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100664

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Overseas Students
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his policy is on excluding foreign university students from net immigration targets.
	tabling member constituency	Windsor
	tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
	uin	211742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>Net migration statistics are produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). In line with the internationally agreed UN definition, these statistics define a migrant as someone changing their normal place of residence for more than a year. This includes students in net migration in the same way as other migrants. Other countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand also include students in their net migration figures. <br><br>Net migration measures the difference between the number of peoplecoming the UK and the number leaving, so if students return home after<br>their studies, their impact on long-term net migration will be minimal. The ONS has recently improved its methodology so that it is possible to<br>better identify students in the emigration flows to give a more accurate measure of the contribution of students to overall net migration.In the last year, 124,000 non-EU students came to Britain to stay for more than 12 months, and the ONS estimates that only 50,000 left the country. <br><br>All migrants who are in the UK for 12 months or more have an impact on our communities, infrastructure and public services. Changing the way we measure migration would not make any difference to our student migration policy. There is no cap on the number of students who can come to the UK, and the county remains open to the brightest and the best.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 05/11/2014 14:46:23 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

100672

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Tax Allowances: Business
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential costs and benefits of removing the cap on entrepreneurs' tax relief.
	tabling member constituency	Windsor
	tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
	uin	211741
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>The last published cost for changing the cap on entrepreneurs' tax relief related to increasing the lifetime limit from £5m of qualifying gains to £10m. This is available in the full Budget 2011 document at the following address on page 42 in table 2.1 of the report.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110402/http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget.htm" target="_blank">http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110402/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget.htm</a></p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 30/10/2014 17:10:28 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
	tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

100608

	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	Civil Servants: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many diplomatic staff and civil servants from each department or government agency have received or are receiving language training at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Language School.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
	uin	HL2339
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>Since the Language Centre opened on 19th September 2013 a total of 45 different languages have been studied there either full or part-time by 813 students. Of those students, 779 are Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff and 34 are from other government departments (OGDs) (including staff from the following departments: Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Innovation &amp; Skills, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, UK Trade and Investment, the Department for International Development, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the House of Commons). An additional 60 FCO staff have trained at the Institut Francais. Staff across the Civil Service can also access the FCO Language Centre library to continue to develop their own language skills outside formal study and 58 OGD staff have taken advantage of this offer so far. <br><br>It is important to note that when more appropriate, staff from OGDs also receive language training outside of the FCO Language Centre through use of the Civil Service-wide contract with Language Services Direct (the company that run the FCO Language Centre) or at the Institut Francais if French is required. Since September 2014, 113 OGD students have received language training on their own premises via the FCO contract. <br><br>The table below provides a breakdown of the languages that have been taught at the FCO Language Centre :<br><br>Albanian 2 <br>Arabic 186 <br>Azeri 1 <br>Bosnian 1 <br>Bulgarian 3 <br>Burmese 1 <br>Cambodian 1 <br>Czech 1 <br>Danish 2 <br>Dari 5 <br>Dutch 5 <br>Farsi 33 <br>Finnish 1 <br>French 14 <br>Georgian 1 <br>German 40 <br>Greek 4 <br>Hebrew 1 <br>Hindi 20 <br>Indonesian 4 <br>Italian 23 <br>Japanese 33 <br>Korean 8 <br>Macedonian 1 <br>Mandarin 93 <br>Norwegian 1 <br>Pashto 5 <br>Polish 3 <br>Portuguese 47 <br>Romanian 3 <br>Russian 84 <br>Serbian 3 <br>Sinhalese 1 <br>Slovak 1 <br>Slovene 1 <br>Spanish 153 <br>Swedish 3 <br>Tajik 1 <br>Thai 2 <br>Tigrinya 1 <br>Turkish 11 <br>Turkmen 1 <br>Urdu 4 <br>Uzbek 2 <br>Vietnamese 2 <br>Total 813</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 03/11/2014 15:37:02 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

