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1137407

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Intelligence Services: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people whose first language is not English are employed by each of the intelligence agencies; what languages they speak; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of language proficiency in the intelligence services.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
	uin	HL17014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>​The Government has a longstanding policy of not commenting on intelligence matters.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:53:43 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1137372

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Pension Credit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they provided to charities that work with older people to support the take-up of Pension Credit in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, and (3) 2017–18.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL16979
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to. We work with a wide range of stakeholders, including charities to ensure that accurate information about benefits including Pension Credit is available in the places where people are most likely to go to seek information.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP knows that one of the best ways to reach eligible claimants is through trusted stakeholder organisations working in the community and that is why we have developed and resourced the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up.</p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Stakeholders and potential claimants alike can use the Pension Credit calculator at gov.uk to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure they are able to communicate the most up-to-date information to potential claimants.</p><p> </p><p>DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 22/07/2019 12:57:17 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1137361

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	China: Muslims
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Muslim children are being separated from their families, faith and language in schools in Xinjiang; and what representations they intend to make about such separations to the government of China.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16968
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific ethnic groups.</p><p>Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.</p><p>Reports about forced separation of children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:51:42 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1137375

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Alternatives to Prosecution
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that community resolution orders are being used for more serious offences than originally intended; and what plans they have to prevent such orders being used for anything other than low-level crimes.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Gould of Potternewton
	uin	HL16982
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs) allow police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending without recourse to the courts. One type of OOCD is community resolution. This is a non-statutory disposal that can be administered by police forces when the offender accepts responsibility for the offence, and in most cases, where the victim has agreed that they do not want more formal action taken.</p><p> </p><p>‘Community resolution’ is a nationally recognised term for a disposal which has been in use by police for some years, and prior to 2014. In 2014, following consultation, the Ministry of Justice identified support for community resolution as part of a simplified framework for OOCDs in which all disposals had conditions attached.</p><p> </p><p>The College of Policing hold guidance on the use of community resolutions:</p><p>http://library.college.police.uk/docs/appref/Community-Resolutions-Incorporating-RJ-Final-Aug-2012-2.pdf (this was also summarised as part of a quick reference guide published by Ministry of Justice in 2013: https://www.yjlc.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MoJ-Quick-reference-guides-out-of-court-disposals-2013.pdf).</p><p> </p><p>Individual decisions around the appropriateness of issuing an OOCD are an operational matter for police.</p><p> </p><p>Typically, a Constable, Police Community Support Officer or Police Staff Investigator can decide to issue a community resolution, in accordance with Authorised Professional Practice, gravity matrices and local force policies which inform decision making.</p><p> </p><p>Police and partners have a range of measures in place to ensure appropriate use of Out of Court Disposals. Supervisors are expected to check decision-making of their staff regularly. Out of Court Disposal scrutiny panels are also in place with external representation - these review in detail a selection of cases to determine whether the method of disposal is considered appropriate, based on a review of the information/evidence available to the decision maker at the time.</p><p> </p><p>Government works closely with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) whose Charging and Out of Court Disposals strategy (2017-2021) sets out their position and support for forces around OOCDs. We publish data and pay attention to trends in the use of Out of Court Disposals on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL16980 HL16981 question first answered 22/07/2019 16:15:38 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	3573 label Biography information for Baroness Gould of Potternewton

1137362

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	China: Detainees
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that in one township in Xinjiang more than 400 children have lost both of their parents to some form of internment in camps or prisons; and what assessment they have made of whether those internments are part of a campaign to systematically remove children from their roots and their family’s beliefs.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16969
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific ethnic groups.</p><p>Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.</p><p>Reports about forced separation of children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:52:44 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1137364

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Yemen: Human Rights
	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 conclusions and recommendations of the report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Situation of human rights in Yemen, including violations and abuses since September 2014, published on 17 August 2018.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bates
	uin	HL16971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We are deeply concerned by the human rights violations and abuses reported by the UN in August 2018. It is vital that all parties to the conflict make every effort to promote and protect human rights. Yemen remains a human rights priority country for the UK. In the 2018 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Human Rights and Democracy Report, we highlighted our concerns over women’s rights including girls’ education, the recruitment of child soldiers, arbitrary detention, and attacks on freedom of religion or belief and on freedom of speech and association. We have raised the FCO's report directly with the Human Rights Minister for the Government of Yemen, voicing our concerns. We will continue to work with all parties and international partners, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to find a political solution to the conflict, in order to create the conditions to improve and protect human rights in Yemen.​</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:53:32 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates

1137380

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Iraq: Turkey
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Turkey is planning to establish a permanent military base in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq; and whether the government of Iraq is in agreement with any such plan.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL16987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>​We are aware of media reports stating that Turkey is planning to establish a permanent military base in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq. We cannot verify the accuracy of these reports, nor the consent of the Government of Iraq on this matter. We continue to urge dialogue between Iraq and Turkey, in order to ensure sustained co-operation in combatting terrorism in the region.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:57:57 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1137374

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Alternatives to Prosecution
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to police forces in England and Wales on the criteria for determining whether a person should be subject to a community resolution order rather than an alternative punishment; and who determines whether or not to use a community resolution order.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Gould of Potternewton
	uin	HL16981
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs) allow police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending without recourse to the courts. One type of OOCD is community resolution. This is a non-statutory disposal that can be administered by police forces when the offender accepts responsibility for the offence, and in most cases, where the victim has agreed that they do not want more formal action taken.</p><p> </p><p>‘Community resolution’ is a nationally recognised term for a disposal which has been in use by police for some years, and prior to 2014. In 2014, following consultation, the Ministry of Justice identified support for community resolution as part of a simplified framework for OOCDs in which all disposals had conditions attached.</p><p> </p><p>The College of Policing hold guidance on the use of community resolutions:</p><p>http://library.college.police.uk/docs/appref/Community-Resolutions-Incorporating-RJ-Final-Aug-2012-2.pdf (this was also summarised as part of a quick reference guide published by Ministry of Justice in 2013: https://www.yjlc.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MoJ-Quick-reference-guides-out-of-court-disposals-2013.pdf).</p><p> </p><p>Individual decisions around the appropriateness of issuing an OOCD are an operational matter for police.</p><p> </p><p>Typically, a Constable, Police Community Support Officer or Police Staff Investigator can decide to issue a community resolution, in accordance with Authorised Professional Practice, gravity matrices and local force policies which inform decision making.</p><p> </p><p>Police and partners have a range of measures in place to ensure appropriate use of Out of Court Disposals. Supervisors are expected to check decision-making of their staff regularly. Out of Court Disposal scrutiny panels are also in place with external representation - these review in detail a selection of cases to determine whether the method of disposal is considered appropriate, based on a review of the information/evidence available to the decision maker at the time.</p><p> </p><p>Government works closely with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) whose Charging and Out of Court Disposals strategy (2017-2021) sets out their position and support for forces around OOCDs. We publish data and pay attention to trends in the use of Out of Court Disposals on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL16980 HL16982 question first answered 22/07/2019 16:15:38 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	3573 label Biography information for Baroness Gould of Potternewton

1137398

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Doctors
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to revisit the 2016 rule changes to tax relief for medical practitioners, in order to resolve the current staffing crisis.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL17005
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government keeps public sector pay and pensions policy under constant review in the context of the wider public finances.</p><p> </p><p>Pensions tax relief is one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. In 2017/18 income tax and employer National Insurance Contributions relief cost over £50 billion, with around two-thirds going to higher and additional rate taxpayers.</p><p> </p><p>The tapered annual allowance is therefore focused on the highest-earning savers, to ensure that the benefit they receive is not disproportionate to that of other pension savers. Less than one per cent of pension savers will have to reduce their saving or face an annual allowance charge as a result of the tapered annual allowance.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that some senior clinicians face tax charges owing to the increase in the value of their pension accrual. The tax rules must apply identically to everyone in the same situation, regardless of their employer.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced plans to consult on proposals for a new flexibility for senior clinicians in the NHS pension scheme via the introduction of a 50:50 option. This option will give senior clinicians in England and Wales more choice in respect of their pension accrual, and therefore better control in relation to any pensions tax charges.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 22/07/2019 12:55:51 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1137394

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	China: Uyghurs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about reports of (1) forcible separations, and (2) re-education, of Uighur children in the eastern province of Xinjiang.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL17001
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific ethnic groups.</p><p>Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.</p><p>Reports about forced separation of children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.</p><p>​</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 22/07/2019 12:54:38 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans