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1200291

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
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	Droughts
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what plans they have put in place to deal with any long spring and summer drought, in particular in relation to the potential impact of such a drought on food supplies and public health.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL5195
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has a range of policies in place to mitigate the impacts of drought, including the impact on food supplies and public health:</p><p> </p><ul><li>The Environment Agency, which has responsibility for managing water resources and protecting the environment, chairs the National Drought Group (NDG). The NDG consists of representatives from regulators such as Public Health England (PHE), the agricultural sector and water companies. This group ensures that all sectors work together and take action to manage any impacts of dry weather and drought.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Water companies have the legal duty to supply adequate quantities of wholesome water. To fulfil their duties, water companies maintain statutory drought plans, which set out the short-term actions they will take should a drought develop. Water companies’ drought plans are published on their websites.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The impacts of drought on food supply are mitigated by the UK’s robust and reliable food industry, which is experienced in dealing with scenarios that can affect food supply, from adverse weather damaging crops to transport issues abroad. The size and diversity of the industry is a key factor in enabling the food sector to remain resilient to food supply chain disruptions. The expertise, capability, levers and resilience to plan for and respond to food supply disruption lies within the industry.</p><p> </p><p>The health effects of drought are primarily indirect, including: injury, risk to public and private water supply; dust-related problems for those with pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease; and impacts on mental health and wellbeing. PHE specifically plans for the risks of hot weather, including drought, in the Heatwave and Summer preparedness programme of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england" target="_blank">Heatwave Plan for England -</a> which became operational in June 2020.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 17/06/2020 13:13:41 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1200292

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Disease Control
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the most economically developed countries, the World Bank, and the IMF, about effective cooperation to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences; and whether they intend to include conditional debt relief in any such discussions.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL5196
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government continues to engage very closely and regularly with the international community, the World Bank, and the IMF, to respond to the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. G7 Finance Ministers continue to convene on a regular basis to work together on critical economic issues, and G20 Finance Ministers will next meet on 19 July to continue to coordinate the international response to the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>The UK recently led the development of the G20 Action Plan, which brings together ambitious and wide-ranging commitments to address the economic impact of the virus. As part of this, the Chancellor and his G20 counterparts, in close consultation with the World Bank and the IMF, agreed to a temporary suspension on debt service repayments from the poorest countries. We are working closely with G20 partner countries and international organisations (including the IMF and World Bank) to monitor the implementation of the Action Plan and ensure it maintains efficacy. The UK Government will also work through the G20 and Paris Club of official creditors to monitor sovereign debt vulnerabilities in developing countries closely.</p><p> </p><p>To ensure that the most vulnerable are able to successfully respond to the crisis, the UK has also committed up to £150m to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust. This will suspend upcoming IMF obligations for the poorest countries, allowing them to better respond to Covid-19.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 17/06/2020 16:35:14 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1199227

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Refugees: Families
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to expand the eligibility criteria for family reunion refugee status to include adult refugees sponsoring their (1) adult children, (2) parents,  and (3) siblings under the age of 25; and whether they will allow unaccompanied children now in the UK to sponsor their parents and siblings under the age of 25.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4993
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government already provides a safe and legal route to bring refugee families together through its family reunion policy. This allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.</p><p> </p><p>Refugees can also sponsor adult dependent relatives living overseas to join them where, due to age, illness or disability, that person requires long-term personal care that can only be provided by relatives in the UK. There are separate provisions in the Rules to allow extended family to sponsor children to come here where there are serious and compelling circumstances.</p><p>Further, there is discretion to grant visas outside the Immigration Rules, which caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances – including young adult sons or daughters who are dependent on family here and living in dangerous situations.</p><p> </p><p>It is the Government’s view that if children were allowed to sponsor family, this would risk creating incentives for more children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their family and risk hazardous journeys to the UK. This plays into the hands of criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people and goes against our safeguarding responsibilities.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 16/06/2020 11:35:10 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1199228

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Refugees
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reintroduce legal aid for refugee family reunion cases.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4994
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>Legal aid for refugee family reunion may be available under the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme, where failure to provide legal aid would mean there is a breach or a risk of breach of the individual’s human rights, and subject to means and merits tests.</p><p>Last year we amended the scope of legal aid so that separated migrant children are able to receive civil legal aid for applications by their family members and extended family members. This includes entry clearance, leave to enter, or leave to remain in the UK, made under the immigration rules or outside the rules on the basis of exceptional circumstances or compassionate and compelling circumstances.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 16/06/2020 16:46:18 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1199324

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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	Housing: Construction
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with housing associations and local authorities about bringing forward proposals for building more (1) social, and (2) affordable, housing; and what plans they have, if any, to support small and medium sized businesses to bid for these contracts.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4995
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022.Building on this, we announced at Budget 2020 that we are investing £12 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26.</p><p>The Affordable Homes Programme is delivered nationally through Homes England and the Greater London Authority in London. Both agencies have continued dialogue with registered providers to ensure optimum delivery of housing under the programme.</p><p>We are firmly committed to supporting SMEs and strongly believe they can play a crucial role in reinvigorating the housing market and boosting housing supply. Our financial programmes to help SMEs grow and diversify include the £4.5 billion Home Building Fund, the Housing Growth Partnership and Housing Delivery Fund, and up to £1 billion of new guarantee support for SMEs to access.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 16/06/2020 15:02:16 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1199325

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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	Housing: Construction
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of additional (1) social, and (2) affordable, housing that could be provided by refurbishing existing buildings.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4996
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>It is for local authorities to make an assessment of the need for affordable housing in their area and how best to meet this need including through planning consent.</p><p>We have made no assessment of the amount of additional social or affordable housing that could be provided through the refurbishment of existing buildings.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 16/06/2020 15:02:42 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1199326

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to release all (1) remand prisoners, and (2) prisoners over the age of 70, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4997
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>This Government is not going to release all remand prisoners or all prisoners over the age of 70, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p>On 4 April, this Government announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme (ECTR). This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period. No high-risk offenders, including those convicted of violent or sexual offences, anyone of national security concern or a danger to children, will be considered for release, nor any prisoners who have not served at least half their custodial term. This scheme only applies to prisoners serving standard determinate sentences with an automatic release point and those committed to custody for fine default or contempt, which also excludes remand prisoners. However, good progress has been made in reducing the number on remand and we are grateful to the Judiciary in their assistance in prioritising these cases.</p><p>For those who remain in custody, including prisoners over the age of 70, further operational guidance has been issued across the prison estate updating national policies on regime management following the Government steer on social distancing, shielding and household isolation. We have introduced cohorting arrangements in prisons endorsed by Public Health England to create safe environments for social distancing and household isolation. This involves isolating those with symptoms, shielding those most at vulnerable and quarantining new admissions in isolation from the rest of the prison for 14 days in Reverse Cohort Units to reduce the risk of infection.</p><p>In addition, pregnant women, prisoners living in Mother and Baby Units and those identified as ‘extremely vulnerable’ as defined in the NHS guidelines will merit consideration for release on temporary licence on compassionate grounds during the Covid-19 pandemic.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 16/06/2020 15:07:33 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1199327

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Transfers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners were transferred to (1) psychiatric hospitals, (2) psychiatric wings of prisons, and (3) other hospitals, in each of the last 12 months.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4998
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>From the data held centrally, we are unable to differentiate between transfers to (1) psychiatric and (3) other hospitals. Further, for (2) prisons do not have psychiatric wings, and data on occupancy of dedicated residential healthcare facilities in prisons are not collected centrally.</p><p> </p><p>We can provide the total number of prisoners who have been transferred to hospital under sections 47 (sentenced prisoners) or 48 (remand prisoners/immigration detainees) of the Mental Health Act 1983 in the last 12 months and this is set out below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-2019</p></td><td><p>94</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-2019</p></td><td><p>81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-2019</p></td><td><p>74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-2019</p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-2019</p></td><td><p>91</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-2019</p></td><td><p>73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-2019</p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-2020</p></td><td><p>66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-2020</p></td><td><p>83</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-2020</p></td><td><p>79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-2020</p></td><td><p>71</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-2020</p></td><td><p>75</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p>Information is collected on the number of transfers, not the number of individual prisoners who are transferred. An individual prisoner may be transferred more than once in any given time period.</p><p>We take the mental health of prisoners extremely seriously, which is why we have increased the support available to vulnerable offenders - especially during the first 24 hours in custody - and invested more in mental health awareness training for prison officers.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 16/06/2020 15:48:53 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1197867

registered interest
date	21/05/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Refugees: Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to participate in discussions with UNHCR about the relocation of unaccompanied refugee children now in Europe, in particular those in Greece; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK maintains an ongoing dialogue with UNHRC and has a strong and constructive relationship across a range of asylum and resettlement issues.</p><p>In 2016 Parliament agreed a one-off commitment to relocate 480 unaccompanied children from Europe to the UK under Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (‘the Dubs amendment’). 478 children from Greece, Italy and France have now successfully transferred to the UK under this scheme and we remain committed to completing the final two transfers as soon as it is safe to do so.</p><p>Under the Dublin III Regulation, the UK will also continue to transfer children from Greece if they have family in the UK until the end of the transition period. The UK remains fully committed to meeting our obligations under the Dublin Regulation. Despite covid-19 restrictions, the UK is ready to accept transfers under Dublin whenever Member States are in a position to make those arrangements. Following close collaboration with the Greek Government, 50 asylum seekers arrived in the UK from Greece on 11 May in order to unite with family members who were already lawfully present in the UK.</p><p>Protecting vulnerable children is a key priority for the Government. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied children than any country in the EU and accounted for approximately 20% of all reported UASC claims made in the UK and the 27 EU Member States.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/06/2020 10:48:10 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1197216

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
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	Hebron: Mosques
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to propose a joint UK–EU initiative to protect the Ibrahimi Mosque, following reports that the government of Israel is planning renovations and improvements to the building, without prior consultation or agreement and which could involve some expropriation of Palestinian land.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL4685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>The holy sites of East Jerusalem and the West Bank hold particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In our meetings with the Israeli authorities we regularly raise the need to respect the status quo of the holy sites in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid actions that make it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/06/2020 15:49:56 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton