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1307433

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Written Questions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government which departments use external contractors to prepare responses to questions tabled by members of the House of Lords and Members of Parliament; and, in each case, how often such contractors are used.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>Departments are responsible for their responses to written parliamentary questions. Written parliamentary questions receive final sign off from Ministers.</p><p>The Cabinet Office has produced guidance for civil servants on drafting answers to parliamentary questions. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance</a>.</p><p>Civil servants and Ministers conduct these duties in line with their respective codes of conduct.</p><p>The Department of Health and Social Care has outlined that the department’s contract included a general clause for Deloitte to provide support to civil servants in responding to written questions, freedom of information requests and media queries. They have not been directly responsible for drafting replies.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord True grouped question UIN HL14684 HL14685 HL14686 question first answered 27/04/2021 10:40:20 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1307434

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Written Questions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of written answers to questions tabled by members of both Houses of Parliament were drafted by external contractors in the current parliamentary session.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>Departments are responsible for their responses to written parliamentary questions. Written parliamentary questions receive final sign off from Ministers.</p><p>The Cabinet Office has produced guidance for civil servants on drafting answers to parliamentary questions. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance</a>.</p><p>Civil servants and Ministers conduct these duties in line with their respective codes of conduct.</p><p>The Department of Health and Social Care has outlined that the department’s contract included a general clause for Deloitte to provide support to civil servants in responding to written questions, freedom of information requests and media queries. They have not been directly responsible for drafting replies.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord True grouped question UIN HL14683 HL14685 HL14686 question first answered 27/04/2021 10:40:20 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1307436

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Written Questions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure there are no conflicts of interest when the preparation of (1) responses to parliamentary written questions, (2) responses to parliamentary urgent questions, and (3) background briefings, are made by external contractors to departments.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>Departments are responsible for their responses to written parliamentary questions. Written parliamentary questions receive final sign off from Ministers.</p><p>The Cabinet Office has produced guidance for civil servants on drafting answers to parliamentary questions. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance</a>.</p><p>Civil servants and Ministers conduct these duties in line with their respective codes of conduct.</p><p>The Department of Health and Social Care has outlined that the department’s contract included a general clause for Deloitte to provide support to civil servants in responding to written questions, freedom of information requests and media queries. They have not been directly responsible for drafting replies.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord True grouped question UIN HL14683 HL14684 HL14686 question first answered 27/04/2021 10:40:20 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1307437

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Written Questions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they amended the guidance on responding to parliamentary questions to take account of the use of external contractors in preparing and drafting responses.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14686
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>Departments are responsible for their responses to written parliamentary questions. Written parliamentary questions receive final sign off from Ministers.</p><p>The Cabinet Office has produced guidance for civil servants on drafting answers to parliamentary questions. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance</a>.</p><p>Civil servants and Ministers conduct these duties in line with their respective codes of conduct.</p><p>The Department of Health and Social Care has outlined that the department’s contract included a general clause for Deloitte to provide support to civil servants in responding to written questions, freedom of information requests and media queries. They have not been directly responsible for drafting replies.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord True grouped question UIN HL14683 HL14684 HL14685 question first answered 27/04/2021 10:40:20 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1307717

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	UK Research and Innovation: Development Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a cost-benefit financial assessment of the impact of reduced Official Development Assistance funding for research and development over the next five years.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14687
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2021 answer text <p>In the context of unprecedented economic and fiscal circumstances, the Government decided at the 2020 Spending Review that sticking rigidly to spending 0.7% of gross national income as Official Development Assistance (ODA) was not an appropriate prioritisation of resources.</p><p> </p><p>The 2020 Spending Review and subsequent review of departmental ODA allocations conducted by the Foreign Secretary confirmed departmental ODA allocations for the financial year 2020-21. This has ensured that UK ODA is focused on our strategic priorities, spent where it will have the maximum impact, has greater coherence and delivers most value for money.</p><p> </p><p>As a consequence of this prioritisation, ODA funding for research and development (R&amp;D) over 2021-22 has been reduced from previous years. However, the Government invested nearly £15 billion in overall R&amp;D in 2021-22 at the 2020 Spending Review. This follows four years of significant growth in government R&amp;D funding and boost of more than £1.5bn in 2020-21 alone.</p><p> </p><p>Decisions have not yet been made on the ODA budget over the following years. The Government remains committed to international development and intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 26/04/2021 13:01:23 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1304206

registered interest
date	18/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Turing Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of students likely to make use of the Turing scheme each year from its launch until 2030.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14366
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>The Turing Scheme will be backed by £110 million to support international projects and activities during the 2021/22 academic year. This will provide funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges, and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, a similar number as under Erasmus+.</p><p>This was set out in a one year Spending Review, but the government has a clear aim to use this scheme as part of our long-term ambitions for a Global Britain. The benefits of the exchanges will be assessed and used to build on the scheme. Funding decisions for subsequent years will be subject to future spending reviews.</p><p>Grants available through the Turing Scheme are comparable with Erasmus+ for the most part, but there is also new support available for disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities which was not available through Erasmus+. All participating students will receive grants dependent on their destination country to contribute towards their cost of living. The grant support available under the Turing Scheme is currently slightly higher than that under Erasmus+. Under the Turing Scheme, we will provide a grant of £335–£380 per month, plus a disadvantaged supplement of £110 per month. With Erasmus+, under current exchange rates, students received a grant equivalent to £315–£360, with a disadvantaged supplement of £100. Students can continue to apply for student finance.</p><p>For schools and colleges, all participants will receive travel funding, whereas Erasmus+ only provided travel support to higher education participants who travelled to Partner Countries, which was around only 3% of UK participants. With the Turing Scheme, we are introducing funding for travel costs for disadvantaged higher education students to all destinations. Additionally, we are providing funding for visas, passports, and related travel insurance for disadvantaged participants in all sectors.</p><p>For participants with special educational needs and disabilities, the scheme will fund up to 100% of actual costs for support directly related to their additional needs, as Erasmus+ did, with the new addition of preparatory visits for staff to carry out risk assessments and ensure their students will be able to access and take part in all elements of a placement equally. More information on funding available can be found at: <a href="http://www.turing-scheme.org.uk" target="_blank">www.turing-scheme.org.uk</a>.</p><p>For all students participating in the Turing Scheme, we expect tuition fees to be waived by host institutions, as under Erasmus+. This is a matter for individual institutions to agree, and something that universities do as a matter of course when they form exchange partnerships with international providers.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL14367 question first answered 26/03/2021 14:19:10 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1304207

