illegal arms, announced the deployment of additional security, and offered his condolences to the victims. In April, addressing the congregation at a Catholic Church, he described as &quot;vile, evil and satanic&quot; the killing of worshippers and two priests at a Catholic church in Benue State. He called on Nigerians to refrain from reprisal attacks. In June, he spoke about the killings in Plateau State, and reiterated his Government's determination to bring those responsible to justice. We are not aware of anyone having been charged. We call on communities not to take the law into their own hands but to work with security forces and the authorities to bring those responsible to justice in accordance with the rule of law.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 31/07/2018 15:08:50 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

945601

registered interest
date	20/07/2018
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	UN Security Council
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support calls for the introduction of a code of conduct that would restrain the veto power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council in cases of mass atrocities such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood that such a code will be introduced.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL9730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>​The UK wholeheartedly supports the principle that the Security Council must act to stop mass atrocities. That is why the UK signed up to the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group's Code of Conduct in 2015. The Code of Conduct calls on all Council members not to vote against a credible draft resolution on timely and decisive action to end, or prevent, the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. As of 1 June 2018 the Code of Conduct has been signed by 115 UN member states and 2 observers.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 31/07/2018 15:09:22 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

945608

registered interest
date	20/07/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Infrastructure
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will respond to the National Infrastructure Commission's National Infrastructure Assessment 2018, published in July.
tabling member printed	Baroness Featherstone
uin	HL9737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>The government welcomed the publication of the National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA), and is considering the recommendations.</p><p> </p><p>As set out in the National Infrastructure Commission’s Framework Document, the government will respond to the NIC’s recommendations as soon as practical, and endeavour to respond within 6 months, and no longer than a year.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 31/07/2018 12:07:17 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	1531 label Biography information for Baroness Featherstone

944910

registered interest
date	19/07/2018
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the level of identity verification required to sign up to Universal Credit is adequate; what reviews, if any, they have undertaken to ensure that online applications do not require a higher standard of identity assurance than is applied elsewhere; and how they are trying to clear the current backlog of face-to-face interview appointments.
tabling member printed	Lord Freyberg
uin	HL9693
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>DWP takes the security of Universal Credit very seriously, this includes verifying who our claimants are; we continue to work to maintain the high standards of our identity verification processes. There are various ways in which a claimant can verify their identity for Universal Credit purposes: online using the gov.uk verify service; in person using primary and secondary ID verification or; by using biographical questions.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>In line with advice from the National Cyber Security Centre and best practice, we treat identity proofing as just one of many defences that combine to mitigate attempted fraud. In line with our “test and learn” approach to delivering Universal Credit, we continuously assess the levels of security and fraud risk to both Government and our users, as it is critical that we strike the right balance between making the service as smooth as possible for claimants and protecting the taxpayer against fraud. We reviewed the level of identity required to strike this balance prior to the introduction of gov.uk Verify as an option for users to prove their identity online into the service and found that it, in combination with the other defences against fraud built into the service, gave a sufficiently strong level of proof. As Universal Credit continues to roll out, we are again reviewing the level of identity and the options available to further improve claimants’ experience while protecting DWP against fraud as part of wider efficiency improvements.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:17:15 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2593 label Biography information for Lord Freyberg

944929

registered interest
date	19/07/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Public Sector Debt
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their calculation of what the cumulative cost of debt interest would be by 2045/46 if they only balanced the current budget.
tabling member printed	Baroness Neville-Rolfe
uin	HL9712
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>The Managing Fiscal Risks document, published by the Treasury on the 17<sup>th</sup> July, projects that if the government only balanced the Current Budget every year from 2021-22, then after taking account of economic shocks, annual debt interest costs in 2045-46 would rise to 4.3% of Gross Domestic Product.</p><p> </p><p>The cumulative cost of these interest payments from the current financial year to 2045-46 is projected to be £3.7 trillion.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 31/07/2018 12:06:48 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe

944934

registered interest
date	19/07/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Corruption
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether closed courts are being used for settlements and penalties relating to financial corruption where a trial has not taken place; and if so, why.
tabling member printed	Lord Rooker
uin	HL9717
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Where a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) is reached for an economic crime, it must include a declaration in open court that the DPA is in the interests of justice and its terms are fair, reasonable and proportionate. The SFO has entered into 4 DPA’s to date: in each case the final hearing was held in public.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 31/07/2018 11:56:43 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	302 label Biography information for Lord Rooker

944940

registered interest
date	19/07/2018
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what success they have had in identifying and tracking claimants of Universal Credit whom they deem vulnerable.
tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
uin	HL9723
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Where notified by a Local Authority or a claimant, DWP staff currently updates the claimant profile with any temporary or long term complex needs and how that affects the claimant’s ability to use the service. This enables Universal Credit agents and work coaches to provide individuals with appropriate personalised support.</p><p>Underlying this approach is the principle that not all individuals with a disability, health condition or other set of personal circumstances will necessarily require support, while some will only need support for a period of time. Our work coaches deliver a personalised journey based on individual claimant needs.</p><p>The Department is looking to further improve our system to better identify vulnerable claimants with the use of a new ‘pinning’ function. This involves testing methods to extract data on information recorded in the claimant profile using text matching techniques. We have plans to introduce a function to ‘pin’ key profile notes so they are instantly visible to all staff helping a claimant. The Department is beginning wider work to examine how claimants tell us about their complex needs, how we record them and how we can extract data which can help us monitor and improve support.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:19:38 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

944941

registered interest
date	19/07/2018
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they (1) identify, and (2) measure the number of, people having difficulties with claiming Universal Credit.
tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
uin	HL9724
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department is continually working to improve the claimant journey for Universal Credit. The Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey found that 98 per cent of claims are made online, and that nearly half of claimants had help from others or from their jobcentre adviser to do so, demonstrating that those who need it are accessing the support available to them.</p><p> </p><p>The survey also found that 31 per cent of claimants said they need more on-going support with using their Universal Credit digital account. To address this, we are investing up to £200 million into budgeting and digital support, to help claimants with the transition to Universal Credit. This is delivered by the Department and through partners such as local authorities and other third party organisations.</p><p> </p><p>All jobcentres across the country have free Wi-Fi, and there are more than 8,000 computers available to support customers who need help with making their claim digitally and applying for jobs online. Work coaches will also assist anyone who needs assistance. If people cannot get online we have also a freephone helpline available.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:17:53 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

944942

registered interest
date	19/07/2018
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they measure the number of claimants of Universal Credit who are experiencing financial hardship; and if so, how many such claimants there are.
tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
uin	HL9725
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>For many people who do experience financial difficulties, these pre-date their claim to Universal Credit. For example, in their report published on 11 July 2018, the National Federation of Arms-Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) of Social Housing providers found that of those Universal Credit households in rent arrears, 76 per cent had arrears prior to moving onto Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>In the Universal Credit Claimant survey, published in June 2018, 4 in 10 claimants reported they were having difficulties keeping up with bills. In 2011/12 in the report “Work and the welfare system: a survey of benefits and tax credits recipients” from 2011/12, one in three main claimants said they run out of money before the end of the week/month always or most of the time, and a further third said this happens more often than not or sometimes. Both surveys are available on gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>Unlike in the legacy system, we are investing around £200 million over the Universal Credit implementation period into Universal Support to help claimants with budget management and digital support. Our work coaches work closely with claimants, ensuring they can identify any vulnerabilities such as financial hardship at an early stage. They can then tailor support according to claimants’ individual needs and help to address these issues.</p><p> </p><p>We also have a system of advances and budgeting support to help people with the transition to Universal Credit. From 3 January 2018, we increased the repayment period of Universal Credit advances to 12 months, with claimants able to get up to 100 per cent of their estimated monthly entitlement upfront. These advances are available to claimants interest-free, and from July 2018, can be applied for online.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:18:44 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig