Lords questions to government on Tuesday 16 June

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Questions on Tuesday 16 June:

• Baroness Whitaker asked the government about the terms of reference and the appointment process, for the constitution, democracy and rights commission.
  
  Topics discussed include: taking account of the rights of marginalised people in the UK; examining the roles of the Lord Chancellor and judiciary; representation from all four nations of the UK; examining voting; debating the agenda of the commission in the House of Lords; public trust in the political system; federalising the UK; and limiting the scope of the Human Rights Act.

• Baroness Sanderson of Welton asked the government when it plans to publish the social housing White Paper.
  
  Topics discussed include: timelines for publication of the white paper; increasing social housing; accessibility standards; using pension fund assets to invest in social housing expenditure; defining affordable rent rates; and affordability of social housing rents.

• Lord Young of Cookham to ask the government about its plans to review its manifesto commitments as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  
  Topics discussed include: manifesto commitments preventing the government from mitigating the recession; financing a long-term solution to social care and applying lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic; economic empowerment of Muslim women; reviewing children's social care; reviewing the commitment to establish a national strategy for disabled people in light of the pandemic; support for the working class and trade union voters; raising income tax, VAT, National Insurance or taxes on small businesses; the triple lock on pensions; trade relationships with commonwealth members; and extending the Brexit transition period.

• Baroness Tyler of Enfield asked the government about its response to 'The mental health effects of the first two months of lockdown and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK' report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
  
  Topics discussed include: government steps to prevent a mental health crisis; getting children and young people back to school; funding additional early intervention services; prioritising access to support for BAME communities; abandoning social distancing in schools; addressing mental health inequalities; the effects on women of ending the self-employed income support scheme; and waiting times for young people to receive mental health support.
  

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