Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

The terms of the five peers on the Committee are due to end in January 2022, though the Committee is considering seeking extensions for some of them in order to ensure continuity by staggering departure dates. The terms of the four current lay members will expire in July 2023. The lay members may be reappointed for one further three year term.

The Committee’s costs cannot be disaggregated from staff, member and publishing costs in this way, except for the lay members’ claims which amounted to £38,250 in financial year 2020–21.

The lay members of the Conduct Committee were not required to demonstrate specific qualifications or experience in any particular field, and the Committee had no preconceptions as to their professional backgrounds. Candidates were asked to demonstrate senior level experience in a complex organisation in the public, private or not-for-profit sectors; excellent analytical and decision-making skills; and personal qualities such as assertiveness and resilience. The biographies of the four lay members were circulated to members of the House at the time of their appointment, and collectively they bring a diversity of experience and an independent perspective to the work of the Committee.

I have consulted the Chair of the Conduct Committee in preparing this answer.

The four lay members of the Conduct Committee were appointed following an open and rigorous recruitment process. In common with other senior, lay member or non-executive positions, the House engaged a recruitment consultancy to conduct a search and initial sift of candidates. A total of 322 candidates were identified through this process. Of these, 12 were invited to interview by a panel consisting of two members of the Conduct Committee (Lord Mance, Chair, and Baroness Anelay of St Johns), the then Clerk of the Journals and two external members (Sheila Drew Smith and Emily Jackson), with the four top-ranked candidates accepting the offer of appointment. Lay members are remunerated at the rate of £600 per eight hour day.

The current estimate is that the External Management Review is likely to cost in the region of £135,000, based on the estimated number of days work involved, which may vary. This estimate includes the costs of recruiting the Reviewer, and the fees which will be paid to the Reviewer, as well as to any external supporting staff, but does not include the costs of any internal staff time spent working on the Review.

UK Government Ministers regularly speak to Ministers in the Devolved Administrations on a wide range of areas. It is vital that engagement takes place across the UK on the challenges that we face together, such as our recovery from COVID-19, supporting the NHS and protecting jobs across the UK. The UK Government reports quarterly on our intergovernmental engagement and activity with the Devolved Administrations and will continue this practice in line with our commitments to transparency and accountability.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Rt Hon. the Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

20 April 2021

Dear Lord Foulkes,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many non-Irish EU citizens over the age of 65 are estimated to live in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) England (HL14730).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have estimated from data gathered by the Annual Population Survey that the numbers of non-Irish EU citizens over the age of 65 living in the countries of the UK are as shown in Table 1 below. This has been published on the ONS website[1].

Table 1, Annual Population Survey estimates of non-Irish EU nationals, aged 65 and over, residing in the UK, by UK country, July 2019 to June 2020, in thousands

Source: ONS

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/adhocs/13146annualpopulationsurveyestimatesofnonirisheunationalsaged65andoverresidingintheukbyukcountryjuly2019tojune2020

These remain matters for the Scottish Government. I would refer the noble Lord to the Deputy First Minister’s public statement of 23 March, which sets out that “The Scottish Government will carefully consider the recommendations from the Committee, alongside the other two review reports, in order to put improvements and an implementation plan in place.”

As with civil servants who support HM Government, the Civil Service in Scotland is accountable to Ministers in the Scottish Government and those Ministers are in turn accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

This is a matter for the Scottish Government. There is an ongoing process to consider these issues in the Scottish Parliament. It would be premature and inappropriate to speculate on further action that may be taken until that process has concluded.

The Security and Intelligence Agencies produce and contribute to regular assessments of the threat posed by Hostile State Activity. We keep such assessments under review and, where necessary, update them in response to new intelligence. It is, and will always be, an absolute priority to protect our democracy and elections. In July 2019 we announced the Defending Democracy programme to bring together government, civil society and private sector organisations to ensure our democracy stays open, vibrant and transparent.

Journalists play a vital role in our society and must be free at all times to do their jobs without fear of violence. The Minister for Media and Data made this clear recently when he signed the public statement issued by the National Union of Journalists, calling for the freedom of the press to be respected and protected. As he said, “Journalism is a bedrock of democracy and those who are keeping our communities informed and holding the powerful to account must not be intimidated or threatened as they carry out their work. We stand with journalists and will do all we can to support them in doing their jobs without fear or favour."

Plans for the National Committee and the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists are currently being developed, but have been necessarily delayed as the government turns its attention to supporting newspapers through the current Covid-19 crisis. However, the committee and the action plan remain priorities for us and we hope to be able to make an announcement soon.

The Global Index, released by Reporters Without Borders on 21 April, showed press freedom improved very slightly around the world in 2019. While this is welcome news, the threat to free media remains very concerning, and the overall trend is downwards. There has been a rise in the suppression of media freedom by authoritarian regimes. Online threats to journalists have also increased, including through governments imposing blanket shut-downs and misinformation being used to target journalists. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already alarming situation. There are examples of states introducing disproportionate restrictions, silencing debate and abusing journalists. Some states and non-state actors are seizing the chance to propagate disinformation. Funding and advertising revenue has been significantly reduced, causing publications to close and journalists to be laid off. Without action, much of the media on which our democratic systems and values depend risks becoming another victim of the pandemic.

The UK press is among the most respected and free in the world. The government recognises press freedom is fundamental to a healthy democracy and strongly supports it. We are working to support a sustainable future for quality journalism in the UK through the government’s response to the Cairncross Review, so that it can continue to hold government and others to account.

These efforts have increased as we work to support the continued provision of news through the COVID-19 crisis. The government has ensured that the press is able to carry out their essential function at this critical time, designating them as key workers for the purpose of access to educational places, and making sure that newspaper deliveries can continue. The Government has also maximised the advertising we are placing in national and regional newspapers at this critical period, in order to use their powerful, familiar voices and reach on the government’s COVID-19 public information campaign.

The government has previously announced its intention to convene a National Committee and devise a National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists. We remain committed to this goal.

The BBC and the government continue to discuss the national Coronavirus situation.

The BBC’s priority over the coming period will be to do everything it can to serve the nation at this uniquely challenging time. As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a vital role to play in supplying information to the public in the weeks and months ahead.

The future of the over 75 concession and the costs of the concession are matters for the BBC following the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017.

Recognising the exceptional circumstances, the BBC Board has decided to change the start date of the new policy. We will bring this into force on 1 August and the BBC will keep the issue under review as the situation continues to evolve.

The BBC’s priority over the coming period will be to do everything it can to serve the nation at this uniquely challenging time. As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a vital role to play in supplying information to the public in the weeks and months ahead.

The future of the over 75 concession and the costs of the concession are matters for the BBC following the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017.

Recognising the exceptional circumstances, the BBC Board decided to change the start date of its new policy. The current plan is to now bring it into place on 1 August. However, the government welcomes the BBC’s decision to keep the issue under review as the situation continues to evolve.

The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the government's response to COVID-19 and any assessment of the number of people over 75 years old who could be confined to their homes due to COVID-19. Although careful and scientific consideration is being given to all policy options, no final decisions have been taken over interventions that would require this.

The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is a matter for the BBC from 1 June 2020. This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.

However, the BBC and the government have been discussing the national Coronavirus situation. Changes to the TV licence for people aged over 75 had been due to come into effect on 1 June. But during this time we do not want anyone to be worried about any potential change.

The BBC’s priority over the coming period will be to do everything it can to serve the nation at this uniquely challenging time. As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a vital role to play in supplying information to the public in the weeks and months ahead.

Recognising the exceptional circumstances, the BBC Board has therefore decided to change the start date of the new policy. The current plan is to now bring it into place on 1 August and the BBC will keep the issue under review as the situation continues to evolve.

We estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.

This includes more than £2bn through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and we estimate that the air transport sector will have received around £1bn in support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) up to the end of April 2021.

We have guaranteed loans to airlines through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (£25m) and we expect to pay out around £80m in grants to commercial airports and ground handlers by the end of the financial year, through the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS).

Further cross-economy measures are also available to businesses in the aviation sector. Since the start of this year (2021) £3.4bn of loans have been partially supported through export development guarantees. This includes a £1.4bn loan facility for easyJet, and a £2bn loan facility for British Airways, which will be largely guaranteed by UK Export Finance.

The Chancellor has announced the renewal of the scheme to help airports and ground operators with their fixed costs, with additional grants of up to £4m between April and September, an extension of furlough payments to September, and an online jobs market matching aviation employees with thousands of vacancies.

We estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.

This includes more than £2bn through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and we estimate that the air transport sector will have received around £1bn in support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) up to the end of April 2021.

We have guaranteed loans to airlines through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (£25m) and we expect to pay out around £80m in grants to commercial airports and ground handlers by the end of the financial year, through the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS).

Further cross-economy measures are also available to businesses in the aviation sector. Since the start of this year (2021) £3.4bn of loans have been partially supported through export development guarantees. This includes a £1.4bn loan facility for easyJet, and a £2bn loan facility for British Airways, which will be largely guaranteed by UK Export Finance.

The Chancellor has announced the renewal of the scheme to help airports and ground operators with their fixed costs, with additional grants of up to £4m between April and September, an extension of furlough payments to September, and an online jobs market matching aviation employees with thousands of vacancies.

We estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.

This includes more than £2bn through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and we estimate that the air transport sector will have received around £1bn in support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) up to the end of April 2021.

We have guaranteed loans to airlines through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (£25m) and we expect to pay out around £80m in grants to commercial airports and ground handlers by the end of the financial year, through the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS).

Further cross-economy measures are also available to businesses in the aviation sector. Since the start of this year (2021) £3.4bn of loans have been partially supported through export development guarantees. This includes a £1.4bn loan facility for easyJet, and a £2bn loan facility for British Airways, which will be largely guaranteed by UK Export Finance.

The Chancellor has announced the renewal of the scheme to help airports and ground operators with their fixed costs, with additional grants of up to £4m between April and September, an extension of furlough payments to September, and an online jobs market matching aviation employees with thousands of vacancies.

From 1 July 2021, EEA and Swiss citizens will be required to have immigration status to carry on living and working in the UK and to access non-contributory benefits in the UK.

EEA and Swiss citizens who were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, and their family members, need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021.

DWP are working closely with the Home Office and other government departments to ensure we are using all available resources to engage with groups who need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

Support for applicants who need it remains available, including from the network of 72 organisations across the UK grant-funded by the Home Office to help vulnerable people apply to the EUSS.

Those who have made an application to the EU Settlement Scheme, but have yet to receive an immigration status before the deadline, will continue to receive benefits as long as they satisfy the entitlement conditions for that benefit.

Where an EEA or Swiss citizen, who was resident here before the end of the transition period, has reasonable grounds for missing the EU Settlement Scheme application deadline, they will be given a further opportunity to apply.

The Government is committed to ensuring that disabled people can play a full role in society, with a manifesto commitment to publish a National Strategy for Disabled People. All equality and discrimination laws and obligations continue to apply during the Coronavirus pandemic. We worked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to transcribe gov.uk pages on general coronavirus guidelines and financial advice into spoken word formats. This guidance is available on RNIB phone lines. This ensures that visually impaired people without access to the internet are able to receive the same advice as sighted people with internet access.

We recognise that some people with disabilities face particular difficulty in social distancing, or are impacted by the reaction of others to their inability to socially distance. We are considering how we ensure that disabled people are able to socially distance in order to protect themselves from Coronavirus and from adverse attention from people who perceive that they are not adhering to guidelines on social distancing.

The Government is committed to ensuring that disabled people can play a full role in society, with a manifesto commitment to publish a National Strategy for Disabled People. All equality and discrimination laws and obligations continue to apply during the Coronavirus pandemic. We worked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to transcribe gov.uk pages on general coronavirus guidelines and financial advice into spoken word formats. This guidance is available on RNIB phone lines. This ensures that visually impaired people without access to the internet are able to receive the same advice as sighted people with internet access.

We recognise that some people with disabilities face particular difficulty in social distancing, or are impacted by the reaction of others to their inability to socially distance. We are considering how we ensure that disabled people are able to socially distance in order to protect themselves from Coronavirus and from adverse attention from people who perceive that they are not adhering to guidelines on social distancing.

EEA citizens with settled or pre-settled status granted through the EU Settlement Scheme will evidence their right to rent digitally using the Home Office online service on GOV.UK, ‘prove your right to rent in England’.
https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent
Where the landlord has carried out checks, in the prescribed manner, on or before 30 June, there is no requirement to carry out retrospective checks or evict a tenant, as they have a continuous statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty.
Where an EEA citizen has reasonable grounds for missing the EUSS application deadline, they will be given an opportunity to make a late application. Any EEA citizen encountered by Immigration Enforcement after 30 June 2021, who may be eligible to apply to the EUSS, will be issued with a notice which provides a further 28 days for the individual to submit their application.

The latest published information to the end of December 2020 shows 3,670 people over the age of 65, resident in Scotland, were granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and a further 1,080 were granted pre-settled status, representing 98.5% of applications concluded for over 65s resident in Scotland. 20 applications were refused on eligibility or suitability grounds, 40 were withdrawn or void and less than 10 were invalid.

The latest figures can be found in table EUSS_04 on the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ web page available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2020

The published figures for the EUSS refer specifically to applications made to the scheme and cannot be directly compared with Office for National Statistics estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK. The published EUSS figures include non-EEA national family members, Irish nationals and eligible EEA citizens not resident in the UK, none of whom are usually included in ONS estimates of the resident EU/EEA national population.

Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle in the UK.

On 1 April 2021, the Home Office published non-exhaustive guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications to the EUSS by those EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and their family members, resident in the UK by the end of the transition period. This will underpin a flexible and pragmatic approach to considering late applications under the scheme, including in light of illness and disability issues.

The guidance can be found in ‘Making an application: deadline’ in ‘EU Settlement Scheme: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members’ at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-caseworker-guidance

The latest published information to the end of December 2020 shows 3,670 people over the age of 65, resident in Scotland, were granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and a further 1,080 were granted pre-settled status, representing 98.5% of applications concluded for over 65s resident in Scotland. 20 applications were refused on eligibility or suitability grounds, 40 were withdrawn or void and less than 10 were invalid.

The latest figures can be found in table EUSS_04 on the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ web page available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2020

The published figures for the EUSS refer specifically to applications made to the scheme and cannot be directly compared with Office for National Statistics estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK. The published EUSS figures include non-EEA national family members, Irish nationals and eligible EEA citizens not resident in the UK, none of whom are usually included in ONS estimates of the resident EU/EEA national population.

Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle in the UK.

On 1 April 2021, the Home Office published non-exhaustive guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications to the EUSS by those EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and their family members, resident in the UK by the end of the transition period. This will underpin a flexible and pragmatic approach to considering late applications under the scheme, including in light of illness and disability issues.

The guidance can be found in ‘Making an application: deadline’ in ‘EU Settlement Scheme: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members’ at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-caseworker-guidance

The latest published information to the end of December 2020 shows 3,670 people over the age of 65, resident in Scotland, were granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and a further 1,080 were granted pre-settled status, representing 98.5% of applications concluded for over 65s resident in Scotland. 20 applications were refused on eligibility or suitability grounds, 40 were withdrawn or void and less than 10 were invalid.

The latest figures can be found in table EUSS_04 on the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ web page available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2020

The published figures for the EUSS refer specifically to applications made to the scheme and cannot be directly compared with Office for National Statistics estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK. The published EUSS figures include non-EEA national family members, Irish nationals and eligible EEA citizens not resident in the UK, none of whom are usually included in ONS estimates of the resident EU/EEA national population.

Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle in the UK.

On 1 April 2021, the Home Office published non-exhaustive guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications to the EUSS by those EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and their family members, resident in the UK by the end of the transition period. This will underpin a flexible and pragmatic approach to considering late applications under the scheme, including in light of illness and disability issues.

The guidance can be found in ‘Making an application: deadline’ in ‘EU Settlement Scheme: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members’ at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-caseworker-guidance

In the Queen’s Speech we committed to introduce legislation to provide the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to disrupt hostile activity by foreign states. The Home Office is considering several measures for introduction via new primary legislation to make the UK a harder environment for adversaries to operate in.

The Government welcomes the work of specialist older people’s housing providers in building homes and meeting the needs of our aging population. We are already engaging with specialist providers as we take forwards our plan to build the homes our country needs including through our reform and modernisation of the planning system. Ministers and officials will continue to engage with this sector going forward.

In the time period outlined, the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland has received 11 letters (attached to emails) from Scottish Ministers in relation to reserved matters.

There are no further communications to report.