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1189749

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take to ensure that victims of domestic abuse can access support and protection during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to provide publicly funded services to migrant victims without recourse to public funds in line with the commitment of the Welsh Government.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3266
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Domestic abuse is unacceptable in any situation, no matter what the stresses. We are working closely with the sector, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the police to understand the impact of COVID-19 on domestic abuse.</p><p>In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chancellor has announced a funding package of £750 million to support charities including those providing domestic abuse services. The Home Office has announced an additional £2 million in funding to support technological capability such as specialist helplines and websites.</p><p>We have also launched a new campaign to signpost victims to the support services available. The campaign, under the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone, aims to reassure those affected by domestic abuse that support services remain available during this difficult time.</p><p>Non-British victims of domestic abuse who are residing in the UK and who are not already eligible for the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession are able to apply for support from local authorities regardless of their immigration status. A £3.2 billion package of funding has been allocated to local authorities to help them respond to pressures across all the services they deliver and support individuals on the basis of need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/05/2020 16:06:59 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1189750

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
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	Universal Credit: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) proportion, and (2) number, of people who have made new Universal Credit claims since COVID-19 pandemic related policies were introduced in the UK have dependent children; and of those, what (a) proportion, and (b) number, are subject to the two-child limit benefit policy.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>The information requested is not currently available as most COVID claims have not yet got to the stage where they are due their first payment. We plan to release an assessment of how many claimants are affected by the child-limit policy as part of our regular statistics on the two child limit. This assessment is due to be released in summer 2020.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 05/05/2020 16:44:50 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1189751

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
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	Parental Pay: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether furloughed employees will have continuity of service in order that, for example, prospective parents do not lose out on statutory parental pay which requires a qualifying period.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>Being placed on furlough does not have an impact on an individual’s continuity of service. The Government is committed to supporting all workers at this time, including working parents. We have amended Regulations to ensure that prospective parents do not lose out on parental pay as a result of being furloughed. The changes will apply to workers starting a period of family-related statutory pay on or after 25 April 2020, and mean that individuals will be entitled to pay based on their usual earnings rather than a furloughed pay rate.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 05/05/2020 14:05:47 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1189752

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Employment: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK’s working population, broken down by gender.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2020 answer text <p>The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.</p><p> </p><p>Dear Baroness Lister,</p><p>As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what plans have been made to publish data on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the UK’s working population, broken down by gender <strong>(HL3269)</strong>.</p><p>Labour market statistics are produced every month and include analysis of the working population by sex. The main source for these statistics is the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS’s latest estimates[1] were published on 21 April 2020 and cover the period prior to the implementation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) social distancing measure (December 2019 to February 2020). The next publication is scheduled for 19 May 2020 and will cover the period from January to March 2020.</p><p>In addition to scheduled publications, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has a dedicated page[2] on the COVID-19 pandemic and any additional analysis is published there. We have also included some specific questions relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the LFS from April 2020 and launched an online Labour Market Survey from April, as announced in a statement[3] from the ONS. Both these sources will provide information by sex. We aim to publish as much as possible, as data becomes available, to aid understanding of the impact of the pandemic on the working population.</p><p>Our Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey (BICS) asks firms a number of questions about employment, including whether they had laid off staff, their employment expectations, and take-up of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Latest survey estimates are available here[4]. Although the data does not enable a breakdown by sex, the sectoral information does show the variation across female-dominated versus male-dominated industries. We have recently published an article on furloughed workers, based on BICS data[5]:</p><p>In addition, the weekly Opinions and Lifestyle Survey publishes survey responses by sex[6].</p><p>Yours sincerely,</p><p><strong>Professor Sir Ian Diamond</strong></p><p>[1]<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/april2020" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/april2020</a>.</p><p>[2]<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases</a></p><p>[3]<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/ensuringthebestpossibleinformationduringcovid19throughsafedatacollection" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/ensuringthebestpossibleinformationduringcovid19throughsafedatacollection</a></p><p>[4]<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/coronavirusandtheeconomicimpactsontheuk/23april2020" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/coronavirusandtheeconomicimpactsontheuk/23april2020</a></p><p>[5]<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/furloughingofworkersacrossukbusinesses/23march2020to5april2020" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/furloughingofworkersacrossukbusinesses/23march2020to5april2020</a></p><p>[6]<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/datasets/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsongreatbritaindata" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/datasets/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsongreatbritaindata</a></p> answering member printed Lord True question first answered 01/05/2020 12:00:14 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1189753

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether employees on Maternity Allowance can categorise that Allowance as earnings for the purpose of calculating furlough payments.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3270
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is designed to help employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to keep their employees and protect the UK economy.</p><p /><p>Under the CJRS, an employer will be entitled to claim for a grant that covers 80% of their furloughed employee’s usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month. They can also claim for the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions, up to the level of the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contribution, on that subsidised furlough pay.</p><p> </p><p>For employees on fixed pay, claims for full or part time employees furloughed on return from family-related statutory leave should be calculated against their salary, before tax, not the pay they received while on family-related statutory leave. The same principles apply where the employee is returning from a period of unpaid statutory family-related leave.</p><p> </p><p>Claims for those on variable pay, returning from statutory leave should be calculated using the highest of either:</p><ul><li>80% of the same month’s wages from the previous year (up to a maximum of £2,500 a month)</li><li>80% of the average monthly wages for the 2019 to 2020 tax year (up to a maximum of £2,500 a month)</li></ul> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 05/05/2020 14:35:28 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1189812

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Coronavirus
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 number of (1) homeless people, and (2) asylum-seekers, who are sharing emergency or asylum accommodation and are unable to self-isolate if necessary; and what steps they are taking to address this issue. [T]
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>(1) This is a public health crisis more than anything and so requires a health response. To enable this our priority is to bring vulnerable people inside so they can self-isolate and stop the virus spreading. More than 5,400 rough sleepers and people who have been living in accommodation with communal sleeping spaces such as night shelters  – over 90% of those known to local authorities at the beginning of the crisis have now been made offers of safe accommodation – ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic. This is a truly remarkable achievement, and one which is the result of the hard work of local government, agencies and charities across the country, who have helped to get people off the street and into safe accommodation, protecting the most vulnerable in society and ultimately saving lives.  We announced that councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding to enable them to respond to other COVID-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, stepping up support for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to over £3.2 billion. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers.</p><p>(2) The Accommodation providers recognise the challenge of managing COVID 19 within our accommodation estate and are working closely with Public Health England (PHE) on how their guidance on social distancing and self-isolation is properly applied, while ensuring that people can continue to access essential services.</p><p>In Initial Accommodation facilities, which tends to be hostel based, PHE Guidance recommends that separate rooms and segregation be provided for symptomatic people, or they should be moved to hotels. Our providers have configured their accommodation estate to meet this guidance.</p><p>In Dispersed Accommodation, which is houses or homes of multiple occupancy accommodating small numbers, Service Users have been provided guidance to ensure they socially distance or self isolate in line with the advice provided to the general public. Additionally, services providers have enhanced their contact management and wraparound services to ensure access to medical care, food packages and other essential items.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/05/2020 11:12:55 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1187940

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide additional support to domestic violence refuges during the COVID-19 pandemic in response to any increase in domestic violence and abuse.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL2954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2020 answer text <p>The Government will do everything it can to support refuge service providers to keep these vital services open, up and running.</p><p>My Department has been engaging with domestic abuse service providers on a daily basis to understand the additional challenges they are facing and the support needed to ensure essential provision is kept open and available to victims and their children.</p><p>We have published guidance to assist domestic abuse service providers in service delivery during these unprecedented times. The guidance, in line with current Public Health England advice, sets out the advice for daily service operation within the context of domestic abuse safe accommodation provision</p><p>The guidance can be found at the following link: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcovid-19-guidance-for-domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-provision%2Fcovid-19-guidance-on-isolation-for-domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-settings&amp;data=02%7C01%7CMiranda.Abrey%40communities.gov.uk%7Cb91a7bda36b74461467608d7d56713a8%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637212510988136146&amp;sdata=vNoQ890vfs4s3OivOcLgsD%2BzojUMqWiciLpL%2B%2FrFk4k%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-provision/covid-19-guidance-on-isolation-for-domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-settings</a></p><p>In addition, we have confirmed that front line domestic abuse workers are key workers for the purposes of their children accessing schools, colleges and other educational establishments.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist question first answered 07/04/2020 15:53:06 answering member 4582 label Biography information for Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1187941

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to suspend all terminations of asylum support temporarily as part of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL2955
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2020 answer text <p>Following public health guidance, we have put in place a number of measures to support people in the asylum system who are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including working closely with providers to make sure the most vulnerable people within the system receive the support they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/04/2020 14:02:20 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1187633

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Temporary Accommodation: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all UK residents, regardless of immigration status, are able to access accommodation in order to self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL2871
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2020 answer text <p>We are taking a compassionate and pragmatic approach to an unprecedented situation and we are keeping the situation under review to consider if further measures are needed.</p><p>The Government has provided £1.6 billion of additional funding to local authorities to enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including stepping up support for the adult social care workforce and for services helping the most vulnerable.</p><p>Using the General Power of Competence set out in s.1 Localism Act 2011, local authorities may provide support to a person who is ineligible for assistance due to immigration status.</p><p>Additionally, the Home Office has confirmed in light of the pandemic, anyone who would normally cease to be eligible for accommodation because their asylum claim and any appeal has been resolved, is being allowed to remain in their current accommodation for at least the next three months. This applies both to those who have been refused asylum and granted asylum.</p><p>All people in asylum accommodation have been provided with guidance and advice on Covid-19 in a language they understand to help them self-isolate, including spotting the symptoms and hygiene guidance.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 15/04/2020 10:30:00 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1187346

registered interest
date	23/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the increases to financial support as a result of COVID-19 will include (1) Income Support, (2) Job Seeker's Allowance, (3) Employment and Support Allowances, (4) ‘New Style’ Employment and Support Allowance, (5) child tax credits or (6) child benefits.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL2808
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2020 answer text <p>The COVID-19 emergency continues to be a rapidly evolving situation. The Government has announced measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised and that benefit those facing the most severe financial disruption. DWP and HMRC are experiencing significant increased demand and the Government has to prioritise the safety and stability of the benefits system overall.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside the temporary increases to Universal Credit standard allowances and the basic element of working tax credits which came into force on 6 April and will remain in place for the tax year 2020/21 other announced measures include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Regulations have been made which mean Statutory Sick Pay will now be temporarily payable from day one of an employee’s absence from work, where that absence is related to Coronavirus.</li><li>People unable to work for more than seven days because of coronavirus can obtain an isolation note through a new online service.</li><li>We are temporarily relaxing the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed Universal Credit claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. This means a drop in earnings during the outbreak will see a claimant’s UC payment increase.</li><li>We are providing more support for benefit claimants in the Private Rented Sector by increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile, helping to alleviate affordability challenges.</li><li>The additional earnings disregard in Housing Benefit has been increased from £17.10 a week to £37.10.</li><li>People applying for or receiving benefits do not have to attend jobcentre appointments for three months, starting from Thursday 19 March 2020.</li><li>All ESA claimants suffering from coronavirus or required to self-isolate in line with government guidance, including those in the shielded group, will:</li></ul><p>- be treated as having limited capability for work without the requirement for a fit note or undergoing a Work Capability Assessment; and,</p><p>- subject to satisfying the normal conditions of entitlement, waiting days will be removed meaning that ESA will be payable from day one of their claim</p><ul><li>Disabled and sick claimants who cannot attend a reassessment for Personal Independence Payments, Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit will continue to receive their payments while their assessment is rearranged.</li></ul><p> </p><p>We continue to keep the situation under review and if there are any further changes we will update Parliament accordingly.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 20/04/2020 15:45:44 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett