Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label attachment file name title
tabling member	label

Search

1688310

registered interest
date	07/02/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the past 12 months for which data are available, how much money was (1) credited to NHS Healthy Start cards, (2) used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items, and (3) not used.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2024 answer text <p>Under the Healthy Start scheme, pregnant women and children aged under four years old and over one years old, each receive £4.25 every week, and children under one years old each receive £8.50 every week. Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen or tinned fruits and vegetables, fresh, dried and tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. The money is loaded onto a pre-paid payment card. Beneficiaries are not required to spend the money each week and it can be accumulated and put towards more expensive Healthy Start items, such as infant formula. The legislation states that only after 16 consecutive weeks of the pre-paid payment card not being used can the card be cancelled.</p><p>This flexibility in how and when the money can be used means that the total amount spent in any one month can exceed the amount added in that month, if beneficiaries have accumulated funds in previous months. The following table shows the latest data for how much was added onto Healthy Start cards and spent, per month, during 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Total added</p></td><td><p>Total spent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£7,859,474.75</p></td><td><p>£8,353,475.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£7,435,669.76</p></td><td><p>£7,320,424.91</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£10,626,362.86</p></td><td><p>£8,971,140.57</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£11,665,242.36</p></td><td><p>£10,012,024.12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£8,137,362.11</p></td><td><p>£8,218,389.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£7,805,625.26</p></td><td><p>£7,873,571.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£9,171,390.95</p></td><td><p>£8,021,060.44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£8,535,237.75</p></td><td><p>£7,985,449.52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£7,549,456.50</p></td><td><p>£7,887,565.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£8,289,498.25</p></td><td><p>£7,715,832.34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£7,954,638.13</p></td><td><p>£7,131,207.48</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£7,750,004.57</p></td><td><p>£7,013,663.46</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This flexibility also means that from month to month some of the money may remain on the payment cards without being used. During 2023 the average outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards was £12.6 million. This equates to around £37 per household. If a card was unused for 16 weeks as permitted in the legislation, it would accumulate £68 for a pregnant woman or a family with a child over one and under four, or £136 for a family with twins under one years old. The average balance of £37 per household is less than 16 weeks’ entitlement, although these are aggregate figures and there will be variation across households. The following table shows the total outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards, per month, during 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Total outstanding balance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£11,876,537.16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£11,456,639.28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£11,444,727.51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£12,465,403.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£12,238,144.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£12,123,823.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£12,777,017.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£13,193,581.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£13,677,365.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£13,066,802.63</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£13,418,231.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£13,850,960.26</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL2281 question first answered 20/02/2024 15:55:51 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1505806

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Water Companies: Regulation
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 joint working of Ofwat and the Environment Agency in regulating water companies; and what assessment they have made of (1) the effectiveness of such working, and (2) whether the division of responsibilities has led to weaker sanctions being applied.
tabling member printed	Baroness Redfern
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/10/2022 answer text <p>HM Government considers that the interests of both the environment and consumers are best protected with separate bodies for environmental and economic regulation. There are regular discussions between Ofwat and the Environment Agency to facilitate regulation of water companies, as well as with the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Defra.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat’s price review process incentivises and penalises companies in relation to their performance, resulting in companies having to return money to customers where they fail to meet relevant performance commitments. Ofwat and the Environment Agency work closely to agree those performance commitments related to environmental performance.</p><p> </p><p>Enforcement action against water companies is strengthened because of Ofwat and the Environment Agency having differing routes and tools for sanctions.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat can take enforcement action where companies either fail to comply with their statutory duties and licence obligations or are likely to do so. Ofwat’s enforcement sanction options include enforcement orders, and it can directly impose financial penalties, secure formal undertakings from companies (that previously included money being returned to their customers in respect of their failings) and fines paid to the Treasury’s Consolidated Fund.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency’s enforcement powers are focused more on individual incidents and sites and include intervention orders, civil sanctions and criminal proceedings, when fines can be imposed as part of the sentencing. Since 2015, the Environment Agency has brought 54 prosecutions against water companies, securing fines of almost £140 million.</p><p> </p><p>In June 2019, Ofwat imposed a penalty package on Southern Water of £126 million for spills of wastewater into the environment from its sewerage plants and for deliberately misreporting its performance, which contravened both statutory obligations and licence conditions. £3 million was paid as a fine, while £123 million will be reimbursed to Southern Water’s customers. They received a £17 rebate in 2020/21 and will receive an £11 rebate in each of the following four years.</p><p> </p><p>In parallel, the Environment Agency brought a criminal case against Southern Water for widespread and long-term breaches of environmental law. The case saw pollution offences from 16 wastewater treatment works and one storm overflow brought together in a single prosecution. The £90 million fine was the largest imposed against a water company, because of a prosecution bought by the Environment Agency.</p><p> </p><p>In November 2021, the two regulators launched the largest ever criminal and civil investigations into water company operation of their sewage treatment works, considering over 2200 treatment works. This followed new data coming to light because of increased monitoring programmes the Environment Agency and Ofwat had required and funded. To date, Ofwat has opened enforcement cases with six companies, whilst all other water and sewerage companies in England and Wales remain subject to its ongoing investigation.</p><p> </p><p>HM Government will always consider the learning and outcomes of reports and inquiries to ensure effective regulation and enforcement in the water sector. This will include the outcomes of the House of Lord’s Industry and Regulators Committee’s current inquiry ‘The Work of Ofwat’, which is considering the regulator’s relationship with HM Government and the other regulators.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 11/10/2022 11:28:56 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	4551 label Biography information for Baroness Redfern

1349347

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Crime Prevention
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 report by Resolve Taking back our communities - working together to make communities safe, published on 19 July; and what plans they have to develop and deliver effective victim centred strategies to tackle anti-social behaviour.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour. We know the serious impact that persistent anti-social behaviour can have on individuals and wider communities.</p><p>That’s why we have provided police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. It is for local areas decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.</p><p>Home Office statutory guidance, which was updated in January 2021, supports local agencies to work together to prevent and respond to anti-social behaviour, as well as ensuring a victim-centred approach to tackling ASB.</p><p>The Beating Crime Plan published on 27 July laid out the Government’s commitment to working with local agencies and partners to drive down anti-social behaviour using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’</p><p>The Home Office supported Resolve’s ASB Awareness Week, which took place the week commencing 19<sup>th</sup> July.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 04/08/2021 12:52:12 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh attachment 1 file name ASB_Statutory_Guidance.pdf title ABS Statutory Guidance - Jan 2021
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1183188

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
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	4G: Greater London
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of London has reliable 4G coverage; and how that percentage compares to the reliability of such coverage in Paris.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2281 HL2282 HL2283 HL2350 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

773565

registered interest
date	19/10/2017
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Offences against Children: Criminal Investigation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 October (HL1670), whether they have plans to ensure improvements to police training in order to improve the manner in which allegations of child sexual abuse are investigated.
tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2017 answer text <p>As the professional body for policing, the College of Policing is responsible for setting national standards and guidance in this area.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has provided millions of pounds of extra investment through the Police Transformation Fund to transform policing to respond to changing crimes and threats. Through this fund we have already awarded £1.9 million to the College of Policing to transform policing’s approach to crimes against vulnerable people, including child sexual abuse.</p><p>The package includes piloting a licence to practise which will ensure that only those officers who are qualified to carry out specialist investigations in high risk areas like child protection, are able to do so. This will be supported by a code of practice for CSA investigations, which will help chief officers implement supporting structures needed to ensure forces are undertaking these investigations efficiently and effectively.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 01/11/2017 13:46:20 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

600527

registered interest
date	12/10/2016
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Government Departments: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the difference between their approach to answering Parliamentary Questions and freedom of information requests.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2016 answer text <p>The Government's guidance on answering Parliamentary Questions, for both the House of Lords and the House of Commons is set out in the attached Cabinet Office guidance. Freedom of information requests are answered in line with the requirements set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000</p> answering member printed Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen grouped question UIN HL2279 question first answered 25/10/2016 14:43:51 answering member 4330 label Biography information for Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen attachment 1 file name CO-DC00-PRN01_Emman Chowdhury_3342_001.pdf title Attachment for PEER - FOI and PQs
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

419207

registered interest
date	16/09/2015
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	M1
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why there are 50 miles per hour speed restrictions on substantial lengths of the M1 where there is limited repair activity taking place; and what is the estimated cost of congestion and pollution caused by such restrictions over the past 12 months.
tabling member printed	Lord Vinson
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2015 answer text <p>Highways England’s primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of the travelling public and road workers. To keep traffic moving safely through works, and create as safe a working environment as possible, mandatory 50mph speed limits are put in place for the duration of the construction, whilst maintaining three running lanes during the daytime. Continually lifting and reinstating traffic management would extend the duration of the road works and add to costs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition, a significant amount of work takes place off site and at night, to minimise the disruption that would otherwise occur.　 However, we do recognise that the length of roadworks on the M1 impacts on many drivers’ journeys and Highways England are looking at how they can use shorter lengths of roadworks on future schemes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The cost of congestion and pollution effects of these roadworks for the past twelve months has not been quantified.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 30/09/2015 13:54:15 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	1807 label Biography information for Lord Vinson

100074

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
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 what is their forecast annual cost for administering the Azure card payment scheme in the coming year.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2277 HL2278 HL2279 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:56 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno