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101740

registered interest
date	30/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to compile statistics on the extent of dowry violence in Britain.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2549
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p>Violence against women and girls, including dowry abuse, is never acceptable and culture is no barrier to arrest and prosecution. The Forced Marriage Unit already collects data on forced marriage, which may include an element of dowry abuse. In 2013, the Unit provided advice or support in 1300 cases. While this does not reflect the full scale of the abuse (as many more cases are not reported), it enables the Unit to support those confident enough to come forward.</p><p>The Home Office is also committed to improving data collection on domestic abuse. Following HMIC’s report, the Home Office has begun work to make collection of data against a national standard on domestic abuse mandatory for all forces from April 2015. This activity will provide the police with a better platform for sharing information on domestic abuse.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 05/11/2014 14:31:43 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101741

registered interest
date	30/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Marriage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider making the payment of dowries by brides' families unlawful.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government is clear that domestic violence and abuse does not just mean physical violence. It can also involve coercive and controlling behaviour, including dowry abuse and other forms of financial abuse. The cross-Government definition of domestic violence and abuse encompasses, but is not limited to, psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional abuse. This definition is used by Government departments to inform policy development, and other agencies, such as the police, to inform the identification of domestic violence cases.</p><p>We have recently consulted on strengthening the law around domestic violence and abuse and are considering our response. Our consideration will include whether there should be a specific offence of domestic abuse and if so, what patterns of behaviour should constitute such abuse.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2604 question first answered 18/11/2014 15:10:01 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101263

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Mediterranean Sea
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 Anelay of St Johns on 15 October (HL1977), what is the evidence for their view that United Kingdom support for search and rescue operations to prevent refugees and migrants drowning in the Mediterranean encourages "more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing".
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Search and rescue operations are the responsibility of individual national governments. Since Italy launched its Mare Nostrum operation in October 2013, there has been an unprecedented increase in illegal migration in the Mediterranean and a fourfold increase in deaths.</p><p>The operation has been drawn closer and closer to the Libyan shore, as traffickers have taken advantage of the situation by placing more migrants in unseaworthy boats on the basis that they will be rescued and taken to Italy.</p><p>But many are not rescued, which is why we believe that the operation is having the unintended consequence of placing more lives at risk, and why EU Member States have unanimously agreed that the operation should be promptly phased out. However, any decisions on search and rescue operations are ultimately for the Italian Government and it is of course vital that this phasing out is well-managed and well-publicised.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 11/11/2014 16:50:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101264

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Forced Marriage Protection Orders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued since the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2469
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Forced marriage is an appalling crime and should not be tolerated.</p><p> </p><p>Since the 2007 Act came into force on 25 November 2008 and up to the end of June 2014, 719 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made.</p><p> </p><p>We have also created a new criminal offence that will enable faster and more effective action to be taken against those who breach forced marriage protection orders by forcing someone to get married against their will. This offence is designed to prosecute individuals who force somene to get married against their will; the person who has been forced to get married will not be prosecuted.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 11/11/2014 16:49:11 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

100977

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	NHS: Drugs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards exist to ensure that the pricing of "specials" drugs prescribed within the National Health Service is consistent and non-discriminatory, including when prescribed by general practitioners.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>The Drug Tariff sets out what National Health Service dispensing contractors will be paid for the products supplied as part of providing pharmaceutical services and the fees for providing those services in primary care.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The current arrangements in the Drug Tariff for paying for specials were introduced in 2011. The Drug Tariff sets the price that the NHS pays to dispensing contractors for dispensing some of the most popular specials. Setting a reimbursement price encourages dispensing contractors to obtain best value for the NHS while also ensuring patients received the medicines they need, when they need them. The products listed and their reimbursement prices are agreed with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and reviewed regularly. However, due to the number of specials that can potentially be prescribed, it is not possible to list a reimbursement price for all available specials.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Where the reimbursement price of a product has not been set, dispensing contractors are paid according to how the product is sourced. Where a dispensing contractor buys the product from a specials manufacturer or an importer, they must claim the invoice price of the pack size used to dispense the product minus any discounts or rebates received.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>NHS England is responsible for commissioning pharmaceutical services in primary care and it is for NHS England to consider whether dispensing contractors have acted appropriately. In addition, the General Pharmaceutical Council is responsible for regulating the pharmacy professions should there be any concerns of professional misconduct.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Many hospital pharmacies manufacture their own specials on the premises. Any procurement of unlicensed medicines via framework agreements for the use of NHS secondary care establishments in England is undertaken through tenders governed by the Public Contracts Regulations (2006), as amended, which require the procurement to be conducted in a transparent and equitable manner.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 10/11/2014 14:29:40 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

100932

registered interest
date	24/10/2014
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Syria
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the European Commission to ensure that European Union policy and practice enable women and girls raped during the armed conflict in Syria to have access to safe abortions in accordance with international humanitarian law.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2400
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK is in regular dialogue with other EU bilateral donors and the European Commission to protect and promote women’s and girls’ access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. This includes safe abortion services in line with our policy on safe and unsafe abortion. The UK remains one of only a handful of international donors willing to tackle this highly sensitive issue.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 07/11/2014 14:53:20 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

90922

registered interest
date	08/09/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Equal Pay
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that public authorities in England and Scotland have equivalent duties in respect of gender pay differences to those required by the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL1848
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2014 answer text <p>The public sector Equality Duty (PSED), at section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), consists of a general duty which requires public bodies to consider the key aims of eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations when designing policies and delivering services. It commenced in April 2011 and applies equally across Great Britain.</p><p>The PSED is underpinned by specific duties which are set out in secondary legislation to provide a framework to help public bodies meet the general duty. England, Scotland and Wales have taken different approaches towards the specific duties. The Scottish and Welsh specific duties, which are determined by the Scottish and Welsh Governments respectively in accordance with section 153(2) and (3) of the Act, adopt a prescriptive approach that places particular requirements on public bodies in respect of equal pay. The English specific duties, which aim to increase transparency and accountability, enable more flexibility for public bodies depending on their size and functions. However, guidance issued by the Government on the English specific duties makes it clear that public bodies should consider any equal pay issues affecting their workforce when reporting on their compliance.</p><p>The Government has no current plans to change the specific duties. The Government appointed an independent Steering Group in 2012 to review how the PSED was operating. The Steering Group reported in September 2013 and concluded that it was too early to make a judgment on the overall impact of the PSED and the effectiveness of the specific duties. The Government accepted its recommendation that a further evaluation should be carried out in 2016 as more time is needed to let the legislation bed down.</p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 22/09/2014 13:47:27 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

79152

registered interest
date	21/07/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Marriage: Religion
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that registered civil partners wishing to undergo a marriage ceremony with religious elements receive equal treatment as same sex couples who are not registered civil partners and wish to marry in the same way.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL1313
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/08/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that couples wishing to convert their civil partnership in to a marriage can do so from 10 December 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The draft Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Conversion of Civil Partnership) Regulations 2014, which were laid in the House on 3<sup>rd</sup> July 2014, provide for a simple conversion process, which is not, and was never envisaged to be, a marriage ceremony. The draft regulations were prepared in accordance with the provision made by Section 9 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, in particular subsections (4) and (5), which was debated at length in both Houses of Parliament during the passage of the Bill.</p><p> </p><p>The process was conceived in line with responses from those in civil partnerships to the public consultation in 2012, which called for a simple, straightforward and low cost way for couples to convert their civil partnership into a marriage. Stakeholders expressed a desire for a conversion process which would not undermine the significance of the original civil partnership and which would avoid creating undue new burdens or costs for couples. Accordingly the conversion process was not envisaged to be a process which would replicate a marriage ceremony, whether religious or secular, but was rather intended to be an easy administrative process by which couples converted their civil partnerships and had these recognised as marriages from the date the civil partnership was formed. Couples who did want to celebrate the conversion with family and friends could choose to hold some form of non-statutory celebratory ceremony following the conversion itself, if they so wished.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We continue to listen to the views expressed by stakeholders during the implementation of the Act. We have heard views articulated by stakeholders in recent weeks raising concerns with the conversion process as set out in the draft regulations as laid and in particular regarding the possibility of incorporating religious elements within conversions. We will consider these views and whether suitable options exist for addressing them within the legal framework established by the Act over the summer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire grouped question UIN HL1314 question first answered 11/08/2014 12:49:34 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

79153

registered interest
date	21/07/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Marriage: Religion
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Conversion of Civil Partnership) Regulations 2014 bans the use of religious services at conversion.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL1314
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/08/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that couples wishing to convert their civil partnership in to a marriage can do so from 10 December 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The draft Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Conversion of Civil Partnership) Regulations 2014, which were laid in the House on 3<sup>rd</sup> July 2014, provide for a simple conversion process, which is not, and was never envisaged to be, a marriage ceremony. The draft regulations were prepared in accordance with the provision made by Section 9 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, in particular subsections (4) and (5), which was debated at length in both Houses of Parliament during the passage of the Bill.</p><p> </p><p>The process was conceived in line with responses from those in civil partnerships to the public consultation in 2012, which called for a simple, straightforward and low cost way for couples to convert their civil partnership into a marriage. Stakeholders expressed a desire for a conversion process which would not undermine the significance of the original civil partnership and which would avoid creating undue new burdens or costs for couples. Accordingly the conversion process was not envisaged to be a process which would replicate a marriage ceremony, whether religious or secular, but was rather intended to be an easy administrative process by which couples converted their civil partnerships and had these recognised as marriages from the date the civil partnership was formed. Couples who did want to celebrate the conversion with family and friends could choose to hold some form of non-statutory celebratory ceremony following the conversion itself, if they so wished.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We continue to listen to the views expressed by stakeholders during the implementation of the Act. We have heard views articulated by stakeholders in recent weeks raising concerns with the conversion process as set out in the draft regulations as laid and in particular regarding the possibility of incorporating religious elements within conversions. We will consider these views and whether suitable options exist for addressing them within the legal framework established by the Act over the summer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire grouped question UIN HL1313 question first answered 11/08/2014 12:49:34 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

78830

registered interest
date	17/07/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed Privacy and Civil Liberties Board will have the same access to sensitive material that the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation has.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL1220
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Proposed terms of reference for the Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board are available on the gov.uk website or from the printed paper office. Creation of the board will require primary legislation which will provide the opportunity for Parliament to consider the appropriate composition and powers of the Board. <br><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/330748/independent_privacy_an_cvil_liberties_board.pdf" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/330748/independent_privacy_an_cvil_liberties_board.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Taylor of Holbeach grouped question UIN HL1189 question first answered 23/07/2014 14:37:58 answering member 3787 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Holbeach
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill