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101679

registered interest
date	29/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many women were in prisons in England on 30 June in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively.
tabling member printed	Baroness Corston
uin	HL2501
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The decision to sentence a person to a custodial sentence, or to remand a person into custody prior to trial or sentencing, is a matter for the independent judiciary and courts will take into account all the circumstances of the offence and the offender in determining this.</p><p> </p><p>For the last two years, the female prison population has been consistently under 4,000 for the first time in a decade. Data on the number of women in prison is published annually at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/339036/prison-population-2014.xls</p><p> </p><p>The numbers of women in prisons in England on 30<sup>th</sup> June on each of the years in question were:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>2008</p></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>4,463</p></td><td><p>4,283</p></td><td><p>4,505</p></td><td><p>4,307</p></td><td><p>4,267</p></td><td><p>4,185</p></td><td><p>4,123</p></td><td><p>3,853</p></td><td><p>3,929</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are committed to making sure that sentencers have robust community options at their disposal. The Female Offenders Advisory Board are working in Greater Manchester on a pathfinder aimed at providing sentencers with robust and effective sentencing options in the community which may divert women from custody, where appropriate. Learning from the pathfinder will inform a new operating model for working differently with women in the criminal justice system. We are also testing a new model of liaison and diversion in police custody and the courts. The trial scheme, in 10 areas, will aim to identify, assess and refer people with mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and social vulnerabilities into treatment or support services.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working to make sure that female offenders have the support they need to turn their lives around. In March 2014, we published a first year progress report on delivery of our strategic objectives for female offenders, which sets out clearly our key priorities for addressing the needs of female offenders and reducing the number of women in custody. Our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms also mean that those serving under 12 month sentences will, for the first time in recent history, be subject to statutory supervision including a licence period in the community, aimed at supporting successful community reintegration and rehabilitation. Proportionally, more women than men are serving short sentences so they will benefit particularly from this element of the reforms.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 14:18:29 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	215 label Biography information for Baroness Corston

101680

registered interest
date	29/10/2014
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 whether they consider that Azure Card users are able to meet their essential living needs; and on what grounds they base their assessment.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Failed asylum seekers supported under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are provided with accommodation; utilities, household equipment and healthcare are provided free. The Azure Card is provided to enable them to buy food and other items and is uploaded each week to the value of £35.39 for each person in the household. Extra assistance is also provided where necessary, for example by arranging travel to medical appointments and by providing maternity grants for pregnant women.</p><p>The Government keeps this package of assistance under review but is satisfied that it meets the essential living needs of recipients of section 4 support.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 11/11/2014 16:51:54 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

101681

registered interest
date	29/10/2014
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Asylum: Care Leavers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are currently being looked after by local authorities; and how many are being supported after the age of 18 under leaving care legislation.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2503
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>The numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) looked after by each local authority in England at 31 March 2013 are published in Table LAA4 of the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical first release.[1]</p><p> </p><p>The latest available figures (for 31 March 2014) are currently being prepared and will be published in December 2014.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Education collects information on care leavers aged 19 years old who were looked after aged 16 years old. The number of UASC who were care leavers aged 19 in the year ending 31 March 2013 is published in Table F1 of the Statistical first release.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption</a></p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 17/11/2014 14:45:17 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

101682

registered interest
date	29/10/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Travellers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions have been taken in pursuance of the commitments undertaken by the Ministerial Working Group on tacking inequalities experienced by Gypsies and Travellers in their progress report of April 2012; and what further meetings have taken place, with what outcomes, since that date.
tabling member printed	Lord Avebury
uin	HL2504
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Ministerial Working Group on Gypsies and Travellers was convened as an ad hoc meeting to discuss inequalities experienced by the Gypsy and Traveller community. This working group resulted in the publication of a progress report which included 28 commitments made by the Departments represented on it, with the aim of helping mainstream services work more effectively with Gypsies and Travellers.</p><p> </p><p>Since the report, Ministers have not needed to meet to implement the agreed policy, as this has been delegated to the Civil Service. There have been regular meetings between Gypsy and Traveller organisations and officials across Whitehall to discuss the progress made against the Government’s commitments, and wider action to improve the social outcomes of Gypsies and Travellers. We intend to publish a follow up report in due course.</p><p> </p><p>I have deposited in the Library of the House a document with a summary of progress so far against each of the 28 commitments with links to where further information can be found.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 11/11/2014 12:51:59 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon attachment 1 file name Gypsies and Travellers commitments -DEPOSITEDPAPER-455504 (HL2504).doc title 28 Commitments
tabling member	1665 label Biography information for Lord Avebury

101683

registered interest
date	29/10/2014
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	EU Grants and Loans
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government which United Kingdom organisations have received European Union funding in the last year from structural, cohesion or other funds.
tabling member printed	Lord Vinson
uin	HL2505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>The United Kingdom receives an allocation for the Structural Funds (the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund) but not the Cohesion Fund.</p><p> </p><p>A large number of United Kingdom organisations received European Funding under Structural Funds programmes in the last year. As these are too numerous to set down here, I have provided below details of websites which contain lists of beneficiary organisations.</p><p> </p><p>The links to the Structural Funds programmes are:</p><p> </p><p>ERDF Programmes in England: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/erdf-programmes-progress-and-achievements" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/erdf-programmes-progress-and-achievements</a>.</p><p> </p><p>ESF England and Gibraltar: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/european-social-fund-2007-to-2013" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/european-social-fund-2007-to-2013</a></p><p> </p><p>Devolved Administrations (ERDF &amp; ESF)</p><p> </p><p>Northern Ireland: <a href="http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/index/finance/european-funding.htm" target="_blank">http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/index/finance/european-funding.htm</a></p><p> </p><p>Scotland: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/support/17404/StructuralFunds2007-2013" target="_blank">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/support/17404/StructuralFunds2007-2013</a></p><p> </p><p>Wales: <a href="http://wefo.wales.gov.uk/programmes/progress/searchprojects/?lang=en" target="_blank">http://wefo.wales.gov.uk/programmes/progress/searchprojects/?lang=en</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In terms of other sources of EU funding that BIS is responsible for, this includes the Framework Programme 7 for Research &amp; Innovation with numerous participants from Higher Education, Research Organisations, Private Sector and Public bodies. Project information is not set out on the Commission website in such a way as to make it easy to identify UK recipients of EU funding in a calendar year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Another source of EU funding that BIS was responsible for was the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP) under the Competitiveness of Innovation and Enterprises (CIP). The latest beneficiaries report is the 2012 version. The following link will provide more information about the recipients of the programme, <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/cip/files/cip/docs/beneficiaries-report-october-2012_en.pdf" target="_blank">Beneficiaries Report October 2012 Final Version</a> – <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/cip/files/cip/docs/beneficiaries-report-october-2012.en.pdf" target="_blank">http://ec.europa.eu/cip/files/cip/docs/beneficiaries-report-october-2012.en.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 05/11/2014 14:00:24 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	1807 label Biography information for Lord Vinson

101262

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Reading Station
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 13 October (HL1928), what assessment they have made of the compliance with the standards required by the Governance for Railway Investment Projects process in the redevelopment of Reading Station, in particular as regards (1) the provision of large printed timetables, (2) the visibility and positioning of platform number signs on the platforms, (3) the visibility and positioning of indicator screens, (4) the detailing of intermediate stations on concourse indicator screens, (5) the presence of staff to provide information to passengers, and (6) weather protection.
tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
uin	HL2467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The implementation of the Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) process is the responsibility of Network Rail and it are responsible for meeting all relevant standards.</p><p> </p><p>Network Rail has however, advised me that:</p><p> </p><p>1) The station operator; First Great Western has decided not to specify the provision of large printed timetables.</p><p> </p><p>2) The platform number signs are standard size signs and are positioned to not interfere with signal sighting along platforms. The signs are identical in size to those that were hung from the previous canopies.</p><p> </p><p>3) The indicator screens are an industry standard with this particular type widely used throughout the Great Western route. Equipment on platforms must be mounted a minimum of 2.5m above the platform to comply with standards.</p><p> </p><p>The location of the indicators were carefully selected to avoid being at the foot of escalators and stairs and positioned in areas where passengers can congregate without affecting the flow along the various platforms and around the station.</p><p> </p><p>4) The indicator screens on each platform contain full details of all stopping points for that train, whereas the ‘summary of departures screens’ show final destinations.</p><p> </p><p>5) The staffing levels on Reading station are the responsibility of by First Great Western. A significant number of additional customer assistants have now been employed by First Great Western to cater for the enlarged station.</p><p> </p><p>6) The design of the new canopies has had to take into account the need of future electrification. As a consequence the canopy is higher and set back behind the platform edge.</p><p> </p><p>However, observations made during periods of rainfall since May 2013 clearly show that if passengers are standing behind the yellow line will generally remain dry. Obviously the further back from the edge of the platform, the more likely to remain dry they will be.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 06/11/2014 15:47:43 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

101263

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Mediterranean Sea
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 15 October (HL1977), what is the evidence for their view that United Kingdom support for search and rescue operations to prevent refugees and migrants drowning in the Mediterranean encourages "more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing".
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Search and rescue operations are the responsibility of individual national governments. Since Italy launched its Mare Nostrum operation in October 2013, there has been an unprecedented increase in illegal migration in the Mediterranean and a fourfold increase in deaths.</p><p>The operation has been drawn closer and closer to the Libyan shore, as traffickers have taken advantage of the situation by placing more migrants in unseaworthy boats on the basis that they will be rescued and taken to Italy.</p><p>But many are not rescued, which is why we believe that the operation is having the unintended consequence of placing more lives at risk, and why EU Member States have unanimously agreed that the operation should be promptly phased out. However, any decisions on search and rescue operations are ultimately for the Italian Government and it is of course vital that this phasing out is well-managed and well-publicised.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 11/11/2014 16:50:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101264

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Forced Marriage Protection Orders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued since the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2469
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Forced marriage is an appalling crime and should not be tolerated.</p><p> </p><p>Since the 2007 Act came into force on 25 November 2008 and up to the end of June 2014, 719 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made.</p><p> </p><p>We have also created a new criminal offence that will enable faster and more effective action to be taken against those who breach forced marriage protection orders by forcing someone to get married against their will. This offence is designed to prosecute individuals who force somene to get married against their will; the person who has been forced to get married will not be prosecuted.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 11/11/2014 16:49:11 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101265

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Russia: Ukraine
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 suggestion by the government of Russia that the European Union act as guarantor in respect of money owed by Ukraine to Russia for gas supplies; and whether any consideration has been given to how such a scheme would be funded.
tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
uin	HL2470
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p><strong>Ukraine and Russia agreed a deal regarding the supply of gas on 30 October 2014 under which Ukraine will reprioritise funding to which it already has access under its IMF-led programme. The EU is not acting as guarantor to this deal.</strong></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 17/11/2014 14:35:27 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

101266

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensions
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 risk and impact of people spending their pensions irresponsibly following changes to the system to allow them to receive a lump sum; and whether they are going to take any steps further to assist pensioners to manage their finances.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2471
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government believes that individuals should be trusted with their pension savings; it should not be for the state to dictate how someone spends their savings in retirement.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new right to free and impartial guidance at retirement will help savers make confident and informed decisions on how they use their pension savings, making sure that they are clear on their retirement income options before they make any decisions about what to do with their savings.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 10/11/2014 17:42:22 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick