Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 17 December 2018 (HL11981), what conclusions were reached by HM Treasury, along with other relevant departments, about the equality and cumulative impact of their decisions on those people sharing protected characteristics; and what assessment they have made of how such conclusions compare with those of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report The cumulative impact in living standards of public spending changes, published on 28 November, in respect of the effect of public spending changes on lone parents, young adults, severely disabled people and certain ethnic groups since 2010.
Answered by Lord Bates
Equality and fairness continue to be at the heart of this Government’s agenda, and HM Treasury and other departments take their compliance with the Equality Act’s Public Sector Equality Duty seriously when deciding policy. Impact assessments of government policies, including the impact on equalities, are often published by relevant departments. In the interests of transparency, the Treasury and HMRC publish tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for individual tax measures that include, in summary form, assessments of their expected equalities impacts.
The government does not accept that the EHRC’s report presents an accurate view of the impacts of its policy choices. In its analysis of public spending, the EHRC does not cover the increase in spending in the new multi-year funding plan for NHS England, equating to £20.5bn more per year in real terms by 2023-24 or changes to the UC work allowance announced at Budget 2018.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals from the Commonwealth Caribbean countries, who settled in the UK before 1973, have been determined as eligible for compensation for detrimental treatment during the hostile environment illegal immigration programme; how many have been compensated to date; how many are still awaiting settlement; what has been the cost of such compensation to date; and what estimate they have made of the overall cost.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government is committed to establishing a compensation scheme specifically, for members of the Windrush generation who have suffered loss as a result of difficulties in demonstrating their lawful immigration status.
The Home Office published a consultation paper on 19 July seeking views on the design and operation of the scheme. The consultation closed on 16 November. As the scheme is not yet in place, it is not possible to submit an application for compensation or make payments under the scheme.
We will announce details of the final scheme and how to apply as soon as possible. It is not possible to give an estimate of compensation costs before the scheme is announced.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children excluded from school for racist bullying in England and Wales in the last year; and what assessment they have made of the implications of such bullying and exclusions for social and community cohesion.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The most recent data from academic year 2016/2017 show that there were 25 permanent exclusions (0.3% of all permanent exclusions) and 4,565 fixed period exclusions (1.2% of all fixed period exclusions) recorded with the reason of ‘racist abuse’. This includes derogatory racist statements, racist bullying, racist graffiti, racist taunting and harassment and swearing that can be attributed to racist characteristics. The data can be sourced from the National Tables spreadsheet (table 4), published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017
Racism has no place in our schools and any incident is unacceptable. The department supports head teachers using exclusion where it is warranted.
The government want to make sure that all children learn the values that underpin our society – including fairness, tolerance and respect. These values help knit our communities together, which is why education is at the heart of the government’s integration strategy. All state funded schools have a legal obligation to promote community cohesion.
The government has committed to providing over £2.8 million of funding from September 2016 to March 2020 to four anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes the Anne Frank Trust, which we are funding to develop and deliver their ‘free to be’ debate programme. The programme encourages young people to think about the importance of tackling prejudice, discrimination and bullying.
In November 2018, the department published the attached 'Respectful School Communities' publication, a self-review and sign-posting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind.
In March 2018, the government launched an externally led review of exclusions practice, chaired by Edward Timpson CBE. The review is exploring how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It is also considering the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.
The full terms of reference for the review are attached.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, The cumulative impact in living standards of public spending changes, published on 28 November, which states that public spending changes have had a disproportionately negative impact on lone parents, young adults, severely disabled people and certain ethnic groups since 2010.
Answered by Lord Bates
The EHRC’s report does not cover the increase in spending in the new multi-year funding plan for NHS England, equating to £20.5bn more per year in real terms by 2023-24.
The Treasury, along with other relevant departments, carefully considers the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics - including at Budgets and other fiscal events - in line with both its legal obligations and with its strong commitment to promoting fairness.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in the last five years, and the implications for community cohesion of such a rise; and what steps they will take to counter this trend.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Police recorded hate crime has more than doubled over the period 2012/13 to 2017/18. This increase is thought to be driven largely by general improvements by the police in how they record crime, as well as better identification of hate crimes, willingness of victims to come forward, and a genuine increase in these offences around certain events. Better recording is an important part of how to tackle hate crime and support victims.
The independent Crime Survey of England and Wales meanwhile shows a welcomed downward trend in the actual incidence of hate crime. Latest data shows a 40% reduction between the combined 2007/08 to 2008/09 and combined 2015/16 to 2017/18 surveys.
However, this Government recognises that there is no room for complacency given the impact of hate crimes on victims, their families and wider communities. The Hate Crime Action Plan refresh published in October 2018 sets out a comprehensive plan for tackling the issue. This includes work under 5 key themes: preventing hate crime by challenging beliefs and attitudes; responding to hate crime within our communities; increasing the reporting of hate crime; improving support for victims of hate crime; and building our understanding of hate crime.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making the provision of mental health first aid mandatory in the workplace.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 already allow for the consideration of mental health alongside physical health when undertaking a needs assessment. On the 21st November 2018 the Health and Safety Executive published guidance to clarify this point for employers.
Key evidence reviews of the impact of mental health-type training in a workplace environment show that there are a number of knowledge gaps which mean it is not possible to say whether the training is effective in improving the management of mental health in workplaces, or whether it is the only effective mechanism for support. The research also identifies additional prevention and management actions that employers should put in place to create a comprehensive approach.
In January 2017, the Prime Minister commissioned Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer, the Chief Executive of Mind, to conduct an independent review into how employers can better support all employees, including those with mental ill health or wellbeing, to remain in and thrive at work. “Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers was published in October 2017.”
In November 2017, the joint DWP/DHSC Work and Health Unit (WHU) published “Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability” setting out plans for three key settings: welfare system, workplace and health system, and also set out the Government’s response to “Thriving at Work”. This response welcomed a key recommendation from the ‘Thriving at Work’ review for employers to adopt a set of core mental health standards that will provide a comprehensive approach to transforming mental health in the workplace. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces.
Therefore, the Government’s view is that the best way to secure employer action is to engage with employers on a voluntary basis to implement the comprehensive mental health core standards approach rather than legislate on a single issue.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children with special needs being excluded from school, the implications for their education, and the risk of such children being vulnerable to involvement in anti-social behaviour as a result.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
In 2016-17 there were 3,605 permanent exclusions and 171,580 fixed period exclusions for pupils with special educational needs (SEN). Pupils with identified SEN accounted for 46.7% of all permanent exclusions and 44.9% of fixed period exclusions.
In March, the government launched an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review will consider how schools use exclusion and how this affects all pupils, but in particular why some groups of children, such as those with special needs, are more likely to be excluded from school. The government will respond to this review after it is published at the beginning of 2019.
The attached full terms of reference for the review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-review-terms-of-reference.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, published on 16 November; whether they intend to make a formal response to the Statement; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Government will carefully consider the findings set out in the Special Rapporteur’s interim report published on 16 November. Professor Alston’s final report will be presented to the June 2019 session of the of the Human Rights’ Council. Any formal comments made by the Government in response will be published alongside the final report on the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ website.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to provide for the reduction of rent arrears, council tax non-payments, and other debts incurred by individuals who have insufficient income to meet their essential outgoings.
Answered by Lord Bates
Household debt as a proportion of income is down significantly from its pre-crisis peak, from 160% in Q1 2008 to 140% in Q2 2018. However, despite this, the government recognises the importance of preventing people from falling into debt, and supporting individuals if they do.
To prevent individuals getting into problem debt, the government is putting in measures to improve living standards, and making it easier to access help with financial matters. In particular, the National Living Wage has increased the earnings of the lowest paid full-time workers by over £2000 since 2016, and will rise up a further 4.9% in April 2019 - a £690 rise for a full-time worker.
The government is also setting up a new Single Financial Guidance Body, which will provide people with a single point of contact for help with all financial matters, and have a statutory responsibility to improve the public’s financial capability.
However, the government recognises that, despite this action, some people can fall into problem debt. That is why the government is implementing a breathing space scheme – a sixty day period of protection for people in problem debt, to engage with debt advice and find a sustainable, long-lasting plan to solve their debt problems.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people struggling to manage their debts; what steps they are taking to assist such people; and what assessment they have made of the implications for individuals and families if debts cannot be managed.
Answered by Lord Bates
Household debt as a proportion of income is down significantly from its pre-crisis peak, from 160% in Q1 2008 to 140% in Q2 2018. However, despite this, the government recognises the importance of preventing people from falling into debt, and supporting individuals if they do.
To prevent individuals getting into problem debt, the government is putting in measures to improve living standards, and making it easier to access help with financial matters. In particular, the National Living Wage has increased the earnings of the lowest paid full-time workers by over £2000 since 2016, and will rise up a further 4.9% in April 2019 - a £690 rise for a full-time worker.
The government is also setting up a new Single Financial Guidance Body, which will provide people with a single point of contact for help with all financial matters, and have a statutory responsibility to improve the public’s financial capability.
However, the government recognises that, despite this action, some people can fall into problem debt. That is why the government is implementing a breathing space scheme – a sixty day period of protection for people in problem debt, to engage with debt advice and find a sustainable, long-lasting plan to solve their debt problems.