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1690586

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2024
	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	Household Support Fund
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of ending the Household Support Fund on 31 March on (1) the number of people experiencing destitution, and (2) wider public services including the NHS, social care and homelessness services.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2605
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2024 answer text <p>The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. Our approach to tackling poverty is based on clear evidence that parental employment, particularly where its full time, reduces the risk of poverty. In the financial year 21/22, children living in households where all adults work were around five times less likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those living in workless households.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock”.</p><p> </p><p>To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the Government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefitting 1.6 million low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 04/03/2024 12:34:44 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1690587

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2024
	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	Biocidal Products: Regulation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is their position on the regulation of Willaertia magna c2c maky as an active substance for use in biocidal products of product-type 11, following the European Commission's decision not to approve it.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2606
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2024 answer text <p><em>Willaertia magna C2c maky</em> cannot currently be used in biocidal products within Product Type 11 (Preservatives for liquid-cooling and processing systems) within Great Britain. It is considered to be a new active substance, and there is no existing approval for it.</p><p> </p><p>Any new active substance under the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulation requires an application and a full assessment of its safety and effectiveness before a decision can be reached on whether the substance meets the requirements for approval.</p><p> </p><p>Currently there are no applications for approval of this substance within any Product Type in Great Britain.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 05/03/2024 12:32:07 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1690588

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Long Covid
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the overall burden of Long Covid, (2) the number of new cases being identified each month, (3) the percentage of sufferers who are able to receive specialist treatment, and (4) the provisions available for long-term support and assistance.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2607
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government does not currently routinely record the total amount of people with long COVID or new cases identified. However, the most recent data from the Office of National Statistics shows that for the 4-week period ending 5 March 2023, 1.9 million people, or 2.9% of the population, in private households in the United Kingdom reported experiencing long COVID symptoms; 83,000 people first had, or suspected they had, COVID-19 less than 12 weeks previously, 1.73 million people had symptoms for 12 or more weeks, 1.3 million people for at least a year and 762,000 for at least two years; and 1.5 million people reported day-to-day activities adversely affected. Of these, 381,000 reported that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities had been limited a lot.</p><p>Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the percentage of long COVID sufferers who are able to receive specialist treatment, activity data released by NHS England shows that, for the month of December 2023, there was a total of 1,104 initial specialist assessments completed during the month and an additional 8,696 follow-up appointments were carried out. In total, since the data was first published in July 2021, 101,998 patients have received an initial specialist assessment. A further 347,837 follow-up appointments have taken place.</p><p>NHS England has invested £314 million to expand long COVID treatment in the National Health Service and rehabilitation services, establishing 100 long COVID services for adults and 13 specialist paediatric hubs for children and young people. These assess people with long COVID and direct them into appropriate care pathways which provide appropriate support and treatment. Commissioning of post-COVID services will transition from the long COVID national programme to integrated care boards by the end of March 2024. Funding for long COVID services in 2024/25 is expected to be allocated based on the 2023/24 distribution.</p><p>The NHS and wider scientific community are working at unprecedented pace to better understand long COVID, supported by £50 million in research funding.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 28/02/2024 13:58:06 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1690589

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2024
	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	Sanitary Products: Safety
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of the use of silver in period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, in the light of concerns among the scientific community regarding the safety of the wearer and environmental impacts, particularly on aquatic life.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2608
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2024 answer text <p>The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products.</p><p> </p><p>Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products.</p><p> </p><p>Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller grouped question UIN HL2622 question first answered 06/03/2024 17:13:24 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1690590

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2024
	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: Employment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the requirement under the Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work Search and Work Availability Requirements - limitations) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 that jobseekers claiming Universal Credit must widen their search beyond their preferred sector after four weeks, including the impact on (1) the average salary of former claimants, (2) the percentage of claimants who remain in jobs sixth months and a year after initial employment, (3) the percentage of claimants who subsequently go on to claim sickness benefits, and (4) the percentage of claimants who are sanctioned for not taking a job.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2609
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2024 answer text <p>We have not carried out an assessment of the change to the Permitted Period since it was introduced. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 05/03/2024 12:32:25 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1690603

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2024
	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	Sanitary Products
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take action to prevent the unnecessary use of additives and antimicrobial substances in period products claiming ‘anti-odour’ or ‘antimicrobial’ properties.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2622
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2024 answer text <p>The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products.</p><p> </p><p>Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products.</p><p> </p><p>Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller grouped question UIN HL2608 question first answered 06/03/2024 17:13:24 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1688833

	registered interest
	date	13/02/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Home Office: Written Questions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 10 January (HL1252), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what assessment they have made of the number of children likely to be separated from a British parent as a result of the increase to the salary threshold to £38,700 for those applying for spousal or partner visas.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2419
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>The Minimum Income Requirement will initially rise to £29,000 on 11 April 2024, with incremental rises at later dates. A full impact assessment will be published in due course, and we will continue to monitor the policy throughout its implementation. The Immigration Rules also contain provisions for parents of qualifying children to obtain permission to enter or remain in the UK.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 27/02/2024 17:26:56 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1688834

	registered interest
	date	13/02/2024
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ratify the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions; when they expect to be able to ratify the Agreement; and what discussions they have had with international partners to encourage other countries to ratify it.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2420
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement. Legislation will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>The UK continues to be proactive in supporting other, particularly developing, countries to implement and ratify the BBNJ Agreement. This includes contributing to the BBNJ Voluntary Trust Fund to enable participation by developing countries in UN discussions on preparatory work, and supporting the BBNJ Informal Dialogues, discussions that bring together participants from a wide range of countries online to discuss implementation. The UK also co-funded and organised a workshop for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to share best practice and support the implementation and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement in the Philippines in November 2023. The UK is supporting a Commonwealth Secretariat project to provide technical assistance on implementation and ratification to smaller Commonwealth countries.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 26/02/2024 17:40:53 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1688786

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Research
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any risk to the UK's status as a location for research presented by the planned closure of the anthropology department of the University of Kent, particularly with regard to ethnobotany; and what broader assessment they have made of any risk posed by the closure of significant numbers of departments and faculties at universities.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2379
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>Higher education providers are independent, autonomous institutions and are best placed to make decisions about the future focus of their research and their institutional strategy. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students, and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 26/02/2024 12:30:13 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1688753

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2024
	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	Glyphosate
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission or gather evidence about the real-world impacts of glyphosate on human health and the natural environment, ahead of the decision on whether to renew approval of glyphosate in 2025.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2354
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2024 answer text <p>Glyphosate is currently approved as an active substance for use in pesticide products in Great Britain. As part of its renewal assessment the Health and Safety Executive, as the Government’s expert regulator for pesticides, will conduct a thorough and robust scientific risk assessment to determine if the approval of glyphosate should be renewed in line with assimilated Regulation 1107/2009 of the GB plant protection products legislation.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this assessment HSE will consider all data required by the legislation and can request additional data from the approval holder should this be required before reaching its decision.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller grouped question UIN HL2355 question first answered 23/02/2024 11:24:45 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle