Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to consult communities and experts on developing a long-term counter-extremism strategy aimed at building democratic and societal resilience, strengthening cohesion and reducing extremism and other societal threats.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all polices relating to national security and public safety under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel on the terror attack on 16 February at Re’em Junction that killed two and left four injured.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
This terrorist attack serves as a reminder of the daily security challenges Israel faces. The Government condemns all violence against innocent civilians and, as the Government has stated previously, for there to be a lasting peace, Israel's security must be assured. We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we continue to have regular discussions with Israeli counterparts on all aspects of the conflict.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent Iranian media reports that Iran is supplying Hezbollah with ‘Almas’ anti-tank missiles.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We condemn Iran's destabilising political, financial, and military support to proscribed groups, including Lebanese Hizballah. We have made clear to Iran that it must cease proliferating advanced weapons systems throughout the region. We will continue to work to disrupt Iran's destabilising activity in Lebanon and the wider region, including by holding Iran to account in multilateral fora and through sanctions; addressing Iranian weapons proliferation; and strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Autumn Statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22 November (HC Deb cols 325–357), whether they have any plans to provide an enhanced package of financial support for care leavers aged 18 to 25 when they leave the care system.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department recognises the challenges that care leavers face as they make the transition from care to living independently and have put in place a range of support measures.
To help care leavers to engage in education, employment and training (EET), the department has increased the Care Leavers’ Apprenticeships Bursary from £1,000 to £3,000. Local authorities are required to support care leavers to engage in EET, including providing a £2,000 bursary if the young person is studying in higher education. Care leavers are also a priority group for the 16 to19 bursary if studying in further education (up to £1,200 per year).
In addition, the department has increased the leaving care allowance from £2,000 to £3,000 to enable care leavers to furnish their first home, and the Junior ISA scheme provides an initial £200 payment to open a savings account for all children who have been in care continuously for 12 months. Anyone can pay money into the accounts, and the funds can then be accessed by the young person when they leave care at age 18.
Improving outcomes for care leavers is a cross-government priority and there are a range of ways in which the government is supporting care leavers to reduce their financial vulnerability, including:
Local authorities are required to publish their ‘local offer’ for care leavers, setting out care leavers’ legal entitlements, plus any further discretionary financial support that the local authority provides, such as Council Tax Exemptions, free leisure passes and rent deposit/guarantor schemes.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Autumn Statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22 November (HC Deb cols 325–357), what plans they have to extend the Household Support Fund.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Government has provided over £2 billion in funding for the Household Support Fund since October 2021.
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the taxpayer of removing VAT on all defibrillator purchases.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The government has not made a robust assessment of the cost to the taxpayer of removing VAT on all defibrillator purchases.
The Government provides support to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) through VAT refunds on purchases made by local authorities and VAT reliefs for purchases made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
The Department of Health and Social Care are examining whether there are ways to further expand public access to defibrillators.
The Government keeps all taxes under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much VAT was collected on defibrillator purchases in (1) 2020, (2) 2021, and (3) 2022.
Answered by Baroness Penn
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services, including VAT on defibrillators. This is because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level within their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will update their business risk advisory system regarding forced labour in the Uyghur region in China, in light of the conclusions of the Uyghur Tribunal, published on 9 December 2021.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Our overseas business risk guidance on Xinjiang was last updated in August 2021. It makes clear the extensive evidence of human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang, including the use of forced labour, and urges UK companies to take appropriate steps to ensure their operations do not directly or indirectly contribute to these violations. We continue to keep the guidance under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's investment of (1) effort, and (2) resources, into the advancement of the Middle East peace process.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We firmly believe a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. That is why we support steps to increase understanding and dialogue between the parties that can help create the conditions for meaningful negotiations. We will continue to fund peacebuilding projects focused on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's response to Freedom of Information Request FOI2021/07873, dated 23 June, how the disclosure of funding allocated to the advancement of the Middle East peace process would "potentially damage" international relationships.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Following an internal review, the international relations exemption has now been withdrawn and information will be released shortly.