House of Lords Business

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 20 February (HL13570), what regulations are in place to ensure that Higher Education institutions maintain high standards of accuracy and transparency in correspondence with external stakeholders, especially correspondence relating to offers for study on a deferr… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the UN Paris Principles, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the provisions which require such institutions to maintain their independence from the national governments; and if s… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about ensuring that the Federal Ministry of Human Rights of Pakistan does not curtail the independence of the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan by controlling its financial resources.  HL13962

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of whether (1) the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan is free to submit independent reports to UN bodies, as required by the UN Paris Principles; and (2) the Chairman and members of the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan are free to travel to participate in com… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Amnesty International Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society, published on 21 February; and how they intend to respond to its recommendations.  HL13964

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria about the continued imprisonment of Leah Sharibu, following the anniversary of her captivity; and what response they received.  HL13965

Lord Bassam of Brighton to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 19 February (HL13430), whether disclosing further details of their planning to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is in the public interest; if not, why not; and if not, what assessment they have made of the compliance of… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Beecham to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practice of NHS trusts of using non-disclosure agreements in cases of bullying and harassment affecting staff members.  HL13967

Lord Beecham to ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they have provided to local authorities to prevent homelessness (1) since the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 was enacted, and (2) in each of the last 10 years prior to the enactment of that Act.  HL13968

Lord Beecham to ask Her Majesty's Government how much legal aid they have provided to housing lawyers in (1) 2012, (2) 2013, (3) 2014, (4) 2015, (5) 2016, (6) 2017, and (7) 2018.  HL13969

Lord Beecham to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of people's access to housing lawyers.  HL13970

Lord Berkeley to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21 February (HL13574), what they have spent or committed, in staff, consultancy and other costs, on work related to the procurement exercise to secure additional freight capacity after Brexit; and what assessment they have made of the impact on such costs of the approach to nine compan… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Boateng to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of archive material relating to George Padmore and Claudia Jones for use by Commonwealth historians; and what steps they have taken to prevent further destruction of any files relating to them held by government departments or other state agencies.  HL13972

Lord Bruce of Bennachie to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a preferred alternative source of fuel for domestic central heating of homes not on the gas grid.  HL13973

Lord Bruce of Bennachie to ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to encourage the installation of domestic combined heat and power systems.  HL13974

Lord Bruce of Bennachie to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce British Sign Language into the curriculum in England as a GCSE subject; and if so, when.  HL13975

Lord Bruce of Bennachie to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to offer the same access to public service information by video relay services for sign language users as currently offered in Scotland.  HL13976

Lord Bruce of Bennachie to ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances they have sought or received that UK registered airlines will be able to operate post-Brexit (1) between the UK and EU destinations, and (2) between destinations within the EU.  HL13977

Lord Bruce of Bennachie to ask Her Majesty's Government what charges they expect to be applied after Brexit to UK credit card transactions in EU member states.  HL13978

Baroness Eaton to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the selective licensing regime, introduced in the Housing Act 2004 to tackle rogue landlords, has resulted in Almshouse Charities that are not registered providers of social housing being financially penalised.  HL13979

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 11 February (HL13163), what was the cost of the feasibility study into the creation of a new trans-Pennine freight railway line including the reinstatement of the Colne-Skipton line, that was announced by Chris Grayling on 3 February 2018; what is the estimated cost of the further work… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the further work on reinstating the Colne-Skipton rail link as part of a new freight railway route between Liverpool and Yorkshire, to assess the freight demand and commercial viability of the scheme, will be undertaken by and on behalf of the Department for Transport or Transport for the North; if so (1) who is carrying out the… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Greaves to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written answer by Baroness Sugg on 11 February (HL13163), when it was decided that “the feasibility study into the value of reopening the Skipton to Colne railway” announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on 3 February 2018 was “only the first step in establishing the feasibility of the project”; what was the an… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Baroness Harris of Richmond to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that the government of Spain is not allowed to extract concessions on Gibraltar when pursuing future defence, security and intelligence agreements.  HL13983

Lord Hunt of Chesterton to ask Her Majesty's Government how, in developing policies to reduce annual average carbon emissions, they collaborate with other countries who share the same objectives.  HL13984

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review existing research on earthworms with particular regard to the impact of slug pellets on earthworms and small birds, especially thrushes.  HL13985

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on road traffic, in particular HGVs and coaches, in central London, of the proposed Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens (1) during its construction, and (2) once in use.  HL13986

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21 February (HL13733),  what assurances they can provide that access to Parliament, Government departments and St Thomas’s Hospital will not be obstructed by taxis blocking Parliament Square; and whether prosecutions are in process or pending as a result of earlier blockades.  HL13987

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are objecting to Turkish acts of implied sovereignty, for example, training local police and opening Post Offices in the provinces of Jarabulus, Al Bab and Afrin in Syria; and if not, why not.  HL13988

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent assessment of the conditions for refugees and migrants (1) detained in Libya, and (2) prevented from crossing the Mediterranean; and what plans they have, if any, to improve those conditions.  HL13989

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Investigatory Powers Commissioner has established a baseline figure for the number of juveniles used as covert human intelligence sources; and whether they will publish an annual figure of the number of such sources in his next annual report.  HL13990

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they still describe the use of juveniles as covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) as rare, now that the time period for such juveniles being authorised to act as CHIS has been extended to four months.  HL13991

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government whether social workers are always involved in any decision regarding the use of juveniles as covert human intelligence sources; and if so, whether those social workers conduct a risk assessment of the physical and psychological welfare of the young person in each case.  HL13992

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for inspecting the police's use of juveniles as covert human intelligence sources; and whether those who are responsible inspect policy regarding (1) payments, (2) inducements, and (3) frequency of use of each juvenile, set by senior members of the police service.  HL13993

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current age demographic of juveniles used as covert human intelligence sources; and whether they anticipate that this will change significantly as a result of the police seeking to address county lines drug gangs.  HL13994

Lord Laming to ask Her Majesty's Government how many children in the care of local authorities in England are in foster homes provided by private companies.  HL13995

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 4 February (HL13023), what assessment they have made of any potential issues that could arise as a result of making Universal Credit payments into someone else’s bank account where a refugee does not have their own account.  HL13996

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Secretary of State for Work and Pension’s speech Universal Credit: personal welfare on 11 January, how the process of claiming Universal Credit and nominating a bank account will be changed so as to ensure payment is received by the main carer.  HL13997

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Secretary of State for Work and Pension’s speech Universal Credit: personal welfare on 11 January, whether reference to payment to the main carer applies to Universal Credit claimants where (1) the Carer's Allowance is paid, and (2) the carer element is included in their entitlement.  HL13998

Baroness Lister of Burtersett to ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of claimants who arrive late for an interview being subject to sanctions, what facilities are available at Jobcentres and associated contractors’ premises to accommodate claimants who arrive early; whether there are any time restrictions for the accommodation of early arrivals; and whether good practice gu… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is full access for humanitarian aid providers in southern Syria; and whether they anticipate that conditions will improve sufficiently to enable refugees to return safely.  HL14000

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government, following the meeting of the Southern Transitional Council National Assembly on 16 and 17 February, what assessment they have made of the current situation in southern Yemen and the tensions between the government of Yemen and secessionist groups.  HL14001

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support political reform in Armenia following the Velvet Revolution and the parliamentary elections in December 2018.  HL14002

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government how many magistrates there are currently in England and Wales; how many more magistrates are needed in England and Wales; and what are their plans to (1) recruit more magistrates, and (2) ensure equality of access to justice throughout England and Wales.  HL14003

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, following Russian proxy forces refusing to give access to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to certain areas in the occupied Donetsk region.  HL14004

The Marquess of Lothian to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have raised with the government of the United States the decision announced by the United States' Secretary of State in October 2018 to merge the United States Consulate General in Jerusalem into the new United States Embassy; and when they estimate the creation of a single United States diplomatic mission in Jer… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Lucas to ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to ensuring all children under the age of 18 who have been referred to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s Gender Identity Development Service in respect of possible gender dysphoria or reassignment participate in an independent long-term study to improve the understanding of such conditions… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Lucas to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21 February (HL13555), in the period 30 November 2014 to 31 December 2018 (1) what was the total amount received as a result of people paying the Dart Charge correctly and on time, (2) what was the total gross amount of penalties, following any discount for early payment, incurred by the… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Mancroft to ask Her Majesty's Government when they will announce their plans for the reform of regulation surrounding society lotteries, including any increase in prize limits, following the consultation which closed on 7 September 2018.  HL14008

Lord Myners to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the withdrawal of credit insurance to a company sponsoring a pension fund with a large deficit requires approval by the Pensions Regulator.  HL14009

Lord Ouseley to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research from University College London about reducing the attainment gap between poorer boys and their more affluent peers through earlier schooling.  HL14010

Lord Ouseley to ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the introduction of additional earlier age education to achieve better attainment and education benefits for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.  HL14011

Lord Porter of Spalding to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the publication of Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England on 18 December 2018, what support they intend to provide local authorities to help them improve recycling rates for hard-to-recycle materials.  HL14012

Lord Porter of Spalding to ask Her Majesty's Government when details on the scope of the devolution framework will be made available; and whether they intend to involve local government in the design of such a framework.  HL14013

Baroness Sherlock to ask Her Majesty's Government whether, with respect to the individuals identified as entitled to income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) but who were moved to contributory-based ESA from incapacity benefit, any assessment is being carried out of the amount of housing benefit, council tax support or passported benefits to which those individuals wo… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a statement from the Institute of Directors regarding the impact of Brexit uncertainty on consumption and investment in UK businesses.  HL14015

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the commercial impact of Brexit uncertainty on UK business marketing; and of the impact of a decline in advertising revenue on UK television broadcasters.  HL14016

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help co-ordinate a post-Brexit strategy for financial institutions in the UK banking sector.  HL14017

Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of a no-deal Brexit on UK pension claimants living in EU countries.  HL14018

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of Israel’s planned decision to confiscate funds allocated by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinians who the government of Israel claims are involved in attacks against Israelis.  HL14019

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Israel about its reported intention to demolish two homes, a barn, a nature reserve and a playground in Palestinian communities close to Yatta.  HL14020

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Israel about (1) threats of violence, and (2) actual violence reportedly made by settlers towards Palestinians who seek advice from lawyers or humanitarian organisations about protecting their land.  HL14021

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental damage caused by settlers to the West Bank in particular regard to olive trees, water resources, land excavation, and waste water pollution.  HL14022

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about that government denying permits to cancer patients to leave Gaza for treatment elsewhere in Palestinian territory.  HL14023

Baroness Tonge to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of attacks on schools by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank and the impact of such attacks on Palestinian children and their education.  HL14024

Lord Truscott to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current policy on allowing legal aid to be provided to avowed terrorists or those who overtly support terrorism.  HL14025

Lord Wasserman to ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have received from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the risks and factors that cause vulnerable people to misuse drugs, including how drug-related harms in homeless populations can be reduced.  HL14026

Lord Wasserman to ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so, when, they have asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs whether synthetic cannabinoids should be reclassified as Category A drugs in view of the serious physical and psychological effects such drugs have on users and in order to be able to deal with those who supply such drugs with the same severity as th… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord Wasserman to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 18 January (HL Deb, cols 77GC–80GC), what plans they have to support local basketball clubs to ensure that such clubs can continue to benefit their communities; and whether they intend to work alongside the basketball governing bodies to this end.  HL14028

Lord Wasserman to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 20 February (HL13503), what the total cost of the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre is expected to be.  HL14029

Lord Wasserman to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 20 February (HL13503), how much has been raised to date through the society-wide fundraising effort to deliver the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and its wider educational objectives.  HL14030

Lord Wasserman to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 20 February (HL13503), whether the present Prime Minister has publicly endorsed the commitment of £50 million given by her predecessor in January 2015 to kick-start a society-wide fundraising effort to deliver the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and its wider ed… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text

Lord West of Spithead to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 February (HL13769), what discussions there have been between the UK Tempest team and the Future Combat Air System programme.  HL14032

Lord West of Spithead to ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 February (HL13628), whether the UK is expected to become a net defence importer in the next five years.  HL14033

Baroness Wilcox to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the long-term protection of UK consumers after their financial support for the UK European Consumer Centre ends in March 2020.  HL14034

Baroness Wilcox to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they to ensure that cross-border consumer protection data to inform national and international enforcement continues once funding for the UK European Consumer Centre ends in March 2020.  HL14035

Baroness Wilcox to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to replace the UK European Consumer Centre’s role in sharing intelligence within the European enforcement network after March 2020, to ensure that cross-border criminal breaches and so-called "problem" traders are identified and dealt with appropriately.  HL14036