House of Lords Business

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of warnings by the Burma Human Rights Network about plans announced on 16 January by the governments’ of Burma and Bangladesh to repatriate the Rohingya refugees who fled from Burma.  HL4871

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of whether the Rohingya refugees who may be returned to Burma from Bangladesh will be subject to refoulement to camps where they may be held indefinitely.  HL4872

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they made to UN agencies and Rohingya representatives before and after refoulement plans to return the Rohinga refugees from Burma to Bangladesh were agreed.  HL4873

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to plans to return the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Burma, (1) how many refugees they estimate will be affected; (2) when the plans will be implemented; and (3) what assessment have they made of the legality of these arrangements under international law governing the protection of refugees.  HL4874

Lord Carlile of Berriew to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to refer Carillion’s tendering activities and the connected actions of relevant officers of the company over the past three years to the Serious Fraud Office for inquiry.  HL4875

Lord Carlile of Berriew to ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures and checks are in place to ensure that payments made by the Department for International Development cannot be used for terrorism purposes; and whether any payments have been (1) withdrawn, (2) refused, and (3) prohibited, since the beginning of 2015 on grounds connected with actual, suspected or potential ter… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Carlile of Berriew to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement procedures to ensure that children and other vulnerable defendants are not subject to video hearings in any situation in which pleas are discussed or entered, or evidence adduced.  HL4877

Lord Carlile of Berriew to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ask the Judicial College to develop guidance for judges, magistrates and magistrates’ legal advisers about when video hearings should be used for vulnerable defendants; and what reasonable adjustments should be made if a video hearing is used, including the use of intermediaries.  HL4878

Lord Carlile of Berriew to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to consider proposals for a methodological assessment of the impact of video hearings on justice outcomes, including appeals.  HL4879

Lord Carlile of Berriew to ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the recent report by the National Audit Office and the collapse of Carillion, they plan to produce new guidance on the circumstances under which PF2 contracts should be used in future.  HL4880

Lord Chadlington to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is full cooperation between banks in the investigation of fraud.  HL4881

Lord Chadlington to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that victims of bank account fraud are compensated.  HL4882

Lord Crathorne to ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have that the proposed UK ban on historically sculpted ivory sales will (1) deter poachers in Africa, and (2) reduce the demand for sculpted ivory in Asia, India or the Middle East.  HL4883

Lord Crathorne to ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the potential loss of value that will be experienced by UK owners of legitimately acquired sculpted ivory as a result of the proposed ban on the sale of such items; and what plans they have to compensate the owners of such items for any loss of value which they experience.  HL4884

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the procedures being followed by civil servants in Scotland for maintaining records of meetings with ministers which may be subject to freedom of information requests.  HL4885

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock to ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many staff were employed in each of the following services of the House of Lords in 2010 (1) the Library, (2) Catering and Retail Services, and (3) all other offices and departments of the House Administration; what was the cost in each case; and what are the equivalent figures for 2017.  HL4886

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Scottish government’s proposals to ban plastic stemmed cotton buds; and whether they plan to consider similar proposals for England.  HL4887

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to Annex 1 of the Communication from the European Commission, A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy, published on 16 January, to what extent they plan to participate in (1) the list of future EU measures to implement the Strategy, (2) the list of measures recommended to national authorities and ind… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Helic to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of refugees who will be affected by the decision of the government of the United States to withdraw funding for the UN Relief Works Agency; and what specific services and aid they expect will be affected.  HL4889

Baroness Helic to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are proposing to other UN Relief Works Agency donors to meet the shortfall in funding for the agency in the light of the decision of the government of the United States to reduce its support.  HL4890

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the study by James Davies et al Long term Benzodiazepine and Z-drugs use in the UK: A survey of general practice, published in the British Journal of General Practice vol. 67 (662) in May 2017, which found that more than a quarter of a million people in the UK are likely to be taking highl… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Inglewood to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of the Heritage Lottery Fund contributing to the cost of Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster.  HL4892

Baroness Neville-Rolfe to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any evidence that difficulties in recruiting UK nationals as nurses reflect changes in the UK's higher education system in recent years.  HL4893

Baroness Pinnock to ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of emergency admissions to hospitals in England are for pre-existing conditions that could have been treated by a primary, community, or social care unit.  HL4894

Baroness Pinnock to ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost per day of preventable emergency admissions to hospitals in England for adults with pre-existing health conditions.  HL4895

Baroness Pinnock to ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost per day per adult of providing social care in England.  HL4896

Lord Storey to ask Her Majesty's Government in relation to the contract for the grant to run a Support Service to the Free Schools Programme (1) when bids were invited, (2) where this was advertised, (3) when was the closing date for bids, and (4) what was the process for awarding the contract.  HL4897

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the UK's overseas development assistance can be spent by departments other than the Department for International Development according to the rules and regulations of the OECD.  HL4898

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the UK overseas development assistance was not spent by the Department for International Development in the following years (1) 2013–14, (2) 2014–15, (3) 2015–16, and (4) 2016–17.  HL4899

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the UK's overseas development assistance to reduce poverty is spent by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  HL4900

Baroness Whitaker to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 15 January (HL Deb, col 432), how many young people from gypsy and traveller families have taken up apprenticeships in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of those people have accessed support provided for those with learning disabilities.  HL4901

Baroness Whitaker to ask Her Majesty's Government what training, if any, magistrates receive on the culture and ethnicity of gypsies and travellers.  HL4902

Baroness Whitaker to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 December 2017 (HLWS365), who are the members of the Race and Ethnicity Board of Senior Officials; and how they plan for the Board to take account of discrimination against gypsy, traveller and Roma people.  HL4903

Baroness Whitaker to ask Her Majesty's Government what are the specific responsibilities and accountabilities of the architectural adviser appointed, in March 2017, to assist the Government Chief Planner; and what key objectives are contained in the current work plan of the adviser.  HL4904

Baroness Whitaker to ask Her Majesty's Government what specific responsibilities have been given to the civil servant, formerly employed by Design Council CABE, who has been appointed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in order to assist the Chief Planner in improving design and place quality.  HL4905

Baroness Whitaker to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have published a job description for the Built Environment Adviser that they are in the process of appointing; and how many people will be employed in the team of the Adviser.  HL4906