100609

	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	Civil Servants: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government which languages have been studied by civil servants and diplomatic staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Language School; and how many civil servants and diplomatic staff have studied each language.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
	uin	HL2340
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>Since the Language Centre opened on 19th September 2013 a total of 45 different languages have been studied there either full or part-time by 813 students. Of those students, 779 are Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff and 34 are from other government departments (OGDs) (including staff from the following departments: Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Innovation &amp; Skills, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, UK Trade and Investment, the Department for International Development, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the House of Commons). An additional 60 FCO staff have trained at the Institut Francais. Staff across the Civil Service can also access the FCO Language Centre library to continue to develop their own language skills outside formal study and 58 OGD staff have taken advantage of this offer so far.</p><p>It is important to note that when more appropriate, staff from OGDs also receive language training outside of the FCO Language Centre through use of the Civil Service-wide contract with Language Services Direct (the company that run the FCO Language Centre) or at the Institut Francais if French is required. Since September 2014, 113 OGD students have received language training on their own premises via the FCO contract.</p><p>The table below provides a breakdown of the languages that have been taught at the FCO Language Centre:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Albanian</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arabic</p></td><td><p>186</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Azeri</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bosnian</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bulgarian</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Burmese</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cambodian</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Czech</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Danish</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dari</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dutch</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Farsi</p></td><td><p>33</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Finnish</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>French</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Georgian</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>German</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Greek</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hebrew</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hindi</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Indonesian</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Italian</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Japanese</p></td><td><p>33</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Korean</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Macedonian</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mandarin</p></td><td><p>93</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Norwegian</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pashto</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Polish</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portuguese</p></td><td><p>47</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Romanian</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Russian</p></td><td><p>84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Serbian</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sinhalese</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Slovak</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Slovene</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Spanish</p></td><td><p>153</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Swedish</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tajik</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Thai</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tigrinya</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Turkish</p></td><td><p>11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Turkmen</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Urdu</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Uzbek</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Vietnamese</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>813</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 05/11/2014 15:51:51 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

100610

	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	Civil Servants: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect to see an increase in the numbers of United Kingdom civil servants capable of fulfilling the language requirements for applications to the European Civil Service; and if so by how many, and by when.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
	uin	HL2341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government is working to increase the number of applicants to the European Civil Service and to increase civil service language training. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports all UK applicants, including civil servants, through the EU recruitment process, including advice on how to pass the recruitment tests in a foreign language. The European Fast Stream programme has been re-structured for 2014 and the training updated. As part of this, the language training provided to participants has been revised and tailored to offer more effective preparation for the Commission’s entry exam known as The Concours. There is also language training offered to civil servants through the FCO language centre. Some Government Departments also offer training in-house in different languages.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 05/11/2014 15:54:59 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

100611

	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	Civil Servants: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how civil servants from all departments with the wish or the potential to benefit from a course at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Language School are identified.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
	uin	HL2342
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text Full-time language training is available to all staff on appointment to one of the 674 designated ‘speaker’ roles based across the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s network of posts overseas. Appointment is made following an advert, application and selection by interview for a position. All positions (including speaker roles) in the Senior Management Service are also advertised across the Civil Service. A number of positions (including speaker roles) in the delegated grades are also advertised across the Civil Service via ‘Interchange’. All FCO staff (or staff from other governmental departments (OGDs) if on Interchange) and their spouses/partners posted to non-speaker roles in a foreign country also have the option of taking up language training to reach a basic level (Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) – A2 Confidence foreign language proficiency) to help settle into a new posting overseas. FCO staff who wish to develop skills in a foreign language can also attend a rolling programme of part-time lunchtime or evening classes in 12 languages. Where there is space in these classes, OGD staff are offered places based on language learning needs analyses by Departments. Language Services Direct (the company who run the FCO Language Centre) also provide part-time classes to a number of OGDs (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Cabinet Office, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for International Development, Members of Parliament, UK Hydrographic Office) on their own premises or at Language Services Direct premises (HM Revenue and Customs). Language Services Direct also run a bespoke training package for staff from both the FCO and across the Civil Service wishing to apply for positions within EU institutions. A number of OGDs also appoint staff, following their own internal appointment processes, to their own ‘speaker’ roles overseas and are able use the Language Centre for training, or receive training at their own premises from Language Services Direct. To-date over 130 OGD staff have been trained either full-time or part-time at the Centre or at their own premises. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 05/11/2014 15:56:28 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

