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1171521

registered interest
date	16/01/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Proceedings
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the report of the panel assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>On 21 May 2019 we announced a public call for evidence led by a panel of experts to gather evidence on how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences.</p><p> </p><p>The panel completed the call for evidence in September 2019, and published a Progress Update in October outlining the work completed and next steps.</p><p> </p><p>The panel has been meeting regularly to discuss the wealth of evidence collected from 1,200 individuals and organisations, and are in the process of finalising their report. It is right that they take the time to analyse this data and to consider their recommendations for how the family courts can be reformed to improve the experiences of victims of harm. A full report outlining their findings and recommended next steps will be published by Spring 2020.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 30/01/2020 16:41:02 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1169246

registered interest
date	07/01/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	London North Eastern Railway: Fares
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they were consulted by London North Eastern Railway in relation to changes in the system of off-peak return tickets which have increased fares on the East Coast line.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL102
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>As announced in August 2019, DfT is supporting LNER’s trials from January 2020 of a new fare system designed to make travelling on trains simpler and clearer. All return tickets will be removed on trial routes from London to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh, and in their place passengers will be able to purchase anytime, advance and cheaper super off-peak single fares. People making return journeys can now better mix and match tickets to suit their needs.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 21/01/2020 17:04:46 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1168552

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Pregnancy
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken following the disclosure of incidents involving pregnant women prisoners and their children at HMP Bronzefield.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL10
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The recent incident at HMP Bronzefield is tragic. As there are a number of ongoing investigations, including an investigation by the police, it is not appropriate to comment further on the specific details of the incident.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently undertaking a fundamental review of the Mother and Baby Unit policy and the policy on managing pregnant women in custody. This will conclude in 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, all pregnant women are seen by a professional midwife at least fortnightly, or more frequently if required. Healthcare in prisons is provided by specially trained medics and nurses. Medical emergencies are dealt with by 999 calls and prisoners have access to an emergency bell to alert staff at night. Women in prison have access to the same range of services as they would in the community.</p><p> </p><p>Following the events at HMP Bronzefield, we have introduced hourly checks throughout the night for all heavily pregnant women, and fortnightly pregnancy review boards are being held for them, involving a multidisciplinary team, in addition to existing support provisions.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 07/01/2020 17:36:31 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1167533

registered interest
date	30/10/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Social Rented Housing: Construction
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 impact of (1) the absence of social housing grants, and (2) the rise in interest rates on HM Treasury loans to local authorities, on the provision of new housing by local authorities.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>We have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including social rent, which Local Authorities are eligible to apply for</p><p><br> The Government keeps all policy under review and alongside the increase of the Public Works Loan Board rates the Government has legislated to increase the lending limit from £85 billion to £95 billion, reflecting its commitment that local authorities continue to have access to the financing they need to support their capital plans. We have been engaging the local government sector, to understand the potential impact the interest rate rise could have on individual local authorities’ capital plans and strategies, especially with regard to housing and regeneration. As ever, we expect local authorities to have robust financial plans in place which take into account the risk of changing economic circumstances as part of taking a prudent approach to borrowing.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 05/11/2019 15:08:57 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1145211

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Rents
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 rents levied by developers of student accommodation.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Higher education providers are autonomous bodies, independent from the government. The department plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <ins class="ministerial">The department assesses student accommodation rent levels through the Student Income and Expenditure Surveys that have been undertaken at regular intervals since the mid-1980s. Information on student rents is also reported in the Accommodation Costs Surveys published jointly by the National Union of Students and the student housing charity, Unipol.</ins></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <ins class="ministerial">The report published by the independent panel supporting the Post-18 Review of Education and Funding recommends that the Office for Students:</ins></ins></p><blockquote><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"> <ins class="ministerial">examines the costs of student accommodation; and</ins></ins></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial">works with students and providers to improve data about costs, rents, profits and quality.</ins></ins></ins></ins></p></blockquote><p><ins class="ministerial">The department has not yet taken decisions on these recommendations but will consider the panel’s proposals in due course.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 09/09/2019 16:46:52 question first ministerially corrected 03/10/2019 16:40:06 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge previous answer version 134418 answering member printed Baroness Berridge answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1144085

