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100930

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the steps they are taking to reduce the cost of benefit fraud, what they propose to do, and how much they plan to spend, to reduce underpayments to claimants due to mistakes by officials or claimants.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
	uin	HL2398
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Department takes both under and overpayments seriously and has in place a number of initiatives to address the errors that cause them. These activities address fraud as well as error, and both under and overpayments. It is therefore not possible to separate out the cost of activities focused exclusively on underpayments as a result of error.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit will make the welfare system simpler by replacing six benefits and credits with a single monthly payment. This simplification is expected to lead to a reduction in fraud and error due to the fact that information about claimants will be held in one place and updated more frequently and easily.</p><p> </p><p>For claimants that have income taxed under PAYE, Universal Credit will be linked to HMRC’s Real Time Information system, which will provide an automatic monthly update of their income thus reducing the potential for both error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has invested in compliance activity, so that case correctness is maintained and fraud and error entering the system are detected and resolved quickly. Across all delivery arms there is a focus on accuracy and quality, including a continuous quality checking regime to review claims and check processing accuracy.</p><p> </p><p>We constantly review claims by checking them against data coming into our systems, in order to highlight potential anomalies. We do this by using business rules which focus on potential error to identify both under and overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is taking steps to encourage claimants to ensure that the information provided to us is accurate and up-to-date. This includes a fraud and error communications campaign about driving behaviour change and emphasising that claimants must report any change of circumstances.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 07/11/2014 13:39:35 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

100937

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Aircraft Carriers
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect that HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will each proceed to sea under their own power for the first time.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	uin	HL2405
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p>Final equipment installation and system commissioning plans are currently being developed for both ships. We expect HMS Queen Elizabeth to proceed to sea under her own power for the first time in early 2017 and HMS Prince of Wales in early 2019.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 07/11/2014 14:58:52 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

100933

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Red Arrows
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what planning assumptions are in place for the Red Arrows when the current fleet of aircraft are due for replacement; and what aircraft type, if any, will replace them.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	uin	HL2401
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Philip Dunne) in the House of Commons on 7 November 2013 (Official Report, column 307W). As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) has recently said, the Red Arrows will continue flying</p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 07/11/2014 14:58:28 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever attachment 1 file name Red Arrows.doc 7 November 2013 HL2401.doc title Hansard Extract 7 November 2013
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

100945

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Credit Unions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when servicemen and servicewomen will be able to access credit union facilities through payroll deduction.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL2413
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answer given in the House of Commons on 6 October 2014 to Question 208271. We fully endorse existing, strong credit unions expanding their membership to include the Armed Forces community.</p><p> </p><p>As the noble Lord will be aware, when he met my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Anna Soubry) on 15 October, she confirmed that the facilitation of payroll deduction for Credit Unions is technically possible and that our payroll provider is engaged with officials to scope and cost such deductions. Further work is underway to determine the criteria for access to this facility, and to develop an education campaign for our personnel so they may make informed choices.</p><p> </p><p>Any payroll changes need to be delivered in one of the three releases per year of the intranet-based personnel administration system we use. It is now too late to deliver in November 2014. March 2015 is dedicated to the new pension scheme, therefore the most likely delivery date will be July 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 18/11/2014 17:43:55 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever attachment 1 file name HOC 208271 6 October 2014.doc title Hansard Extract 6 October 2014
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

100905

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Burglary
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, at which courts people with 15 or more previous convictions were not sent to prison on conviction for burglary in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	211920
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. But when sentencing an offender the courts must treat recent and relevant previous convictions as an aggravating factor. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of three years’ imprisonment for a third conviction for domestic burglary. The sentencing guideline for burglary aims to ensure that the effect on victims is at the centre of considerations about what sentence each offender should receive. The average custodial sentence length for domestic burglary has increased from 21.4 months in 2009 to 23.6 months in 2013.</p><p>This Government is committed to strengthening sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce re-offending.</p><p>During the 12 months ending June 2014, all local justice areas sentenced at least one offender with 15 or more previous convictions to a sentence that did not entail immediate custody for their latest conviction of a burglary offence.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 23/03/2015 17:54:02 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

100938

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Navy
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of Her Majesty’s ships have had to cancel planned operations due to shortage of trained manpower over the last 12 months.
	tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
	uin	HL2406
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Royal Navy has not cancelled any planned operations due to a shortage of trained manpower over the last 12 months.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 11/11/2014 16:07:38 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
	tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

100932

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Syria
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the European Commission to ensure that European Union policy and practice enable women and girls raped during the armed conflict in Syria to have access to safe abortions in accordance with international humanitarian law.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
	uin	HL2400
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK is in regular dialogue with other EU bilateral donors and the European Commission to protect and promote women’s and girls’ access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. This includes safe abortion services in line with our policy on safe and unsafe abortion. The UK remains one of only a handful of international donors willing to tackle this highly sensitive issue.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 07/11/2014 14:53:20 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

100940

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Frontex
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the scope of Frontex's new maritime patrol operation, Triton; when they expect it will become effective; what progress has been made with Eurosur; and whether this will be augmented with reconnaissance drones or satellite technology.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL2408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The situation in the Mediterranean is deeply distressing. So far this year a record 150,000 migrants have attempted the perilous crossing and more than 3,000 are estimated to have died, compared to 700 in the whole of 2013. Traffickers are placing more and more vulnerable people on unseaworthy boats on the dishonest basis that all will be rescued and taken to Italy. This is why all EU Member States support the difficult decision Italy has taken to phase out its' Mare Nostrum' operation.</p><p>Frontex Operation ‘Triton’commenced on 1 November 2014 and will last at least until the end of the year. We expect the objectives of the operation to sit within the remit of Frontex: external border security; operational cooperation; exchange of information, identification of risks and threats and training. Search and Rescue remains outside the competence of the EU or its Agencies, including Frontex. The air and maritime assets of the Member States deployed in the operation will respond to any emergency operation that arises, in accordance with the regulation establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders which was adopted in May 2014.</p><p>The operational area of Triton is likely to include the eastern and southern approaches to Southern Italy as well as the maritime approaches to the south of the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Frontex operations are very flexible and these patrolling areas may change in response to irregular migration flows across the Central Mediterranean area.</p><p>The technical and human resources to support Operation Triton will be made available by the Member States and are likely to include surveillance aircraft and maritime patrol vessels as well as shore-based screening and debriefing teams.</p><p>National Coordination Centres (NCCs) have been established in the Member States at the southern and eastern external borders of the Schengen area and others are opening in the course of 2014. The Eurosur electronic network that enables communication between the National Coordination Centres (NCCs) and between the NCCs and Frontex is already functioning and is being rolled out in all Schengen states during the course of 2014. The quality of national situational pictures and the European Situational Picture for the external borders is expected to improve as a result.</p><p>Eurosur also seeks to improve the surveillance capabilities of the Schengen Member States: Frontex have reported an encouraging identification of a migrant vessel as a result of a trial using satellite technology. Frontex has also encouraged Member States to look at the possibility of using ultra-lite aircraft and drone technology to enhance their border surveillance capability. There remain a number of technical, legal and budgetary constraints that need to be overcome before Member States might be able to make such technologies available to Frontex operations on a regular basis.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 11/11/2014 17:06:31 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

100841

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	UK Trade and Investment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade and Investment staff worked in each of the industrial sectors on 1 April 2014; and what the budget for each such sector is in 2014-15.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
	uin	211850
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) works in line with the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The whole UKTI network works predominantly in these priority sectors to support UK exporters and attract foreign direct investment to the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of civil service staff working in our core sector teams in our HQ, and the budget allocated to each team[1].</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>Staff</p></td><td><p>Budget, £m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Advanced Manufacturing</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>1.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI Agri-Tech Organisation</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>1.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI Automotive Investment Organisation</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Construction</p></td><td><p>10.5</p></td><td><p>1.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Consumer &amp; Retail</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>2.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Creative Industries &amp; Global Sports</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>2.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI Education</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>1.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Energy</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>2.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI Financial Services Organisation</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>2.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Healthcare UK</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>1.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Information Economy</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>3.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Innovation Gateway</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI Life Science Organisation</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>2.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI Offshore Wind Investment Organisation</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UKTI DSO</p></td><td><p>128</p></td><td><p>10.5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1] This core resource is supplemented by specialist contractors, sector teams in our global network, and our trade advisors in the English regions. The core budget is supplemented by funding for cross-cutting activity including trade fairs and missions, marketing, and the services provided by our 430 Trade Advisors in the English regions to help UK companies export to new markets.</p><p>It should be noted that UKTI DSO operates as a separate unit, whereas the other UKTI sector teams utilise more shared resource in addition to the numbers tabled below.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 11/11/2014 15:17:07 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn