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
tabling member	label

Search

173571

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many recipients of the Winter Fuel Payment are higher rate taxpayers.
tabling member printed	Lord Tyler
uin	HL4131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments is based on female State Pension age. The latest estimates we have show that there are currently around 600,000 higher and additional rate taxpayers in Great Britain in 2014/15 who are above the female State Pension age and therefore qualify for Winter Fuel Payments<sup>1</sup>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We ask people who want to return their payment to do so by post so that it can be dealt with securely under existing Departmental financial processes and recorded against their Winter Fuel Payment account. We also ask for a covering letter indicating whether or not they wish us to continue to issue payments in future years.</p><p> </p><p>Returned payments should be sent to the address on the issuing letter or to the office that pays the claimant’s benefit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The latest estimates we have show that treating Winter Fuel Payments as taxable income would bring in around £250 million a year of additional revenue<sup>2</sup>.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. This estimate is based on the 2011/12 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s November 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.</p><p>The estimate uses ONS population projections at mid year 2012 adjusted for financial years.</p><p>The estimate is rounded to the nearest 100,000.</p><p> </p><p>2. This estimate is based on DWP modelling using HMRC taxpayer data from November 2012 and Winter Fuel Payment caseload data from Winter 2013.</p><p>This takes into account revenue from Basic, Higher and Additional rate taxpayers.</p><p>Winter Fuel Payment rates are assumed to be £200 per year for recipients under 80 and £300 a year for recipients aged 80 and over.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4132 HL4133 question first answered 26/01/2015 12:13:04 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	225 label Biography information for Lord Tyler

173572

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	Winter Fuel Payment: Repayments
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so how, recipients of the Winter Fuel Payment may return their payment to the Treasury.
tabling member printed	Lord Tyler
uin	HL4132
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>Eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments is based on female State Pension age. The latest estimates we have show that there are currently around 600,000 higher and additional rate taxpayers in Great Britain in 2014/15 who are above the female State Pension age and therefore qualify for Winter Fuel Payments<sup>1</sup>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We ask people who want to return their payment to do so by post so that it can be dealt with securely under existing Departmental financial processes and recorded against their Winter Fuel Payment account. We also ask for a covering letter indicating whether or not they wish us to continue to issue payments in future years.</p><p> </p><p>Returned payments should be sent to the address on the issuing letter or to the office that pays the claimant’s benefit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The latest estimates we have show that treating Winter Fuel Payments as taxable income would bring in around £250 million a year of additional revenue<sup>2</sup>.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. This estimate is based on the 2011/12 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s November 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.</p><p>The estimate uses ONS population projections at mid year 2012 adjusted for financial years.</p><p>The estimate is rounded to the nearest 100,000.</p><p> </p><p>2. This estimate is based on DWP modelling using HMRC taxpayer data from November 2012 and Winter Fuel Payment caseload data from Winter 2013.</p><p>This takes into account revenue from Basic, Higher and Additional rate taxpayers.</p><p>Winter Fuel Payment rates are assumed to be £200 per year for recipients under 80 and £300 a year for recipients aged 80 and over.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4131 HL4133 question first answered 26/01/2015 12:13:04 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	225 label Biography information for Lord Tyler

173573

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	Winter Fuel Payment
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 revenues which would be realised by applying income tax to Winter Fuel Payments.
tabling member printed	Lord Tyler
uin	HL4133
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>Eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments is based on female State Pension age. The latest estimates we have show that there are currently around 600,000 higher and additional rate taxpayers in Great Britain in 2014/15 who are above the female State Pension age and therefore qualify for Winter Fuel Payments<sup>1</sup>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We ask people who want to return their payment to do so by post so that it can be dealt with securely under existing Departmental financial processes and recorded against their Winter Fuel Payment account. We also ask for a covering letter indicating whether or not they wish us to continue to issue payments in future years.</p><p> </p><p>Returned payments should be sent to the address on the issuing letter or to the office that pays the claimant’s benefit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The latest estimates we have show that treating Winter Fuel Payments as taxable income would bring in around £250 million a year of additional revenue<sup>2</sup>.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. This estimate is based on the 2011/12 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s November 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.</p><p>The estimate uses ONS population projections at mid year 2012 adjusted for financial years.</p><p>The estimate is rounded to the nearest 100,000.</p><p> </p><p>2. This estimate is based on DWP modelling using HMRC taxpayer data from November 2012 and Winter Fuel Payment caseload data from Winter 2013.</p><p>This takes into account revenue from Basic, Higher and Additional rate taxpayers.</p><p>Winter Fuel Payment rates are assumed to be £200 per year for recipients under 80 and £300 a year for recipients aged 80 and over.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4131 HL4132 question first answered 26/01/2015 12:13:05 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	225 label Biography information for Lord Tyler

173599

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to promote (1) increased competition, and (2) the levying of fair fees and commissions, in the private pensions industry.
tabling member printed	Lord McFall of Alcluith
uin	HL4159
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Government and regulators have introduced a package of measures, including establishing Independent Governance Committees to improve governance in contract based pension schemes, improved governance standards for trust based schemes and the introduction of a 0.75 per cent cap on charges in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment. Subject to Parliamentary approval, these changes will come into effect from April.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also banning a number of charges which are no longer appropriate in the context of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions. From April 2015, we will extend the existing ban on consultancy charging to all contract-based schemes used for automatic enrolment. Likewise, adviser commission and Active Member Discounts, which penalise those who stop contributing or leave their employer and move jobs, will be banned in all schemes used for automatic enrolment from April 2016. We are also introducing measures to improve transparency throughout the value chain in the workplace pensions market and expect that this will lead to increased competition on costs and charges to the benefit of the consumer.</p><p> </p><p>The recent pensions flexibility reforms are also an opportunity for the retirement income industry to develop new products that meet the evolving needs of consumers. The new flexibility will help consumers choosing to select an annuity or another option to access their pension savings to get a better deal in a more competitive market place. The shape of the market will now be driven by the choices consumers make, placing power back into the hands of savers.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, as of the end of December, over 5.1 million workers have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. This is having a significant impact on the private pensions market and by 2020, we estimate that automatic enrolment will have generated an additional £8 to £12 billion a year in workplace pension saving. The growth in this market is supporting strong competition between providers and schemes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 20/01/2015 15:58:49 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4148 label Biography information for Lord McFall of Alcluith

173598

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	Pensions: Fees and Charges
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the charges, fees and commissions paid by consumers in relation to private pensions are transparent.
tabling member printed	Lord McFall of Alcluith
uin	HL4158
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Government is committed to improving the transparency of costs and charges in workplace pension schemes. The Government’s Command Papers ‘Better Workplace Pensions: Further measures for savers’ and ‘Better Workplace Pensions: Putting savers interests first’ published in March and October 2014 set out a range of measures including a cap on charges in default fund arrangements, a ban on inappropriate charges and proposals to introduce minimum governance standards and improve transparency across workplace defined contribution schemes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government has recently consulted on draft legislation which, subject to parliamentary approval, will introduce new requirements on trustees to improve the transparency of costs and charges in occupational schemes from April 2015. Under these new requirements, trustees will be required to annually report on costs and charges for the first time. Similar rules are to be introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority to require the newly formed Independent Governance Committees to report on costs and charges in workplace personal pension schemes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Later this year we will consult on ways to build on this first phase of enhanced transparency, to meet our duties under the Pensions Act 2014 requiring information about transaction costs to be disclosed to members of workplace pension schemes, and the publication of costs and charges information. The FCA also intends to consult on amending its rules to with a view to introducing equivalent enhanced transparency provisions for workplace personal pension schemes during 2015.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 20/01/2015 15:03:14 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4148 label Biography information for Lord McFall of Alcluith

173609

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Entry Clearances: Israel
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 6 January (HL3868), whether evidence that an individual persistently undertook, permitted or financed illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories triggers consideration as to whether that individual's conduct is not conducive to the public good.
tabling member printed	Lord Warner
uin	HL4169
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p>All foreign nationals seeking entry to the UK must satisfy either an entry clearance officer overseas, or an immigration officer at the port of arrival, that they fully meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules in the category of entry sought and that, by their own actions, they have not brought themselves within scope of the general grounds for refusal set out in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules.</p><p>The Government takes a range of measures to prevent foreign nationals from coming to, or remaining in, the UK where their presence is not conducive to the public good. An individual may be refused entry to the UK under the Immigration Rules and the Home Secretary also has the power to exclude foreign nationals from the UK. The power to exclude is broad but may include circumstances involving national security, unacceptable behaviour, extremism, international relations or foreign policy, and serious organised crime. These decisions are made according to the individual circumstances of each case taking into a consideration a range of factors.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 22/01/2015 15:33:34 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	1732 label Biography information for Lord Warner

173569

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	India
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 India regarding human rights issues in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL4129
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2015 answer text <p>Allegations of human rights abuses on both sides of the Line of Control in Kashmir must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. Officials from our High Commissions in New Delhi and Islamabad regularly discuss the situation in Kashmir with the Governments of both India and Pakistan, and visit the region to witness the situation on the ground first-hand. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has spoken to both his Indian and Pakistani counterparts about regional issues in recent months.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 23/01/2015 12:37:35 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed

173610

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Heroin and Morphine: Death
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 reasons for the 32 per cent rise in the number of deaths from heroin or morphine abuse between 2012 and 2013; and how many of the 765 people who died as a result of heroin or morphine abuse in 2013 had left drug treatment in the month that preceded their death.
tabling member printed	Lord Patel of Bradford
uin	HL4170
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>At this stage it is not possible to draw any definitive conclusions about a longer-term trend in deaths from one year’s data. Public Health England is currently analysing the data to better understand the reasons for the increase.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 26/01/2015 15:27:25 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	3798 label Biography information for Lord Patel of Bradford

173606

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	F-35 Aircraft
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 29 July 2014 (HL1320), how many F35B aircraft will initially be allocated to the Operational Conversion Unit.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL4166
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p>Based on current planning assumptions, five aircraft will be allocated to the Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Marham when it begins pilot training in July 2019.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 22/01/2015 16:38:11 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

173567

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	Lyme Disease
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 extent of Lyme disease in the United Kingdom in (1) sheep, (2) other farm animals, (3) domestic animals, and (4) wild animals; and what action they are taking to reduce the number of infected animals.
tabling member printed	Lord Greaves
uin	HL4127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2015 answer text <p>Defra has made no formal assessment of the extent of Lyme disease in the United Kingdom in livestock, domestic or wild animals. However a number of surveillance studies have shown that the main carriers of the <em>Borrelia</em> organism that causes Lyme disease in people and dogs are small wild mammals (for example mice and voles) and ground nesting birds. Other studies have looked at the role of cattle, sheep and deer as hosts for the intermediate tick host, although these species do not maintain infection with the organism. No action is taken to reduce the number of infected wild animals. Action to reduce the number of infected wild animals could only be taken at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Control of the disease in people is focussed on public awareness of the importance of preventing tick bites. Factsheets on tick bite risk and prevention are produced by Public Health England and Lyme Disease Action, with further information for patients published by NHS Choices. Veterinary advice on the prevention of infection in dogs is widely available through private practitioners and a vaccine for dogs is now licensed.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord De Mauley question first answered 28/01/2015 17:30:08 answering member 2202 label Biography information for Lord De Mauley
tabling member	2569 label Biography information for Lord Greaves