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration: Fees and Charges
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the costs of an application (1) for limited leave to remain, and (2) to extend limited leave to remain, are calculated; by how much the costs of such applications have increased in percentage terms since 2015; and why those costs have increased.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17573
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The unit costs of immigration and nationality fees are the calculated estimate of the full financial cost for providing each route/service, including direct costs and relevant local and central overheads (e.g. accommodation, HR, Finance and IT), plus depreciation, cost of capital employed, and other wider system costs that are incurred in connection with immigration and nationality activity.</p><p>The approach the Home Office uses to calculate the published unit costs for all UK visa, immigration and citizenship services takes into account the entire forecast cost of the relevant chargeable functions, including all related indirect costs. Weightings are then used, based on operational business planning data, to apportion the total cost across the range of services and products.</p><p>Unit costs may be influenced by changes in the way that applications in certain routes are processed from year to year, for example where additional checks are introduced or required, or by changes elsewhere within the overall system which impact on the weighting calculations and therefore the amount apportioned to any individual service.</p><p>With regard to percentage increases, the Home Office publishes a complete list of fees and unit costs for all application types. This can be viewed via the following link:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data</p><p>Additionally, the link below sets out all the fees that have been in operation since 2015.</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table<br> <br>When setting fees, the Home Office takes into account the cost of processing the application, the wider cost of running Border, Immigration and Citizenship (BIC) system and the benefits the Home Office believes are likely to accrue from a successful application.</p><p>Application fees have increased in recent years as the Home Office aims to reduce the overall level of funding that comes from general taxation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/10/2019 11:12:28 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1144086

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any estimated overspend of council funding special needs education; and what steps they are taking to provide financial support to protect the service.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have asked local authorities with a cumulative deficit on their Dedicated Schools Grant of more than 1% to submit recovery plans to the department. We are now reviewing those plans and will be discussing these with local authorities in due course.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">For 2020-21, we have announced more than £700 million of additional high needs funding, which funds children with more complex special educational needs. This represents an increase of 11% compared to 2019-20, leading to a total of over £7 billion. Every local authority will receive a minimum increase of 8% per head of population aged 2-18. We will provide local authorities with provisional allocations in October. This will help local authorities to manage the pressures that they will face next year.</ins></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 09/09/2019 16:52:51 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 15:47:18 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton previous answer version 134559 answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1144087

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Summary Offences
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of defendants sent summary offence notices under the single justice procedure fail to enter a plea; what is their assessment of the reasons for the level of such failures; and what steps they are taking to address that issue.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Current response rates vary dependant on the individual prosecutors, with an average of 72% of defendants failing to enter a plea. Whilst an individual is at liberty to not enter a plea without reason, Her Majesty’s Courts &amp; Tribunals Service is actively working with prosecution authorities and our partners in the Criminal Justice System to understand the reasons why defendents do not respond and to improve engagement rates.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 09/09/2019 16:28:07 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1144088

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Eastwood Park Prison
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take following the report of the Chief Inspector of Prison Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Eastwood Park; and what assessment they have made of the reasons for the failure to prevent the conditions disclosed in the report arising.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17576
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ recent report on HMP/YOI Eastwood Park was published on 28th August 2019. HMPPS take all recommendations made by the HM Chief Inspector seriously. A<br>detailed action plan has been produced to address the recommendations in the report. The action plan has been published on the prison finder website and has been provided for my noble Lord</p><p>We are aware of the deterioration of unit 2 due to leaking showers as highlighted in the report. Bids for funding have been submitted to the Ministry of Justice’s Projects Team to address the issues. In<br>the meantime, the Prison Governor continues to meet monthly with Gov Facility Services Limited and the Service Delivery Manager to assess conditions across the prison and ensure those areas<br>needing remedial works are addressed promptly.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 09/09/2019 16:22:16 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1136745

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Homelessness
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 adequate and sustainable funding to prevent homelessness in the long term.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL16895
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.</p><p>The Chancellor has said that there will be a Spending Review this year, and the Government will be looking at long term funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services as part of that. We have made very clear that homelessness and rough sleeping is a key priority for the Government. We are working with other Government departments to assess what more can be done to combat rough sleeping and wider homelessness. This work is being overseen by the Ministerial Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce which includes HM Treasury and will play an important part of our preparations for the forthcoming Spending Review.</p> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 10/07/2019 13:30:45 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham