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1145328

registered interest
date	06/09/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Climate Change
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in the report by the World Future Council Unlocking the Trillions to Finance the 1.5°c Limit, published on 7 November 2017, concerning the role of central banks buying fossil fuel stranded assets on the condition that the money is invested in the renewable energy sector.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL17779
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government’s Green Finance Strategy sets out the Government’s approach to accelerating green finance. As set out in the Strategy, the Government welcomes the work of the Central Banks’ and Supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System, of which the Bank of England is a founding member.</ins></p> answering member printed Lord Duncan of Springbank question first answered 09/09/2019 16:27:22 question first ministerially corrected 02/10/2019 14:21:21 answering member 4686 label Biography information for Lord Duncan of Springbank previous answer version 135185 answering member printed Lord Duncan of Springbank answering member 4686 label Biography information for Lord Duncan of Springbank
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1145173

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Northern Ireland Office
answering dept id	21
answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
hansard heading	Anniversaries: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with political parties on plans to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021.
tabling member constituency	Lagan Valley
tabling member printed	Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson
uin	287501
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">My discussions with the political parties have been focused to date on the urgent need to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland. Officials in my Department are exploring options for marking the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021.</ins></p> answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith question first answered 09/09/2019 16:51:43 question first ministerially corrected 02/10/2019 16:30:14 answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith previous answer version 135657 answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith
tabling member	650 label Biography information for Sir Jeffrey M Donaldson

1145174

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Northern Ireland Office
answering dept id	21
answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
hansard heading	Brexit: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Irish Government on alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland when the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Lagan Valley
tabling member printed	Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson
uin	287502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">I have regular discussions with the Irish Government concerning the UK's exit from the EU.</ins></p> answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith question first answered 09/09/2019 16:50:50 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 20:32:46 answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith previous answer version 135646 answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith
tabling member	650 label Biography information for Sir Jeffrey M Donaldson

1145175

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Northern Ireland Office
answering dept id	21
answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
hansard heading	International Cooperation: Republic of Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Irish Government on enhanced east-west cooperation between the UK and the Irish Republic when the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Lagan Valley
tabling member printed	Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson
uin	287503
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">I have regular discussions with the Irish Government concerning the UK's exit from the EU.</ins></p> answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith question first answered 09/09/2019 16:51:18 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 20:32:38 answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith previous answer version 135653 answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith
tabling member	650 label Biography information for Sir Jeffrey M Donaldson

1145211

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Rents
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rents levied by developers of student accommodation.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Higher education providers are autonomous bodies, independent from the government. The department plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <ins class="ministerial">The department assesses student accommodation rent levels through the Student Income and Expenditure Surveys that have been undertaken at regular intervals since the mid-1980s. Information on student rents is also reported in the Accommodation Costs Surveys published jointly by the National Union of Students and the student housing charity, Unipol.</ins></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <ins class="ministerial">The report published by the independent panel supporting the Post-18 Review of Education and Funding recommends that the Office for Students:</ins></ins></p><blockquote><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"> <ins class="ministerial">examines the costs of student accommodation; and</ins></ins></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial">works with students and providers to improve data about costs, rents, profits and quality.</ins></ins></ins></ins></p></blockquote><p><ins class="ministerial">The department has not yet taken decisions on these recommendations but will consider the panel’s proposals in due course.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 09/09/2019 16:46:52 question first ministerially corrected 03/10/2019 16:40:06 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge previous answer version 134418 answering member printed Baroness Berridge answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1145228

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
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	Food Banks
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with food retailers about providing food and other products that would otherwise have to go to landfill sites to food banks; and what plans they have to encourage (1) food retailers to participate in, and (2) the further development of, such provision.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL17755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We continue to work with key stakeholders across the food chain to overcome the barriers to redistribution and explore solutions through The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), supported by funding from Defra.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">All large retailers have relationships with redistribution organisations and we have seen a large increase in redistribution which has almost doubled since 2015 (96% increase), or an additional £81 million of food equivalent to an extra 65 million meals a year. This has been helped by a 63% increase in supply of food from major retailers in recent years.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">There is still more that can be done, the Government announced in October 2018 a £15m pilot fund for 2019/20 that aims to increase the redistribution of surplus food through a series of grant opportunities. The winners of which will be announced later in the year. We have already awarded £4.2 million of this fund to projects.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">In line with its commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy the Government has also appointed Ben Elliot as its Food Waste Reduction Champion. He has been meeting - and continues to work with - business leaders from restaurants and large food retailers to further develop solutions to prevent good food from being wasted.</ins></p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 09/09/2019 16:30:14 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 15:00:27 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble previous answer version 135344 answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1145240

