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64615

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Standards
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Elizabeth Truss MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, that "our 15 year-olds are up to three years behind their peers in the top-performing countries in reading and mathematics", what action they propose to address this.
	tabling member printed	Lord Quirk
	uin	HL698
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Education believes that improving the quality of teaching in literacy and numeracy is crucial to building the foundation for future study and work. The Government has revised the national curriculum and set more rigorous and challenging content in English and mathematics to match the highest performing countries around the world. The new programmes of study for English and maths will challenge pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market.</p><p> </p><p>The new maths GCSE will have more content, be more challenging and – alongside English - will be double weighted in school performance tables. The Department has recently allocated £11 million to fund <del class="ministerial">over</del> 32 new maths hubs to support a more challenging maths GCSE to improve the quality of maths education. This initiative, which includes a teacher exchange programme with Shanghai, will enable every school and college in England, from early years to the post-16 sector, to access locally-tailored support in all areas of maths teaching and learning.</p><p> </p><p>The new national curriculum for English places a greater emphasis on reading and requires pupils to study a range of books, poems and plays.</p><p>The national curriculum for English will give teachers greater flexibility and freedom which will help to raise standards and expectations for all pupils. It has been significantly slimmed down and will free up teachers to use their professional judgement to design curricula that meet the needs of their pupils.</p><p> </p><p>The new English language GCSE will place greater demands on pupils and has more emphasis on those skills demanded by employers. The new English literature GCSE will build on this foundation, and encourage students to read, write and think critically.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 08/07/2014 15:42:37 question first ministerially corrected 09/07/2014 15:07:12 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash previous answer version 8669 answering member printed Lord Nash answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	3254 label Biography information for Lord Quirk

61397

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Passports
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for (a) new passports and (b) passport renewals there have been in the last year; and what the annual change in such figures has been.
	tabling member constituency	Dudley North
	tabling member printed	Ian Austin
	uin	200217
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>During the period between 1 June 2013 and 31 May 2014, Her Majesty's Passport Office <br />received <del class="ministerial">1,446,983</del> <ins class="ministerial">1,425,885</ins> first time passport applications and <del class="ministerial">4,528,751</del> <ins class="ministerial">4,461,343</ins> passport <br />renewal applications.<br /><br />This compares with 1,346,246 first time applications and 4,036,267 passport <br />renewal applications during the period between 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 08/07/2014 14:03:02 question first ministerially corrected 02/09/2014 14:35:59 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire previous answer version 8681 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

62436

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Gender Recognition
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have conducted a review of the effectiveness of the UK Border Agency's training manual "Gender Identity Issues in the Asylum Claim" which is primarily used to educate UK Border Agency case officers in trans-related issues and in evaluating testimonies.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thornton
	uin	HL374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The document referred to is guidance to asylum decision makers rather than a training manual. The guidance was last reviewed and revised in June 2011.<br><br>Separately, training for new asylum caseworkers is provided through the Foundation Training Programme, which has been developed in consultation with stakeholders including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and A:gender, the cross-civil service staff support network for transgender staff.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Taylor of Holbeach question first answered 08/07/2014 12:50:53 answering member 3787 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Holbeach
	tabling member	1782 label Biography information for Baroness Thornton

62516

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Claims Management Services
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their response to the consultation on the framework to enable complaints about claims management companies to be heard by the Legal Services Ombudsman, as provided for in the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
	uin	HL445
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 provides the necessary enabling powers to put in place the funding arrangements for the Legal Ombudsman to deal with complaints against claims management companies. These provisions were commenced on 21 March 2014. They include a power for the Lord Chancellor to make Regulations to charge fees to recover the costs he has incurred in meeting the expenditure of the Legal Ombudsman in relation to claims management complaints.</p><p> </p><p>The Government consultation on the proposed structure of the Lord Chancellor's cost recovery fee ended on 6 June and the responses are being analysed. Once the fee structure is finalised, the Fee Regulations will be laid in Parliament for approval and the consultation response will be published at that time.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 07/07/2014 16:00:27 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	4159 label Biography information for Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

63096

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lords Faulks on 18 June (WA 71), how much of the 2014–15 probation budget has been allocated to the provision of services to support the new operating model.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
	uin	HL505
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>The probation service, under the new operating model from 1 June, continues to operate in line with the agreed probation service budget. This budget includes provision for corporate services, information technology, estates and community payback, which continue to be provided centrally, as they were up to 31 May.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 07/07/2014 16:54:12 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

63099

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government in how many cases the Legal Aid Agency granted funding for legal representation (full legal aid certificates) in the discrimination category in each of the years (1) 2011–12, (2) 2012–13, and (3) 2013–14.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
	uin	HL508
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>Discrimination only became an extant category of law covered by the Civil Legal Aid Mandatory Gateway following the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. As such, the only figures available relate to the financial year 2013/14 when 4 certificates for legal representation funding were granted. However, discrimination cases may not always be captured in this record as an alleged contravention of the Equality Act can be recorded in other categories of law, for example, mental health.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency routinely publishes legal aid statistics; this information can be found using the link below:</p><p><a title="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014</a></p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 07/07/2014 16:51:41 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

63110

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the financial and time costs of running an election campaign for a United Kingdom expert candidate to be elected to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and when that assessment was last undertaken.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Hodgson of Abinger
	uin	HL519
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Government last undertook an assessment of the financial and time costs of running an election campaign for an independent UK expert to be elected to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in December 2013.</p><p> </p><p>It was estimated at the time that the equivalent of 108 days of work would be needed to identify a suitable candidate and support them throughout the campaign process. This estimate included running a process to identify a suitable candidate and running a campaign to support the successful candidate. In addition, financial costs would be incurred, including expenses for brochures, campaign events, and paying for the candidate's campaign travel.</p><p> </p><p>Other financial costs would include expenses for brochures, campaign events, and paying for the candidate's campaign travel. Previous campaigns for similar bodies have incurred costs of between £10,000 and £33,000.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 07/07/2014 16:27:42 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	4301 label Biography information for Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

63111

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
	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 current membership of the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; and which members and candidates for election in 2014 they consider to be able to represent United Kingdom interests.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Hodgson of Abinger
	uin	HL520
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Assessments of the current membership of and the candidates for election to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women are made jointly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.</p><p> </p><p>All members and candidates for election to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women are assessed against a number of criteria, including their moral standing, competence in the field, and ability to exercise their functions independently of the government they have been nominated by. Consideration is also given to fair representation of geographical regions, gender, and different legal systems. Candidates are elected by the 193 UN member states.</p><p> </p><p>HMG is confident that the members of the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women are able to discharge their mandate.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 07/07/2014 16:29:47 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	4301 label Biography information for Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

63115

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	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	Israel
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning its reported recent authorisation of the use of force during interrogations.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
	uin	HL524
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have raised this issue with the Israeli National Security Council. They denied that Israel used force during interrogations as part of the operation to locate the three kidnapped teenagers.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 07/07/2014 17:03:03 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

63116

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2014
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Palestinians
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve the availability of food in Gaza.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
	uin	HL525
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The UK supports UN agencies and International NGOs get aid and goods into Gaza through our support to the UN Access Co-ordination Unit. We also help vulnerable families to buy the food and basic items they need through support to the World Food Programme in Gaza. Ultimately, however, the availability of food will only change in a sustainable way through the easing of Israeli movement and access restrictions on Gaza. We continue to press the Government of Israel, in close coordination with our EU partners, to ease these restrictions.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 07/07/2014 16:37:19 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge