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1202058

registered interest
date	09/06/2020
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	UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks made to the International Relations and Defence Committee by General Sir Richard Barrons on 12 March that the UK's role with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission was "not in support of a strategy of any kind other than "We should do a bit more UN peacekeeping"."
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5447
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>We do not recognise General Sir Richard Barrons' characterisation of the UK's forthcoming deployment to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. The deployment, to one of the UN's largest and most complex Peacekeeping operations, supports UK priorities for peacekeeping reform. It also forms part of our strategic approach to the increasing instability in the Sahel region, which brings together our development, diplomacy and defence expertise to help tackle the underlying causes of poverty and conflict in the region. Fulfilling a capability gap communicated by the UN, UK troops will deliver a long-range reconnaissance capability that will provide greater awareness of possible threats. This will enable the mission to be more responsive and will contribute to the delivery of MINUSMA's mandate, including protection of civilians, as well as supporting the safety and security of UN peacekeepers. This deployment broadly maintains the UK's level of commitment to peacekeeping following the drawdown of the engineer task force from South Sudan earlier this year.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 17/06/2020 10:48:46 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1202059

registered interest
date	09/06/2020
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	Coronavirus: Niclosamide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the antihelmintic drug, Niclosamide, as a potential treatment for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19; and what assessment they have made of trials undertaken in South Korea on the use of Niclosamide to treat COVID-19.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5448
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not received any applications for the use of niclosamide as a treatment for COVID-19 and has not undertaken any assessment of the trials in South Korea.</p><p>Currently, there are no ongoing clinical trials in the United Kingdom involving niclosamide for the treatment of COVID-19. However, there are three worldwide trials regarding this treatment listed on the United States National Library of Medicine, in the United States, France and Egypt, though none of these are recruiting currently.</p><p>The MHRA is working closely with the Department and the office of the Chief Medical Officer to prioritise potential treatments for COVID-19. The MHRA will consider any application made by a sponsor or potential marketing authorisation holder to run a clinical trial.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 17/06/2020 15:23:28 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1200999

registered interest
date	08/06/2020
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	China and Hong Kong: Press Freedom
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government how they are using their Defend Media Freedom campaign to raise and address the curtailing of media freedom and attacks on journalists in China and Hong Kong; and what plans they have to introduce Magnitsky-like sanctions against those responsible for abuse of journalists in China and Hong Kong.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>Media freedom is vital to open societies and journalists must be able to investigate and report without undue interference. We must oppose attempts by any state to restrict press freedom, silence debate, abuse journalists, or spread misinformation. We are monitoring individual cases of concern around the world, and we are working with international partners on how best to support media freedom, including raising our concerns where appropriate.</p><p>The UK has publicly raised the issue of media freedom in China, including priority cases such as the sentencing of citizen journalist and rights activist Huang Qi in 2019. British diplomats have attempted to attend trials of civilian journalists and rights activists in China to show support.</p><p>In Hong Kong, media freedom is guaranteed under the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. In our six-monthly reports to Parliament on Hong Kong, we have regularly highlighted the importance of freedom of the press and set out our views on specific incidents of concern. We did so in the most recent report on 11 June. We will continue to raise the need to uphold Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, as the Foreign Secretary did with State Councillor and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 8 June.</p><p>We have announced our intention to establish a UK autonomous Global Human Rights ('Magnitsky-style') sanctions regime. The regulations will come into force in the coming months. It is not appropriate to confirm who might be designated under the sanctions regime before the designations are in place. To do this could reduce the impact of the designations.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 18/06/2020 12:46:22 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1201000

registered interest
date	08/06/2020
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	Social Services: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the analysis published by the Local Government Association on 4 June that adult social care providers may face £6.6 billion in extra costs by the end of September as a result of COVID-19; and how they expect those costs to be met.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5343
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>We recognise that COVID-19 is imposing significant pressures on the social care sector. We have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care.</p><p> </p><p>On 15 May we published details of an additional £600 million Infection Control Fund for Adult Social Care. This funding is to support adult social care providers in England reduce the rate of transmission in and between care homes and to support workforce resilience.</p><p> </p><p>This funding is part of the Government’s commitment to ensure the health and social care system have all the resources they need during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government will continue to monitor pressures in the National Health Service and local government and will keep future funding under review.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 18/06/2020 11:18:34 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1201001

registered interest
date	08/06/2020
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	Care Homes: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement by Age UK that (1) some residents of care homes are being asked to pay more than £100 a week in extra fees to cover the costs of COVID-19, and (2) the inability of residents to meet these costs could precipitate closures of care homes leaving residents homeless.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>When choosing to charge, a local authority must not charge more than the cost that it incurs in meeting the assessed needs of the person. A local authority must also regularly reassess a person’s ability to meet the cost of any charges to take account of any changes to their resources.</p><p>We know the social care sector is under pressure due to growing demand from both older people and those of working age. We are providing councils with a £1 billion grant for adults and children’s social care on top of maintaining £2.5 billion of existing social care grants for 2020/21. We have provided £3.2 billion to local authorities to help with COVID-19 pressures, and a £600 million Infection Control Fund for care homes, 75% of which must be distributed on a 'per bed' basis, including to social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 18/06/2020 11:18:05 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1201002

registered interest
date	08/06/2020
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	Care Homes: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps they took in response to the information published by Public Health England in February advising that (1) people should not be discharged from hospitals into care homes if there was risk of COVID-19 transmission, (2) it was not safe to discharge untested individuals to care homes from hospitals where there was between five and 25 cases, and (3) there should be no discharges to care or residential homes.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5345
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>The scenario set out in Public Health England’s (PHE) National Infection Service document, issued on 24 February, related to hospital-acquired COVID-19 outbreaks during the containment phase of COVID-19, prior to 12 March, when there was no sustained community transmission in the United Kingdom. There was no evidence of recorded cases of hospital-acquired COVID-19 outbreaks during the COVID-19 containment phase and before 19 March when the COVID-19 hospital discharge service requirements were published.</p><p>On 12 March the Government announced that we were moving our COVID-19 response from the ‘contain’ to ‘delay’ phase. On 13 March PHE published new guidance to care homes. We subsequently published the COVID-19 hospital discharge service requirements on 19 March.</p><p>Since the start of the outbreak we have been working closely with the sector and public health experts to ensure we have the right guidance and support in place for care homes.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 18/06/2020 11:21:39 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1201004

registered interest
date	08/06/2020
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	Care Homes: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter sent to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care by Cathy Gardner questioning the legality of discharging patients with COVID-19 into care homes, including the one in which her father died on 3 April, and calling for a retraction of the statement that a “protective ring had been thrown around care homes”; when they intend to respond; and what advice they have (1) sought, and (2) been given, by Government law officers in response to that correspondence.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government does not comment on litigation matters.</p><p>Every death from this virus is a tragedy. It is our priority to ensure that everyone is discharged safely from hospital and to the most appropriate available place. Patients are discharged when it is clinically safe and they no longer need acute care.</p><p>We have provided extensive support and guidance to care homes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also provided local authorities with £3.2 billion to help them deal with the impacts of COVID-19, as well as £1.3 billion via the National Health Service to enhance the NHS discharge process. On 13 May, we announced an additional new £600 million Infection Control Fund for care homes to tackle the spread of COVID-19.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 18/06/2020 11:18:54 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1200265

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
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	Hong Kong: Human Rights
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 June (HL Deb, cols 1291–5), what plans they have to give further consideration to the proposal of seven former Foreign Secretaries, calling for the establishment of an international contact group on Hong Kong and the proposal of Lord Patten of Barnes for the appointment of UN human rights coordinators to monitor human rights and breaches of the Joint Sino-British Declaration in Hong Kong.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2020 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary is engaging actively with a range of international partners to explain our position and impress on them the gravity of situation. We want to build up a groundswell of those who share our commitment to international law. We believe that is the most effective means of getting China to live up to its obligations and responsibilities as a leading member of the international community. We will also work within international institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that China upholds the commitments they made as co-signatory to the Joint Declaration. The UK and the US raised the issue at the UN Security Council on 28 May.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/06/2020 13:11:46 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1200314

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
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	Care Homes: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether patients were discharged to care homes by NHS hospitals in the 30 days before ministers introduced routine COVID-19 testing; if so, why; and what assessment was made of the preparedness of the social care sector for the arrival of such patients.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5152
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>It has always been our priority to ensure that everyone is discharged safely from hospital and to the most appropriate available place. On 19 March we published the <em>COVID-19 Hospital Discharge Service Requirements</em> to support the safe and rapid discharge of patients who no longer need acute care. This specified that, wherever possible, people who are clinically ready should be supported to return to their place of residence (this could be a care home), where assessment of longer-term needs will take place. This follows the ‘Discharge to Assess’ model. Where a patient had been tested for COVID-19, we specified that results – whether negative or positive – should be included in a patient’s discharge documents.</p><p> </p><p>To support the sector, this guidance also sets out the steps that care providers should be taking, and we provided £1.3 billion to support the process. We have provided advice to care homes throughout the pandemic in response to the latest conditions and emerging evidence and data.</p><p> </p><p>On 2 April we published our <em>Admission and Care of Residents during COVID-19 Incident in a Care Home</em> guidance. This set out further advice on infection control procedures for care homes e.g. limiting visits to essential visits only unless exceptional circumstances and providing advice on isolation, decontamination, cleaning and protective measures for staff. We recommended that all symptomatic residents in care homes should be immediately isolated for 14 days from the onset of symptoms, including patients discharged from hospital.</p><p> </p><p>On 15 April we published our Adult Social Care Plan which included a commitment to all patients being tested prior to discharge to a care home. A copy of <em>COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care </em>is attached.</p><p> </p><p>Copies of the <em>COVID-19 Hospital Discharge Service Requirements</em> and <em>Admission and Care of Residents during COVID-19 Incident in a Care Home</em> are attached.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell attachment 1 file name COVID-19_hospital_discharge_service_requirements.pdf title Hospital Discharge Service Requirements 2 file name admission-and-care-of-residents-during-covid-19-incident-in-a-care-home.pdf title Admission and Care of Residents during COVID-19 3 file name covid-19-adult-social-care-action-plan.pdf title Action Plan for Adult Social Care question first answered 18/06/2020 11:21:02 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1200316

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
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	Housing: Older People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Cass Business School, the Association of Retirement Community Operators, and the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation Too Little, Too Late? Housing for an ageing population, published on 3 June.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL5154
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to ensuring that more people than ever before can access a safe, secure, affordable place to call home. That is why, in the revised National Planning Policy Framework, we strengthened policy to create a clear expectation that all councils have policies in place for addressing the housing needs of older people. We also widened the definition of older people in the Framework to include those approaching retirement and have published further planning guidance to assist councils to get the right policies in place. Many older people are already benefiting from the more than 460,000 affordable homes we have delivered since 2010.</p><p>Building on the current £9bn Affordable Homes Programme, the Chancellor announced in the last budget that we are investing £12bn to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26. This will be the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade. Since 2012-13 we have also provided over £2.7bn, delivering around 280,000 adaptations by the end of 2018-2019 to ensure older and disabled people can live independently and safely in their own home.</p><p>The cross-government initiative 'Home of 2030' aims to inspire and reward the ambition of housing providers, designers, the supply chain and others through a design and delivery competition which addresses the major challenges of future housing needs: an ageing society and climate change. The competition's aim is to normalise new homes which are low-carbon, deliver low energy bills and are age-friendly, enabling all generations to live independently in housing which adapts to their needs as they age.</p><p>The Government is working hard to ensure our economy is protected in the long term and is committed to building more homes. We will continue our progress towards our target of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. This will see us build at least a million more homes, of all tenures, over the next Parliament – in the areas that really need them. This includes reform of the planning system, including ensuring that planning permissions are built out more quickly, and more than £44bn of financial support over five years to 2022/2023.</p><p>We are continuing to work with providers and others to ensure we can provide a range of housing options to meet the needs of everyone including older people and welcome this report as a contribution to the debate about how we can encourage the provision of a range of high-quality housing options for older people.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 16/06/2020 15:00:14 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool