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1124630

registered interest
date	02/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what is the current policy of the Student Loans Company on the surveillance of students’ social media; (2) whether any such policy is publicly available; (3) which social media platforms may fall under this policy; and (4) what measures are in place to oversee this policy.
tabling member printed	Baroness Garden of Frognal
uin	HL15498
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Student Loans Company (SLC) carries out investigations where fraud is suspected, as well as sample checks to identify possible fraud. The SLC accesses a wide range of publicly available information for the purposes of verifying a customer’s eligibility and detecting and preventing fraud, and this may include publicly available social media content. The SLC only accesses information that is in the public domain; it does not use information sourced from social media in isolation to make a determination on a case; and it does not conduct ongoing monitoring or surveillance of students’ social media.</p><p> </p><p>The SLC provides a privacy notice to all students during their application for finance, which is also available on the SLC’s website. This notice sets out how students’ personal information is processed and used by the company, including that both the information provided by the student during their application and publicly available information, such as that on social media and other public platforms, may be used to detect, investigate and prevent crime including fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The SLC is also in the final stages of drafting a social media acceptable use policy, which covers all aspects of the company’s social media use. This policy is due to be published on the SLC’s website next month.</p><p> </p><p>The policy covers any publicly available social media platform. Currently, the SLC accesses publicly available content on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.</p><p> </p><p>The policy will be reviewed at least annually or more often if business requirements, legislation, or regulations change.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018-19, the SLC investigated 3,829 cases in relation to potential application fraud (out of a total of 2.8 million applicants and students). A further 5,289 cases were investigated in relation to repayment evasion (out of a total 5.7 million repayers). As part of the process for both preventing application fraud and eliminating repayment evasion, investigators may review publicly available information, such as that on social media and other public platforms. This does not occur in every investigation.</p><p> </p><p>To date in financial year (FY) 2019-20, and in FY 2018-19, no individuals received compensation or redress from the SLC as a result of wrongful decisions by the SLC's Counter Fraud Team. In FY 2017-18, one individual received an ex-gratia payment of £100.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie grouped question UIN HL15499 HL15500 question first answered 13/05/2019 16:50:45 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	3842 label Biography information for Baroness Garden of Frognal

1124631

registered interest
date	02/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals' social media accounts the Student Loans Company has surveilled as part of its approach to combatting fraud.
tabling member printed	Baroness Garden of Frognal
uin	HL15499
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Student Loans Company (SLC) carries out investigations where fraud is suspected, as well as sample checks to identify possible fraud. The SLC accesses a wide range of publicly available information for the purposes of verifying a customer’s eligibility and detecting and preventing fraud, and this may include publicly available social media content. The SLC only accesses information that is in the public domain; it does not use information sourced from social media in isolation to make a determination on a case; and it does not conduct ongoing monitoring or surveillance of students’ social media.</p><p> </p><p>The SLC provides a privacy notice to all students during their application for finance, which is also available on the SLC’s website. This notice sets out how students’ personal information is processed and used by the company, including that both the information provided by the student during their application and publicly available information, such as that on social media and other public platforms, may be used to detect, investigate and prevent crime including fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The SLC is also in the final stages of drafting a social media acceptable use policy, which covers all aspects of the company’s social media use. This policy is due to be published on the SLC’s website next month.</p><p> </p><p>The policy covers any publicly available social media platform. Currently, the SLC accesses publicly available content on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.</p><p> </p><p>The policy will be reviewed at least annually or more often if business requirements, legislation, or regulations change.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018-19, the SLC investigated 3,829 cases in relation to potential application fraud (out of a total of 2.8 million applicants and students). A further 5,289 cases were investigated in relation to repayment evasion (out of a total 5.7 million repayers). As part of the process for both preventing application fraud and eliminating repayment evasion, investigators may review publicly available information, such as that on social media and other public platforms. This does not occur in every investigation.</p><p> </p><p>To date in financial year (FY) 2019-20, and in FY 2018-19, no individuals received compensation or redress from the SLC as a result of wrongful decisions by the SLC's Counter Fraud Team. In FY 2017-18, one individual received an ex-gratia payment of £100.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie grouped question UIN HL15498 HL15500 question first answered 13/05/2019 16:50:45 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	3842 label Biography information for Baroness Garden of Frognal

1124632

registered interest
date	02/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals have received compensation or redress from the Student Loans Company as a result of wrongful decisions under its approach to combatting fraud.
tabling member printed	Baroness Garden of Frognal
uin	HL15500
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Student Loans Company (SLC) carries out investigations where fraud is suspected, as well as sample checks to identify possible fraud. The SLC accesses a wide range of publicly available information for the purposes of verifying a customer’s eligibility and detecting and preventing fraud, and this may include publicly available social media content. The SLC only accesses information that is in the public domain; it does not use information sourced from social media in isolation to make a determination on a case; and it does not conduct ongoing monitoring or surveillance of students’ social media.</p><p> </p><p>The SLC provides a privacy notice to all students during their application for finance, which is also available on the SLC’s website. This notice sets out how students’ personal information is processed and used by the company, including that both the information provided by the student during their application and publicly available information, such as that on social media and other public platforms, may be used to detect, investigate and prevent crime including fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The SLC is also in the final stages of drafting a social media acceptable use policy, which covers all aspects of the company’s social media use. This policy is due to be published on the SLC’s website next month.</p><p> </p><p>The policy covers any publicly available social media platform. Currently, the SLC accesses publicly available content on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.</p><p> </p><p>The policy will be reviewed at least annually or more often if business requirements, legislation, or regulations change.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018-19, the SLC investigated 3,829 cases in relation to potential application fraud (out of a total of 2.8 million applicants and students). A further 5,289 cases were investigated in relation to repayment evasion (out of a total 5.7 million repayers). As part of the process for both preventing application fraud and eliminating repayment evasion, investigators may review publicly available information, such as that on social media and other public platforms. This does not occur in every investigation.</p><p> </p><p>To date in financial year (FY) 2019-20, and in FY 2018-19, no individuals received compensation or redress from the SLC as a result of wrongful decisions by the SLC's Counter Fraud Team. In FY 2017-18, one individual received an ex-gratia payment of £100.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie grouped question UIN HL15498 HL15499 question first answered 13/05/2019 16:50:45 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	3842 label Biography information for Baroness Garden of Frognal

1124044

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Overseas Trade: USA
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK trades with the United States of America solely on World Trade Organization terms; and if not, how many bilateral trade agreements are in place between the UK and the USA.
tabling member printed	Lord Bowness
uin	HL15426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2019 answer text <p>The UK is currently party to a number of trade related agreements that the EU has agreed with the United States. These cover issues such as mutual recognition for technical regulations in certain sectors. The UK has now completed work to transition these agreements, where relevant, to bilateral UK-US agreements – ready to come into effect once the UK leaves the EU.</p><p> </p><p>On 14 February, the UK and US signed the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Conformity Assessment. Other agreements, including on wine, spirits and marine equipment have been signed between the UK and US to ensure continuity as the UK leaves the EU.</p><p> </p><p>These agreements do not cover the bulk of UK trade with the US (our single largest bilateral trading partner). This is why we intend to prioritise a UK/US free trade agreement once we have left the EU.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 10/05/2019 12:36:41 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	3496 label Biography information for Lord Bowness

1123775

registered interest
date	29/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Disclosure of Information
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 use of non-disclosure agreements by universities.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL15413
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>Many organisations, including universities, use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and confidentiality agreements legitimately. Universities are autonomous institutions and the Department for Education has not made any specific analysis of their use of NDAs.</p><p>We expect universities to only use NDAs where necessary and appropriate. Any misuse of these agreements to intimidate and silence people is completely unacceptable.</p><p>In a speech on 7 May at the London School of Economics, my hon. Friend, the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, said that non-disclosure clauses should only be used in appropriate circumstances, like protecting valuable research findings should a staff member change jobs. He added that they should not be used to cover up inappropriate behaviour or conduct.</p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy recently consulted on the best way to tighten the laws around NDAs for workers, ensuring workers are clear on their rights and making it clear in law that people cannot be prevented from speaking to the police or reporting a crime regardless of any NDA. Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 13/05/2019 16:50:10 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1123784

registered interest
date	29/04/2019
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Imports: Israeli Settlements
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Fairhead on 16 April (HL15128), who decides which postcodes should be included in the list to be hosted on gov.uk; and whether those postcodes are checked for accuracy to ensure that products are labelled correctly.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL15422
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2019 answer text <p>In line with the Government’s approach of ensuring continuity as we leave the EU, the list of postcodes hosted on gov.uk will replicate – at the point at which the EU-Israel agreements cease to apply to the UK and, thus, the UK-Israel agreement is brought into force – the EU’s list of postcodes. This list is currently available on the EU Commission’s website: <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/technical_arrangement_postal_codes_2018_en.pdf" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/technical_arrangement_postal_codes_2018_en.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>As referenced in my Written Answer on 16 April (HL15128), tariff preferences and labelling requirements will be implemented by UK customs authorities.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 10/05/2019 12:36:14 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name technical_arrangement_postal_codes_2018_en.pdf title Technical Arrangement Postal Codes
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

1123295

registered interest
date	25/04/2019
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	Sports: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to women’s and girl’s (1) football, and (2) cricket.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL15351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>We are determined to get more girls and women playing sport, something we set out in our sport strategy, Sporting Future. There are excellent initiatives that already exist to encourage women to take up sport and physical activity. For example Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has been developed to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability.</p><p> </p><p>Sport England are investing in a series of programmes and initiatives to increase participation amongst women and girls in football and cricket. This includes £10m between 2017/21 in the Football Association to help support their aspiration to double the number of women and girls’ affiliated teams to 12,000 by 2020. Sport England are also investing £9m in the England and Wales Cricket Board over between 2017 and 2021, much of which will be used to promote greater participation of women and girls in cricket. This includes a suite of flexible cricket formats to strengthen the pathway from beginner through to performance level, linked to the This Girl Can campaign.</p><p> </p><p>The broadcasting of sporting events such as this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup will continue to showcase women’s sport and inspire the next generation.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 09/05/2019 11:30:59 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

1123296

registered interest
date	25/04/2019
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	Public Libraries
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to sustaining libraries in England.
tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
uin	HL15352
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. It is for individual local authorities to decide how best to provide a public library service that meets local needs within their available resources. DCMS works across central and local government to encourage investment in libraries to ensure they can continue to support the delivery of local and national priorities and needs.</p><p> </p><p>The DCMS funded Libraries Taskforce was established, by DCMS and the Local Government Association, to devise and implement the “Libraries Deliver” strategy which helps support and reinvigorate the public library service in England. It works with sector partners to advocate for libraries and to share and promote good practice to help libraries better serve their communities.</p><p> </p><p>Arts Council England, the development agency for libraries, funded by DCMS, is providing total financial support of £1.6 million per annum to seven libraries’ organisations through its National Portfolio 2018 to 2022. DCMS has also provided direct funding support to library services in England, including a £2.6 million programme to support the installation or upgrade of wifi in public libraries in England, as well as £3.9m for the Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone fund, to support innovative library service activity to benefit disadvantaged people and places in England.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 09/05/2019 11:41:10 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

1123313

registered interest
date	25/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Plagiarism
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many essay mill and contract cheating companies have been (1) prosecuted, and (2) closed.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL15369
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>The use of companies that sell bespoke essays to students who pass the work off as their own undermines the reputation of the education system in this country, and devalues the hard work of those succeeding on their own merit.</p><p> </p><p>While it is not currently a criminal offence to operate an essay mill, we are keeping the need for legislation under review. We are mindful however, that countries who have introduced legislation to make the operation of essay mills illegal, appear to have had limited success in pursuing successful prosecutions using that legislation.</p><p> </p><p>In 2016, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) found there were approximately 17,000 instances of academic offences per year in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Our current focus is on non-legislative measures and we expect educational institutions to do everything in their power to prevent students being tempted by these companies. In a university context, that may be through making sure their students are aware of the severe consequences they face under the terms of their student contract if they are caught cheating. The most recent guidance from the QAA highlights the importance of severe sanctions of suspension or expulsion if ‘extremely serious academic misconduct’ has been discovered.</p><p> </p><p>On 20 March 2019, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education challenged PayPal to stop processing payments for essay mills. PayPal is now working with businesses associated with essay writing services to ensure its platform is not used to facilitate deceptive and fraudulent practices in education. Google and YouTube have also responded by removing hundreds of advertisements for essay writing services and promotional content from their sites.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the department published an education technology strategy on 3 April, attached, which challenges technology companies to identify how anti-cheating software can tackle the growth of essay mills and stay one step ahead of the cheats.</p><p> </p><p>We are determined to beat the cheats who threaten the integrity of our higher education system.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 07/05/2019 16:52:05 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name HL15369_Education_Technology_Strategy.pdf title HL15369_PDF
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1122885

registered interest
date	24/04/2019
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	Gambling: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that female gambling addicts now outnumber male gambling addicts in Sweden; and what plans they have to re-evaluate and expand the policy evidence base in the UK in respect of the gender makeup of gambling addicts.
tabling member printed	Lord Chadlington
uin	HL15276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>The main source of data for problem and at-risk gambling behaviour in Great Britain is the Health Surveys for England and Scotland, and the Problem Gambling Survey Wales. 2016 data showed that men were more likely than women to be classified as a problem gambler (1.2% and 0.2% respectively). The surveys also indicated that certain other groups are at greater risk of experiencing problems from gambling, including those with poor mental health or who are unemployed. However, further work is needed to understand the nature of these associations.</p><p> </p><p>Government recognises the importance of building understanding of how gambling related harm is experienced and by whom. Public Health England (PHE) is carrying out an evidence review looking at the health harms associated with gambling and the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (now called the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling, ABSG) published a paper setting out a potential framework for measuring harm. Protecting vulnerable people from gambling-related harm is a priority for the Government and where there is evidence that a particular product or environment is causing harm, we will take action.</p><p> </p><p>In March 2019, government awarded just over £1 million to GamCare for a project to raise awareness of how gambling is linked with a range of issues affecting women and girls and help to better identify women in need of support. One of the core work strands of the programme is to build data in this area.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 09/05/2019 11:29:32 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	3318 label Biography information for Lord Chadlington