Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Debt Management Office and the Bank of England about the impact of quantitative tightening gilt sales on insurance company sales of gilts following bulk annuity transactions.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government consults primary dealers and gilt investors regularly to understand their needs, taking that feedback into account when designing the gilt financing programme. The gilt market is deep and liquid and enjoys strong demand from a well-diversified investor base.
Historically, we have seen changes in demand patterns from across the investor base. Overall demand has however remained resilient throughout these periods of changing investor patterns as a result of our policy of supporting a strong and diversified market.
In carrying out quantitative tightening, the Bank of England is liaising with the Debt Management Office to ensure that its gilt sales minimise disruption to market functioning.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what requirements are placed on universities to collect data on (1) sex, (2) gender, (3) gender identity or (4) gender reassignment, of students when (a) applying for university, (b) joining the university and (c) graduating from university, and whether they have reports showing what data are collected.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector and specifies which data HE providers should collect from students. All HE providers with a statutory requirement to report data to HESA are asked to return data on students’ sex. HE providers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are asked to return data on students’ gender identity (whether their gender identity aligns with their sex registered at birth), and providers in Scotland may optionally return data on students’ transgender status.
Certain HE providers in England, which are registered with the Office for Students, are required to provide data on the number of applications, offers, acceptances and completion rates by gender, under an ongoing condition of registration in respect of transparency information.
HE providers are required under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, but also to actively advance equality. This may include collecting relevant data to monitor and improve their policies and delivery of services.
All HE providers must adhere to data protection legislation when processing students’ personal data, ensuring that it is collected and processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently, and are required to publish privacy notices setting out what types of personal data they collect and how they will process it.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what individual diversity networks, and trade union diversity networks, are recognised by the Ministry of Defence and each of the Armed Forces.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises a comprehensive range of diversity networks which are listed below.
In addition, the MOD recognises five main Trade Unions, (Prospect, PCS, FDA, GMB and Unite). The MOD’s Trade Unions have Diversity and Inclusion networks aimed at supporting their members however the MOD does not recognise nor engage directly with those networks.
Race Networks
Disability and Carers Networks
Gender Networks
LGBT Networks
Families Networks
Faith and Belief Networks
Social Mobility Networks
Wellbeing and Support
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to section 3 of the Government Communication Service's SAFE Framework: the 4 principles for HMG Brand Safety, whether the expression of gender-critical comments would be considered as "content that could be perceived as offensive to protected groups in society".
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The current SAFE Framework outlines four principles to ensure brand safety in government advertising: Safety and Suitability, Ads Context, Freedom of Speech, and Ethics and Enforcement.
Within the 'Safety and Suitability' principle, the framework emphasises that government advertising must not appear alongside content that:
Protected groups are defined under the Equality Act 2010 as age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of listed closed-ended investment companies by pension funds as a means for smaller schemes to invest in illiquid alternative assets such as energy, housing, infrastructure and small businesses.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Final Report of the Pensions Investment Review sets out a vision for the defined contribution workplace market and the Local Government Pension Scheme with fewer, larger schemes that will use the benefits of scale to invest in productive assets and enhance outcomes for savers, as well as better support the economy as a whole.
Last month, 17 of the largest workplace pension providers signed the Mansion House Accord and voluntarily committed to invest at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution default funds in private markets by 2030, with half of that invested in UK private assets.
Collectively these 17 schemes manage around 90% of active pension savers’ savings. This is expected to unlock £50bn of additional private market investment by 2030. As providers work towards meeting these commitments, they will be investing more in private, illiquid assets.
Additionally, we are introducing minimum standards for Local Government Pension Scheme asset pools, embedding local investment as a priority and strengthening scheme governance to ensure it is fit for the future.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of information provided by retail investment platforms to investors in UK-listed closed-ended investment companies, and specifically that relating to whether charges are deducted directly from shareholders or are expenses paid by the company.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2024, the Government legislated to enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reform the UK’s retail disclosure regime to ensure consumers have access to the most useful information – including on risks, costs and performance – to support their investment decisions.
The FCA continue to engage with industry and will publish their final rules later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of donated blood which is discarded due to the lack of MHRA authorisation for the use of medically relevant components, other than immunoglobulin and albumin, from blood donated in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. NHSBT Logistics plays a key role in planning for, collecting, and delivering lifesaving and life changing donated blood products to hospitals across England. However, NHS England owns and manages the contract with Octapharma to fractionate and produce medicines, including immunoglobulin and albumin. These medicines have been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to reflect the priorities of the National Health Service.
No blood is discarded by NHSBT due to MHRA authorisations. If there are any discarded fractions by Octapharma, NHSBT does not hold this information. All of the plasma that meets the requirements for use in medicines is forwarded to Octapharma for fractionation, and the specific manufacturing arrangements are subject to commercial confidentiality.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to counter Iranian state activities in the UK, particularly with regard to the Al Quds Day marches on 23 March.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government will always take threats to the UK incredibly seriously. On 4 March, the Government announced a concerted package of measures to counter the threat from the Iranian Intelligence Services. This includes our decision to specify Iran on the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which will require individuals and organisations directed by Iran to conduct activity in the UK to register with the Home Office. Failure to do so will be a criminal offence.
Peaceful protest is a vital part of our democratic society. However, the right to peacefully protest does not extend to behaviour that is violent or causes harassment, alarm or distress to others. Should a protest contravene the law, the police have the powers to respond.
The Metropolitan Police Service had a significant policing plan in place – including conditions under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act – during the Al Quds Day march on 23 March. The use of these powers and the management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police, and Government Ministers are unable to intervene in individual cases or in operational decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average processing time for Attendance Allowance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the 2024/25 financial year to date (1 April 2024 to 31 January 2025) the average processing time for Attendance Allowance is 19 working days (with Monday to Friday being defined as working days). There is a quick application process for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and aren't expected to live more than 12 months. These claims are fast tracked.
Attendance Allowance is currently undergoing a significant modernisation reform through the piloting of an on-line digital claim process as a part of the department’s wider Service Modernisation plans.
Please note, the Average Actual Clearance Time figures shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It is rounded to the nearest working day.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made in bringing together the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We remain committed to meeting the Chancellor’s commitment to bringing together the administration of Pension Credit and pensioner Housing Benefit. We are seeking to do this in a way that best meets the needs of current and future pensioners.
The Department is working closely with local authorities and undertaking detailed policy exploration to ensure that the best approach is identified.
Alongside this work, we are improving our use of established data streams to target new pensioner Housing Benefit customers to ensure that they are prompted to claim and receive any Pension Credit to which they are entitled. As part of this initiative, we have successfully sent out 1,000 letters to citizens, encouraging them to make a claim for Pension Credit.