Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to improve consistency, fairness and transparency in the provision of special guardianship allowances concurrently with the Kinship Allowance Pilot.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.
The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.
Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.
The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether welfare benefits or tax credits, including disability benefits that a kinship carer receives for themselves or the child, will be impacted if they receive financial support through the Kinship Allowance Pilot.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.
The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.
Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.
The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Chapter Two of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005, and the provisions of the Special Guardianship statutory guidance, will apply to local authorities participating in the Kinship Allowance Pilot; and, if so how.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.
The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.
Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.
The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the financial support paid under the Kinship Allowance Pilot will be means tested.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.
The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.
Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.
The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on obtaining reciprocal voting rights in local elections for UK citizens in Italy; and whether these negotiations are a priority for the Government.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We have existing bilateral agreements with Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Luxembourg, which were negotiated by the previous government. The UK is open to further, fully reciprocal bilateral voting agreements but these would be subject to the detail of future negotiations.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are considering to encourage political engagement among young Britons living and working in the EU.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
It is for British nationals as individuals to decide whether they wish to become politically active while living and working in the EU.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to prevent the sale of retrofitted LED vehicle headlight bulbs.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are no current plans to introduce legislation to prevent the sale of retrofitted LED vehicle headlight bulbs. The Government considers that the current provisions in both the Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended) and the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 (as amended) effectively regulate the sale of unapproved LED retrofit light sources.
Nevertheless, the Government recognises increased public concern around headlamp glare and has commissioned independent research. This is measuring light levels experienced by drivers during real driving on UK roads and considers factors like vehicle characteristics, weather conditions and ambient lighting. Careful consideration will be given to that work when it reports later this year to determine what future actions may be appropriate to ensure the safety of all road users.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to include the introduction or trial of alcohol interlocks in the road safety strategy; and whether they plan to mandate the use of alcohol interlocks for anyone convicted of drink driving.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In 2021, the Government commissioned PACTS (Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety) to publish a report on alcohol interlocks: Locking Out The Drink Driver: Using alcohol interlocks to reduce drink driving in the UK.
The government keeps motoring offences under review, including those for drink driving.
The Department is developing its Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, as part of their commitment to be a "child-centred Government", to encourage schools to support students to send submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Council's open-ended intergovernmental working group on the development of the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the rights to early childhood education, free pre-primary education and free secondary education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The UK government is committed to safeguarding and advancing children’s rights. We firmly uphold the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which we ratified in 1991. It is important for all children, regardless of race, religion or abilities, to have equal civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. We are dedicated to providing the best possible opportunities for all children.
Teaching about the UNCRC can be taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, which is compulsory at key stages 3 and 4. Citizenship enables pupils to understand their statutory rights, civic duties and responsibilities, as well as developing their understanding of human rights, local, regional and international governance and the UK’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world. Schools are free to tailor their curriculum to the needs of their pupils and this could include supporting students to send submissions to the UN Human Rights Council working group.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the development of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the rights to early childhood education, free pre-primary education and free secondary education.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is committed to investing in children and ensuring equal access to education. In the UK we already provide free pre-primary (reception years), primary and secondary education and have been leading globally on ensuring education for all. The UK considers that States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child should already be providing free education under the existing provisions of the Convention.