registered interest
date	18/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Turing Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the financial aid available through the Turing scheme compares to that available through the Erasmus+ scheme.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL14367
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>The Turing Scheme will be backed by £110 million to support international projects and activities during the 2021/22 academic year. This will provide funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges, and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, a similar number as under Erasmus+.</p><p>This was set out in a one year Spending Review, but the government has a clear aim to use this scheme as part of our long-term ambitions for a Global Britain. The benefits of the exchanges will be assessed and used to build on the scheme. Funding decisions for subsequent years will be subject to future spending reviews.</p><p>Grants available through the Turing Scheme are comparable with Erasmus+ for the most part, but there is also new support available for disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities which was not available through Erasmus+. All participating students will receive grants dependent on their destination country to contribute towards their cost of living. The grant support available under the Turing Scheme is currently slightly higher than that under Erasmus+. Under the Turing Scheme, we will provide a grant of £335–£380 per month, plus a disadvantaged supplement of £110 per month. With Erasmus+, under current exchange rates, students received a grant equivalent to £315–£360, with a disadvantaged supplement of £100. Students can continue to apply for student finance.</p><p>For schools and colleges, all participants will receive travel funding, whereas Erasmus+ only provided travel support to higher education participants who travelled to Partner Countries, which was around only 3% of UK participants. With the Turing Scheme, we are introducing funding for travel costs for disadvantaged higher education students to all destinations. Additionally, we are providing funding for visas, passports, and related travel insurance for disadvantaged participants in all sectors.</p><p>For participants with special educational needs and disabilities, the scheme will fund up to 100% of actual costs for support directly related to their additional needs, as Erasmus+ did, with the new addition of preparatory visits for staff to carry out risk assessments and ensure their students will be able to access and take part in all elements of a placement equally. More information on funding available can be found at: <a href="http://www.turing-scheme.org.uk" target="_blank">www.turing-scheme.org.uk</a>.</p><p>For all students participating in the Turing Scheme, we expect tuition fees to be waived by host institutions, as under Erasmus+. This is a matter for individual institutions to agree, and something that universities do as a matter of course when they form exchange partnerships with international providers.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL14366 question first answered 26/03/2021 14:19:10 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1270962

registered interest
date	14/12/2020
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	Coronavirus: Vaccination
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 impact on supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to the UK in the event of the UK's departure from the EU without a deal.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL11389
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/12/2020 answer text <p>The UK has put in place a number of measures to facilitate trade with the EU beyond the end of the transition period and to avoid any adverse impact to vaccine supply beyond 1 January 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has worked with COVID-19 vaccine suppliers to support them with robust contingency plans.</p><p> </p><p>If necessary, we will use alternative supply routes and Government procured freight capacity, in line with current Government advice.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 23/12/2020 13:10:47 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1257861

registered interest
date	02/12/2020
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: Arab States
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for licences for military exports (1) to Saudi Arabia, (2) to UAE, (3) to Bahrain, (4) to Kuwait, and (5) to Egypt, they have approved since 7 July.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL11015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2020 answer text <p>Information on licences granted from 7th July will be published in due course as Official Statistics. For licences granted between July and September 2020, information will be published on 19th January 2021; and for licences granted between October and December 2020, information will be published in April 2021.</p> answering member printed Lord Grimstone of Boscobel question first answered 16/12/2020 17:13:56 answering member 4876 label Biography information for Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1256495

registered interest
date	30/11/2020
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: Safety
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 capability of UK regulators (1) to maintain existing statutory protections relating to harmful online content, and (2) to ensure effective enforcement of these protections, between the end of the transition period for the UK’s departure from the EU and the enactment of their proposed online harms legislation.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL10849
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government is firmly committed to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online and the end of the transition period will not affect this. Regulations transposing the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS Directive) came into force on the 1st of November 2020 and require UK-established video sharing platforms (VSPs) to have systems and processes in place to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material. Ofcom has the power to take enforcement action against UK-established VSPs which do not take adequate appropriate measures, or which do not implement the measures adequately, in order to protect UK users.</p><p>VSPs established in the European Economic Area will not be regulated by Ofcom and will be regulated by the Member State that they are established in. As the regulation under this VSP regime is systems regulation and not content regulation, we expect platforms based outside of the UK to set up and invest in systems in order to comply with the AVMS Directive. It is anticipated that these same systems will also be introduced for their UK subsidiaries particularly in anticipation of the incoming online harms regime. Regulation provided by other EU Member States will therefore be effective and robust enough to provide protection to UK users until such time as the online harms regime is in place.</p><p>As the AVMS Directive aligns well with the Government’s plans to tackle online harms, the VSP regime will be repealed and superseded by the online harms regulatory framework, once it comes into force. We will publish the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation later this year, which will contain more detailed proposals on online harms regulation.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 15/12/2020 15:30:32 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton