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1057042

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the use of artificial intelligence complies with equalities legislation.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	218822
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">While we have seen some success with voluntary measures to improve online safety, Government has been clear that tech companies need to take more consistent and effective action to tackle online harms.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">A joint DCMS-Home Office White Paper will be published shortly, setting out clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep their users safe online</del>.</p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government recently set up the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to provide independent, expert advice on the measures needed to enable and ensure safe, ethical and innovative uses of AI and data-driven technologies.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The first two projects the Centre will study include: the use of data in shaping people's online experiences; and the potential for bias in decisions made using algorithms. This work will play an important role in promoting and ensuring fairness and the ethical use of data to deliver maximum benefits for society. An interim update on these projects is expected in summer 2019.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Further, it is essential that AI developed in the UK reflects the needs and make-up of society as a whole and that industry and the public sector are able to access the greatest supply of talent in terms of numbers. Increasing diversity in the AI workforce is vital to ensure that everyone with the potential to participate has the opportunity to do so. The government’s Office for AI will work with the AI Council to promote diversity in the AI workforce.</ins></p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 13/02/2019 16:53:29 question first ministerially corrected 18/02/2019 10:41:09 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James previous answer version 101754 answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1037899

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2018 to Question 130822 on Universal Credit, how many universal credit claimants have a level of deduction from the standard allowance (a) at the 40 per cent and (b) above the 40 per cent level.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	206457
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>Our internal data shows that, of all Universal Credit Full Service awards in September 2018:</p><p> </p><p>(a) 7% (60,000 claims) of all Universal Credit Full Service eligible* claims had deductions at 40% of the Standard Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>(b) 0.6% (5,000 claims) of Universal Credit Full Service eligible claims had deductions that exceeded the normal 40% maximum deduction rate. These are due to last resort deductions which are only applied to protect claimant welfare by helping prevent disconnection or eviction (for example, service charges, rent, gas or electricity arrears).</p><p> </p><p>*Eligible claimants are claimants that have satisfied all the requirements of claiming Universal Credit; they have provided the necessary evidence, signed their claimant commitment and are eligible and have received their first payment.</p><p> </p><p>These figures do not include sanctions or fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions. In these cases, a priority order is applied so that deductions for arrears of housing costs or fuel costs are applied first, in order to protect claimant welfare. Volumes are rounded to the nearest 1,000.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018 we announced we will reduce the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from a Universal Credit award from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance, from October 2019. Additionally, from October 2021, the recovery period for advances will increase from 12 to 16 months. This will help over 600,000 families to manage their debts at any one point when roll-out is complete, providing them with, on average, £295 extra a year as their debts are repaid over a longer period.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/02/2019 15:16:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 94875 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1045971

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	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	Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department took to ensure that there was no conflict of interest between Sir Ken Knight's role as (a) Chief Fire Officer and (b) a trustee of the Building Research Establishment's charitable parent company, the BRE Trust.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	211241
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>The Department carried out all appropriate due diligence when it appointed Sir Ken Knight as Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser in 2007. Sir Ken took up an unpaid role as a Trustee with the Building Research Establishment (a charitable trust) in 2011 and would have been required to notify the Department of any such appointment. Due to the passage of time there are no extant records that confirm this action was undertaken.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 13/02/2019 16:53:54 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1050029

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2019
	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: Appeals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hearings in the first tier tribunal in the social entitlement chamber took place where her Department was a respondent; and at how many of those hearings a representative of the Department was in attendance in each month in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	213407
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (SoS) is the respondent in the First-tier Tribunal (FtT). The SoS responds to Notices of Appeal in writing. Where the SoS is additionally represented, in person, it is usually by a Presenting Officer. Presenting Officers represent the Department at tribunal hearings and provide valuable feedback to both Decision Makers and Health Care Professionals.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals cleared at an oral hearing and the number where a Presenting Officer represented the Department are shown in the table below. To provide information across other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>There are a small number of occasions when the SoS instructs counsel to represent her before the FtT, this information is not recorded separately.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>ESA and PIP appeals cleared at an oral hearing</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Presenting Officer represented the Department</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-18</p></td><td><p>12,040</p></td><td><p>4,020</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-18</p></td><td><p>10,260</p></td><td><p>3,470</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-18</p></td><td><p>10,190</p></td><td><p>3,120</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-18</p></td><td><p>10,150</p></td><td><p>2,930</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-18</p></td><td><p>10,760</p></td><td><p>3,120</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-18</p></td><td><p>11,150</p></td><td><p>2,870</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-18</p></td><td><p>10,250</p></td><td><p>2,510</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-18</p></td><td><p>9,760</p></td><td><p>1,940</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-18</p></td><td><p>9,010</p></td><td><p>1,790</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The reduction in oral hearings attended by Presenting Officers is due to a number of factors. This includes significant training and upskilling of Presenting Officers affecting the number of hearings attended, and normal attrition rates leading to a reduction in the number of Presenting Officers in post. We expect that FtT hearings attended by Presenting Officers will increase once training and current recruitment activity has been completed and will be monitoring this regularly.</p><p>Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>Great Britain only.</p><p>Appeals may have more than one hearing, including where hearings are adjourned. The figures in the table above only include oral hearings where the appeal was cleared. They also exclude paper hearings.</p><p>This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 14/02/2019 15:40:34 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1051935

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asia Bibi
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the comments of Hafiz Entisha Ahmed published in the Guardian on 30 January that Asia Bibi “deserves to be murdered”; and, following the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to uphold her acquittal following nine years’ incarceration on death row, why she has not immediately been offered asylum in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL13272
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>As the Prime Minister set out on 14 November, the release of Asia Bibi will be very welcome news to her family and to all those who have campaigned in Pakistan and around the world for her release. We welcome the assurances the Government of Pakistan has given on keeping her and her family safe, and it is important that all countries seek to uphold the rule of law and afford security and protection for the rights of all citizens irrespective of faith or belief.</p><p>It is a longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases. In accordance with our duty of confidentiality, we cannot confirm whether an asylum claim has been received or the outcome of such a request. Departing from this policy may put individuals and their family members in danger.</p><p>We remain deeply concerned by the misuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, and the fact that religious minorities are disproportionately affected. The harsh penalties for blasphemy, including the death penalty, add to these concerns.</p><p>We regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level; and we have urged them to take steps to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy laws. My Foreign and Commonwealth colleague, the Minister of State for Commonwealth and the UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan’s Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, in September 2018. We will continue to press the new Government of Pakistan to adhere to its international obligations and uphold the rule of law.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 13/02/2019 16:35:51 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1051941

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
	answering dept id	203
	answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
	answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
	hansard heading	Borders: Northern Ireland
	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 length of time required to trial any technological solution to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland in order to ensure its veracity prior to full introduction; and how they might evaluate the effectiveness of any such solution.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL13277
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>The Political Declaration is clear that the UK and EU should work together and exchange information on facilitative arrangements and technologies. This sits alongside the UK and the EU’s existing commitment to developing alternative arrangements to replace the backstop. The Government plans to continue discussions with members from around the House in the coming days to finalise proposals with which to go back to the EU.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 13/02/2019 13:51:05 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1051942

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
	answering dept id	203
	answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
	answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
	hansard heading	Borders: Northern Ireland
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the current budgeting arrangements to cover Brexit arrangements provide sufficient resource to cover the introduction of a technological solution to the Irish border question; and how much they envisage that any such solution might cost on introduction.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL13278
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>The EU and the UK have agreed in the Political Declaration to work together to exchange information on facilitative arrangements and technologies. The Prime Minister will take the mandate of Parliament forward and seek legally binding changes to the Withdrawal Agreement that deal with concerns on the backstop, while guaranteeing no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.</p><p>There are a number of ways to secure a backstop that Parliament can support. We are engaging constructively with the details of proposals.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 13/02/2019 15:06:21 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1051944

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Aviation: Norway
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to ensure the continuation of flights between the UK and Norway after the UK leaves the EU; and whether any UK–Norway air services agreement has been concluded.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beith
	uin	HL13279
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>As part of prudent contingency planning for a no-deal scenario, officials in my Department are working closely with their counterparts in the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. We have agreed the detail of arrangements to ensure that, in a no deal scenario, air services will continue to operate and we expect a deal to be signed in the next few days.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 13/02/2019 17:54:08 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
	tabling member	513 label Biography information for Lord Beith

1051946

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Motorways: Cameras
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect type approval to be issued for the cameras needed to properly enforce regulations on smart motorways; and whether they intend to postpone the opening of further sections of smart motorway until such approval has been received.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bradshaw
	uin	HL13281
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office is working towards providing type approval for this technology.</p><p>Decisions about postponing the opening of further sections of smart motorway until such type approval is provided would be a matter for Highways England</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 13/02/2019 16:34:32 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	2483 label Biography information for Lord Bradshaw

1051950

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Police: Forensic Science
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, since the closure of the Forensic Science Service, how many in-house police forensic scientists have previously been police officers.
	tabling member printed	Lord Fox
	uin	HL13284
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold this information.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 13/02/2019 16:33:51 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4322 label Biography information for Lord Fox