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1022838

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Christmas Bonus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total annual cost to taxpayers of paying the annual £10 Christmas bonus to pensioners.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12118
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>In 2017/18 a total of £126 million was paid to pensioners by the government and taxpayers for the pensioners Christmas bonus.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 20/12/2018 12:25:37 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1022840

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Christmas Bonus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the total cost of paying the Christmas bonus to all pensioners is spent on administration.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12119
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>Both Pensioners and working age people in receipt of certain benefits receive the Christmas Bonus. Christmas Bonus payments are usually automatically generated based on receipt of a qualifying benefit. The cost of doing this is not separately identifiable from the administrative costs of the qualifying benefits.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/12/2018 15:22:35 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1022841

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Age Addition
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total annual cost to taxpayers of paying the Age Addition to state pensions for pensioners over age 80.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12120
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>The estimated cost to the tax payer of government paying the age addition to the State Pension for people over 80 for the tax year 17/18 was £44.8 million.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/12/2018 16:48:06 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1022843

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Age Addition
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the total cost of paying the Age Addition to pensioners is spent on administration.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12121
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>Pensioners receive an additional 25p per week following their 80<sup>th</sup> birthday, this is known as Age Addition, and is payable with State Pension. The cost of doing this is not separately identifiable from the administration costs of State Pension</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/12/2018 16:47:40 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1022844

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Pensions: Consumer Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that pension data is accurate and reliable before it is loaded onto a Pensions Dashboard.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12122
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>The Pensions Dashboard feasibility study was published on the 3 of December and can be found attached. The consultation runs to January 2019 and all interested parties are invited to respond.</p><p> </p><p>All pension providers have a responsibility to maintain high quality member data. Any activity to maintain or improve data quality will need to be progressed by providers before their data can be used on dashboards. There is already a significant amount of on-going work among providers of different types of schemes, in many cases working with The Pensions Regulator, to improve data quality.</p><p> </p><p>The proposed industry delivery group will work with providers and schemes, including with the regulators where necessary, to set data standards and ensure that work takes place to meet these.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/12/2018 16:45:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name Pensions Dashboards_web_Accessible.pdf title Pensions Dashboard Feasibility study
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1022846

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to ask the Pensions Regulator to require regular reconciliation and reporting on accuracy of auto-enrolment pensions data.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL12123
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>Automatic enrolment has been a great success, with over 9.9 million employees enrolled and more than 1.3 million employers having met their duties to date. Government has put in place a robust, proportionate compliance framework. This is administered by The Pensions Regulator, and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law. An employer is required to select a qualifying pension scheme; enrol qualifying staff into that scheme, and deduct any contributions payable under automatic enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>Qualifying pension schemes for automatic enrolment are subject to the same regulatory framework as all trust-based workplace pension schemes, also overseen by The Pensions Regulator. The Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions; provide information to help members check their contributions; and report material payment failures to the Regulator.</p><p> </p><p>The regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported, the Regulator can then require restitution; and, where necessary, make use of its enforcement powers. The Government keeps all aspects of automatic enrolment under regular review but has no plans to make changes to the compliance framework at this time.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 18/12/2018 16:48:51 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1022847

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Burma: Human Rights
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 imprisonment of three Kachin activists in Burma for six months for peaceful protest and calling for humanitarian assistance for civilians trapped in the conflict in northern Burma.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12124
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Our Ambassador to Burma met Zau Jat, Nang Pu and Lum Zawng during his more recent visit to Kachin in early December 2018. They had organised public demonstrations in Myitkyina under the banner of the 'Kachin Youth Movement' and held a press conference calling for an end to the conflict and escape routes for civilians. Following their 7 December conviction on the charge of defamation of the Burmese military, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific and our Embassy in Burma issued statements expressing deep concern and disappointment, and urging the Burmese authorities to protect freedom of speech in line with international norms.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 20/12/2018 14:11:24 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1022849

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Cuba: Religious Freedom
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the sufficiency of protections for freedom of religion or belief in Cuba, and (2) the proposal to remove the right to freedom of conscience from Cuba's constitution; and whether they intend to raise such issues with the government of Cuba.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12125
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>​Protection for freedom of religion or belief and of conscience in Cuba is covered under Article 55 of the Cuban constitution. The current draft of the new constitution addresses freedom of religion in Articles 15 and 62 and freedom of conscience is now covered by Article 59. In spite of constitutional protections, we remain concerned about religious freedom given that religious expression is closely regulated and violations against freedom of religion or belief still occur in Cuba. We hope more will be done to ensure these rights are protected. The UK will continue to monitor human rights in Cuba and address concerns through bilateral engagement with Cuba and multilateral human rights fora.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 20/12/2018 14:12:07 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1022850

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
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	Mesothelioma: Compensation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) whether the number of civil compensation awards in mesothelioma cases have increased, and (2) whether such awards provide funds for diverse treatments that are not available on the NHS; and whether they intend to review the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme to ensure that it provides a similar level of awards and treatment options.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12126
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2018 answer text <p>Information is collected on the number of personal injury claims made in the courts overall but it is not broken down between individual types of injury or disease. Statistics recording the number of civil compensation claims made in mesothelioma cases or of the awards or settlements resulting from them are not available.</p><p>In line with commitments made during the passage of the Mesothelioma Bill, the Department for Work and Pensions, which has responsibility for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS), intends to review the DMPS payment tariffs in due course to ensure payments made under the Scheme are maintained at an appropriate level.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 19/12/2018 17:18:12 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1022852

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Refugees: Middle East
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Christian refugees are reluctant to enter refugee camps in the Middle East run by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); if so, why; what steps they have taken to persuade the UNHCR and its partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register in the UNHCR-run camps; when Home Office officials last had discussions with the UNHCR about its outreach to such groups; and what was the outcome of those discussions.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2018 answer text <p>We have regular engagement with UNHCR and its partners on a range of issues relating to the resettlement of refugees. The last meeting was on 3 December 2018. These meetings include discussions on strengthening their outreach to minority groups, such as Christians, that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination and unaware of the safe space and options available to them.</p><p>In all the countries from which we resettle under the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes, UNHCR continues to undertake activities which aim to encourage religious and other minorities to register. <br>These include mobile registration teams, outreach teams, and Help Desks for areas where different minority groups are concentrated to facilitate registration and access to services. These are all part of an effort to facilitate registration for those refugees who for whatever reason cannot or choose not to access the main registration offices.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 21/12/2018 13:37:36 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool