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1724745

registered interest
date	30/07/2024
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	Silicosis: Composite Materials
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect workers from silicosis, in particular the risk posed by the installation of engineered stone countertops.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL488
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2024 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to inspect industries associated with exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and to respond to concerns about risk management reported to HSE.</p><p> </p><p>Adequate control measures for protecting workers from the risks of exposure to RCS are legally required under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), including water suppression, equipment enclosure, extraction and personal protective equipment, such as respirator masks. COSHH also requires workers to be trained to effectively implement such controls.</p><p> </p><p>HSE works proactively with key stakeholders, trade associations and other industry bodies to raise awareness of the risks of exposure to RCS and to provide information and guidance on adequate control measures. This includes developing targeted communications to ensure that those at risk of exposure to silica dust from working with stone (including engineered stone) understand and are using the controls which can prevent exposure.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 06/08/2024 15:48:01 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1723946

registered interest
date	29/07/2024
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	Pest Control: Aluminium Phosphide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the human, animal welfare, and environmental impacts of the use of aluminium phosphide in pest control, and whether they plan to further restrict its use.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/08/2024 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the body responsible for the regulation of biocidal products, such as aluminium phosphide. Aluminium phosphide is approved under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (assimilated Regulation (EU) No 528/2012) for use in pest control products against rodents and other vertebrates.</p><p> </p><p>These products are restricted to professional users holding specific accredited qualifications in the use of such products. These products are permitted only for a very limited number of uses and with strict control measures in place.</p><p> </p><p>Approval was granted following a detailed scientific assessment of the potential risks from the use of this chemical, which showed that there are no unacceptable risks to people, animals or the wider environment when products are used correctly in accordance with the restrictions and control measures placed on the products.</p><p> </p><p>Biocides are subject to periodic reviews to ensure risk assessments remain up to date. Aluminium phosphide is currently undergoing this process, and if the review identifies that any changes are required, suitable regulatory action will be taken by HSE to implement these.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 09/08/2024 13:29:43 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1723947

registered interest
date	29/07/2024
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	Rats: Poisons
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on non-target species of the use of difenacoum, bromadioline, brodifacoum, flocoumafen and difethialone as rodenticides.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/08/2024 answer text <p>The active substances difenacoum, bromadiolone, brodifacoum, flocoumafen and difethialone, collectively referred to as Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), are approved under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR) (assimilated Regulation (EU) No 528/2012) for use in pest control products against rodents.</p><p> </p><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the body responsible for the regulation of biocidal products, such as rodenticides, and undertakes rigorous scientific evaluation of biocidal products and active substances before allowing them to be placed on the market.</p><p>Risk assessments carried out by regulators, including HSE, have shown that SGARs present a higher risk to non-target species than would normally be acceptable. However, it is recognised that alternative methods of rodent control may have limitations or may not always be suitable to tackle rodent infestations. Under GB BPR products with unacceptable levels of risk may still be authorised if it can be shown that the negative impact on society of not allowing their use would outweigh the risks of using them, as is the case with SGARs.</p><p>An industry led stewardship scheme is in place in the UK for professional use of SGARs, with the key aim being to reduce the exposure of non-target wildlife to SGARs. Stewardship is overseen by a Government Oversight Group (GOG) led by HSE with representatives of other government stakeholders. The GOG receives annual reports on the residues of SGARs that are detected in barn owls (the sentinel species for rodenticide stewardship). The GOG keeps the rodenticide stewardship scheme under review, and one of the areas under consideration is extending the monitoring of SGAR residues to other species.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 09/08/2024 12:45:46 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1723985

registered interest
date	29/07/2024
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	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report, Carer’s Allowance Overpayments, published by Carer’s UK on 26 July.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Southwark
uin	HL463
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/08/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises the invaluable service provided by the millions of unpaid carers across the country who provide care and continuity of support for vulnerable people every day. It recognises the challenges they face and is determined to provide them with the support they deserve.</p><p> </p><p>The Government welcomes the report published by Carers UK, and is considering its findings. Ministers were pleased to meet with the organisation, and with carers, to discuss the issues raised shortly after publication of the report.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, in respect of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance, the Government is moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so that it can set out its plan to put things right.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 09/08/2024 13:30:10 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4345 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Southwark

1723986

registered interest
date	29/07/2024
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	Carer's Allowance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise (1) the limits on earnings and the number of hours that can be worked, and (2) the rate at which earnings above those limits can be reclaimed, for those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Southwark
uin	HL464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/08/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises the challenges unpaid carers are facing and is determined to provide them with the help and support they need and deserve. It is looking closely at how the benefit system currently does this.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit provides support to carers on low incomes, whether they are in paid employment or not. Carer’s Allowance, by contrast, is available to all unpaid carers, provided they are not in ‘gainful employment’. This is currently defined as having earnings not exceeding £151 a week net of allowable expenses. This level is reviewed annually alongside the Secretary of State’s statutory review of State pension and benefit rates. Many Carer’s Allowance recipients are in households also receiving Universal Credit, where the structure of tapers and work allowances (where applicable) effectively takes precedence over ‘gainful employment’ test in Carer’s Allowance.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>With respect to overpayments of Carer’s Allowance due to the interaction with earnings, the Government is moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so that it can set out its plan to put things right.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 09/08/2024 13:30:45 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4345 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Southwark

1723700

registered interest
date	25/07/2024
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Equality
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff in the Department for Work and Pensions are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; and what is the percentage of overall working time they are permitted to spend on such network activity.
tabling member printed	Lord Jackson of Peterborough
uin	HL344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/08/2024 answer text <p>Currently 7 National Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Networks are given pro rata time allocation to support respective network activity.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Time allocation</strong></p><p>The National EDI Network Co-Chairs have a 25%-weekly time allocation and the Strand Lead/Board Member/Committee roles have a weekly 10%-time allocation. Each Network can recruit up to 10 Committee members (please note that not all Networks have up to 10 Committee members).</p><p> </p><p>7 National EDI Networks with allocated time equates to:</p><p> </p><p>1 x 25 % time allocation 37- hour week contract equates to 9.25 hours for each co-chair or 18.5 hours for both per week or 962 hours year for each of them</p><p>1x10% time allocation 37 – hour week contract equates to 3.7 per committee member, or for each committee member 10 x 10 % equates to 37 hours a week or 1,924 hours annually for all members of a Committee.</p><p> </p><p>Across all 7 Networks:</p><ul><li>70* people support network activity at 10% with 90% of their time focused on their contracted job role.</li><li>14 people spend 25% of their time on network activity, with 75% of their time focused on their contracted job role.</li></ul><p> </p><p>*note that not all Committee roles are filled.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Cross Civil Service Networks</strong></p><p> </p><p>Alongside DWP EDI Networks there a number of cross Civil Service Networks. DWP colleagues who take up the role of Co-Chair for a recognised cross government EDI Network can receive 5% time allocation to carry out their duties. Colleagues are welcome to be a member of any Staff Network but are only able to receive time allocation for one role on an EDI Network at any time.</p><p> </p><p>The 2 chairs of the Civil Service LBGT+ Network both sit in DWP. They have 37-hour week contracts and 5% of this equates to 1.85 hours each a week – or 96.2 hours a year for each them.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 07/08/2024 15:09:26 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

1723706

registered interest
date	25/07/2024
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	Child Poverty Taskforce
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to involve parents and children with experience of poverty in the work of the new Child Poverty Taskforce.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL350
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2024 answer text <p>The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to engage with leading organisations, charities, campaigners and parents to shape and inform these plans. After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin, and the Taskforce terms of reference will be published in the coming weeks. Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock grouped question UIN HL265 HL266 question first answered 31/07/2024 13:33:30 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1723718

registered interest
date	25/07/2024
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	Horizon IT System: Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Offord of Garvel on 13 May (HL Deb col 456), what were the titles of the cases prosecuted by the Department of Work and Pensions against postmasters in England and Wales, and in each case what was (1) the date of proceedings, (2) the location of the court, and (3) the outcome.
tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
uin	HL364
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/08/2024 answer text <p>The Department is aware of 61 Post Office members of staff who were prosecuted by DWP between 2001 and 2006. Each of the cases involved welfare-related fraud offences. In most cases this involved encashment of stolen benefit payment order books. There is no evidence that any of the cases prosecuted by DWP relied on the Horizon system. They followed lengthy, complex investigations, relying on multiple sources of evidence.</p><p> </p><p>Until 2012, DWP prosecuted its own cases. The cases were handled by DWP Solicitors who would instruct Counsel to represent DWP at Court. In March 2012, the prosecutorial function of the DWP was assigned to the Crown Prosecution Service.</p><p>In the early 2000’s the Department moved to paying benefits automatically into people’s bank accounts which significantly reduced the opportunity for benefit fraud, including potential offences by Post Office staff.</p><p> </p><p>To assist, please find attached a table setting out the information the Department holds for each of the 61 cases. The information includes the date of conviction, the location of the court, and the sentence (outcome) for each of the 61 cases.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock grouped question UIN HL365 question first answered 12/08/2024 09:39:55 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock attachment 1 file name Annex 1-table.pdf title Table
tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1723719

registered interest
date	25/07/2024
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	Horizon IT System: Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish a list of the cases of sub-postmaster prosecutions which have been initiated by the Department of Work and Pensions between 1999 and 2018 and subsequently passed to the Crown Prosecution Service; and the outcome of each of those cases.
tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
uin	HL365
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/08/2024 answer text <p>The Department is aware of 61 Post Office members of staff who were prosecuted by DWP between 2001 and 2006. Each of the cases involved welfare-related fraud offences. In most cases this involved encashment of stolen benefit payment order books. There is no evidence that any of the cases prosecuted by DWP relied on the Horizon system. They followed lengthy, complex investigations, relying on multiple sources of evidence.</p><p> </p><p>Until 2012, DWP prosecuted its own cases. The cases were handled by DWP Solicitors who would instruct Counsel to represent DWP at Court. In March 2012, the prosecutorial function of the DWP was assigned to the Crown Prosecution Service.</p><p>In the early 2000’s the Department moved to paying benefits automatically into people’s bank accounts which significantly reduced the opportunity for benefit fraud, including potential offences by Post Office staff.</p><p> </p><p>To assist, please find attached a table setting out the information the Department holds for each of the 61 cases. The information includes the date of conviction, the location of the court, and the sentence (outcome) for each of the 61 cases.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock grouped question UIN HL364 question first answered 12/08/2024 09:39:55 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock attachment 1 file name Annex 1-table.pdf title Table
tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1723720

registered interest
date	25/07/2024
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	Household Support Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for continuing the Household Support Fund after it ends in September.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL368
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2024 answer text <p>£500 million is being provided to enable the current Household Support Fund, including funding for Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means Local Authorities in England are receiving £421 million to support those in need locally.</p><p> </p><p>The current Household Support Fund will be in place until 30 September 2024.</p><p> </p><p>As a new government, we are reviewing all policies, including the Household Support Fund.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 31/07/2024 13:35:59 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey