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1126816

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of whether there is a need for transitional protection for mixed-age couples that will see eligibility for pension credit and housing benefit affected by transferring to universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Preseli Pembrokeshire
tabling member printed	Stephen Crabb
uin	254779
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The mixed age couples change will not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit. DWP wrote earlier this year to those mixed age couples already receiving Pension Credit and/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.</p><p> </p><p>Couples who would be eligible for the pension age benefits under the previous rules but have not claimed before 15 May will have up to 13 August to make a backdated claim to 14 May and we encourage them to do so.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 22/05/2019 15:54:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1554 label Biography information for Stephen Crabb

1126831

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Dstl: Animal Experiments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many marmosets at DSTL Porton Down were culled on the grounds they were deemed to be (a) surplus animals and (b) unsuccessful breeding animals in each of the last 3 years.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	254793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) at Porton Down, Wiltshire, is licensed by the Home Office to conduct the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) in-house research involving the use of animals.</p><p>There are occasions when it is necessary to euthanise an animal for its own welfare or for the welfare of the remaining breeding population. Veterinary surgeons provide extensive advice on the welfare of the animals and on the overall health of the breeding colony.</p><p>For 2016, 2017 and 2018, no surplus marmosets were euthanised. Due to unsuccessful breeding, no marmosets were euthanised in 2016; for 2017, one breeding marmoset was euthanised, and for 2018, three breeding marmosets were euthanised on veterinary advice that it would not be good for the animal's welfare and/or may risk the animal's health to carry on breeding.</p><p>Dstl always considers what will be in the best interests for every animal's welfare and follows the Home Office's Animal in Science Regulation Unit's advice on rehoming and setting free, which is available to view on gov.uk.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 22/05/2019 15:06:07 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1126926

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Electronic Training Aids
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2019 to Question 249947, whether the Government has plans to bring forward legislation to ban the use of electronic shock collars by mid-July.
tabling member constituency	Scunthorpe
tabling member printed	Nic Dakin
uin	254811
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The necessary legislation needed to prohibit the use of remote controlled hand-held electronic training collars for dogs, will be laid before Parliament in due course. Timings for this legislation will be announced in the normal way.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/05/2019 16:13:17 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4056 label Biography information for Nic Dakin

1126945

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Cats and Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance with the Balai Directive to protect the UK from disease in relation to EU and Third country imports of stray cats and dogs.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	254769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Defra takes the threat to public and animal health posed by animals entering the United Kingdom (UK) very seriously. This includes the rescue and rehoming of stray cats and dogs from EU and Third countries under the Balai Directive, which is classed as a commercial import not as a pet import. Importation of stray dogs and cats, whose history is unknown can pose a biosecurity risk to the UK and therefore enforcement measures are in place to ensure compliance.</p><p> </p><p>All consignments of stray dogs or cats from Third countries must enter through a Border Inspection Post (BIP), and receive documentary, physical and identity checks upon arrival for compliance with import requirements.</p><p> </p><p>All EU consignments of dogs or cats receive documentary checks on entry and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) conduct further checks post-import. A risk-based approach is used to determine which consignments receive a further post-importation identity and documentary check at their destination in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Where animals fail to meet the necessary health requirements for entry to the UK, they must either be quarantined until compliant, returned to their country of origin, or euthanised – all at the expense of the owner or importer. This helps to preserve the UK’s high standards of biosecurity, and acts as a deterrent to those who might otherwise be motivated to abuse Balai import requirements. The UK CVO is in correspondence with her EU counterparts in Member States where issues of non-compliance have been detected.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/05/2019 16:08:56 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1126970

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Trials: Ethnic Groups
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) BAME and (b) white defendants who enter guilty pleas.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	254792
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The proportion of guilty pleas (where plea was known) has slowly been declining, from 74% in 2014 to 69% for white defendants, and from 61% in 2014 to 57% for BAME defendants in 2018.</p><p>Data is only available for defendants dealt with at Crown Court (not all defendants) for indictable offences.</p><p>The proportion of defendants who entered a guilty plea by ethnicity (2008 – 2018) can be found in the Crown court data tool at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802313/crown-court-tool-2018.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802313/crown-court-tool-2018.xlsx</a></p><ul><li>Remove the ‘Values’ field from Rows</li><li>Drag the ‘Ethnicity’ field into Rows</li><li>Drag the ‘Total for Trial’ field into Values</li><li>Filter to ’01: Guilty Plea’ in the ‘Plea at Crown Court’ field for the number of defendants that entered a guilty plea</li><li>Filter to ’01: Guilty Plea’ and ’02: Not Guilty plea’ in the ‘Plea at Crown Court’ field number of defendants that entered a plea overall (where plea was known)</li><li>The number of BAME defendants can be defined by combining ’02: Black’, ’03: Asian’, ’04: Mixed’ and ’05: Chinese and other’ rows. The number of white defendants who entered a guilty plea each year can be found in the ‘01: White’ row.</li><li>The proportion of defendants who entered a guilty plea can be found by dividing the number of guilty pleas by the number of overall pleas for the relevant ethnicity rows.</li></ul> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 22/05/2019 16:46:56 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1127008

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Israeli Settlements: Palestinians
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to assess any negative impact on Palestinians of the policies of business operating in, or with, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
tabling member printed	Lord Judd
uin	HL15769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>We routinely update our guidance to British businesses on the Overseas Business Risk website. We advise British businesses to bear in mind the British Government's view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering their investments and activities in the region. It has long been our position that Israeli settlement activity is illegal and undermines the viability of two states for two peoples. Ultimately it is the decision of an individual or company whether to operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but the British Government neither encourages nor offers support to such activity.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/05/2019 14:18:13 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	1660 label Biography information for Lord Judd

1127013

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Climate Change: Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in 2002 and Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, published in 2015, what assessment they have made of the priority that teaching on climate change has been given in Catholic schools; and what steps they are taking to give increased priority to the teaching of climate change in state schools.
tabling member printed	Lord Pendry
uin	HL15774
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The government has not made any specific assessment of the priority that Catholic schools give to teaching about climate change. Like all schools, faith schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum that includes science.</p><p>The government believes it is vital that all children are informed about climate change. For this reason, relevant topics are included throughout the geography and science national curriculum and qualifications. For example, as part of the science curriculum in secondary schools, pupils will consider the evidence for human causes of climate change. In addition, as part of GCSE geography they will study the spatial and temporal characteristics of climatic change and evidence for different causes, including human activity.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 22/05/2019 14:25:35 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	457 label Biography information for Lord Pendry

1127020

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	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 any increase in complaints regarding short-term and payday lenders related to those suffering with problem debt.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL15781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, transferring regulatory responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA requires payday lenders to carry out robust affordability checks, limits the number of times a payday loan can be rolled over to two, places tough restrictions on lenders’ use of continuous payment authorities, and requires all payday lending adverts to include a risk warning and information about where to get free debt advice.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers and to take action against firms and individuals that do not meet its standards. In 2018, the FCA issued total fines of £60 million.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>On problem debt more broadly, the Government is implementing its manifesto commitment to introduce a breathing space and statutory debt repayment plan. The two polices aim to give people in problem debt the opportunity to take control of their finances and put them on a sustainable footing.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 22/05/2019 16:23:21 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1126503

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Offensive Weapons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps is he taking to ensure that social media companies tackle the advertising of online sales of knives and other weapons used in violent crime.
tabling member constituency	Stevenage
tabling member printed	Stephen McPartland
uin	254190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Tackling serious violence is a top priority for the government through measures set out in the Serious Violence Strategy and further initiatives to tackle knife crime and serious violence more generally, including the Offensive Weapons Act which received Royal Assent on 16 May.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Harms White Paper, published in April, sets out plans for a regulatory framework to further ensure companies take action to address online harmful behaviour, including the sale of weapons and other illegal goods and services. A new statutory duty of care will require companies to take more responsibility for harm caused by content or activity on their services. Compliance with this duty of care will be overseen and enforced by an independent regulator. The regulator will issue codes of practice on what companies need to do to fulfil their duty of care, working with law enforcement for codes of practice on illegal harms to ensure they adequately keep pace with the threat.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 22/05/2019 15:52:08 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4093 label Biography information for Stephen McPartland

1126531

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	CCTV: Biometrics
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of facial recognition in CCTV.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	254130
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Facial recognition is a fast evolving area of technology with the potential to streamline identity verification and authentication processes across Government and the private sector.</p><p>Its performance is dependent on a number of variables, from the quality of the images, environmental factors, the specific algorithm used, the thresholds or risk profile applied and many other factors. Possible matches produced by LFR systems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 22/05/2019 16:11:43 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis