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1036893

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Organised Crime: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce organised acquisitive crime in rural areas.
tabling member printed	Lord Birt
uin	HL12535
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government has ensured that, through the election of Police and Crime Commissioners, communities, including those in rural areas, have a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that most matter to them. In addition, Regional Organised Crime Units in England and Wales provide capability to investigate serious and organised crime across police force boundaries and play an important leadership role in facilitating information sharing across agencies and departments about serious and organised crime.</p><p>We are committed to providing all police forces in England and Wales with the resources they need to do their crucial work. In 2018/19, total police funding increased by over £460 million, including Council Tax precept and funding for national priorities. The proposed funding settlement for 2019/20 enables total policing funding to increase by up to £970 million, including Council Tax precept and funding for national priorities such as counter-terrorism. This is sufficient for the police to both manage financial pres-sures and invest in key capabilities such as recruiting more detectives</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 21/01/2019 17:15:39 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1036894

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Hen Harriers: Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to counter the unlawful killing of hen harriers.
tabling member printed	Lord Birt
uin	HL12536
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is very concerned about hen harrier populations, which is why we took the lead on the Hen Harrier Action Plan. This sets out what will be done to increase hen harrier populations in England and includes measures to stop illegal persecution. A copy of the plan is available on GOV.UK.</p><p> </p><p>All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with strong penalties for committing offences against birds of prey and other wildlife. The Government takes wildlife crime very seriously and has identified raptor persecution as a national wildlife crime priority, focusing on hen harrier, golden eagle, goshawk, peregrine, red kite and white tailed eagle.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 16/01/2019 12:42:13 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1036895

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Hares: Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban the shooting of hares in the breeding season.
tabling member printed	Lord Birt
uin	HL12537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Noble Lord to the written response I gave to question HL12295 on 28 December 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Please find the response below:</p><p> </p><p>Wildlife conservation is a devolved matter so this answer is for England only.</p><p> </p><p>The population of brown hares in England is believed to be stable. The majority of hare shooting occurs in regions where brown hares are locally abundant and leads to no long-term impact on hare populations. There is no evidence to suggest that a closed season would significantly benefit the conservation status of brown hares.</p><p> </p><p>An industry-led initiative resulted in the publication of a code of practice to protect hares in England. This provides for a voluntary close season covering the main breeding season, while allowing farmers to protect their crops from serious damage by hares.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 16/01/2019 12:40:33 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1036896

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) percentage, and (2) number of Universal Credit claims that have not been paid in full within five weeks.
tabling member printed	Lord McNicol of West Kilbride
uin	HL12538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>The information requested for the percentage of Universal Credit claims not paid in full on time is in the table below and was taken from statistics we published on payment timeliness in November 2018.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>-</p></td><td><p><strong>August 2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Proportion of paid Universal Credit claims that were not paid in full on time (all claims)</strong><strong>*</strong></p></td><td><p>6 per cent</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Proportion of paid Universal Credit claims that were not paid in full on time (new claims)</strong><strong>*</strong></p></td><td><p>16 per cent</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>*</strong> Universal Credit entitlement is calculated over monthly Assessment Periods. Claims which are paid on time will receive payment by the payment due date, which is 7 days after an Assessment Period ends.</p><p> </p><p>In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, satisfying the Habitual Residency Test, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We plan to publish updated official statistics on the number of Universal Credit claims that have been paid on time. This data is currently going through quality assurance clearance procedures in line with the Official Statistics publication standard.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 21/01/2019 16:49:00 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4702 label Biography information for Lord McNicol of West Kilbride

1036897

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many, and what percentage of, Universal Credit claimants are on alternative payments arrangements.
tabling member printed	Lord McNicol of West Kilbride
uin	HL12539
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>Alternative Payment Arrangements for Universal Credit are only available at Household level and can be found in the tables below.</p><p> </p><p>UC households claiming Housing Entitlement split by those receiving Managed Payment to Landlord by Month</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>August 2018 (p)</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Percentage of relevant claims</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of Households receiving Managed Payments to Landlords</p></td><td><p>106,538</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>18%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total UC households claiming Housing Entitlement</p></td><td><p>582,859</p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>UC households in payment split by those receiving More Frequent Payments by Month</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>August 2018 (p)</p></td><td><p>Percentage of relevant claims</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of Households receiving More Frequent Payments</p></td><td><p>8,235</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total UC Households in payment</p></td><td><p>850,172</p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>UC Couple Households split by those receiving Split Payments by Month</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>August 2018 (p)</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Percentage of relevant claims</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of Households receiving split payments</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>20</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>less than 1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total UC Couple Households</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>126,889</p></td><td colspan="2"><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Stat-Xplore, Department for Work and Pensions</p><p> </p><ol><li>Figures marked &quot;p&quot; are provisional. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases. It is expected that overall provisional figures will be within two per cent of their revised figure in future releases.</li><li>Percentages may not add up due to rounding.</li><li>Statistical disclosure control has been applied to this table to avoid the release of confidential data. As such totals may not sum.</li><li>The figures for More Frequent Payments and Managed Payments to Landlords exclude those under Scottish Choices.</li></ol> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 21/01/2019 17:07:25 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4702 label Biography information for Lord McNicol of West Kilbride

1036898

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how are the salaries of employees on Universal Credit who are paid twice within a month, in particular over the Christmas period, being treated for the purposes of benefits payments; and what steps are being taken to prevent such employees being disadvantaged.
tabling member printed	Lord McNicol of West Kilbride
uin	HL12540
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit payments reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income falls, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.</p><p> </p><p>Some claimants receive earnings from work multiple times within an assessment period if they are paid via four-weekly, fortnightly, or weekly patterns. This in turn may reduce, or in some cases, nil the Universal Credit award the claimant receives that month. Claimants can always discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant’s Universal Credit claim is closed due to this, claimants can re-claim the following month via a more simplified process than for an initial claim. We have produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles, which is attached with this reply.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have recently updated guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 21/01/2019 15:36:52 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name gov.uk UC earnings patterns.pdf title UC Earning Patterns
tabling member	4702 label Biography information for Lord McNicol of West Kilbride

1036899

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether advance payments for Universal Credit are working.
tabling member printed	Lord McNicol of West Kilbride
uin	HL12541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>Advances are available to all new claimants of Universal Credit. Our latest internal data shows around 60 percent of eligible new claims to Universal Credit received an advance in October 2018. Subject to some fluctuation, this rate of advance take up has been broadly consistent. This shows that claimants are being made aware of advances and that our advance system is being utilised so people get help when they need it.</p><p /><p /> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 21/01/2019 15:28:58 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4702 label Biography information for Lord McNicol of West Kilbride

1036900

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Israel: Churches
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the government of Israel about proposed changes to land ownership in relation to the sale of church properties in Israel.
tabling member printed	Lord McInnes of Kilwinning
uin	HL12542
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>​Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have previously raised the Bill with the Israeli authorities and encouraged a swift resolution that all parties are content with. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv is closely following developments on the Church Lands issue, and we understand that the Bill has been paused.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 21/01/2019 15:32:08 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	4576 label Biography information for Lord McInnes of Kilwinning

1036901

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Monarch Airlines: Insolvency
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 cost to public expenditure of repatriating to the UK customers of Monarch Airlines; and what contribution to this cost they are seeking to reclaim from the airline's owners, investors, and associates.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL12543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>In October 2017, the Government estimated that the total cost of Monarch’s repatriation operation would be £60m. The actual cost of repatriation is estimated to be about £50m and the Government does not expect this number to change significantly.</p><p> </p><p>As the administration of Monarch has yet to conclude, the Department continues to discuss contributions from the travel industry and the investors and estate of the company towards taxpayers costs.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 21/01/2019 17:50:24 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1036902

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Franchises
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 use of auctions to award rail franchises; and whether they intend to use the same process to award future franchises.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL12544
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The Williams Rail Review is looking at the current franchising system and considering how it can best support the public and private sector to work together, while delivering benefits for passengers, freight and taxpayers.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will publish a White Paper on the review’s recommendations, with the implementation of reforms planned to start from 2020. Whilst the Review is underway, we will continue to work closely with the industry to ensure that rail delivers the day-to-day performance and transformational improvements that passengers expect.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 17/01/2019 13:28:43 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners