ThursdayVol. 786 7 December 2017No. 35qnadailyreport.blob.core.windows.net/qnadailyreportxml/... ·...

Thursday

7 December 2017

P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S

(HANSARD)

HOUSE OF LORDS

WRITTEN STATEMENTS AND

WRITTEN ANSWERS

Written Statements ................................................ 1

Written Answers ..................................................... 7

Vol. 786

No. 35

[I] indicates that the member concerned has a relevant registered interest. The full register of interests can be found at

http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-interests/register-of-lords-interests/

Members who want a printed copy of Written Answers and Written Statements should notify the Printed Paper Office.

This printed edition is a reproduction of the original text of Answers and Statements, which can be found on the internet

at http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/.

Ministers and others who make Statements or answer Questions are referred to only by name, not their ministerial or

other title. The current list of ministerial and other responsibilities is as follows.

Minister Responsibilities

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

Earl Howe Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

Lord Agnew of Oulton Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Lord Ashton of Hyde Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Lord Bates Minister of State, Department for International Development and Treasury Spokesman

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local

Government and Wales Office

Baroness Buscombe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions

Lord Callanan Minister of State, Department for Exiting the European Union

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Whip

Earl of Courtown Deputy Chief Whip

Lord Duncan of Springbank Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office and Scotland Office

Baroness Fairhead Minister of State, Department for International Trade

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs

Baroness Goldie Whip

Lord Henley Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial

Strategy

Lord Keen of Elie Advocate-General for Scotland and Ministry of Justice Spokesperson

Lord O'Shaughnessy Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health, Whip

Baroness Stedman-Scott Whip

Baroness Sugg Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport

Lord Taylor of Holbeach Chief Whip

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Whip

Baroness Williams of Trafford Minister of State, Home Office and Women and Equalities Spokesperson

Lord Young of Cookham Whip

Viscount Younger of Leckie Whip and Wales and Scotland Office Spokesperson

© Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2017

This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence,

which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/

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http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

Written Statements 7 December 2017 Page 1

Written Statements Thursday, 7 December 2017

Agriculture and Fisheries Pre-Council

Statement

[HLWS315]

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: My Hon. Friend the

Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

(George Eustice) has today made the following statement:

Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take place on

December 11-12 in Brussels.

As the provisional agenda stands, the primary focus for

fisheries will be reaching a political agreement on

Atlantic and North Sea total allowable catches and quotas

for 2018.

The primary focus for agriculture will be a presentation

from the European Commission on ‘The Future of Food

and Farming’.

There are currently five items scheduled under ‘Any

other business’:

- stakeholder conference on the European Maritime and

Fisheries Fund and its future: "Beyond 2020: Supporting

Europe's coastal states communities"

- implementation of the landing obligation, choke

species risk in January 2019

- outcome of the conference on "Modern

Biotechnologies in Agriculture: Paving the way for

responsible innovation"

- outcome of the high-level conference on African

swine fever (ASF) (Prague, 8-9 November 2017)

- tackling unfair trading practices with an aim to

achieve a more balanced food supply chain and strengthen

the farmers' position.

On 23 June 2016, the EU referendum took place and the

people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the

European Union. Until exit negotiations are concluded,

the UK remains a full member of the European Union and

all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in

force. During this period the Government will continue to

negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation. The

outcome of these negotiations will determine what

arrangements apply in relation to EU legislation in future

once the UK has left the EU.

Changes in Immigration Rules

[HLWS319]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the

Minister of State for Immigration (Brandon Lewis) has

today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

My rt hon Friend the Home Secretary is today laying

before the House a Statement of Changes in Immigration

Rules, copies of which will be available in the Vote

Office.

The offer the UK makes to highly-skilled international

leaders in science, research digital technology and the arts

is being enhanced by doubling the number of Tier 1

(Exceptional talent) places to 2000 visas per year.

As announced in the Autumn Budget, and to support

our ambitions on innovation and research and

development, the changes also include provisions to

enable internationally recognised global leaders in

science, as well as those in digital technology, and the arts

and creative sectors, endorsed under the Tier 1

(Exceptional talent) route, to apply for settlement after 3

years, amend Tier 2 rules to allow for faster switching for

Tier 4 students below PhD level, while also making it

easier to employ international researchers and members of

established research teams by relaxing the labour market

test under Tier 2. The changes also provide for additional

flexibility within our settlement rules to enable scientists

and researchers who are called to assist with humanitarian

and environmental crises to be absent from the UK for

more than 180 days, if required.

The changes make other amendments to the settlement

rules for work routes, for consistency. These relate to the

180-day absence provision, breaks in employment, time

spent in the Crown Dependencies, and the calculation of

the qualifying period.

The rules for entrepreneurs are being simplified

following customer feedback, to make them clearer and

easier to follow (the requirements themselves are largely

unchanged).

We continue to improve and modernise the UK’s

border and immigration system, which will now include

moves toward further digitisation. These changes are

required to facilitate the planned move toward introducing

immigration permissions issued in electronic form. This

will also allow trials to be undertaken that will test the

operation of any new system. The rules are also being

changed to permit holders of standard visit visas to transit

the UK rather than having to get a different type of visa.

This builds on the work, begun in April 2015, to simplify

the Immigration Rules for visitors.

Correction

[HLWS323]

Earl Howe: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of

State for Defence (Gavin Williamson) has made the

following Written Ministerial Statement.

I wish to inform the House that an error has been

identified in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for

East Devon (Sir Hugo Swire) in Defence Oral Questions

on 27 November 2017, Official Report, column 21, on the

subject of funding defence nuclear capabilities.

To clarify, the UK’s nuclear deterrent has always been

funded from the Defence budget.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2017-12-07/HLWS315/



7 December 2017 Written Statements

Energy Infrastructure

[HLWS316]

Lord Henley: My hon friend Richard Harrington

(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy) has made the following

written ministerial statement:

Nuclear power generation

New nuclear power stations have an important role to

play. As confirmed in the Industrial Strategy, nuclear is a

vital part of our energy mix, providing low carbon power

now and into the future. The Government’s framework to

bring forward new nuclear power stations was established

in the 2008 White Paper on Nuclear Power, as was the

principle the Government should take active steps to help

facilitate the construction of new nuclear.

The overarching National Policy Statement (“NPS”) for

Energy (“EN-1”) published in July 2011, made clear that

nuclear power is a low-carbon, proven technology which

can play an important role increasing the resilience and

diversity of the UK’s energy system. The assessment of

the need for new electricity generation carried out to

support EN-1 remains valuable and continues to be

relevant.

My Department’s annual updated energy and emissions

projections state that by 2035 overall demand for

electricity is expected to have increased. Therefore, with a

number of the existing coal and nuclear fleet due to close

by 2030, new nuclear power generation remains key to

meeting our 2050 obligations. This is in line with the

2017 Clean Growth Strategy. Government has noted

previously that there are technical and commercial

barriers to deploying other technologies to produce the

same annual generation as that of nuclear power. The

need for the UK to continue to transition to a low-carbon

electricity market is underlined by the 2015 United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(“UNFCCC”) Paris Agreement. The Government believes

that it is important that there is a strong pipeline of new

nuclear power to contribute to the UK’s future energy

system.

Government consultation

Government has today published a Consultation on the

Process and Criteria for Designating Potentially Suitable

Sites in a National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power

between 2026-2035. This begins the process towards

designating a new National Policy Statement (“the new

NPS”) applicable to nuclear plants expected to be

deployed after 2025 and capable of deployment by the

end of 2035 and with over 1GW of single-reactor

electricity generating capacity.

Nuclear National Policy Statements

Applicability of EN-6

Government considers that the current nuclear NPS,

EN-6, only “has effect” for the purposes of section 104 of

the Planning Act 2008 (“the Act”) for development which

forms parts of a project able to demonstrate expected

deployment by the end of 2025. Applications for a

Development Consent Order under the Act will be

considered in the first instance by an Examining

Authority appointed by the Secretary of State to consider

any specific project proposals. For the purpose of the

applicability of EN-6, Government considers

“deployment” to mean the point when a generating station

first begins to feed the electricity it generates into the

national grid, noting this will likely be at a point before

full commercial operation.

For projects yet to apply for development consent and

due to deploy beyond 2025, Government continues to

give its strong in principle support to project proposals at

those sites currently listed in EN-6. Even if EN-6 is

considered not to have effect under section 104 of the Act

for such a project, section 105 of the Act would apply to

the decision on whether or not to grant development

consent for the project.

Government is confident that both EN-1 and EN-6

incorporate information, assessments and statements

which will continue to be important and relevant for

projects which will deploy after 2025, including

statements concerning the need for nuclear power – as

well as environmental and other assessments that continue

to be relevant for those projects. As such, in deciding

whether or not to grant development consent to such a

project, the Secretary of State would be required, under

section 105(2)(c) of the Act, to have regard to the content

of EN-1 and EN-6, unless they have been suspended or

revoked. In respect of matters where there is no relevant

change of circumstances it is likely that significant weight

would be given to the policy in EN-1 and EN-6.

Applicability of the new NPS

The new NPS, once designated, will “have effect” for

the purposes of section 104 of the Act for development

which forms parts of a project able to demonstrate

expected deployment after 2025 and before the end of

2035.

The Government also considers that a published new

NPS in draft form would be considered as relevant to a

decision on whether or not to grant development consent

under section 105 of the Act.

Energy Policy

[HLWS317]

Lord Henley: My hon friend Richard Harrington

(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy) has made the following

written ministerial statement:

Today we have announced our next steps for the

development of advanced nuclear technologies in the UK.

The advanced nuclear sector has the potential to play an

important part in the UK’s Industrial Strategy building on

our existing economic strengths and competitive

advantages in nuclear while shaping new advanced

nuclear markets and contributing to tackling the Clean

Growth Grand Challenge. To help deliver this, the

Government will be providing up to £56m for advanced

nuclear technologies over the next 3 years.




The Government launched the first phase of the Small

Modular Reactor (SMR) competition in March 2016 as an

evidence-gathering phase with the goal of gauging market

interest among technology developers, utilities, and

potential investors. That exercise is now closed.

My department received expressions of interest from 33

eligible participants. Officials have worked with these

participants to understand the technological and

commercial viability of new reactors in development. As

an information gathering process, phase one did not

involve down-selection. All eligible participants were

given the opportunity to engage with the Government to

inform policy development.

This exercise provided valuable insight into the

advanced nuclear technologies market. We are grateful to

the participation of all entrants.

What we have learnt

Phase one demonstrated that SMRs could potentially

play an important part of a broader nuclear market. There

is a large variety of potential technologies. These

comprise technologies which range in scale between

micro, small and medium scale reactors and which span

technology types from conventional water-cooled

reactors, to 4th generation reactors using novel fuels and

coolants, as well as fusion reactor concepts. Given this

breadth, the Government believes that “SMR”, as

commonly understood, is too narrow a description for

technologies coming forward after the current generation

of nuclear power stations. Instead the Government

considers this to be the “Advanced Nuclear” market.

Engagement with competition participants helped shape

our thinking for the next steps for advanced nuclear

policy. Three key requests came through. The first was

that technology developers need better and earlier access

to Regulators in order to address regulatory requirements

by design and to provide confidence to potential

investors. The second was support to turn new

developers’ ideas into detailed designs, bridging the

investment gap between innovation and

commercialisation. The third request was to create the

right market conditions to enable developers to bring new

reactors to market as commercially viable businesses.

Advanced Nuclear Technologies – Next Steps

The competition demonstrated that there is the potential

for the UK to become a world-leader in developing the

next generations of nuclear technologies. The UK’s

nuclear sector is well placed to compete globally in this

emerging market. The policies announced today are

intended as the first steps to achieve that potential.

We are providing up to £7m of funding to regulators to

build the capability and capacity needed to assess and

license small and novel reactor designs, as announced in

the Clean Growth Strategy. This funding will also provide

support for pre-licensing engagement between vendors

and regulators.

Over the next three years we will also provide funding

to support advanced reactors through a two-stage

Advanced Modular Reactor Programme. Up to £4m in

Stage 1 will support around 8 reactor vendors to carry out

detailed technical and commercial feasibility studies.

Subject to Stage 1 demonstrating clear value for money

through a formal re-approval process with the Treasury,

up to £40m of further funding could then support 3-4

vendors to accelerate the development of their designs.

Up to a further £5m may also be made available to

regulators to support this.

The Government will also continue to work closely

with the advanced nuclear industry stakeholders to foster

the market conditions needed to enable developers to

bring privately-financed small and novel reactors to

market. A crucial element of this is demonstrating

commercial viability – in particular, the ability of new

designs and delivery mechanisms to attract investment

and generate cost-competitive electricity.

Therefore the Government is setting up an Expert

Finance Group to advise how small and advanced reactor

projects could raise investment in the UK. By bringing

together nuclear and financial sector expertise we

anticipate that this group will help demonstrate the

commercial proposition of small reactors in the emerging

nuclear market. The Group will be asked to report in the

Spring.

Subject to further evidence on the commercial viability

of advanced nuclear technologies, we will continue to

look closely at other market failures which inhibit new

reactors competing in our diverse energy markets.

Foreign Affairs Council (Foreign and

Defence Ministers)

[HLWS322]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Right Honourable

Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and

Commonwealth Affairs (Sir Alan Duncan), has made the

following written Ministerial statement:

I will attend the Foreign Affairs Council (Foreign and

Development Ministers) on 11 December. The Foreign

Affairs Council will be chaired by the High

Representative (HRVP) of the European Union (EU) for

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

The meeting will be held in Brussels.

Foreign Affairs Council

The agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) is

expected to include Iraq, the Middle East; as well as the

Democratic Republic of Congo under any other business.

There will be a lunch focused on the G5 Sahel Joint Force

and a joint FAC and FAC (Development) session on the

recent European Union-African Union (AU-EU) Summit.

There will be a short FAC (Development) in the

afternoon.



The HRVP is expected to open the meeting with

introductory remarks on the Eastern Partnership Summit,

Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), Libya,

Zimbabwe and the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea (DPRK).

Iraq

Ministers will discuss the situation in Iraq, including

winning the peace post-Daesh and managing recent

tensions between Baghdad and the Kurdish Region. The

EEAS will provide an update on the EU Iraq Strategy that

is due to be released in January. We will underline the

need to continue de-escalating tensions between Baghdad

and Erbil, ensuring that all parties focus on the fight

against Daesh, preventing its re-emergence and working

together to build a more stable, prosperous and inclusive

future for all of Iraq’s people, including Iraqi Kurds.

Middle East

Ministers will discuss developments in the Middle East.

We continue to be concerned by the humanitarian

situation in Yemen and continued restrictions on

commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Yemen

while understanding Saudi Arabia’s legitimate security

concerns. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have

both engaged on this pressing matter. We are also

concerned by the recent developments in Yemen which

underline the need for a comprehensive political solution.

We will encourage European partners to work with us to

find solutions.

G5 Sahel Joint Force

Ministers will meet representatives of countries which

have stood up the G5 Sahel Joint Force - Mauritania,

Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.

EU-Africa

Ministers will discuss the outcomes of the EU-AU

Summit and follow-up to the Conclusions the Summit

adopted on 30 November. The UK will note the

opportunity that Zimbabwe has to embrace a free and

democratic future. We have shared, with EU and Five

Eyes partners, our expectations for the new Government

in order for the international community to re-engage and

provide support: free and fair elections, economic and

political reform, commitment to human rights and a clear

message that Zimbabwe is open to international trade and

investment.

FAC (Development)

Development Ministers will discuss next steps on Aid

for Trade following the publication of the European

Commission’s Communication on ‘Achieving Prosperity

through Trade and Investment: Updating the 2007 Joint

EU Strategy on Aid for Trade.’ This discussion will focus

on how EU cooperation can help developing economies

take better advantage of trade opportunities as a means to

finance their own way out of poverty.

The FAC is also expected to adopt Conclusions on

Thailand and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It hopes

to adopt the Council Decision launching PESCO and

identify initial PESCO projects.

National Transfer Scheme

[HLWS318]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the

Minister of State for Immigration (Brandon Lewis) has

today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

The Government remains committed to helping and

supporting children in need of international protection. In

the year ending September 2017, the UK granted asylum

or another form of leave to almost 9,000 children and

nearly 49,000 children since 2010. Last month, we

published a safeguarding strategy which sets out our

vision and commitment to caring for and supporting

unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children. We

look forward to working with partners to implement the

actions in that strategy.

We have seen a significant increase in the number of

unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK in

recent years and this has placed pressure on a small

number of local authorities; particularly those - such as

Kent and Croydon. On 1 July 2016, the Government

launched the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) for

unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The NTS is a

voluntary scheme that supports local authorities to

transfer responsibility for unaccompanied children who

are already in the UK to another local authority. The

scheme seeks to achieve a fairer allocation of caring

responsibilities across the country so that all children get

the care and support they need.

The NTS has made significant progress. As at 1

October 2017, the scheme had transferred 555

unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to other local

authorities. The Government is very grateful for the way

that participating local authorities have volunteered to

care for unaccompanied children through the NTS.

However, it is clear that there is more to do to ensure that

no local authority is asked to look after more children

than its local services can cope with and that the children

receive the right level of care. There are approximately

4,500 unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee

children in local authority care in England and a small

number of local authorities continue to look after a

disproportionately high number of unaccompanied

asylum-seeking children.

The NTS is underpinned by provisions in the

Immigration Act 2016. However, these provisions

currently only apply to English local authorities, which

makes it difficult for the other nations of the UK to

participate.

I am pleased to be able to announce that the

Government is introducing secondary legislation to

extend the NTS to the whole of the United Kingdom. The

statutory instrument provides a legislative base for

transfer arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern

Ireland. This will allow the relevant authorities in each

nation of the UK to participate in the NTS and ensure it is



a truly national scheme. The NTS is voluntary and

participation will remain a decision for each respective

authority. We are committed to working closely with

relevant authorities and partners to ensure the NTS takes

account of the unique circumstances in each nation of the

UK. However, we hope that by introducing this statutory

instrument, we will encourage more local authorities to

step forward and volunteer to support these children.

Paterson Case

[HLWS320]

Lord O'Shaughnessy: My hon. Friend the Minister of

State for Health has made the following written statement:

Ian Paterson, a consultant breast surgeon who was

employed by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust

(HEFT), and had practising privileges in the independent

sector at Spire Parkway and Spire Little Aston, was found

guilty in April this year of 17 counts of wounding with

intent. He was sentenced to jail for 20 years.

The Government is appalled by the actions of Ian

Paterson and the harm that has affected a significant

number of patients. The disclosures about the seriousness

and extent of his malpractice are deeply and profoundly

shocking.

The Government committed to ensuring lessons were

learnt in the interest of patient protection and safety, both

in the independent sector and the NHS.

Today, I am announcing the establishment of an

independent, Non-Statutory Inquiry into the

circumstances and practices surrounding Ian Paterson that

have affected so many patients. I have asked The Right

Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich to chair the

Inquiry.

The Inquiry should be informed by the victims of

Paterson and families’ concerns, and seek to learn from

their experience. Therefore, the Inquiry will look at the

local care and treatment for private patients in the Solihull

area, and review current and past practices to establish if

safeguards for patients treated at independent healthcare

providers have fallen short of the standards the public has

a right to expect. This will help to inform the broader

lessons applicable to care provided by the independent

healthcare sector across the country.

The Inquiry is likely to consider issues including, but

not limited to:

• the responsibility for the quality of care in the

independent sector; appraisal, revalidation and multi-

disciplinary working in the independent sector

• information sharing, reporting of activity and raising

concerns between the independent sector and the NHS;

• and the role of insurers of independent sector

providers (including sharing of data), and arrangements

for medical indemnity cover for clinicians in the

independent sector.

The Inquiry will also draw on issues raised in previous

relevant reports about Paterson.

It is not intended to revisit the evidence that we already

have about Paterson and that led to his conviction.

The terms of reference and other arrangements relating

to the inquiry will be published in due course after a

period of engagement.

The Inquiry will be formally established from January

2018 and will report in summer 2019.

I am confident that Bishop Graham will oversee a

thorough and independent non-statutory inquiry and

deliver his recommendations swiftly.

Tailored Review of ICAI

[HLWS321]

Lord Bates: My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State

for International Development, has today made the

following statement:

I am today publishing a mandated review of the

Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), in

accordance with my responsibility as the Minister

accountable to Parliament for it. In line with standard

Cabinet Office guidance the review examined the case for

ICAI to exist and assessed its efficiency and governance

arrangements.

In recognition of ICAI’s role as a scrutiny body, an

independent Challenge Panel was appointed to ensure the

objectivity and impartiality of the review process, and

included members of the National Audit Office and

Institute for Government. The Cabinet Office was

satisfied that the review demonstrated an appropriate level

of independence. The review acknowledges the

importance of ICAI’s independence and its

recommendations have been formulated to ensure this is

preserved. The review gathered evidence from a wide

range of stakeholders, drawn from Parliament,

government, the wider development sector and ICAI

itself.

The review concluded that ICAI is necessary and that it

should continue to be delivered by ICAI in its current

form as a Non-Departmental Public Body with advisory

functions. ICAI’s functions are of particular importance

given the statutory obligation for independent evaluation

of the impact and value for money of aid arising from the

2015 International Development (Official Development

Assistance Target) Act.

The review found that ICAI’s work has contributed to

increasing the impact and value for money of UK aid, and

that ICAI is appreciated across the development sector for

its scrutiny of aid impact. The review made a number of

recommendations for further improving ICAI’s

effectiveness, including by developing improved

measures of its own performance and by adopting a more

consultative approach to developing recommendations

that will increase their value.

Though the review found that ICAI should continue in

its current form, it recommended changes to its delivery

model to improve both its efficiency and effectiveness,

including making its Chief Commissioner full-time. The




review also assessed ICAI’s governance arrangements

and found them to be largely in-line with best practice for

public bodies.

I am grateful to all those who contributed to the review,

which will be placed in the libraries of both Houses and is

available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tailored-

review-of-the-independent-commission-for-aid-impact-

icai.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tailored-review-of-the-independent-commission-for-aid-impact-icai



Written Answers 7 December 2017 Page 7

Written Answers Thursday, 7 December 2017

Alcoholic Drinks: Minimum Prices

Asked by Lord Chadlington

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are

considering introducing minimum unit pricing of

alcohol in England. [HL3657]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government has

noted the recent ruling of the UK Supreme Court in

favour of the Scottish Government in the legal case

brought by the Scotch Whisky Association on Minimum

Unit Pricing. Minimum Unit Pricing will continue to

remain under review pending the impact of its

implementation in Scotland.

The Government continues to consider a range of

measures available to control excessive alcohol

consumption, including through the creation of a new still

cider and perry band to tackle white ciders, as announced

by the Chancellor in his Budget.

Australia: Asylum

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions,

whether through Commonwealth channels or otherwise,

they have had regarding the achievement of humane

improvements in the current treatment of refugees and

asylum applicants seeking to enter Australia. [HL3495]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Our High Commission

to Canberra most recently discussed the issue with the

Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade in

November 2017. We also raised this at the UN Human

Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Australia in

November 2015.

Brexit

Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

To ask Her Majesty's Government how the £3 billion

announced in the Budget Statement to support

preparations for exiting the EU will be allocated to

support those preparations; and what the process of

allocating those funds will be. [HL3580]

Lord Bates: HM Treasury will work with departments

and the Department for Exiting the European Union over

the coming weeks to refine estimates of departmental

requirements for 18/19 and will allocate funding

accordingly in early 2018. Departmental allocations for

19/20 will be agreed at a later date, when there is more

certainty on the status of our future relationship with the

European Union. Departmental allocations from the

Reserve will be set out at Supplementary Estimates in the

relevant year as is usual.


To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they

have made of the timescale for which financial support

will be needed to aid the UK's exit from the EU; and

what assessment they have made of the extent to

which the allocation of the £3 billion announced in the

Budget Statement for that purpose for the 2018–19 and

2019–20 financial years will meet this need. [HL3582]

Lord Bates: The future funding requirements and the

timescale over which they will be needed are dependent

on the outcome of our negotiations with the European

Union. The £1.5 billion set aside in both 18/19 and 19/20

is to ensure departments have sufficient resources to

undertake key preparatory activities over the next two

years.


To ask Her Majesty's Government what

assessment they have made of the resources needed to

support preparations for exiting the EU, and of the

extent to which the £3 billion announced in the Budget

Statement will be sufficient to support those

preparations. [HL3581]

Lord Bates: The future funding requirements and the

timescale over which they will be needed are dependent

on the outcome of our negotiations with the European

Union. The £1.5 billion set aside in both 18/19 and 19/20

is to ensure departments have sufficient resources to

undertake key preparatory activities over the next two

years.

China: Religious Freedom

Asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment

they have made of the revisions to the regulations on

religious affairs in China, and of their potential impact

on freedom of religion or belief in that country.

[HL3566]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We remain concerned

about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in

China and are concerned that new draft guidelines on

religion in China may restrict lawful and peaceful

observance of religion.

We raised these matters directly with the Chinese

authorities at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in

Beijing on 27 June. We also issued an item IV statement

at the 35th UN Human Rights Council in June reiterating

our concerns.



representations they have made to the government of

China concerning restrictions on freedom of religion or

belief for Tibetan Buddhists in China, including the

detention of religious leaders and the demolition of

places of worship. [HL3568]

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2017-11-28/HL3657








7 December 2017 Written Answers

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We pay close attention

to the human rights position including restrictions on

religion or belief, and the wider political situation in

Tibet.

We set out our human rights concerns about China, and

specifically the Tibet Autonomous Region, in the Foreign

and Commonwealth Office annual report on Human

Rights and Democracy, which was issued on 20 July 2017

(available on gov.uk).

We raised these concerns about Tibet, a number of

individual cases of concern, and our concerns about

demolitions of the Larung Gar monasteries at the latest

round of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue which

took place in Beijing on 27 June 2017. We also made an

item IV statement at the UN's Human Rights Council in

Geneva in June 2017 where we reiterated our concerns

over restrictions on civil and political freedoms,

particularly minority rights, and freedom of religion in

China.


To ask Her Majesty's Government what information

they hold about the demolition of religious sites and

buildings in China, including Tibetan Buddhist

institutions and Christian churches in the past two

years. [HL3569]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are concerned by

reports of the closure or demolition of churches and

monasteries, and that individuals are being harassed or

detained for their beliefs across China.

We routinely obtain information and updates from a

wide range of sources and use these to help build a

credible picture of the extent of the situation.

We consistently urge China to respect all rights across

the People's Republic of China, including in Tibet, in line

with both its own constitution and the international

frameworks to which it is a party.

Clean Air Zones

Asked by Lord Bradshaw

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the

Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21

November (HL2990), whether the Clean Air Zone

Framework published in May instructs local authorities

to take account of the greater passenger capacity

afforded by buses when compared to cars, in order that

buses are not unreasonably targeted when setting up

Clean Air Zones. [HL3517]

Baroness Sugg: The Clean Air Zone Framework sets

out a range of measures which local authorities can take

to reduce pollution in their areas, including encouraging

the use of buses and public transport. In general, vehicles

such as lorries and buses, or high frequency users such as

taxis and private hire vehicles, emit higher levels of

pollution on a per vehicle basis. The framework therefore

sets out an approach under which, where charging zones

are being introduced, Local Authorities are required to

address these vehicles first, ahead of cars.

The Framework is clear that local authorities should

work with bus operators to reduce emissions from buses,

for example through developing quality partnership

schemes to support cleaner vehicles and the use of

vehicles with higher vehicle emission standards. To

support improvements in the bus fleet, the Government in

2016 allocated £100m to 2020/21 for new low emission

buses and the retrofitting of existing buses.

Diplomatic Relations

Asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

To ask Her Majesty's Government with which

countries in the world the UK does not have diplomatic

relations. [HL3531]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has diplomatic

relations with all UN Member States, either maintained

by representatives based in a country, or by staff

appointed to cover a State from elsewhere. However, our

dealings with the current Syrian State have been minimal

and only in relation to essential consular or administration

issues.

Domestic Violence: Children

Asked by Lord Wasserman


Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on

20 November (HL2794), what steps they intend to take

to encourage other police forces in England and Wales

to participate in Operation Encompass. [HL3560]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The government

recognises the significant harm that domestic abuse can

cause to children. That is why our new programme of

work on domestic abuse will look at how to better support

all those affected by domestic abuse with a specific focus

on children.

The National Oversight Group on domestic abuse,

chaired by the Home Secretary, shares learning from

innovative practice designed to tackle domestic abuse

such as Operation Encompass. Both the National Police

Lead for domestic abuse and the College of Policing sit

on this group and are responsible for disseminating good

practice to forces.

Domestic Violence: Males

Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following

the publication by the Office for National Statistics of

the Statistical bulletin: Domestic abuse in England and

Wales: year ending March 2017 on 23 November,

which states that more than one third of the victims of

domestic violence in that period were men, they will

clarify the statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford

on 27 November (HL Deb, col 486) that “the






breakdown of victims of domestic violence is thought

to be about 96% women and 4% men”. [HL3731]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Data shows that

women are much more likely than men to be the victims

of high risk or severe domestic abuse and this is clearly

demonstrated through a greater number of cases going to

a Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference and

accessing an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor

service, who deal with the most severe cases of domestic

abuse. 95% of these victims are female.

Electric Vehicles

Asked by Lord Moonie


they have made of how vehicle battery technology will

develop; and what is their estimate of the number of (1)

electric vehicles there will be, and (2) charging points

that will be required, in the next (a) five, (b) 10, and (c)

15, years. [HL3589]

Baroness Sugg: The Government recognises the

important future role batteries will have as a primary

energy source for vehicles. The recently announced

Faraday Challenge is a £246m commitment to battery

development in the UK to make the most of the

automotive electrification market opportunity.

We expect most motorists to continue to charge at

home, but we have put in place support schemes for those

unable to do so with schemes to fund domestic on-street,

off-street and workplace chargepoints. As announced at

Autumn Budget 2017, a new £400m electric car Charging

Infrastructure Investment Fund (£200m new Government

investment to be matched by private investors) will

accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure by

providing access to finance to companies that deliver

chargepoints.

The Government is due to publish a strategy on

Government support for the transition to zero emission

vehicles by March 2018.

European City of Culture

Asked by Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

advised local authorities of the 2013 EU criteria for

applicants to be the European City of Culture 2023.

[HL3624]

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The application, rules, guidance

and other information for cities wishing to enter the

competition to be European Capital of Culture 2023 were

published on 16 December 2016 on gov.uk, which I

attach.

The Answer includes the following attached material:

Application Form

[European_Capital_of_Culture_2023_application_form.docx]

Guidance

[Guide_for_candiadate_cities_for_the_European_Capital_of_Cult

ure.pdf]

Rules

[Rules_of_Procedure_for_the_2023_European_Capital_of_Culture

_in_the_UK.pdf]

The material can be viewed online at:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-

answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2017-11-27/HL3624

Football: Arrests


To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the

distribution of football banning orders for football fans

for each club in each year from 2010–11 to the last year

for which records are held. [HL3526]


To ask Her Majesty's Government how many

football-related arrests there were in each year from

2010–11 to the last year for which records are available,

for (1) each competition, and (2) each club. [HL3527]


To ask Her Majesty's Government for what type of

offences football-related arrests were made in each year

from 2010–11 to the last year for which records are

available. [HL3528]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office

publishes information on football-related arrests and

banning orders in the ‘Football-related arrests and

banning order statistics, England and Wales, 2016 to

2017 season’ publication and is available from the Home

Office webpage on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/football-

related-arrests-and-banning-orders-england-and-wales-

season-2016-to-2017. Providing the complete information

requested would exceed the word limit for response to a

Parliamentary Question.

Gao Zhisheng



representations they have made to the government of

China about the disappearance and current situation of

Chinese lawyer Gao Zhiseng, who went missing in

August. [HL3567]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are deeply

concerned about the case of Gao Zhisheng, particularly

after his reported disappearance in August. We are

continuing to work with international partners and others

to seek further information about his whereabouts and his

condition and to highlight our concerns about his case.











https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-england-and-wales-season-2016-to-2017





We raised Mr Gao's case with the Chinese authorities in

a list of 'cases of concern' ahead of the UK/China Human

Rights Dialogue in Beijing in June 2017.

FCO officials met Gao Zhisheng's daughter, Grace Gao,

and representatives of a UK NGO on 16 October to

discuss his case and obtain more information.

Garden Communities

Asked by Baroness Byford


answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 14

November (HL Deb, col 1928), how many of the

proposed new garden cities, towns and villages will be

located in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor. [HL3690]

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government is

already, through our garden cities, towns and villages

programme, supporting garden towns at Bicester, Didcot

and Aylesbury and a garden village close to Eynsham.

Decisions are still being made on the location of the five

new garden towns which the government committed to

supporting at Autumn Budget.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention


To ask Her Majesty's Government how many high-

rise buildings in England have flammable insulation

similar to that in Grenfell Tower; what plans they have,

in conjunction with local authorities, to ensure that such

insulation is replaced; and over what length of time.

[HL3522]

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Metropolitan

Police are leading a detailed investigation into the fire at

Grenfell Tower and we await the outcome of that. Given

the particular concerns around Aluminium Composite

Material cladding, our initial priority through the

Department's Building Safety Programme has been

testing those cladding systems. The large-scale tests of

cladding systems with Aluminium Composite Material

panels and various types of insulation are now complete

and advice on the results was published on 5 September.

This advice is available here (attached):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-

safety-programme-update-and-consolidated-advice-for-

building-owners-following-large-scale-testing

The Expert Panel is considering whether there may be

any heightened risks linked to other issues, such as other

cladding systems and broader safety issues.


Advice on the Composite Material panels [171206 Update and

consolidated advice for building owners large-scale testing

HL3522.pdf]


http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-

answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2017-11-23/HL3522

Home Office: Disclosure of Information

Asked by Lord Greaves

To ask Her Majesty's Government with which (1)

other departments, (2) Government agencies, (3) other

public bodies, (4) voluntary sector bodies, and (5)

private sector bodies, the Home Office has data sharing

arrangements in connection with (a) the identification

of individuals (b) their rights to receive public services,

(c) their rights to reside in the UK, and (d) other

matters. [HL3521]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: In line with the ICO

Code of Practice on data sharing the Home Office

maintains a number of agreements which oversee the

exchange of key information necessary to support the

effective delivery of departmental and government

functions, including the prevention and detection of

crime, immigration control and public safety. This

includes agreements with government and non-

government partners both in the UK and overseas.

All such sharing is in line with the Data Protection Act

1998 and other relevant legislation such as the Human

Rights Act 1998, the Immigration Act 2014 or the

Criminal Justice and Data Protection Regulations 2014.

The Home Office keeps such data sharing agreements

under review but does not currently maintain a central

register of all such agreements.

House of Lords: Beverage Containers

Asked by Baroness Redfern

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what steps are

being taken, including through procurement processes,

to reduce the number of plastic cups used in catering

outlets in the House of Lords. [HL3551]

Lord Laming: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked

me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond

on his behalf.

House of Lords Catering and Retail Services (CRS) is

taking a pro-active approach to reducing the use of

disposable cups within the House’s catering facilities. The

River Restaurant and Millbank House Restaurant both

provide disposable cups, and in both areas CRS runs an

incentive scheme for customers whereby the price of a hot

beverage is reduced by 10p (broadly the price of a

disposable cup) if a customer brings their own cup. We

also provide china cups in the River Restaurant and

Millbank House Restaurant and encourage customers to

use these when they are dining in, instead of using a

disposable cup.

Regarding procurement, CRS is not aware of a

disposable cup for hot beverages that is fully bio-

degradable, and until such a product becomes available

CRS will have to continue with its current supply. CRS

works closely with its suppliers to ensure it would

become aware of any new appropriate products should

they emerge.




https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-update-and-consolidated-advice-for-building-owners-following-large-scale-testing









Through the procurement process, CRS objectives

include sourcing products that come from renewable

sources (such as those supporting sustainable forestry or

low carbon processes). The disposable hot beverage cups

currently used are made from sustainable and recycled

materials and are an insulated, double walled cup. This

reduces disposable consumption by negating the need for

an additional sleeve or the practice of customers doubling

up cups if thinner, single walled cups are provided.

CRS has recently received accreditation from the

Sustainable Restaurant Association, and looks forward to

working alongside the Association to implement

innovative solutions for reducing the amount of total

disposable products, including cups, that are used across

the House of Lords catering venues.

Housing: Construction

Asked by Lord Shipley

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their

estimate of the number of new homes built in the UK in

the financial year 2016–17; and, of those, how many

were (1) the conversion of houses into flats, and (2) the

conversion of shops and offices into homes. [HL3558]

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Estimates of the

number of new homes completed, net conversions

between houses and flats, and net change of use between

non-domestic and residential are available for England, in

2016-17.

Annual housing supply in England amounted to

217,350 net additional dwellings in 2016-17, up 15 per

cent on 2015-16.

The 217,350 net additions in 2016-17 resulted from

183,570 new build homes, 37,190 gains from change of

use between non-domestic and residential, 5,680 from

conversions between houses and flats and 720 other gains

(caravans, house boats etc.), offset by 9,820 demolitions.

18,887 of the net additions from change of use were

through ‘permitted development rights’ (full planning

permission not required). These comprised 17,751

additional dwellings from former offices, 330 from

agricultural buildings, 106 from storage buildings and 700

from other non-domestic buildings

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not publish a

similar series on net supply of housing, although house

building estimates are published by the devolved

administrations. A time series showing demolitions and

conversions in Scotland is also available, please see

below the link.

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-

Regeneration/HSfS/ConDem

Kenya: Politics and Government

Asked by Lord Carlile of Berriew

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they

intend to provide support to the new government of

Kenya to develop its state institutions. [HL3605]

Lord Bates: The UK is committed to working in

partnership with Kenya, to promote jobs, new industries,

development, devolution, and regional security. We will

discuss shared priorities with the new Kenyan

Government, once its ministerial team is appointed.

Strong and durable institutions are essential to Kenya’s

long-term prosperity. We will continue to work with them

and wider civil society.

Midwives: Labour Turnover

Asked by Lord Mawson

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the last five

years, what percentage of midwives have left the

profession within (1) one, (2) two, and (3) three years

of completing their training. [HL3534]


To ask Her Majesty's Government, of those midwives

who completed their training in the last five years, what

was the average length of time they stayed in the

profession. [HL3535]



they have made of why midwives are leaving the

profession; and whether (1) salary levels, and (2) the

culture of the NHS, are relevant factors. [HL3536]


To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the

cost to the NHS over the last five years of midwives

leaving the profession; and what is their estimate of

such future costs. [HL3537]

Lord O'Shaughnessy: The information requested is

not collected by the Department.

To help secure a sustainable National Health Service

workforce for the future, NHS Improvement recently

launched a new Retention Programme to improve staff

retention in trusts across England and bring down the

leaver rates in the NHS by 2020.

NHS Improvement has developed plans for a raft of

measures, tools and support to help trusts understand why

employees are leaving their organisation and how to keep

them on. This includes launching new Direct Support

Programmes to provide intensive targeted support to

trusts with above average leaver rates.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Asked by Baroness Randerson

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan

to review the decision to abolish paper tax discs for

vehicles, following publication of data showing an

increase in the number of untaxed vehicles. [HL3548]

Baroness Sugg: There are no plans to review the

decision to abolish paper tax discs for vehicles, as more

than 98% of motorists license their vehicles correctly.


http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/ConDem

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/ConDem










vehicles failed to pay vehicle excise duty in the most

recent year for which figures are available; and what is

the total cost to the Exchequer of this tax evasion.

[HL3549]

Baroness Sugg: More than 98% of vehicles are

properly licensed and this demonstrates that the vast

majority of motorists comply with the law. The vehicle

excise duty evasion statistics estimated that around

755,000 vehicles in stock in the UK were unlicensed at

the point of the survey in June 2017. It is estimated that

this may potentially result in a loss of vehicle excise duty

revenue of £107 million, a proportion of which will be

recovered. The maximum penalty for using an untaxed

vehicle if a case comes to the Magistrates Court is the

greater of £1,000 or five times the amount of tax

chargeable; or the greater of £2,500 or five times the

amount of tax chargeable if using an untaxed vehicle and

also having declared a SORN. The Driver and Vehicle

Licensing Agency’s enforcement action led to £41 million

being recovered in the last financial year.

Motor Vehicles: Technicians


To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they

intend to introduce a licensing and accreditation scheme

for technicians working on electric and automated

vehicles. [HL3550]

Baroness Sugg: The Government does not currently

have any plans to introduce a licensing and accreditation

scheme for technicians working on electric and automated

vehicles. However, the Department recognises the need to

develop servicing skills to support the UK’s transition to

these vehicles. With regards to electric vehicles, the 2020

Vision for English Apprenticeships supports an industry-

led approach to skills training that allows employers to

lead on new apprenticeship standards. The establishment

of the employer-led Institute for Apprenticeships and the

introduction of an employer levy fund provides an

opportunity for these sectors to shape the development of

training programmes to meet the skills needs they have

identified.

It is too early to develop a training, licensing, and

accreditation scheme for automated vehicles. We will

continue to liaise with the relevant technology and

professional bodies; as automated vehicle technology

matures, we will be able to consider if such a scheme

would be suitable, and what, if any, Government

intervention would be needed.

Motorcycles: Licensing



they have made of the risks associated with regulations

which allow riders to operate mopeds without any

training or experience. [HL3545]

Baroness Sugg: Only car drivers who passed a driving

test before 1 February 2001 are permitted to ride a moped

without first completing Compulsory Basic Training. The

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has not

carried out a specific assessment of the risks associated

with this regulation that allows such persons to operate

mopeds without any training or experience.

However, we believe that the number of people who

take advantage of this provision is very small and the

number will reduce slightly every year as older drivers in

the cohort stop driving.

These risks have been considered several times since

compulsory basic training (CBT) for learner moped riders

motorcyclists was introduced in 1990.

Non-domestic Rates

Asked by Lord Beecham

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and to

what extent, they intend to compensate local authorities

for the loss of £2.3 billion over the next five years

resulting from their decision that business rates will

increase by CPI rather than RPI. [HL3516]

Lord Bates: Autumn Budget 2017 announced that the

planned switch in the indexation of business rates from

RPI to CPI will be brought forward by two years to April

2018. Central government will fully compensate local

authorities for income lost as a result of this measure.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Asked by Baroness Stern

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan

to review the contract held by G4S to operate Oakhill

Secure Training Centre, following the report published

by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Ofsted and the Care

Quality Commission on 21 November, which

concluded that the overall functioning of Oakhill Secure

Training Centre was inadequate. [HL3559]

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Ofsted inspection

report on Oakhill Secure Training Centre is completely

unacceptable and we have taken urgent action to address

the concerns raised by Ofsted. A new interim Director,

with extensive experience, has been appointed at Oakhill

and an experienced HMPPS Governor has been brought

in to provide extra scrutiny.

We are robustly monitoring performance against the

contract and are clear that we will take further steps, if

needed, to improve delivery.

More widely across the estate, we are investing £64

million to reform youth custody and increase staffing, to

improve safety and reduce violence.








Palm Oil

Asked by Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they

are taking to implement the UK Statement Sustainable

production of palm oil, published on 30 October 2012,

and to reduce the amount of palm oil in food and

bathroom products purchased by consumers, in order to

prevent further loss of tropical habitats and species

from deforestation. [HL3518]

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The 2012 Commitment on

Sustainable Palm Oil has been a success. Nearly all palm

oil imported to the UK is now certified sustainable.

This Government is building on that success by

continuing to support zero-deforestation supply chains for

key commodities, including palm oil. The UK is a

signatory to the Amsterdam Declarations, has endorsed

the New York Declaration on Forests and is a member of

the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, all of which support

action to prevent deforestation and encourage the

production of sustainable palm oil.

Through our international climate finance, the

Government is supporting a number of programmes

focused on sustainable palm oil production. Those

programmes are designed to strengthen governance,

promote market-based solutions and put in place

incentives, policies and actions that support sustainable

production alongside forest protection.

PKK


To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) they,

and (2) the EU, intend to review their decisions to

classify the Kurdistan People’s Party as a terrorist

organisation, following the decision of the Belgian

Court of Appeal on 14 September that that organisation

is a party to an armed conflict. [HL3496]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government

keeps its list of proscribed organisations under constant

review. The EU reviews its CT Sanctions Regime every

six months. The UK Government currently has no plans

to remove the proscription of the Kurdistan People's Party

(PKK).

Police and Crime Commissioners



Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on

22 November (HL2814), whether any Police and Crime

Commissioner in England and Wales has commissioned

a review into an investigation undertaken by their force.

[HL3562]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: As set out in the

Policing Protocol Order 2011, it is for police forces, in

line with the strategic direction and objectives set by the

democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioner

through their police and crime plan, to determine how

best to use their investigative resources. How forces

conduct an investigation is a matter for the relevant Chief

Officer, and it is for the Police and Crime Commissioner

to ensure that these duties are fulfilled in an effective and

proportionate manner on behalf of the public they serve.

The Government is not aware that any Police and Crime

Commissioner has commissioned a review into an

investigation undertaken by their force.

Police: Ministers of Religion


To ask Her Majesty's Government which police

forces in England and Wales employ police chaplains;

and of those, which employ chaplains on a full-time

basis. [HL3561]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office

does not collect data on the number of police forces who

employ police chaplains.

The Home Office does collect data annually on the

function of police staff, including the number of full time

equivalent staff employed in support functions. Within the

support functions category is those in ‘Human Resources’

roles, which includes chaplaincy. However, this group

also includes staff in other related roles, therefore it is not

possible to separately identify chaplains.

This information can be found in the data tables

published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce,

England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be

accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-

workforce-england-and-wales

Prisons: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Asked by Lord Moonie

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have

any evidence that drones have been used to smuggle

items into HM Prisons; and what counter measures are

available. [HL3588]

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We know that drones are

used to smuggle prohibited articles and illicit substances

into prison, including mobile phones, Class A drugs and

psychoactive substances. They present a significant threat

to the safety and security of our prisons as they can carry

up to 2kg worth of contraband.

We are taking decisive steps to tackle the use of drones

as a supply route for organised criminals to bring drugs

and mobile phones into prisons. In April 2017, we

announced the launch of Operation Trenton, a specialist

team of police and Prison Service investigators, to work

together to intercept drones and track down the criminals

behind them. Additionally, we are carrying out a series of






https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales



intelligence-led operations to disrupt drones as they enter

prison airspace. This tactic has already been used

successfully in several establishments. These targeted

counter measures are used alongside a range of security

measures in place across the estate to stop items coming

into prison, including surveillance, detection dogs, body

scanners and intelligence-led searches.

To date, there have been at least 17 convictions related

to drone activity, with those convicted sentenced to a total

of more than 50 years in prison.

We are also working closely with government partners

on the UK’s response to the drone threat and the

development of counter drone technology, including the

piloting of technical counter measures to block signals.

This is keeping the Prison Service at the forefront of the

work being progressed nationally and internationally to

stop the criminal use of drones.

Refugees: Children

Asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie


children under the age of 18 have been resettled under

the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme to date,

broken down by (1) region, and (2) local authority.

[HL3680]


To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of those

children resettled under the Vulnerable Children’s

Resettlement Scheme to date are currently accessing

education. [HL3681]


To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average

waiting time from arrival in the UK to starting full-time

education for children resettled under the Vulnerable

Children’s Resettlement Scheme. [HL3682]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Latest statistics

published on 30 November 2017 confirmed that a total of

412 vulnerable people have been resettled under the

Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Scheme (VCRS)

across various local authorities. Around half of those

resettled under the VCRS were children.

The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an

orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration

Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official

Statistics. The statistics are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-

statistics-quarterly-release

The Home Office does not hold data in relation to the

number of children resettled through this scheme who are

currently accessing education or the average waiting time

for children to start full-time education.

We continue to work with local authorities to make sure

that every child has a school place.

Road Traffic Offences: Mobile Phones

Asked by Baroness Redfern

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people

have been prosecuted for the use of hand-held mobile

devices while driving in the past 12 months. [HL3556]

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In 2016, the most recent

period for which figures are available, 12,853 defendants

were proceeded against at magistrates courts in England

and Wales for using or causing others to use a handheld

mobile phone whilst driving.

Ross Fund

Asked by Baroness Sheehan

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the

Ross Fund has been (1) allocated, and (2) disbursed.

[HL3634]

Lord Bates: The Ross Fund is a portfolio of

programmes, identified in the UK Aid Strategy, led by

either DFID or Department of Health (DH), aimed at

combatting the world's most serious diseases.

DFID was allocated £547m and DH £461m from the

Ross Fund Portfolio. To date DFID has (1) allocated

£445m and (2) disbursed £40m to end of financial year

2016/17. DH has (1) allocated £461m and has (2)

disbursed £22.3m to end of financial year 2016/17.

Details for the current financial year will be available

after March 2018.


To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has

been spent in each year through the Ross Fund since it

was set up. [HL3635]





Since the Ross Fund Portfolio was established, DFID

spent £40m in the financial year 2016/17. DH spent

£4.5m in 2015/16 and £17.8m in 2016/17. Details for the

current financial year will be available after March 2018.


To ask Her Majesty's Government which projects

have been funded by the Ross Fund since it was set up.

[HL3636]





DFID projects funded within the Ross Fund Portfolio

are in four areas: 1) product development research, with

support to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative,

Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Medicines

for Malaria Venture, International AIDS Vaccine

initiative, Aeras – TB vaccine development, TB Alliance,





https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release








Innovative Vector Control Consortium, International

Partnership for Microbicides, PATH diarrhoeal diseases

vaccines and treatments, PATH meningitis vaccine

project and PATH malaria diagnostics; 2) research for

epidemic response with support to the World Health

Organisation (WHO) R&D Blueprint, joint DFID-

Wellcome programme for epidemic response; 3)

implementation research, with support to the Febrile

Illness Evaluation in a Broad Range of Endemicities, the

Coalition for Operational Research for Neglected Tropical

Diseases; and 4) implementation programmes, with

support to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria,

Global Guinea Worm Diseases Eradication Programme,

Nigeria: Tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases through an

integrated approach, Support for the Elimination of

Lymphatic FILARIASIS, Capacity building through the

WHO Department of Neglected Tropical Diseases.

DH projects funded within the Ross Fund Portfolio are

the Fleming Fund, Vaccine Network, UK Rapid Support

Team and the Global AMR Innovation Fund.

Secondary Education: Finance

Asked by Baroness Whitaker

To ask Her Majesty's Government how the £4,800

per secondary school pupil to be allocated in 2018–19

under the national funding formula will be spent in the

case of home-educated children. [HL3564]

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The department does not

provide funding to local councils, schools or academies

for electively home-educated children. It remains the case

that when parents choose to home educate their children

they assume financial responsibility.

The department continues to recommend that local

councils should take a flexible approach to support for

home educating parents where appropriate. Further

guidance on funding for home-educated students is

available (attached) at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-

home-education.


Revised Funding Guidance [revised_funding_guidance_-

_local_authorities_on_home_educated_children.pdf]



Social Media: Children

Asked by The Marquess of Lothian

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the

Ofcom report Children and Parents: media use and

attitudes, what steps they intend to take to address the

issue of underage social media use. [HL3708]

Lord Ashton of Hyde: We expect social media firms

to have robust processes in place around the use of their

sites by children and to act promptly against any activity

that does not comply with their policies.

Social Rented Housing


To ask Her Majesty's Government how many social

housing units, whether owned by local authorities or by

other providers, have been (1) demolished, and (2) sold;

and of those, how many have been replaced by new

units. [HL3523]

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Figures for social

housing demolished (Social housing refers to Social Rent,

Affordable Rent and Intermediate Affordable Rent).

Demolitions Local Authority Private Registered

Providers

2010/11 3,508 4,584

2011/12 3,884 3,989

2012/13 4,082 4,672

2013/14 4,361 5,061

2014/15 3,042 2,786

2015/16 3,623 2,923

Source: DCLG Local Authority Housing Statistics

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-housing-

data, HCA Statistical Data Return https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistical-data-return-

statistical-releases

Figures for social housing sold (Social housing refers to

Social Rent, Affordable Rent and Intermediate Affordable

Rent).

Social Housing Sales Local Authority Private Registered

Providers

2010-11 3,112 5,319

2011-12 3,108 4,953

2012-13 6,743 6,533

2013-14 11,740 8,904

2014-15 12,489 7,965

2015-16 12,557 9,435

Source: DCLG Live table 678

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales

Data on direct replacement of social housing sales is

only collected as part of the Right to Buy 141 replacement

policy and not for other sales or demolitions. The

following table on stock shows the annual net change in

social rented dwellings which combines the total loses

from sales and demolitions with new supply. Since 2010

the overall stock of social housing (social rent, affordable

rent and intermediate affordable rent) has increased by

76,000.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education






https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-housing-data

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-housing-data

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistical-data-return-statistical-releases

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistical-data-return-statistical-releases




Dwelling stock:

by tenure

Rented from

Private Registered

Providers

Rented from

Local Authorities

Total

2010 2,180,000 1,786,000 3,966,000

2011 2,255,000 1,726,000 3,981,000

2012 2,304,000 1,693,000 3,997,000

2013 2,331,000 1,682,000 4,013,000

2014 2,343,000 1,669,000 4,012,000

2015 2,387,000 1,643,000 4,030,000

2016 2,430,000 1,612,000 4,042,000

Source: DCLG Live table 104

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-

sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

Social Rented Housing: Housing Starts

Asked by Lord Jones

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many social

housing starts on site were made in (1) 2008, (2) 2010,

(3) 2012, and (4) 2016. [HL3434]

Asked by Lord Jones

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many starts

on site were made by Housing Associations in (1) 2010,

and (2) 2015. [HL3435]

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Building more

affordable homes is an absolute priority for this

Government. On 4 October, the Prime Minister

announced an extra £2 billion funding for affordable

housing, on top of the £1.4 billion announced last year,

increasing the affordable Homes Programme 2016-2021

budget to over £9 billion.

The Department does not hold figures for affordable

housing starts before 2009/10, as information was

previously only collected by completion.

The number of affordable housing starts on site in

England, funded by the Homes and Communities Agency

and the Greater London Authority for the requested years

are as follows:

• 2010/11: 48,488 starts.

• 2012/13: 35,337 starts.

These figures do not include starts funded solely by

local authorities and other sources.

For 2016/17 onwards, the total number of affordable

starts also includes starts funded solely by local

authorities and other sources. Under this criteria, the

following figures are available:

• 2016/17: 49,420 starts.

Figures for the total number of starts on site made

specifically by Housing Associations are available in

DCLG live table 1000S. However, this live table only

shows data from 2016/17 onwards.

Terrorism: Finance

Asked by Lord Empey


they have made of whether there is a relationship

between the governments of Qatar and Iran and the

funding and support for global Islamist terrorism.

[HL3429]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The government has

undertaken an internal review into the nature, scale and

origin of the funding of Islamist extremist activity in the

UK, including any overseas sources. On 12 July, the

Home Secretary announced the main findings of the

Home Office's review and I refer the noble Lord to

Written Statement HCWS39

Terrorism and violent extremism are an evil that steals

lives, saps resources and divides communities. No society

is immune and no single country has the answer to this

scourge. In July, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the

Emir of Qatar's commitment to tackle terrorism in all its

manifestations, including terrorism financing. We remain

concerned about reports of Iran's financial and military

support to militant and proscribed groups, such as

Hizballah, Hamas and Palestinian rejectionist groups.

This support directly undermines prospects for regional

security and lasting peace in the region.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool


they have made of reports that attacks which violate

international humanitarian law are continuing in

Yemen. [HL3470]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of reports

of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law

(IHL) by actors in the conflict and take these very

seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough

and conclusive investigations into incidents where it is

alleged that IHL has been breached. We regularly raise

the importance of compliance with IHL with the Saudi

Arabian Government and other members of the military

Coalition. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is

investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that

lessons will be acted upon. The Saudis have their own

internal procedures for investigations. The Saudi-led

Coalition Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) has

announced the findings of a total of 41 investigations and

the most recent was released on 19 November 2017.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Asked by Lord Lea of Crondall


statement made by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants







November (HL Deb, col 46), what actions they are

taking within the UN to ensure that action is taken to

allow the immediate provision of supplies to Yemen;

what representations they have made to the government

of Saudi Arabia regarding ending their blockade of

Yemen; whether a timescale has been established for

such action to be taken; and whether, given the UK's

alliance with Saudi Arabia, they have any plans to

review licences for arms supplies to that country.

[HL3497]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is deeply

concerned by the humanitarian situation and calls for all

parties to immediately provide unhindered commercial

and humanitarian access. The Prime Minister met with the

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia during her visit to Riyadh

on 29 November and was clear on the importance of a

resolution to the conflict and humanitarian and

commercial access to all of Yemen. The Foreign

Secretary raised the urgency of the humanitarian situation

with the Crown Prince on 23 November and has also

spoken with the Secretary-General of the UN.

On 22 November, the Saudi-led Coalition announced

that they would allow humanitarian flights and shipments

to resume. We welcome progress towards reopening the

ports in Hodeidah, Salif and Sana'a airport. A small

number of humanitarian and commercial vessels have

been able to berth at these ports. To prevent a

humanitarian catastrophe, more needs to be done and

quickly. The UK will continue pressing at the very

highest levels for complete and unhindered commercial

and humanitarian access to all of Yemen.

The UK Government takes its arms export licensing

responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the

most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All

export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case

basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms

Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant

factors at the time of the application.



Index to Statements and Answers

Written Statements ................................................. 1

Agriculture and Fisheries Pre-Council Statement 1

Changes in Immigration Rules ............................. 1

Correction ............................................................. 1

Energy Infrastructure ............................................ 2

Energy Policy ....................................................... 2

Foreign Affairs Council (Foreign and Defence

Ministers) .............................................................. 3

National Transfer Scheme .................................... 4

Paterson Case ....................................................... 5

Tailored Review of ICAI ...................................... 5

Written Answers ..................................................... 7

Alcoholic Drinks: Minimum Prices ...................... 7

Australia: Asylum ................................................. 7

Brexit .................................................................... 7

China: Religious Freedom .................................... 7

Clean Air Zones .................................................... 8

Diplomatic Relations ............................................ 8

Domestic Violence: Children ............................... 8

Domestic Violence: Males ................................... 8

Electric Vehicles ................................................... 9

European City of Culture ...................................... 9

Football: Arrests ................................................... 9

Gao Zhisheng ....................................................... 9

Garden Communities .......................................... 10

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention ........................ 10

Home Office: Disclosure of Information............ 10

House of Lords: Beverage Containers ................ 10

Housing: Construction ........................................ 11

Kenya: Politics and Government ........................ 11

Midwives: Labour Turnover ............................... 11

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties ........................... 11

Motor Vehicles: Technicians .............................. 12

Motorcycles: Licensing ...................................... 12

Non-domestic Rates............................................ 12

Oakhill Secure Training Centre .......................... 12

Palm Oil ............................................................. 13

PKK ................................................................... 13

Police and Crime Commissioners ...................... 13

Police: Ministers of Religion ............................. 13

Prisons: Unmanned Air Vehicles....................... 13

Refugees: Children ............................................ 14

Road Traffic Offences: Mobile Phones ............. 14

Ross Fund .......................................................... 14

Secondary Education: Finance .......................... 15

Social Media: Children ...................................... 15

Social Rented Housing ...................................... 15

Social Rented Housing: Housing Starts ............. 16

Terrorism: Finance ............................................ 16

Yemen: Armed Conflict .................................... 16

Yemen: Military Intervention ............................ 16

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