House of Lords Business

Earl Attlee to ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance is made available to Ministers regarding the need to maintain, and appear to maintain, an open mind during Government policy consultations.  HL4626

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted to ask Her Majesty's Government why companies, pension funds and taxpayer-funded public bodies are served notices by the Financial Reporting Council requesting payment for a charge described as a levy without any accompanying statement that the charge does not have the status of levy or tax, and is not actually required to be paid.  HL4627

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the opening of an office in Brussels by the Financial Reporting Council for lobbying activity was authorised by the Cabinet Office as required by the restrictions placed on non-departmental public bodies by the rules set by the Cabinet Office; and if so, when.  HL4628

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which transfers of staff from the Financial Reporting Council to (1) the International Accounting Standards Board, (2) large accounting firms, and (3) other organisations, have complied with the restrictions on appointment of public officials into private sector roles.  H… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Clark of Windermere to ask Her Majesty's Government what is the latest rate of absence through sickness of NHS staff; and what were the comparable figures for each of the last 20 years.  HL4630

Lord Clark of Windermere to ask Her Majesty's Government what was the level of bullying reported in the latest NHS Staff Survey; and what were the comparable figures for each of the last 20 years.  HL4631

Lord Colwyn to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 20 December 2017 (HL3994), what was the total number of fines issued for incorrectly claiming an exemption on NHS dental fees in the first six months of 2017–18.  HL4632

The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask Her Majesty's Government how many families have had their tax credits reduced by the two-child limit in each month since the introduction of the limit in April 2017; how many of those families had one or more parents in work; how many families were (1) lone parent families or (2) two-parent families; and what was the number of children per family i… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask Her Majesty's Government how many families with three or more children have been able to claim the Child Tax Credit amount for a third or subsequent child under the “special circumstances” exemption rules that apply to the two-child limit, in each month since the introduction of the limit in April 2017; and what reasons were provided for those exem… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of the two-child limit for Child Tax Credits on the well-being of children in large families affected by the policy, since it was introduced in April 2017.  HL4635

The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask Her Majesty's Government how many families with three or more children have been affected by the benefit cap in each month since April 2017; how many children were included in each affected family; how many families were (1) lone parent families or (2) two-parent families; and how many of those families had one or more parents in work.  HL4636

Lord Elystan-Morgan to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received from the Welsh Assembly any formal indication of its intention to reconsider withholding legislative consent to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill; and if such consent continues to be withheld, what action they intend to take.  HL4637

Lord Framlingham to ask Her Majesty's Government how many HS2 Ltd employees have been made redundant to date; and what has been the total cost.  HL4638

Lord Framlingham to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the final total cost of HS2.  HL4639

Lord Framlingham to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to scrap HS2; and if so, on what they intend to spend the money saved.  HL4640

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what the criteria are for the provision of grants under the Faraday Battery Challenge, established under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, for the development and production of battery technology; and, in particular, what emphasis is given, if any, in those criteria, to the improvement of environmental and working conditions in th… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what the criteria were for choosing the list of potential rail reopenings in paragraph 2.43 of the policy paper Connecting People: a strategic vision for rail (Cm 9519); and why the reopening of the Colne to Skipton portion of the Preston to Leeds line via Blackburn and Burnley was not included.  HL4642

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government, following the change of name of the Department of Health to the Department of Health and Social Care, whether there have been any changes in (1) the responsibilities of that Department, and (2) the arrangements in place between HM Government and local authorities with social care responsibilities in relation to health and social care;… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to achieve gender parity among participants in all meetings and events at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in the UK in April.  HL4644

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger to ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to enable women-led civil society organisations in Commonwealth countries to participate at and influence the outcomes of the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  HL4645

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend the sustainable development goals to be a subject for discussion at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  HL4646

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for women’s rights issues to be included in discussions on prosperity, security, sustainable futures and fairness at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  HL4647

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger to ask Her Majesty's Government whether financial support will be provided to women-led civil society organisations to attend the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  HL4648

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for inshore fishermen of their decision to withdraw from the London Fisheries Convention of 1962; and whether, in the light of withdrawal from that Convention, inshore fishermen will be able to access the UK cod fishing quota in future.  HL4649

The Countess of Mar to ask Her Majesty's Government whether teachers who become Designated Senior Leads for Mental Health to oversee the approach to mental health and wellbeing in schools will be trained to distinguish children with anxiety, depression or behavioural problems from children who have myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) as a primary cause of their il… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Porter of Spalding to ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they are making to establish equivalent rights and responsibilities for local government to be consulted on legislative changes as are currently exercised through the EU Committee of the Regions; and whether they expect that the necessary consultation mechanisms will be put in place before the UK leaves the EU. … Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Randerson to ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) Virgin Trains, and (2) Stagecoach, will be permitted to bid for any future franchise or partnership arrangements established for train services on the East Coast Main Line.  HL4652

Baroness Randerson to ask Her Majesty's Government what changes have been (1) announced, and (2) made, to Network Rail’s plans for improvements to the infrastructure of the East Coast Main Line, since Virgin Trains and Stagecoach were awarded the franchise in November 2014.  HL4653

The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of food consumed in the UK was imported in (1) 1990, (2) 1995, (3) 2000, (4) 2005, (5) 2010, (6) 2015, and (7) 2017.  HL4654

The Lord Bishop of St Albans to ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of food consumed in the UK was imported from the EU in (1) 1990, (2) 1995, (3) 2000, (4) 2005, (5) 2010, (6) 2015, and (7) 2017.  HL4655

Lord Scriven to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they have taken to ascertain that information received from the Embassy of Bahrain is factually correct, in the light of reports of misleading statements being made by the Embassy regarding a meeting held with Amnesty International in November 2017.  HL4656

Lord Steel of Aikwood to ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to amending the Letters Patent to limit the terms of new appointments to the House of Lords to 15 years.  HL4657

Lord Warner to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to incorporate access targets from the NHS Constitution into the performance ratings of NHS Trusts that are produced by the Care Quality Commission.  HL4658

Lord Warner to ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are currently in place for ensuring (1) the safety and quality of medical isotopes used by the NHS when they leave production centres in mainland Europe, and (2) the safe handling of such isotopes following arrival in the UK; and what role Euratom plays in delivering those arrangements.  HL4659