100612

	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	Civil Servants: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to conduct a comprehensive audit of the foreign language skills currently possessed by civil servants across all departments and government agencies.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
	uin	HL2343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer my noble friend to the answer provided by The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 3 November, <em>Official Report</em>, Column WA188.</p><p>There are currently no plans for a formal audit across Government to measure the foreign language skills currently possessed by civil servants.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 04/11/2014 16:55:00 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
	tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

100629

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Care Leavers
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to help young care leavers who are not able to stay in foster care to make a successful transition to independence.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Eaton
	uin	HL2360
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>The Care Leaver Strategy, published in October 2013, recognises that care leavers require support on a wide range of issues that affect their lives. It sets out the support that will be provided to all care leavers in relation to staying in education, finding accommodation, accessing benefits, experiencing good physical and mental health and finding work. [1]</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Education will publish shortly a report on the progress we have made against the commitments set out in the strategy. This builds on a significant programme of work to improve support for care leavers, which has resulted in important changes such as the development of the Care Leaver Charter and the introduction of Junior ISAs for all children in care.</p><p> </p><p>As part of our continuing work to improve care leavers’ outcomes, the Department introduced a new duty on local authorities to support ‘staying put’ arrangements and have provided funding for local authorities to support this. For the first time, this will provide for children in foster placements to receive support to remain with their foster family until age 21, where this is what both parties want.</p><p> </p><p>Similar arrangements do not currently apply to children in residential care. Further work is needed before introducing a legal duty on local authorities that would require them to extend staying put arrangements to all young people leaving residential care. We are consequently working with the sector to better understand what would be involved and have supported work through the Department’s Children’s Services Innovation Programme to identify how staying put arrangements might work for children in residential care.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to drive innovation in provision for care leavers, for example through funding projects like ‘New Belongings’, which has enabled 9 local authorities to develop a range of new and innovative approaches to supporting care leavers.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266484/Care_Leaver_Strategy.pdf" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266484/Care_Leaver_Strategy.pdf</a></p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 30/10/2014 16:34:16 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4184 label Biography information for Baroness Eaton

100645

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	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	Housing Benefit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why housing benefit overpayments increased to £1.4 billion in 2013–14 and how they are addressing the issue.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Manzoor
	uin	HL2376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Housing Benefit is a complex benefit administered by 380 Local Authorities. It has a high proportion of in-work claimants and this caseload is more likely to undergo changes in circumstances than out-of-work claimants. If claimants fail to report changes in circumstances correctly and in a timely manner then overpayments will occur.</p><p>The rate of fraud in Housing Benefit has been stable for many years at 1.4% since 2008-09. Official error has also remained relatively stable over the last six years, currently standing at 0.6% which is the same level as in 2008-09. Claimant error has increased from 2.7% in 2008-09 to 3.8% in 2013-14.</p><p>The rise in HB claimant error is primarily earnings related and a consequence of failure to report these changes. DWP is taking action to deal with this issue through better data sharing with Local Authorities, such as the introduction of real time information (RTI) on earnings, so that local authorities are alerted to changes quickly and do not have to rely on the claimant informing them of changes.</p><p>Longer term, Housing Benefit for working age claimants will be replaced by the housing cost element of Universal Credit and will be paid as a single monthly payment with the other elements. This will reduce the opportunity for Fraud and Error and prevent overpayments from occurring.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 04/11/2014 15:11:36 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4289 label Biography information for Baroness Manzoor

100630

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Railways: North West
	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 case for improving inter-regional rail links in the North West of England, particularly between East Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Massey of Darwen
	uin	HL2361
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>The case for improving inter-regional rail links in the North West of England has been assessed in a number of studies including the Northern Hub and Network Rail’s Lancashire and Cumbria and North-West Route Utilisation strategies. The case will be further addressed in respect of Network Rail’s Control Period 6 (2019-20<ins class="ministerial">2</ins><del class="ministerial">1</del>4) and beyond through the Northern Route Study as part of Network Rail’s Long Term Planning Process to inform decisions on the Government’s Rail Investment Strategy for Control Period 6.</p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 30/10/2014 12:12:57 question first ministerially corrected 05/11/2014 12:17:05 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer previous answer version 25208 answering member printed Baroness Kramer answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
	tabling member	2489 label Biography information for Baroness Massey of Darwen