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1693083

registered interest
date	01/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Eligibility
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have provided, if any, to local authorities about using data proactively to identify and register all eligible children for free school meal entitlement.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2939
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2024 answer text <p>Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.</p><p>To support this, an ‘Eligibility Checking System’ has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.</p><p>The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints. The department has not provided formal guidance to support these activities but continues to engage with key stakeholder on this issue.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2940 question first answered 15/03/2024 13:09:27 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1693084

registered interest
date	01/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Eligibility
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of local authorities using data proactively to identify and register children eligible for free school meals.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2940
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2024 answer text <p>Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.</p><p>To support this, an ‘Eligibility Checking System’ has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.</p><p>The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints. The department has not provided formal guidance to support these activities but continues to engage with key stakeholder on this issue.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2939 question first answered 15/03/2024 13:09:27 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1688720

registered interest
date	08/02/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Slavery: Victims
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 10 May 2023 (HL Deb col 1923) that they are "committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and supporting victims", what steps they are taking to protect the rights of genuine victims of slavery.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2326
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that genuine victims of modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT) are identified promptly and provided with the support necessary to assist them in rebuilding their lives.</p><p>The rights of victims of MSHT in the UK are governed by both our domestic and international obligations, such as those protected under the Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT), Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA), Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) and Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NABA). Section 45 of the MSA 2015 introduced a statutory defence for victims of modern slavery to protect them from prosecution for crimes they have been compelled or forced to commit as a result of their exploitation.</p><p>The Home Office funds the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC), valued at £379m over its lifespan, to provide temporary needs-based support to enable adult victims to escape modern slavery, connect with long-term support, and reintegrate into the community.</p><p>In addition to the statutory support provided to children by the local authorities, the Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship service, which provides advice and support for potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality, covers two-thirds of the local authorities across England and Wales.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 22/02/2024 17:30:53 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

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

1688311

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 what happens to any money credited to NHS Healthy Start cards that is not used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2281
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 HL2280 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

1688030

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Slavery
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to tackle modern slavery.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery to ensure that victims are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and that those responsible are prosecuted.</p><p>The Home Office continues to fund specialist support for adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales through the £379 million Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract and for children, who receive support through local authority safeguarding structures, we are also continuing to work with Barnardo’s to provide additional and tailored support through the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian service.</p><p>Since 2016, in addition to core police funding, we have invested £17.8 million in the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit, a specialist police unit which supports all police forces in England and Wales to improve their response to modern slavery.</p><p>In addition, between 2016 and March 2023, the Home Office spent over £40.4 million through the Modern Slavery Fund to combat modern slavery overseas and reduce the threat of human trafficking to the UK. We continue to work across operational partners and the sector to deliver on modern slavery.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 20/02/2024 12:56:57 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1683543

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Accountancy: Software
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that accounting software used in the UK is free of flaws and defects, such as those experienced with the Horizon system.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL1729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2024 answer text <p>Like business software in general, accounting software is not directly regulated in the UK. The directors of a UK company must prepare accounts that give a true and fair view of its assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss. This builds on requirements that the company keeps adequate records for preparation of accounts. It is for the company to ensure software supporting these requirements does not cause them to fail to be met. Where accounting software is not fit for purpose, a company may have contractual remedies for breach of quality by the supplier, depending on the contract terms.</p> answering member printed Lord Johnson of Lainston question first answered 01/02/2024 17:21:32 answering member 4949 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Lainston
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1683544

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Horizon IT System: Compensation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to recover all compensation cost payments made to sub-postmasters and mistresses from Fujitsu, and when they expect Fujitsu’s contribution to those costs to be paid.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL1730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2024 answer text <p>The extent of Fujitsu's culpability for the scandal will not be clear until the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry reports. However Ministers have made clear that the taxpayer should not have to meet all the costs of the scandal. In the light of such comments Fujitsu have recently apologised publicly for their role in the scandal and have accepted that they have a moral obligation to contribute to its costs. The Government welcomes these statements and will continue to discuss matters with Fujitsu.</p> answering member printed Lord Offord of Garvel question first answered 05/02/2024 12:02:08 answering member 4931 label Biography information for Lord Offord of Garvel
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1683545

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Post Office: Redundancy
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many Post Office employees lost their jobs as the result of evidence relating to the Horizon software presented by Fujitsu.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL1731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government does not hold the data requested. Our focus is on ensuring that all those who lost their Post Office roles or experienced other losses as a result of the Horizon scandal receive the compensation they deserve.</p> answering member printed Lord Offord of Garvel question first answered 06/02/2024 16:52:23 answering member 4931 label Biography information for Lord Offord of Garvel
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1674991

registered interest
date	04/12/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Pre-school Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional expenditure that would be incurred if free school meals were to be provided to all registered pupils at maintained nursery schools in England as well as to children in receipt of relevant funded early years education.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL811
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2023 answer text <p>Over 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM). This includes pupils attending a local authority maintained, academy or free school nursery, as long as they are either in full-time education or receive education both before and after lunch and meet the benefits-related FSM eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, close to 1.3 million infants receive free and nutritious meals under the universal infant FSM policy (UIFSM).</p><p> </p><p>The department does not currently have plans to change the existing eligibility conditions for FSM or UIFSM. As such, the department has not made an estimate of the associated costs of providing FSM to all registered pupils at maintained nursery schools in England as well as to children in receipt of relevant funded early years education. The department continues to keep eligibility of FSM under review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 18/12/2023 14:30:37 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead