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170247

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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, further to the answer by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 8 December (HC Deb, col 633), what specific new steps they are taking to raise awareness of short-term benefit advances.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL3743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I refer the Noble Baroness to the oral answer given by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt.Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, Official Report, 8 December 2014, column 633. He set out how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much more to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) as recommended by the All-Party Parliamentary inquiry and others, including the Social Security Advisory Committee. This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>A key part of the STBA process is a discussion between the claimant and the Decision Maker to consider the circumstances of the request and make an informed discretionary decision about the claimant’s needs. Such a discussion needs to be had with the claimant and cannot be done online or with a third party.</p><p> </p><p>Benefits are normally paid in arrears and where the Department can pay any benefit due to the claimant it does. Where an STBA can be paid it is usually paid the day after it is first requested by the claimant.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes the current system for claiming STBAs is simple. All claimants need to do is mention to staff that they will not be able to manage until their payment is due and the STBA process will start. However, the Government has accepted the need to raise awareness of STBAs as set out above.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has made improvements to the hardship process. In July 2014 it strengthened guidance for work coaches so that all claimants are informed about how and when they can make an application for hardship payment and processing times have also been improved.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL3744 HL3745 HL3746 question first answered 17/12/2014 17:21:20 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

170248

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 whether they will examine "the possibility of allowing advice workers to request automatically short-term benefit advances electronically for their clients" as recommended by the report of the All-Party Parliamentary inquiry into Hunger and Food Poverty in Britain.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL3744
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>I refer the Noble Baroness to the oral answer given by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt.Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, Official Report, 8 December 2014, column 633. He set out how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much more to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) as recommended by the All-Party Parliamentary inquiry and others, including the Social Security Advisory Committee. This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>A key part of the STBA process is a discussion between the claimant and the Decision Maker to consider the circumstances of the request and make an informed discretionary decision about the claimant’s needs. Such a discussion needs to be had with the claimant and cannot be done online or with a third party.</p><p> </p><p>Benefits are normally paid in arrears and where the Department can pay any benefit due to the claimant it does. Where an STBA can be paid it is usually paid the day after it is first requested by the claimant.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes the current system for claiming STBAs is simple. All claimants need to do is mention to staff that they will not be able to manage until their payment is due and the STBA process will start. However, the Government has accepted the need to raise awareness of STBAs as set out above.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has made improvements to the hardship process. In July 2014 it strengthened guidance for work coaches so that all claimants are informed about how and when they can make an application for hardship payment and processing times have also been improved.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL3743 HL3745 HL3746 question first answered 17/12/2014 17:21:20 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

170245

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Driving under Influence: Scotland
	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 research on the basis of which the Scottish Government has decided to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL3741
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>Sir Peter North looked at the possibility of altering drink driving limits and delivered his findings in a report in 2010. The Government provided a formal response to the report in March 2011. The Government’s response acknowledged some of the proposed benefits of lowering the drink drive limit to 50mg, however, we concluded that the priority should be tougher enforcement.</p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 17/12/2014 16:45:38 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

170275

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Sports: Disability
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have introduced to make sports more widely accessible for young people with disabilities.
	tabling member printed	Lord Storey
	uin	HL3771
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>Sport England is currently investing over £171 million to get more disabled people playing sport including young people. Since 2012 Sport England has made disability sport a key part of its strategy and 42 of the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) it invests in have specific targets for increasing the number of disabled who play their sport. Through the School Games, over 28,000 young disabled people played competitive sport at the county festival level, with meaningful competitive sporting opportunities to young disabled people at every level of the programme. Project Ability has also helped introduce around 25,000 young disabled people to competitive sport and Change4Life Clubs offer the Paralympic sports boccia and basketball as part of the ‘menu’ of opportunities for participating schools.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 17/12/2014 16:19:39 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

170246

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Driving under Influence
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL3742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The Government currently has no plans to alter the drink drive limit. We currently have tough penalties to tackle drink driving and the Government believes increased enforcement is a more effective deterrent than a change in the law. We are removing the automatic right for drivers who fail a breathalyser test to demand a blood or urine test. High risk offenders are now also required to prove they are no longer alcohol-dependent before being allowed to drive.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 17/12/2014 16:46:14 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans