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100845

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	Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress he has made on the recent round of discussions on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
uin	211894
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The seventh round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) took place between 29 September and 3 October in Chevy Chase, Maryland. As expected, negotiations were largely focused on regulatory issues. Discussions also covered energy, intellectual property, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There was good technical progress, particularly on regulatory coherence, for example in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. This progress is crucial and prepares the ground for an ambitious and comprehensive agreement.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/11/2014 13:58:22 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

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

100931

registered interest
date	24/10/2014
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	Ukraine
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance the United Kingdom and the European Union are providing to Ukrainian scientific institutions that have been adversely affected by the recent political instability in that country.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Chesterton
uin	HL2399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK and EU are providing support to scientific institutions in Ukraine in several areas though not as a consequence of recent political instability. The Royal Society is currently funding, through its Department of Business Innovation and Skills grant, two international exchanges involving Ukrainian scientists worth £24,000.</p><p>The British Council has awarded grants of up to £5000 to support the development of partnerships between Ukrainian and UK higher education institutions in 2014-15. Priority was given to applications focussed on energy. The partnerships include:</p><p>Keele University - V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ecology Department; <br>University of Manchester - Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas; <br>Energy Institute, University College London - V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Department of Physics and Energy; <br>Aberystwyth University - Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Department of Geology; <br>Durham University - V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Department of Chemistry.</p><p>The EU’s Horizon 2020 programme is funding several projects in Ukraine, such as BILAT-UKR*AINA which supports science and technology policy dialogue between the Commission, EU Member States and Ukraine. The EU Delegation in Ukraine provides funding for a number of projects in areas such as energy, environment and the sustainable management of natural resources. In addition, Ukraine is a partner country to the Erasmus+ programme, and therefore has automatic access to a number of Erasmus+ activities in the area of youth and higher education, financed through EU external and internal funds.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 06/11/2014 17:47:27 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	2543 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Chesterton

100603

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Suicide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of suicides in HM prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Clinton-Davis
uin	HL2334
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Every death in custody is a tragedy, and the Government is committed to reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prisons. All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves. These procedures include the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process, which is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for prisoners identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm. Prisons are also required to ensure that they have procedures in place to learn from deaths in custody to prevent future occurrences.</p><p> </p><p>We are working hard to understand the reasons for the recent rise in the number of self-inflicted deaths, but there is no simple explanation. Additional resources and support are being provided for safer custody work in prisons, and in particular to improve the consistency of the ACCT system. The National Offender Management Service has also put in place additional staff at regional level to support staff in prisons and to share good practice, and created a dedicated learning and knowledge management team at headquarters which is providing further support for safer custody work.</p><p> </p><p>Data on deaths in custody is published quarterly in the Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin, available at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-in-custody-statistics</a>.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 06/11/2014 17:46:36 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	1116 label Biography information for Lord Clinton-Davis

100616

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Official Cars
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, when purchasing vehicles for use by government departments, what criteria they apply regarding whether to purchase petrol- or diesel- fuelled cars.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Chesterton
uin	HL2347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>Public sector procurers are required to seek value for money through fair and open competition and Government will always award contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer.</p><p>Crown Commercial Service manages a framework agreement for the supply of diesel, petrol and electric powered vehicles which Government departments use to meet their vehicle requirements.</p><p>Departments decide which fuel is most appropriate based on their individual requirements including whole life costs and may access advice and guidance from Crown Commercial Service as appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 06/11/2014 17:50:33 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
tabling member	2543 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Chesterton

100618

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Plastics: Seas and Oceans
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to deal with plastic waste in the ocean through international co-operation, including programmes such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission and the International Maritime Organisation.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Chesterton
uin	HL2349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The primary focus of the UK’s international cooperation on marine litter is the OSPAR convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. In June 2014, OSPAR contracting parties agreed a regional action plan on marine litter. This plan fulfils requirements of the EU’s marine strategy framework directive for EU Member States to work together to address marine litter, and contributes to United Nations Environment Programme’s global partnership on marine litter. The UK also works within the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has banned the discharge of plastic from shipping under MARPOL Annex V since 1988, and keeps MARPOL and its other Conventions under review.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord De Mauley question first answered 06/11/2014 15:11:30 answering member 2202 label Biography information for Lord De Mauley
tabling member	2543 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Chesterton

100624

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Tribunals
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much it cost to prepare the Senior President of the Tribunals’ annual report on the performance of decision-making in the Ministry of Justice, in each of the last ten years.
tabling member printed	Lord Sharkey
uin	HL2355
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Section 15A of the Social Security Act 1998 requires the Senior President of Tribunals, annually, to make a written report on the standards achieved by the Secretary of State for Work &amp; Pensions in the making of decisions against which an appeal is made to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber – Social Security and Child Support). That report must be published by the Lord Chancellor.</p><p> </p><p>The duty to report was discharged by the President of the Appeals Tribunal prior to the implementation of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The Senior President of Tribunals has delegated this responsibility to the President of the Social Entitlement Chamber since the implementation of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.</p><p> </p><p>Preparation of the report costs approximately £20,000 in judicial time each year; however, this is within their salaried hours, so there is no additional cost beyond their salary. There are some associated printing costs but records of these are not held centrally.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 06/11/2014 17:49:39 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4196 label Biography information for Lord Sharkey

100625

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	North Korea
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why North Korea is not one of the countries that the Department for International Development has prioritised for the funding of journalistic training for escapees; whether, in considering the allocation of resources, it considered that country’s media environment; and whether the Department for International Development is considering extending its funding to groups run by North Korean refugees that broadcast information into that country.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2356
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>DFID does not have a bilateral programme with North Korea. In the Financial Year 2014/15 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human Rights and Democracy Programme is funding a project delivered by the Thomson Foundation titled ‘Inside Out: Working in North Korea to connect its journalists to the Internet world’, which aims to give North Korean journalists a greater understanding of freedom of expression and using the internet to express it.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 06/11/2014 17:01:02 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

100634

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
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	Saudi Arabia
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of freedom of religion or belief in Saudi Arabia and the extent to which discrimination against and restrictions experienced by Shiite Muslims contribute to sectarian unrest and dissent in that country.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Coventry
uin	HL2365
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. We make our views well known through the UN Universal Periodic Review Process, in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, and to the Saudi Arabian authorities. We have made clear the importance of religious tolerance, including for different branches of Islam. There are some long-standing tensions between some Shia communities in the Eastern Province and the Saudi authorities. We continue to monitor developments. We welcome all efforts to increase religious tolerance in Saudi Arabia, including the recent calls by King Abdullah and Saudi religious leaders for greater religious tolerance in the Kingdom.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 06/11/2014 14:25:56 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4266 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Coventry

100635

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
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	Saudi Arabia
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court; and whether they consider that the proceedings of that Court are compatible with international human rights standards.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Coventry
uin	HL2366
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The Specialised Criminal Court came into operation in Saudi Arabia in 2008 to try cases related to security and terrorism. We support Saudi Arabia’s judicial reform programme, particularly greater judicial training. However our concerns about the Saudi justice system remain and we continue to raise the importance of adhering to international human rights law with the Saudi authorities.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 06/11/2014 14:25:12 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	4266 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Coventry