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) revoke all existing, and (2) ban future, export licences for the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL17767
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Court order of 20 June 2019 remitted the decision to grant export licences for the sale or transfer of arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia for possible use in the conflict in Yemen to my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade to re-take on the correct legal basis.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The order did not require the Secretary of State to suspend existing licences. As a matter of priority, and without prejudice to our appeal against the 20 June judgment, we are considering the implications of the judgment for decision-making.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Amending our decision-making process in line with the judgment does not necessarily mean that decisions would be different.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">On 20 June, the then Secretary of State, set out in a statement to Parliament that until we retake our licensing decisions in line with the judgment we will not grant any new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners that might be used in the conflict in Yemen.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, you will be aware of the Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament of 26 September, in which she set out information on inadvertent breaches of the Undertaking given to the Court of Appeal by the then Secretary of State in the Order of the Court dated 20 June 2019 and licences that were granted contrary to the wider commitment to Parliament, made in a statement that same day. The Secretary of State has apologised unreservedly for these errors, both to the Court and Parliament.</ins></p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 09/09/2019 16:42:25 question first ministerially corrected 02/10/2019 14:22:11 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown previous answer version 135518 answering member printed The Earl of Courtown answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1144852

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Northern Ireland Office
answering dept id	21
answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
hansard heading	Abortion: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with pro-life groups in Northern Ireland on the legislation to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Lagan Valley
tabling member printed	Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson
uin	286661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">There are a range of sensitive policy issues to carefully work through in order to deliver regulations to provide access to abortion services in Northern Ireland by 31 March 2020 in Northern Ireland. This duty will come into effect if the Northern Ireland Executive is not restored by 21 October 2019. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Government officials including from the NIO have met some representatives of the medical profession and other stakeholders and will continue to do so in the weeks ahead.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">There will also be a period of consultation throughout this process for individuals in Northern Ireland as well as relevant organisations to provide input and views. I will continue to keep the House updated on these plans at the appropriate opportunities through the Executive Formation Act reporting requirements.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government's preference remains seeing the Stormont institutions back up and running so they can take forward any issues of reform on these types of sensitive devolved issues, as a matter of priority.</ins></p> answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith question first answered 09/09/2019 16:56:41 question first ministerially corrected 02/10/2019 16:30:30 answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith previous answer version 135690 answering member constituency Skipton and Ripon answering member printed Julian Smith answering member 4118 label Biography information for Julian Smith
tabling member	650 label Biography information for Sir Jeffrey M Donaldson

1144865

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, with respect to the National Statistics data published in April, which estimated the total cost of pension tax relief in respect of registered pension schemes for the year ending 5 April 2018 at £36.3 billion including £4.3 billion in tax relief on employee contributions to occupational pension schemes, (1) what is the estimated figure of gross pension contributions on which this figure was based, and (2) what specific assumptions were made as to the rates of tax applicable in arriving at the figure of £4.3 billion; and whether these assumptions included that all employees making contributions to occupational schemes receive the full tax relief to which they are entitled, including those contributing to net pay pension schemes.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL17699
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">HMRC publishes estimates of the cost of pension tax relief which is available in table 6 of HM Revenue and Customs Personal Pension Statistics on Gov.uk. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">These estimates were revised on 26<sup>th</sup> September 2019 as part of an overall update to HMRC’s Personal Pension and Pension Relief statistics. Estimates of the cost of tax relief on contributions are produced using the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) for income, individual and employer contributions for members of pension schemes that use the net pay mechanism; and administrative data HMRC holds on relief at source administrative data matched to the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) - for income, individual and employer pension contributions for members of pension schemes that use the relief at source mechanism.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The cost of tax relief for all contributions made by individuals is approximately £6.3bn, broken down as the cost of relief on employee contributions to occupational schemes (£4.2bn), to personal pension schemes (£1.6bn), and self-employed contributions to pensions (£0.5bn). Occupational pensions here includes some master trust pension schemes which use the relief at source method. Personal pensions here includes workplace personal pension schemes (such as group personal pensions).</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">i) The £4.3bn figure referenced is the cost of pension tax relief relating to occupational pension schemes. Estimates of the cost of pension tax relief were revised on September 26<sup>th</sup> 2019 as part of an overall update to HMRC’s Personal Pensions and Pension Relief Statistics. The £4.3bn figure referenced has since been revised to £4.2bn. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">This £4.2bn figure of tax relief is derived from around £15.9bn of estimated “relievable” individual pension contributions to occupational pension schemes, (where “relievable” refers to our best estimates of contributions which are within the individual’s pensions Annual Allowance). </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">ii) Marginal rate tax relief is applied to these estimates of “relievable” contributions as if these contributions were taxed. Estimates are produced assuming all members contributing to all pension schemes receive full marginal rate tax relief on their contributions.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">As noted in the publication, costs are subject to large revisions and have a particularly wide margin of error – reflecting the variety of sources of data (both administrative and survey) required to produce these estimates.</ins></p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 09/09/2019 16:33:08 question first ministerially corrected 08/10/2019 12:38:27 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown previous answer version 135351 answering member printed The Earl of Courtown answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1144877

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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	Sudan and Syria: Politics and Government
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 31 July (HL17137), what considerations led them to adopt the positions that “the Assad regime has lost all legitimacy” and that they “have no intention of encouraging the Global Coalition to cooperate with its security forces”; whether they have applied similar considerations in developing their position on Sudan; and, if so, how those considerations were applied to their decision to engage in strategic dialogue with the regime there.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL17711
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The basis for reaching the conclusion that the Assad regime has lost all legitimacy is the clear evidence of the atrocities the regime has committed against the Syrian people, as documented by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria and other independent bodies. These atrocities include, but are not limited to, the repeated use of chemical weapons; repeated violations of international humanitarian law including attacks on civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals; and systematic use of torture, including sexual violence, and summary execution against those suspected of opposition to the regime. As the regime's security forces have played a major role in directing and committing these atrocities, we have no intention of encouraging the Global Coalition to cooperate with them.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial">The UK policy towards Sudan has been one of clear and public condemnation of human rights abuses, alongside a very limited process of engagement to explain to the Sudanese Government what needed to change in order that Sudan could progress and their relations with the international community could improve. As the protest movement gathered pace in 2018 and 2019, we publicly supported the calls of those protestors and pressured the government to heed those demands. Our approach has been described by many in the protest movement, and those now in government, as well judged and critical.<ins class="ministerial"> </ins></ins></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Our engagement with Sudan's former regime sought to maintain pressure on the then Sudanese authorities to make democratic reforms. The Strategic Dialogues also enabled us to have frank and constructive exchanges on pressing issues such as increasing protections for human rights and macroeconomic reform; the resolution of conflict and matters related to UN peacekeeping; and, to address shared threats including terrorism, modern slavery and illegal migration. We repeatedly raised our deep concern, both publicly and directly on a range of issues, including the response to the protest movement. The UK, alongside Troika partners (US and Norway) and Canada, made clear in a statement of 8 January that the (then) Government of Sudan's actions and decisions towards protestors would impact our approach to future engagement.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial">Following the overthrow of Omar al Bashir, an agreement was reached between the Transitional Military Council and Forces of Freedom and Change who represented the protestors. The UK welcomes the appointment of a civilian led government and Prime Minister Hamdok's agenda of freedom, peace and justice for all in Sudan. We are engaging with him and the newly formed government on how best we can practically support these ambitions towards Sudan's democratic transition. In addition to supporting the reforms and changes that the people of Sudan deserve, we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need across Sudan.</ins></ins></p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 09/09/2019 16:24:04 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 11:21:27 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon previous answer version 133944 answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox