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947528

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the safety of British humanitarian workers travelling to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla; and what responses they have received to any such representations.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL9824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/08/2018 answer text <p>On 30 July, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv sought consular access from the Israeli authorities to a British national who was detained aboard the flotilla that was travelling to Gaza. This access was granted. Embassy officials also discussed the travelling flotilla with the Israeli authorities on 6 June. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Gaza (including the waters off Gaza).</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 07/08/2018 12:01:01 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed

947529

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what support is available to any British citizen aboard the Freedom Flotilla.
tabling member printed	Lord Ahmed
uin	HL9825
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2018 answer text <p>​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises British nationals against all travel to Gaza and is unable to provide routine consular assistance. Any British nationals in Gaza who do require emergency assistance should contact the British Consulate General in Jerusalem.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 03/08/2018 12:02:43 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3470 label Biography information for Lord Ahmed

947531

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	High Speed 2 Railway Line
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood that HS2 will go significantly over budget; and whether they will consider using the funds allocated to HS2 to improve existing infrastructure, including railway lines in the north of England, and commuter services.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL9826
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2018 answer text <p>HS2 Ltd remain committed to delivering a transformational project for the UK. Each Phase of the HS2 project is subject to ongoing oversight by the Department for Transport and to regular assessment by the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) to assess the likelihood of successful delivery. The IPA recently described the HS2 programme as ‘on target to be completed on time and on budget’.</p><p> </p><p>Phase 2a and 2b of HS2 are intended to improve connectivity between Birmingham and the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester and other destinations in the North of England and Scotland. The Department continues to work with Transport for the North to develop services between destinations in the North of England and with regions across the UK to improve commuter services.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 26/07/2018 13:07:18 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

947534

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Food Research Collaboration, Feeding Britain: food security after Brexit, published on 23 July; and how they intend to respond to each of its 15 recommendations.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL9828
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2018 answer text <p>The Government has noted this report. The Government regularly assesses the UK’s food security through its own channels, including through the UK Food Assessment.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Food Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of food security. It draws on a wide range of indicators which are updated with varying frequency and which we monitor on an ongoing basis. We have commenced a review of the overall assessment which will be published in 2019<strong>.</strong></p><p> </p><p>The UK has a high degree of food security with access to a diverse range of sources of supply, including domestic production. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU. Food supply is highly resilient with diversity and flexibility throughout the supply chains, and industry can respond quickly to ensure ongoing supply.</p><p>Leaving the EU provides us with a major opportunity to set up new frameworks for supporting our farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food. We will work with all those who have an interest in the future of food and farming as we develop a new approach that works for our industry.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 06/08/2018 12:15:30 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

947535

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Network Rail: Assets
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) general consultation, and (2) consultation with Network Rail's railway arch tenants, they intend to take as part of their consideration of alternative options to the proposed sale of Network Rail's non-operational portfolio.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL9829
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/08/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to the sale of Network Rail’s commercial estate in a way that delivers value for money to the taxpayer, supports local economic growth through the increased investment in the estate that a new owner will bring, and also respects Network Rail’s tenants.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 07/08/2018 13:33:16 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

947537

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Poverty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, or intend to make, of the report of the Resolution Foundation, Living Standards Audit 2018, published on 24 July, and its conclusion that the proportion of children in poverty has risen by 21 per cent in the five years to 2016, rather than their estimate of 11 per cent.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL9830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Benefit under-reporting in household surveys is a well-known, long standing issue. To date it has not been possible to accurately resolve this. The Resolution Foundation’s report published on 24 July attempts to correct this issue. However, they do not have accurate information on which households are under-reporting. Consequently, they use a series of assumptions to select a number of households in the survey, allocating them additional income from benefits. This means the conclusions in the report will be sensitive to the households selected; different assumptions will give different results.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is currently working towards a more accurate solution to correct this issue, whereby survey records are combined with administrative data to improve the quality of the survey data. Making this correction is likely to reduce the number of individuals classed as being in low income.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 13:51:06 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

947538

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Debts
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to meet their timetable for implementing the breathing space debt scheme as announced by the Economic Secretary to HM Treasury in October 2017.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL9831
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2018 answer text <p>The government is currently undertaking a detailed policy design process on the introduction of breathing space and a statutory debt repayment plan. The government is working in close conjunction with stakeholders to design a scheme that works for all those who would benefit from the scheme’s protections.</p><p> </p><p>The government will consult on a single policy proposal based on this work later this summer, and then intends to lay regulations to establish the scheme in 2019.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 02/08/2018 12:05:42 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

947540

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure continued access to (1) free automated teller machines, and (2) bank branches, particularly in rural communities.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL9832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses across the UK. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK (the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM system), to ensure that it is maintained.</p><p> </p><p>The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. As part of this, the PSR is closely monitoring developments within ATM provision and has committed to using its powers to act should LINK behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives.</p><p> </p><p>Regarding bank branches, the decision to close a branch is a commercial issue for the management team of the bank involved. However, Government believes it is important the impact on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated where possible.</p><p> </p><p>The Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing. It also helps customers to understand the options they have locally to continue to access banking services, including specialist assistance for customers who need more help. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.</p><p> </p><p>Government also considers it important that all customers, wherever they live and especially those who are vulnerable, can still access over the counter services. That is why we support the Post Office’s Banking Framework Agreement, which enables 99% of banks’ personal and 95% of banks’ small business customers to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, and make balance enquiries at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 02/08/2018 12:09:17 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

947541

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many working people in the UK they estimate do not have bank accounts; and what steps they are taking to assist such people; and what particular measures they are taking relating to those of this total who are homeless or sleeping rough or may previously have been such.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL9833
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2018 answer text <p>The Government does not make estimates of the number of working people who do not have access to bank accounts. However, in 2017, the FCA published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which estimated that 1.3 million UK adults (3% of the UK adult population) were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account. The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked and their preferences to have a bank account. The FCA intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future.</p><p> </p><p>The Government takes financial inclusion very seriously and is working to ensure everyone can have access to financial services. With regards to those who are sleeping rough or are homeless, the Government recognises that it can be difficult for such individuals to access bank accounts due to their lack of permanent address.</p><p> </p><p>Under the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015, the 9 largest UK current account providers are required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to consumers who are either unbanked or who are not eligible for a standard current account. Regulation 23 specifically states that consumers with no fixed address are to be considered eligible and in Regulation 18 specifies that firms must not discriminate against consumers by reason of their place of residence.</p><p> </p><p>As these accounts are particularly suitable for more vulnerable customers, Government encourages the banks who provide them to be flexible with identification and verification checks, within the remit of the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) guidance. The JMLSG guidance encourages firms to consider a wide range of evidence to prove identification and to act reasonably where customers do not have more conventional forms of identification.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 02/08/2018 12:05:10 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

947543

registered interest
date	24/07/2018
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Fuel Poverty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, or intend to make, of the report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, Beyond ECO: the future of fuel poverty support, published on 3 July, and its conclusion that they are set to miss their 2030 target of delivering energy efficiency measures for fuel poor households as set out in their report Cutting the cost of keeping warm – a fuel poverty strategy for England (Cm9019), published 3 March 2015, by at least sixty years.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL9834
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/08/2018 answer text <p>We recently announced that the Energy Company Obligation will be entirely focused on low income households from later in 2018, in a new scheme that will run to 2022. We also committed in the Clean Growth Strategy to extending energy efficiency support from 2022 to 2028 at least at the current level of ECO, bringing the total investment to over £6bn over the next decade. As part of this we will review the best form of support beyond 2022, recognising the need to both save carbon and meet the Government’s commitment to upgrade all fuel poor homes to EPC Band C by 2030. Research such as the July IPPR report provide valuable inputs to decision making around achieving the target. The latest statistics show that there were nearly 800,000 fewer E, F or G rated fuel poor homes in 2016 compared to 2010 and that we had reached 91% of fuel poor homes were rated E or above in line with our 2020 milestone.</p><p> </p><p>The initial focus of our work on fuel poverty has been to improve the least energy efficient homes. We are aware that this focus on the worst homes has meant that we have not yet begun to improve the proportion of fuel poor homes rated C or above and we will be assessing the appropriate policy mix to improve fuel poor homes to that standard over the 2020s.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 01/08/2018 15:31:35 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird