Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the letter from Lord Hylton to the Prime Minister dated 11 July, calling for a UN inquiry into the conditions in which Mr Abdullah Ocalan is being held in Turkey, and in particular into threats to his life.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister's office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If Lord Hylton would kindly like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their current practice not to show incoming Ministers the recent letters to their predecessors, in particular when these have not been sent replies; and whether they will review this matter.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence. It is current practice to show incoming Ministers letters when a response has not yet been issued.
Individual departments are responsible for maintaining their own performance records when new Ministers are appointed to the department.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the forthcoming Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review will incorporate Britain’s role and involvement in (1) the Council of Europe, (2) the OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, (3) the Inter-Parliamentary Union, (4) the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and (5) other multilateral agencies.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Integrated Security Defence and Foreign Policy Review was announced in the Queen's Speech to reassess the nation’s place in the world. The review will examine how we strengthen and prioritise our alliances, diplomacy and development. It will also deliver against the government’s ambition to extend our diplomatic network; reinvigorate relationships with Europe; and seek to strengthen old and new partnerships across the world.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the social injustices identified in the statement made by the Prime Minister at the EU Council on 25 November.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The government has demonstrated its commitment to tackling social injustices through the Race Disparity Audit, the LGBT Action Plan, the Taylor Review and a number of other actions taken to confront issues such as gender inequality, poverty and low standards of education.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent or invested by the UK Prosperity Fund in the Philippines in the (1) current, and (2) previous two years; and what impact this has had on increasing employment, establishing minimum wages and conditions, and reducing the need for the emigration of workers.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Prosperity Fund (PF) has spent the following in the Philippines over the last three years:
2016/17 | £507,452 |
2017/18 | £58,099 |
2018/19 (estimated up to Aug 2018) | £83,653 |
Project activity has covered a number of areas including health, urban development and disaster protection, and includes preparatory work for larger programmes shortly to be approved. It is too early to fully assess impact.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of workers aged 18 to 65 whom they recognise as self-employed; and what percentage of the total UK workforce those workers represent.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of workers (1) employed on zero-hours contracts, and (2) working in other forms of insecure temporary employment; and what percentage those workers represent of the total workforce aged 18 to 65.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish evidence given to the Muslim Brotherhood Review; and if so, when, and whether they will state which items are omitted.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Government does not intend to publish evidence given to its internal Review of the Muslim Brotherhood. A Written Ministerial Statement outlining the Review’s main findings was issued on 17 December 2015.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that central government procurement policies are used whenever possible to create jobs with training for people from disadvantaged areas or with individual handicaps.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Public Contracts Regulations (2015) allow Contracting Authorities to reserve contracts for sheltered workshops and suppliers whose main aim is the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons, or provide for such contracts to be performed in the context of sheltered employment programmes.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many directly employed government staff currently receive less than the Living Wage.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
Every employer in the country will pay the National Living Wage, including all Government departments and their contractors.
The latest data available suggests that 867 current Civil Servants will benefit directly from the National Living Wage from April 2016 as announced by the Chancellor. We estimate that over 20,000 employees will benefit by the end of this parliament.