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1012125

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Families
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 Buscombe on 20 November (HL11324), in which period the UK spent 3.8 per cent of GDP on expenditure classified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as “family benefits”; and whether "family benefits" include (1) tax breaks, and (2) cash benefits and services.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL11652
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data is for 2013. The “family benefits” category includes both cash benefits and services. It does not include tax breaks.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 05/12/2018 13:42:41 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1012129

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Poverty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take further action to address relative poverty in the UK in response to the Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, published on 16 November.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL11656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government will carefully consider the findings set out in the Special Rapporteur’s interim report published on 16 November. Professor Alston’s final report will be presented to the June 2019 session of the of the Human Rights’ Council. Any formal comments made by the Government in response will be published alongside the final report on the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ website.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Under this Government, income inequality has fallen and remains lower than in 2010; the number of children in workless households is at a record low; and there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared with 2010, including 300,000 children.</p><p> </p><p>The Autumn Budget announced a number of changes to Universal Credit ahead of further expansion including an increase of £1,000 in work allowances from April 2019 allowing 2.4 million households to keep an extra £630 of income each year.</p><p> </p><p>Work continues to offer people the best opportunity to move out of poverty. Children living in households where all adults are working are five times less likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs than those in workless families.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 05/12/2018 13:42:00 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1012145

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Poverty
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 Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, published on 16 November; whether they intend to make a formal response to the Statement; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL11672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government will carefully consider the findings set out in the Special Rapporteur’s interim report published on 16 November. Professor Alston’s final report will be presented to the June 2019 session of the of the Human Rights’ Council. Any formal comments made by the Government in response will be published alongside the final report on the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ website.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/12/2018 15:50:30 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1012147

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Mental Health Services: Employment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making the provision of mental health first aid mandatory in the workplace.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL11674
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 already allow for the consideration of mental health alongside physical health when undertaking a needs assessment. On the 21<sup>st</sup> November 2018 the Health and Safety Executive published guidance to clarify this point for employers.</p><p> </p><p>Key evidence reviews of the impact of mental health-type training in a workplace environment show that there are a number of knowledge gaps which mean it is not possible to say whether the training is effective in improving the management of mental health in workplaces, or whether it is the only effective mechanism for support. The research also identifies additional prevention and management actions that employers should put in place to create a comprehensive approach.</p><p> </p><p>In January 2017, the Prime Minister commissioned Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer, the Chief Executive of Mind, to conduct an independent review into how employers can better support all employees, including those with mental ill health or wellbeing, to remain in and thrive at work. “<em>Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers</em> was published in October 2017.”</p><p> </p><p>In November 2017, the joint DWP/DHSC Work and Health Unit (WHU) published “<em>Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability” </em>setting out plans for three key settings: welfare system, workplace and health system, and also set out the Government’s response to “<em>Thriving at Work”</em>. This response welcomed a key recommendation from the ‘Thriving at Work’ review for employers to adopt a set of core mental health standards that will provide a comprehensive approach to transforming mental health in the workplace. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces.</p><p>Therefore, the Government’s view is that the best way to secure employer action is to engage with employers on a voluntary basis to implement the comprehensive mental health core standards approach rather than legislate on a single issue.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 05/12/2018 14:38:13 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1012144

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Govia Thameslink Railway
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take to ensure that trains running between Horsham and Peterborough stop at their scheduled stops and avoid stations being missed without passengers being given prior notice.
tabling member printed	Lord Naseby
uin	HL11671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>Omitting scheduled station stops (‘station skipping’) is used for service recovery, the intention being to restore the service to timetable as quickly as possible following a problem. Services which miss stations en route are counted as cancellations against GTR’s performance benchmarks. The Department monitors GTR’s cancellation levels as part of the contractual performance regime. This incorporates incentives and penalties which are used to hold the operator to account.</p><p> </p><p>We expect the operator to make the correct operational decisions which balances the needs of passengers who are inconvenienced by taking stops out of service against the wider advantages to passengers to get services back on schedule as soon as possible. Operators are expected to communicate this to passengers in good time where possible, and to provide affected passengers with advice on the alternative options to complete their journey.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 05/12/2018 15:37:12 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	1251 label Biography information for Lord Naseby

1012111

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	UK Visas and Immigration: Fees and Charges
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Manzoor on 18 October (HL Deb, col 564), when they will publish the equality impact assessment for the introduction of charges by UK Visas and Immigration for those making inquiries from abroad.
tabling member printed	Lord Harris of Haringey
uin	HL11638
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The Home Office undertook a Policy Equality Assessment in May 2017 as part of the Home Office procurement for UKVI Contact Centre services and will publish the findings in December 2018.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/12/2018 17:13:13 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2671 label Biography information for Lord Harris of Haringey

1012123

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum
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 Williams of Trafford on 9 November (HL11255), whether they will report regularly to Parliament on (1) how "comprehensive support and accurate information" are being provided to vulnerable migrants now in continental Europe, (2) the progress of their vulnerable person re-settlement scheme, and (3) the application of the Dublin Regulation to the family reunification of unaccompanied children.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL11650
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>We have allocated a £3.6 million Dublin development fund, as part of the Sandhurst Treaty signed between the UK and France in January 2018, to identify projects to support eligible claims through the asylum process and ensure those who are ineligible for transfer to the UK are informed of their options. We are in the process of transferring these funds and will continue to work with the French Government to implement this work. We will update Parliament as and when we have relevant information to share.</p><p>As of June 2018, a total of 12,851 people had been resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) since it began across 288 local authorities. The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The statistics are available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release</a>. We are confident that the VPRS is on track to deliver the commitment. More refugees are arriving every month and the figure for resettlement continues to rise.</p><p>On 30 November 2017, the Government published data on the numbers of children transferred to the UK from the Calais camp clearance. The data can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfers-of-children-to-the-uk-from-the-calais-operation-november-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfers-of-children-to-the-uk-from-the-calais-operation-november-2017</a></p><p>On 22 February 2018, the Home Office published data on the number of transfers into the UK from other Dublin states. The relevant statistics can be found at as_22_q, asylum volume 5 at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017-data-tables" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017-data-tables</a>. 2018 Dublin data will be published in February</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Transfers to the UK from Calais - Oct 2016 - July 2017.xlsx title Transfers of Children to the UK from Calais Ops 2 file name Immigration Stats - Asylum Tables.xlsx title Immigration Stats - Asylum Oct-Dec 2017 question first answered 05/12/2018 17:21:57 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1012124

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the accountability of service providers under the new (1) Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation, and (2) Advice, Issues Resolution and Eligibility contracts for asylum accommodation.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL11651
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government expects the highest standards from our contractors and Providers are monitored closely to ensure they continue to meet these standards.</p><p>The forthcoming Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract(AASC) together with the Advice, Issue Reporting &amp; Eligibility(AIRE) contracts, include clearly defined performance standards measured through a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set within a wider Performance Management Regime (PMR) that will ensure the safety and wellbeing of all Service Users.</p><p>These will be monitored formally at Contract Management meetings between the providers and representatives of UK Visas and Immigration.</p><p>There is a rigorous contract compliance regime in place to ensure that the required performance standards expected of all providers, as defined in the contracts, are met. Instances of non-conformance of the performance indicators may lead to a financial deduction from monthly invoices</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/12/2018 17:12:57 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1012146

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Hate Crime
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 rise in hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in the last five years, and the implications for community cohesion of such a rise; and what steps they will take to counter this trend.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL11673
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>Police recorded hate crime has more than doubled over the period 2012/13 to 2017/18. This increase is thought to be driven largely by general improvements by the police in how they record crime, as well as better identification of hate crimes, willingness of victims to come forward, and a genuine increase in these offences around certain events. Better recording is an important part of how to tackle hate crime and support victims.</p><p>The independent Crime Survey of England and Wales meanwhile shows a welcomed downward trend in the actual incidence of hate crime. Latest data shows a 40% reduction between the combined 2007/08 to 2008/09 and combined 2015/16 to 2017/18 surveys.</p><p>However, this Government recognises that there is no room for complacency given the impact of hate crimes on victims, their families and wider communities. The Hate Crime Action Plan refresh published in October 2018 sets out a comprehensive plan for tackling the issue. This includes work under 5 key themes: preventing hate crime by challenging beliefs and attitudes; responding to hate crime within our communities; increasing the reporting of hate crime; improving support for victims of hate crime; and building our understanding of hate crime.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/12/2018 17:24:00 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1012153

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
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 recommendations in the report by Refugee Rights Europe, Finally Safe? Experiences of Women in Asylum Accommodation in Birmingham, published in November, and the proposals made by Asylum Matters and the Scottish Refugee Council about an increased role for local authorities in the procurement and monitoring of asylum accommodation.
tabling member printed	Lord Ramsbotham
uin	HL11680
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government demands the highest standards from contractors and their accommodation and monitor them closely to ensure this is maintained. All Providers are contractually required to take account of any particular circumstances and vulnerability of those that they accommodate, including those who have health care issues or are pregnant. This includes making specific allowances for accommodation type in accordance with local authority regulations, as well as ensuring that registration and transportation to medical appointments takes place.</p><p>Identifying the needs of service users as well as safeguarding those being supported by UKVI are common themes throughout the new contracts. Additional measures have been put in place to monitor the service that is being delivered, introducing mechanisms and opportunities to respond to changes in service user circumstances whilst they are supported and accommodated. We encourage all reports to share details of individual cases with the Home Office to ensure that we are able to respond swiftly and efficiently to any points raised.</p><p>We take the wellbeing of asylum seekers and the local communities in which they live extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with local authorities across the United Kingdom to deliver on our statutory obligation to house destitute asylum seekers whilst their asylum claims are determined. All accommodation providers are contractually obliged to consult the relevant Local Authority on any new properties procured for use in the asylum dispersal system. This obligation will continue into the new accommodation contracts.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/12/2018 17:02:12 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	3744 label Biography information for Lord Ramsbotham