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100009

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
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	Unemployed People: Travel
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial assistance is given to help young people on benefits with the travel costs associated with attending job interviews.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>All Jobcentre Plus District Managers have access to the Flexible Support Fund, that they can use to supplement mainstream services and to tailor support to the needs of individuals and the local area. A proportion of this fund will be spent by their Work Services Teams on discretionary awards to individual claimants, which could include helping with travel costs to attend job interviews.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 23/10/2014 15:06:09 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

93722

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
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	Libya
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the last ministerial visit to Libya took place; and what plans they have for future visits.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL2146
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text The former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), visited Tripoli in March 2014. The former Minister of State at the Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan), visited on 22 June. Our Embassy in Tripoli has been temporarily closed since 6 August due to ongoing fighting and instability in Libya. The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Libyan Political Transition, Jonathan Powell, visited Libya on 11 October in support of efforts being led by the UN to agree a ceasefire and political settlement. Until such time as the security situation improves, there are no plans for Ministerial visits to Libya. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 23/10/2014 15:07:54 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

93730

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
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	Iran
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had through the chargé d’affaires of the recently reopened Iranian embassy regarding the imprisonment of Pastor Behnam Irani.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL2154
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text We are aware of the imprisonment of Pastor Behnam Irani. We remain deeply concerned about the detention of and discrimination against members of minority religious groups in Iran. We have called on the Iranian government to protect the rights of all minority groups in Iran. The Iranian Embassy in the UK is yet to reopen, but the UK’s non-resident Chargé d’Affaires raised the issue of freedom of religion with the Iranian authorities during his visit to Iran earlier this year. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 23/10/2014 15:07:18 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

93731

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
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	Iran
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions the Prime Minister had with President Rouhani regarding freedom of religion and belief in Iran during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL2155
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <p>Both the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised a high profile human rights case in their meetings with President Rouhani and the Foreign Minister respectively. The UK’s non-resident Chargé d’Affaires raised the issue of freedom of religion and belief with the Iranian authorities during his visit to Iran earlier this year. The British Government urges the Iranian government to respect the rights of all minority religious groups.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 23/10/2014 15:06:44 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

93733

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
answering dept id	63
answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
hansard heading	Energy: Prices
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the outcomes of the round-table discussions convened by Ofgem over the summer with suppliers, consumer representatives, parliamentarians and the Government, particularly in relation to addressing the higher fuel costs imposed by pre-payment meters.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL2157
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <p>Ofgem will host a round-table event on the afternoon of 29 October on price differences between various payment methods for domestic consumers of electricity and gas. The event follows an open letter published by Ofgem on 20 May that set out the findings to a request for information to suppliers on the prices they charge consumers for different payment methods, including prepayment:</p><p><a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/87924/openletterfinalrepublished.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/87924/openletterfinalrepublished.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 23/10/2014 16:22:38 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

93737

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Offences against Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the rising numbers of child abuse allegations.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is clear that protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right for all children. The Department for Education is committed to reforming the current child protection system to make sure that children at risk of abuse or neglect are identified early, have an assessment which is based on their individual needs and are able to access services which promote their welfare and protect them from harm.</p><p>The Department is improving social worker training and developing further the skills of existing social workers so they can make the right decisions for children. Since 2010, we have invested more than £400million in bursaries and training programmes to attract the very best candidates into the profession.</p><p>We have also worked closely with Ofsted to introduce a new, tougher inspection framework for children’s services. From April 2015 this framework will be extended to identify weak interagency working between local authorities, the police and other local agencies. Where child protection services are judged to be not good enough by Ofsted, we are stepping in to make sure that they improve immediately, including by establishing new delivery models to help turn these services around where necessary.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 22/10/2014 16:07:00 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

93738

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	NHS: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to make the National Health Service more efficient and to reduce mistakes in practice.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>National Health Service funding has risen in each year of this parliament and is £12.7 billion higher in cash terms in 2014-15 than in 2010-11. The NHS is on track to make up to £20 billion efficiency savings this parliament to reinvest into frontline care. We are confident that it will continue to make the efficiency improvements necessary to meet rising demand and protect the quality of the services delivered.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In a recent report commissioned by the Department, Frontier Economics has estimated that poor care could be costing the NHS up to £2.5 billion every year. In order to focus attention on the harms contributing to these costs and the savings that could be reinvested, a poster and leaflet will go out to all NHS hospitals to display this vital information to their staff.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have introduced a wide range of measures, including the Sign Up to Safety Campaign, Patient Safety Collaboratives, a new tougher inspection regime for providers and a reformed National Patient Safety Alert System to reduce mistakes in practice. In order to promote a culture of openness and transparency, that will enable organisations to learn from their mistakes, there will be the duty of candour in the event of serious harm. We are also publishing information on hospital performance, including staffing levels, as part of the new MyNHS website.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 21/10/2014 11:10:41 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

93740

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to boost teacher training applications, particularly in subjects with known shortages, in the light of a shortfall in applications in the last three years.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL2164
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting recruitment to initial teacher training (ITT) and we are continuing our focus to recruit the best graduates, particularly in subjects where they are most needed.</p><p>UCAS data from 15 September shows that 138,610 applications had been made for just 34,890 ITT places in 2014/15, indicating that teaching is a popular choice. However, some subjects fell below published targets in 2013/14 following strong recruitment between 2010/11 and 2012/13, and others such as physics represent a consistent challenge. The Department for Education will not know the final figures for ITT 2014/15 until the ITT census is published in November 2014. We recognise that, as the economy recovers, the labour market is becoming increasingly competitive, which is why we announced increases to ITT bursaries and scholarships for 2015/16.</p><p>The Department has again increased tax-free bursaries for mathematics, physics, chemistry, computing and languages trainee teachers, which are now worth up to £25,000 for 2015/16. In addition, the Department continues to work jointly with the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics and BCS, and the Chartered Institute for IT, to offer scholarship awards of £25,000 in order to attract the most talented graduates into ITT.</p><p>We have extended our School Direct (salaried) training programme to encourage more experienced graduates to enter teacher training. School Direct (salaried) is an employment-based route for high-quality, experienced graduates who earn a salary whilst training. For those training in 2015/16 in maths, physics and computing, we have made additional funding available to schools so they can offer salaries of £21,000 nationally and £25,000 in London.</p><p>We are also continuing to fund subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses for those who need to build up or refresh their subject knowledge in order to teach. To support ITT in 2015/16, SKE is available in maths, physics, chemistry, computing, languages and design and technology.</p><p>In September 2014, the Department launched a new marketing campaign ‘Your Future | Their Future’ which promotes teaching and persuades top graduates and career changers to enter teacher training.</p><p>Specific support is also provided for individuals interested in teaching shortage subjects through targeted marketing, personal advisors and help securing school experience.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 22/10/2014 16:09:12 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

93743

registered interest
date	16/10/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria will be used to assess proposals by academy chains planning to outsource all non-teaching posts to profit-making providers.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL2167
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2014 answer text <p>The criteria that all academy trusts must adhere to in conducting their financial affairs are set out in the Academies Financial Handbook, which can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook</a></p><p>Paragraph 1.5.21 of the handbook explains that the accounting officer of a trust must ensure that the trust’s financial conduct is regular, proper and represents good value for money. In addition, paragraph 3.3.1 of the handbook explains that all novel and/or contentious transactions must be referred to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) for prior authorisation.</p><p>In the case of a novel and/or contentious transaction, the EFA would always seek strong assurance from the trust that its proposal represented excellent value for money and that there was no risk of irregularity or impropriety. If there were any doubt about a trust’s ability to provide this assurance, authorisation would not be granted.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 22/10/2014 16:25:42 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

93674

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Ebola
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the remarks of Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organisation, about the ebola outbreak; and what is their current assessment of the projected number of fatalities in West Africa.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2103
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>We share the WHO’s concerns about the potential scale and global threat posed by the Ebola outbreak. According to the latest WHO data, there have been 4493 deaths from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as of 12 October. The US Centre for Disease Control estimates that the number of cases in West Africa could reach 1.4 million by January 2015. In response to the outbreak, the UK is playing a leading role in the international response, and has committed £125 million to contain, control and ultimately defeat the disease in Sierra Leone.</p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 21/10/2014 16:34:09 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool