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969324

registered interest
date	06/09/2018
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	Bees
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the health of the bee population in the UK.
tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
uin	HL10154
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The National Bee Unit has an extensive programme of monitoring and advisory visits to beekeepers to check for the presence of notifiable pests and diseases of honey bees and provide advice on biosecurity within the hive. They carry out around 5,000 visits per year. Levels of endemic notifiable diseases (European and American foulbrood) remain at low levels. The Government has well-tested plans to tackle incursions of exotic pests, such as the Asian hornet, which have been successfully used to find and destroy nests. The number of beekeepers registered on the BeeBase system (the National Bee Unit’s biosecurity system which underpins the bee health actions of the Government’s inspectorate) has increased significantly over the last 10 years from 12 thousand to over 40 thousand today.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In terms of wild bees, the UK’s ‘Status of Pollinating Insects’ indicator summarises trends for almost 400 pollinating insect species and was last published on the 19th July 2018. It measures how widespread each species is in each year since 1980 and shows that the overall status of pollinating insects has declined, but has stabilised in recent years. The Government is keeping this under review as an encouraging but not yet definitive sign of progress and is determined to continue working to see positive results across the full range of activities under the National Pollinator Strategy to improve the health of our bees.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 11/09/2018 15:42:37 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

969325

registered interest
date	06/09/2018
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	Pollinators: Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether assessment they have made of the success of the National Pollinator Strategy.
tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
uin	HL10155
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>In 2017, the UK Government published the first progress report for the National Pollinator Strategy. It highlights positive progress with the Strategy’s 34 actions, undertaken in partnership with voluntary groups, farmers, growers and within the government estate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>For example, in 2015, we introduced a Pollinator and Wildlife Package to our Countryside Stewardship Scheme to provide a suite of habitats on farmland. Since 2011, through this package and other actions, we have established management on approximately 130,000 hectares of land to create new wildlife-rich habitat in the wider countryside.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have established a dedicated UK pollinator monitoring and research partnership, and developed an indicator of trends in the status of pollinating insects. The indicator was last published on 19 July 2018. It shows that the overall status of pollinating insects has declined since 1980, but has stabilised in recent years. We are keeping this under review as an encouraging but not yet definitive sign of progress.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We will review and refresh the Strategy’s aims by 2019 to strengthen our response based on an improved understanding of the baselines, the impact of pressures and the role of pollinators. We are determined to continue working to see positive results across the full range of the Strategy’s outcomes.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 11/09/2018 15:43:28 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

968783

registered interest
date	05/09/2018
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Families
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Department for Work and Pensions policies have been assessed against the Family Test; and whether they will publish any such assessments.
tabling member printed	Baroness Eaton
uin	HL10067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Minsters. There is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 11/09/2018 15:38:19 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4184 label Biography information for Baroness Eaton

968790

registered interest
date	05/09/2018
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	National Insurance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total number of active National Insurance numbers at the latest date for which records are available.
tabling member printed	Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts
uin	HL10074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2018 answer text <p>The requested information is not available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 10/09/2018 13:36:09 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	1651 label Biography information for Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

967547

registered interest
date	04/09/2018
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: Small Businesses
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises that have set up an auto-enrolment pension scheme have done so correctly, and (2) safeguard workers against pension contribution errors made by their employers.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL10030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>Automatic enrolment has been a great success, with over 9.8 million employees enrolled and more than 1.3 million employers having met their duties to date.</p><p>The Department and The Pensions Regulator remain committed to enabling small and micro employers to comply with automatic enrolment by making the experience as straightforward as possible for this group.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this work, the Regulator launched an interactive step-by-step guide. This simplified guide to meeting automatic enrolment duties is designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. The guide includes an online tool so that employers can easily find out what they will need to do to comply and when. Using the online tool also means employers will receive tailored communications relevant to their circumstances. The step-by-step guide to automatic enrolment can be found on their website.</p><p> </p><p>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>Employers are also required to pay those contributions across to their chosen pension provider by a set deadline. Although the deadlines for contribution payments vary, depending on the type of scheme being used, there is an overall legal deadline of the twenty-second day of the following month; which aligns with the HMRC deadline for paying tax and National Insurance.</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> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 11/09/2018 15:44:53 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

967558

registered interest
date	04/09/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they provided to the Global Fund partnership in (1) core, and (2) non-core funding in (a) 2015–16, (b) 2016–17, and (c) 2017–18.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL10039
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2018 answer text <p>The table (below) shows DFID’s financial contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the timeframe specified. All of DFID’s contributions are provided as core funding.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>£ millions</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>153</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>317</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 10/09/2018 16:23:18 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

967560

registered interest
date	04/09/2018
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	Leasehold
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reform the leasehold system to introduce the principle of fairness in the application of service charges and ground rent, and to tackle other related issues, in the light of the Law Commission's summary of proposed solutions for leaseholders of houses, published on 18 July.
tabling member printed	Lord Truscott
uin	HL10041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring there is transparency and fairness in the leasehold market. In particular we announced measures on 21 December 2017 to limit ground rents in newly created leases to a peppercorn and require new build houses to be sold on a freehold basis. We will be consulting shortly on how we intend to implement these commitments. The Government will also be setting up a working group to consider, amongst other things, service charges to make sure they are fair and transparent. In addition we have asked the Law Commission to consider a range of options for reforming the law on enfranchisement to make it easier, quicker and cheaper for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease. The Law Commission intends to consult on the details of its proposals over the autumn.</p> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 11/09/2018 15:07:03 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	3682 label Biography information for Lord Truscott

947528

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
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	Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the safety of British humanitarian workers travelling to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla; and what responses they have received to any such representations.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL9824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/08/2018 answer text <p>On 30 July, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv sought consular access from the Israeli authorities to a British national who was detained aboard the flotilla that was travelling to Gaza. This access was granted. Embassy officials also discussed the travelling flotilla with the Israeli authorities on 6 June. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Gaza (including the waters off Gaza).</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 07/08/2018 12:01:01 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed

947529

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
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	Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what support is available to any British citizen aboard the Freedom Flotilla.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL9825
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2018 answer text <p>​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises British nationals against all travel to Gaza and is unable to provide routine consular assistance. Any British nationals in Gaza who do require emergency assistance should contact the British Consulate General in Jerusalem.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 03/08/2018 12:02:43 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed

947531

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	High Speed 2 Line
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 likelihood that HS2 will go significantly over budget; and whether they will consider using the funds allocated to HS2 to improve existing infrastructure, including railway lines in the north of England, and commuter services.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL9826
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2018 answer text <p>HS2 Ltd remain committed to delivering a transformational project for the UK. Each Phase of the HS2 project is subject to ongoing oversight by the Department for Transport and to regular assessment by the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) to assess the likelihood of successful delivery. The IPA recently described the HS2 programme as ‘on target to be completed on time and on budget’.</p><p> </p><p>Phase 2a and 2b of HS2 are intended to improve connectivity between Birmingham and the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester and other destinations in the North of England and Scotland. The Department continues to work with Transport for the North to develop services between destinations in the North of England and with regions across the UK to improve commuter services.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 26/07/2018 13:07:18 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool