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93430

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many individuals in defined contribution funded public sector pension schemes will withdraw their entire accrued entitlements under the new Freedom and Choice for Pensioner arrangements in the first year from April 2015, and at what cost.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL2096
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The government believes that people should be free to make their own</p><p> </p><p>choice about how to use their savings - individuals who have worked hard and saved responsibly throughout their adult life should have a choice about their pension savings and the reforms announced at Budget 2014 will deliver this.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new tax framework, which will allow, from April 2015, individuals with a defined contribution pension to access their entire pension flexibly will apply equally across trust and contract based money purchase pension schemes. In the public sector, members of defined contribution schemes will also have access to these flexibilities, including members with savings in Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) arrangements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government’s assessment of the impact of the policy is set out in detail in the Budget costing note and the Tax Information and Impact Note, published alongside the Taxation of Pensions Bill.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government wants to extend the principles of freedom and choice to as many pension savers as possible which is why, following an extensive public consultation, it was decided to permit transfers out of private sector and funded public sector defined benefit schemes to continue. Giving scheme members the choice to transfer their accrued benefits into a defined contribution scheme, in order to access their pension pot flexibly if they wish to.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To ensure due consideration is given to the interests of scheme members, scheme funds and the taxpayer in the continuation of these transfers for the public service schemes, government set out in the response to the consultation, <em>Freedom and Choice in Pensions,</em> that it would look to implement, where appropriate, safeguards akin to those which already exist in the private sector. We are continuing to discuss these options and others, including with the Department for Local Government as the department responsible for the Local Government Pension Scheme, the largest of the funded public service pension schemes, and will set out further detail on this issue in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Deighton grouped question UIN HL2097 HL2098 HL2099 question first answered 29/10/2014 15:20:53 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

93431

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that delaying transfer payments and reducing transfer values are sufficient safeguards to stabilise public sector funded pension schemes threatened by large-scale withdrawals under the new Freedom and Choice for Pensioners arrangements.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL2097
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The government believes that people should be free to make their own</p><p> </p><p>choice about how to use their savings - individuals who have worked hard and saved responsibly throughout their adult life should have a choice about their pension savings and the reforms announced at Budget 2014 will deliver this.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new tax framework, which will allow, from April 2015, individuals with a defined contribution pension to access their entire pension flexibly will apply equally across trust and contract based money purchase pension schemes. In the public sector, members of defined contribution schemes will also have access to these flexibilities, including members with savings in Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) arrangements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government’s assessment of the impact of the policy is set out in detail in the Budget costing note and the Tax Information and Impact Note, published alongside the Taxation of Pensions Bill.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government wants to extend the principles of freedom and choice to as many pension savers as possible which is why, following an extensive public consultation, it was decided to permit transfers out of private sector and funded public sector defined benefit schemes to continue. Giving scheme members the choice to transfer their accrued benefits into a defined contribution scheme, in order to access their pension pot flexibly if they wish to.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To ensure due consideration is given to the interests of scheme members, scheme funds and the taxpayer in the continuation of these transfers for the public service schemes, government set out in the response to the consultation, <em>Freedom and Choice in Pensions,</em> that it would look to implement, where appropriate, safeguards akin to those which already exist in the private sector. We are continuing to discuss these options and others, including with the Department for Local Government as the department responsible for the Local Government Pension Scheme, the largest of the funded public service pension schemes, and will set out further detail on this issue in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Deighton grouped question UIN HL2096 HL2098 HL2099 question first answered 29/10/2014 15:20:53 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

93432

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under their proposed entire pension withdrawal arrangements, they will include in the legislation a power to suspend the concession for such schemes in the event of serious destabilisation of funded public service pension schemes or extreme cost to the Exchequer.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL2098
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The government believes that people should be free to make their own</p><p> </p><p>choice about how to use their savings - individuals who have worked hard and saved responsibly throughout their adult life should have a choice about their pension savings and the reforms announced at Budget 2014 will deliver this.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new tax framework, which will allow, from April 2015, individuals with a defined contribution pension to access their entire pension flexibly will apply equally across trust and contract based money purchase pension schemes. In the public sector, members of defined contribution schemes will also have access to these flexibilities, including members with savings in Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) arrangements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government’s assessment of the impact of the policy is set out in detail in the Budget costing note and the Tax Information and Impact Note, published alongside the Taxation of Pensions Bill.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government wants to extend the principles of freedom and choice to as many pension savers as possible which is why, following an extensive public consultation, it was decided to permit transfers out of private sector and funded public sector defined benefit schemes to continue. Giving scheme members the choice to transfer their accrued benefits into a defined contribution scheme, in order to access their pension pot flexibly if they wish to.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To ensure due consideration is given to the interests of scheme members, scheme funds and the taxpayer in the continuation of these transfers for the public service schemes, government set out in the response to the consultation, <em>Freedom and Choice in Pensions,</em> that it would look to implement, where appropriate, safeguards akin to those which already exist in the private sector. We are continuing to discuss these options and others, including with the Department for Local Government as the department responsible for the Local Government Pension Scheme, the largest of the funded public service pension schemes, and will set out further detail on this issue in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Deighton grouped question UIN HL2096 HL2097 HL2099 question first answered 29/10/2014 15:20:54 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

93433

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the key difference between trust-based and contract-based public sector defined contribution schemes in relation to the proposed pension withdrawal arrangements; and what was the result of their consultation with the Local Government Pension Scheme on extra safeguards for such trust-based schemes.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL2099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The government believes that people should be free to make their own</p><p> </p><p>choice about how to use their savings - individuals who have worked hard and saved responsibly throughout their adult life should have a choice about their pension savings and the reforms announced at Budget 2014 will deliver this.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new tax framework, which will allow, from April 2015, individuals with a defined contribution pension to access their entire pension flexibly will apply equally across trust and contract based money purchase pension schemes. In the public sector, members of defined contribution schemes will also have access to these flexibilities, including members with savings in Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) arrangements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government’s assessment of the impact of the policy is set out in detail in the Budget costing note and the Tax Information and Impact Note, published alongside the Taxation of Pensions Bill.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government wants to extend the principles of freedom and choice to as many pension savers as possible which is why, following an extensive public consultation, it was decided to permit transfers out of private sector and funded public sector defined benefit schemes to continue. Giving scheme members the choice to transfer their accrued benefits into a defined contribution scheme, in order to access their pension pot flexibly if they wish to.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To ensure due consideration is given to the interests of scheme members, scheme funds and the taxpayer in the continuation of these transfers for the public service schemes, government set out in the response to the consultation, <em>Freedom and Choice in Pensions,</em> that it would look to implement, where appropriate, safeguards akin to those which already exist in the private sector. We are continuing to discuss these options and others, including with the Department for Local Government as the department responsible for the Local Government Pension Scheme, the largest of the funded public service pension schemes, and will set out further detail on this issue in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Deighton grouped question UIN HL2096 HL2097 HL2098 question first answered 29/10/2014 15:20:54 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

93434

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensions: Northern Ireland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether and how the new Freedom and Choice for Pensioners arrangements will apply to Northern Ireland; and whether they have discussed the matter of a legislative consent motion with the Northern Ireland Executive.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL2100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The tax changes necessary to deliver the Freedom and Choice in Pensions agenda are contained in the Taxation of Pensions Bill. The provisions in this Bill will apply across the UK as the relevant tax legislation is not, in the main, a matter over which powers have been devolved.<sup>[</sup><sup>1]</sup> The Pension Schemes Bill is being used to introduce further changes relevant to the Freedom and Choice agenda. Where these do relate to devolved matters in Northern Ireland, the Government is in the process of obtaining the necessary legislative consent motion and approval from the Northern Ireland Assembly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1] Explanatory notes for the Taxation of Pensions Bill were published on the Parliament Website. Territorial extent is detailed in paragraph 52 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2014-2015/0097/en/15097en.htm</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 29/10/2014 15:21:46 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

93435

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Nationality: Somalia
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 9 July (HL396), whether the new Somali constitution drafted in 2012 is now in force; and, if so, whether it contains an article prohibiting the withdrawal of citizenship if a Somali becomes a citizen of another country.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL2101
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2014 answer text <p>The question of whether the new Somali constitution, drafted in 2012, is now in force is subject to ongoing litigation proceedings. A hearing took place recently and a decision is awaited, which we expect will clarify the position.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 20/10/2014 14:26:08 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

89939

registered interest
date	01/09/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Northern Ireland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many asylum seekers were first registered in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; how many of those were children; and what were the ten most frequent countries of origin and the number of asylum seekers from each of those countries in the last five years.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL1781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2014 answer text <p>The Home Office does not centrally record information on the location of an asylum seekers point of claim. However we are able to provide the information that you have requested as it stands currently. This has been provided in the following tables.</p><p>In line with our data protection principles, data sets with a cohort of fewer than 10 people have been replaced with a *.</p><p>The number of cases where the claimant's latest address is in Northern Ireland by year of application is found in Table 1.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="6"><p>Year of Claim</p></td><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Number</p></td><td><p>137</p></td><td><p>157</p></td><td><p>208</p></td><td><p>250</p></td><td><p>224</p></td><td><p>113</p></td><td><p>1089</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The number of these cases where the claimant was a minor, by year application is found in Table 2.</p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="6"><p>Year of Claim</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>2014</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Number</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The number of cases where the claimant's latest address is in Northern Ireland, sorted by year of application and by country of origin is found in Table 3.</p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Country of Origin</strong></p></td><td colspan="6"><p><strong>Year of Claim</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>China</strong></p></td><td><p>44</p></td><td><p>37</p></td><td><p>46</p></td><td><p>49</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Somalia</strong></p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>43</p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Sudan</strong></p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>41</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Zimbabwe</strong></p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Nigeria</strong></p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Iran</strong></p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Pakistan</strong></p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Syria Arab Republic</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>*</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>*</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>*</strong></p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Bangladesh </strong></p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Eritrea</strong></p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The figures quoted relate to main claimants only and have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, as such it should be treated as provisional and subject to change.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 22/09/2014 11:21:24 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

89940

registered interest
date	01/09/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Northern Ireland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many asylum seekers applied for asylum in Northern Ireland after having first sought and been registered for asylum in the Republic of Ireland in each of the last five years; how many of those applicants were children; and how many overall were returned.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL1782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2014 answer text <p>The data requested is noted below. Figures for children are not recorded separately, and as such have been included in the data table.</p><p>The minimum age of those recorded in the data set is 14.</p><p>The figures quoted relate to main claimants only and have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, as such it should be treated as provisional and subject to change. In line with our data protection principles, data sets with a cohort of fewer than 10 people have been replaced with a *.</p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="6"><p>Year of Claim</p></td><td rowspan="3"> </td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Previously claimed in Republic of Ireland</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>28</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Returned to Republic of Ireland under Dublin Regulations</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>15</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 22/09/2014 11:55:50 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

89941

registered interest
date	01/09/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Northern Ireland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many asylum seekers are currently being housed in Northern Ireland; and how many were granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, and under which categories.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL1783
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2014 answer text <p>The number of asylum seekers who currently reside in Northern Ireland is 545. The number of asylum seekers granted leave to remain whose latest address is in Northern Ireland is shown in the following table.</p><p>The figures quoted relate to main claimants only and have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, as such it should be treated as provisional and subject to change.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="7"><p>Calendar Year</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Type of Decision</p></td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2011</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>2014</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Granted Asylum</p></td><td><p>24</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>62</p></td><td><p>80</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>56</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other Grant</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>8</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Number</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>84</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>64</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 22/09/2014 12:04:58 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

79771

registered interest
date	30/07/2014
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	Sovereignty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of a nation.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL1660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The normal criteria for recognition of a nation or state are set out in the Written Answer by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 16 November 1989, House of Commons Hansard Official Report, Column 494, noted below for ease of reference:</p><p>“The normal criteria that we apply for recognition as a state are that it should have, and seem likely to continue to have, a clearly defined territory with a population, a Government who are able of themselves to exercise effective control of that territory, and independence in their external relations. Other factors, including some United Nations resolutions, may also be relevant.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:58:24 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird