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1436316

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2022
	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 how many Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pension products are available for automatic enrolment pensions; what assessment they have made of the impact of financial services regulations on the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment pensions; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment purposes.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL6479
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2022 answer text <p>The department has introduced ESG-related legislation, including regulations aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), requiring trustees to consider, assess and report on the financial risks of climate change within their portfolios.</p><p> </p><p>These measures go beyond merely reporting a climate policy and how it is implemented. They require trustees to put in place climate-related governance and risk management, to assess the impact of climate change on their investment strategy, to conduct scenario analysis, to set targets.</p><p> </p><p>This means that automatic enrolment schemes will be encouraged to consider climate-related risks and opportunities, and this is likely to influence their choice of products in their portfolio. The Government thinks that ESG factors and their impact should be taken into consideration where financially material, but the process of investing in individual products is down to the market and trustees working within their fiduciary duty.</p><p> </p><p>I recognise the risk of ‘greenwashing’, where investors can be misled on the quality of a product described as being an ESG product and this must be tackled. To aid trustees in their decisions, the department participates in an advisory group which supports the Financial Conduct Authority in developing their proposed requirements that certain investment products display a label reflecting their sustainability characteristics.</p><p> </p><p>Recent research carried out by Corporate Advisor in their ‘ESG in DC Pensions’ report found that 19 out of 21 pension providers surveyed deploy ESG tilts or screening overlays on their default funds excluding specific companies or sectors with poor ESG ratings<sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup>. The report found that three years ago, just five master trust defaults took this approach, suggesting that schemes are increasingly turning to ESG-related products. I believe the steps the department has taken to put in place the regulatory framework for consideration of ESG factors will have contributed to the uptake here.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 11/03/2022 14:38:48 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1228031

	registered interest
	date	27/07/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Working Hours
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage and support firms in reducing working hours in an equitable manner while avoiding redundancies, on a model similar to the German Kurzarbeit scheme.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL7324
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/08/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that people are able to return to work in a manner that is sustainable and adjustable to the reopening of the economy.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore introduced flexible furloughing from 1 July. Firms can now bring back employees that have been furloughed for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants for the hours not worked, with no minimum furlough period.</p><p> </p><p>It is right that state support is slowly reduced and the focus shifts to getting furloughed employees back to work. As such, from August 2020, the level of the grant will be slowly tapered to reflect that people will be returning to work. Employees will continue to receive 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 when furloughed.</p><p>While other countries have announced similar schemes, the UK response remains among the most comprehensive.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 10/08/2020 14:32:13 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1170137

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Wind Power: Dorset
	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 viability of the Navitus Bay wind farm site.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL284
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2020 answer text <p>It is for developers to come forward with proposals for potential locations of generating stations including offshore windfarms.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change assessed an application for development consent for a wind farm on the Navitus Bay wind farm site in 2015. The Secretary of State issued a decision on 11 September 2015 refusing the grant of development consent for the proposed Navitus Bay offshore wind farm.</p><p> </p><p>The decision was in line with the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate, which examined a wide range of issues related to the potential benefits and impacts of the project in reaching its conclusion. The Secretary of State’s decision letter sets out her consideration of those issues.</p> answering member printed Lord Duncan of Springbank grouped question UIN HL285 question first answered 22/01/2020 16:57:59 answering member 4686 label Biography information for Lord Duncan of Springbank
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1170138

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Wind Power: Dorset
	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 the Navitus Bay wind farm site is successfully developed.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL285
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2020 answer text <p>It is for developers to come forward with proposals for potential locations of generating stations including offshore windfarms.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change assessed an application for development consent for a wind farm on the Navitus Bay wind farm site in 2015. The Secretary of State issued a decision on 11 September 2015 refusing the grant of development consent for the proposed Navitus Bay offshore wind farm.</p><p> </p><p>The decision was in line with the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate, which examined a wide range of issues related to the potential benefits and impacts of the project in reaching its conclusion. The Secretary of State’s decision letter sets out her consideration of those issues.</p> answering member printed Lord Duncan of Springbank grouped question UIN HL284 question first answered 22/01/2020 16:57:59 answering member 4686 label Biography information for Lord Duncan of Springbank
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1170139

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Wind Power
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the deployment of (1) offshore, and (2) onshore, wind energy.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL286
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>The UK is the world’s largest offshore wind market with 9.8GW installed, which is expected to rise to 14GW by 2023 and 19.5GW by 2026. On 23 July 2018, the Government announced the timetable for future Contracts for Difference auctions, which is the main mechanism for deploying new renewable technologies. The auctions have the potential to deliver up to 2GW of new offshore wind every year in the 2020s, which has given long term vision and clarity to the offshore wind sector.</p><p> </p><p>The Offshore Wind Sector Deal, published on 7 March 2019, will build on the UK’s global leadership in offshore wind bringing a strategic approach to deliver increased capacity of offshore wind, while boosting the UK economy, enhancing growth in the regions while continuing to reduce costs.</p><p> </p><p>Onshore wind has also deployed successfully to date in the UK, recently exceeding 14GW of installed operational capacity. Onshore wind continues to fall in cost and has resulted in several merchant onshore wind sites being deployed to date.</p> answering member printed Lord Duncan of Springbank question first answered 21/01/2020 15:53:48 answering member 4686 label Biography information for Lord Duncan of Springbank
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1230953

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2020
	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	Weedkillers: Health Hazards
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of (1) the impact of aminopyralid contamination in compost on gardeners and market gardeners, and (2) the adequacy of the Health and Safety Executive's Chemicals Regulation Directorate enforcement of restrictions on the use of herbicide products containing aminopyralid.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL7596
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2020 answer text <p>There are measures in place to keep aminopyralid out of compost and manures. This is necessary because, as a herbicide, aminopyralid can harm broadleaved plants, leading to stunting and distortion (it is important to note that similar effects can result from nutritional deficiencies or diseases). The use of aminopyralid products is subject to strict conditions of use to ensure that plant material which may contain aminopyralid is not used in compost. These conditions have been in place for over ten years and, as a result, the number of reported incidents has declined to a very low level.</p><p> </p><p>Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors and enforcement officers consider all reported cases of suspected aminopyralid contamination of compost. Decisions on possible compliance and enforcement action are taken on a case-by-case basis. In most cases it is not possible to establish whether or not residues of aminopyralid have damaged plants nor, if so, the source of the residues. HSE maintains close contact with the authorisation holder and continues to keep under review the effectiveness of measures put in place.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 16/09/2020 15:35:47 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1200270

	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	Water Supply
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government, following reports that Wolverhampton and Shropshire face failure of their water supplies, what steps they are taking to reduce demand and leakage, and to secure supplies, both in the short term in response to dry weather and high usage reportedly due to lockdown, and in the longer term.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL5160
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>The current water supply issues in Wolverhampton and Shropshire are due to constraints in Severn Trent Water's distribution network, and not a lack of available water. Severn Trent Water has responded to the issue by asking customers to use water wisely to reduce demand. The CEO of Severn Trent Water attended the National Drought Group chaired by the Environment Agency on 5 June 2020 to discuss the current risks and approaches to the dry weather and water demand management.</p><p> </p><p>If the company has issues with available water resources it will activate its statutory Drought Plan to manage the situation. In the long term, the water company will need to assess how it manages its supply and demand, including proactively reducing leakage and managing demand through its statutory Water Resources Management Plan. In addition, through its business plan that it submits to Ofwat it will need to assess whether it has the correct infrastructure to cope with future demands from customers.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 17/06/2020 13:14:00 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1436314

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Wagner Group
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to hamper the global activities of (1) the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, and (2) other similar organisations.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL6477
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2022 answer text <p>It is clear that the Wagner Group and other similar organisations do not provide enduring security. Her Majesty's Government (HMG) will continue to attribute and expose where Wagner or other organisations undermine security and commit human rights abuses.</p><p>In December 2021, the UK issued a statement with 15 international partners to firmly condemn the deployment of the Wagner Group in Mali, which we believe can only further deteriorate the security environment.</p><p>In 2020, HMG placed an asset freeze and travel ban on an individual closely associated with Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, following his support to the Group's activities in Libya, where they were involved in multiple and repeated breaches of the arms embargo in Libya established in UNSCR 1970.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 07/03/2022 16:20:29 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1205365

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Voyager Aircraft
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the RAF Voyager would need to be repainted should it be required for operational military purposes; and if so, what the likely cost would be.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL5891
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2020 answer text <p>The VIP Voyager aircraft's primary role remains Air-to-Air refuelling, and it remains available to meet a range of operational commitments. The aircraft is already used to fly senior Government Ministers and members of the Royal Family on official business. The new livery better reflects this prestigious task, however, if required, the aircraft can be returned quickly to a more traditional military livery, the costs for which are marginal and absorbed within the overall Voyager running costs.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 29/06/2020 13:39:25 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1200266

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Married People
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they intend (1) to reduce, (2) to waive, or (3) to eliminate, the minimum income requirement for UK citizens wishing to bring a foreign spouse or partner (and where relevant children) to the UK in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular for loss of income as a result of the lockdown to be accounted for in calculating the income requirement.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL5156
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. We continue to monitor the situation closely and take these exceptional circumstances into account.</p><p> </p><p>To ensure a spouse or partner and relevant dependent children applying for entry clearance, leave to remain or indefinite leave are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control, for the purpose of the minimum income requirement:</p><p> </p><ul><li>A temporary loss of employment income between 1 March and 31 July 2020 due to COVID-19, will be disregarded provided the requirement was met for at least six months up to March 2020.</li><li>An applicant or sponsor furloughed under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be deemed as earning 100% of their salary.</li><li>A temporary loss of annual income due to COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 31 July 2020 will generally be disregarded for self-employment income, along with the impact on employment income from the same period for future applications. Income received via the Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will also be taken into account.</li><li>Evidential flexibility may be applied where an applicant or sponsor experiences difficulty accessing specified evidence due to COVID-19 restrictions.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The minimum income requirement can also be met in several ways in addition to or instead of income from employment or self-employment. For example, income from investments, property rental or pension may also be taken into account, together with cash savings.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 18/06/2020 11:03:02 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle