Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any risk to the UK's status as a location for research presented by the planned closure of the anthropology department of the University of Kent, particularly with regard to ethnobotany; and what broader assessment they have made of any risk posed by the closure of significant numbers of departments and faculties at universities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Higher education providers are independent, autonomous institutions and are best placed to make decisions about the future focus of their research and their institutional strategy. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students, and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with producers of personal protective equipment regarding regulatory or technological solutions to the issue of short use-by dates for such equipment.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Personal Protective Equipment Regulation 2016/425 sets out essential safety requirements that PPE must meet. This includes an obligation on the manufacturer to give, if possible, the month and year of obsolescence, if it is known that the design performance may be significantly affected by ageing.
The Government has had no discussions with PPE producers about changing this requirement in the Regulation, but welcomes new technological innovation to improve short PPE use-by dates.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ratify the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions; when they expect to be able to ratify the Agreement; and what discussions they have had with international partners to encourage other countries to ratify it.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement. Legislation will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.
The UK continues to be proactive in supporting other, particularly developing, countries to implement and ratify the BBNJ Agreement. This includes contributing to the BBNJ Voluntary Trust Fund to enable participation by developing countries in UN discussions on preparatory work, and supporting the BBNJ Informal Dialogues, discussions that bring together participants from a wide range of countries online to discuss implementation. The UK also co-funded and organised a workshop for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to share best practice and support the implementation and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement in the Philippines in November 2023. The UK is supporting a Commonwealth Secretariat project to provide technical assistance on implementation and ratification to smaller Commonwealth countries.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of caste-based discrimination in Nepal; what part of the Overseas Development Assistance is being used to support Dalit women across South Asia and specifically in Nepal; and what resources they have made available for grassroots organisations supporting Dalit women’s rights.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Gender inequality and social exclusion are significant challenges in Nepal. Whilst Nepal has a progressive constitution and many progressive laws and policies, implementation issues remain. The rights of women and girls is one of FCDO's core goals in Nepal. We fund grassroot organisations which work with the most vulnerable including Dalit communities and regularly engage with Dalit organisations to inform our existing and future programming. The UK is invested in shifting negative norms in society and institutions, improving processes and strengthening systems. Full information on our programmes can be found on DevTracker.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan on ensuring the availability of thalassaemia treatment and awareness; and what allocations of the Official Development Aid is being put towards this.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK uses Official Development Assistance (ODA) to support Pakistan in realising its ambition of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and ending preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children. We take a systems approach to this, providing technical assistance to strengthen decision making on health policy and financing. We also build the evidence base on effective sub-system interventions for UHC. No specific investments are made in Thalassaemia treatment or awareness raising in Pakistan. However, our support will strengthen core components of Pakistan's health system and increase coverage and service offers that should be of benefit to those with Thalassaemia.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the White Paper on International Development published on 20 November 2023 (CP 975), when they expect to publish the FCDO Strategy on Open Societies and Human Rights; and what they anticipate the impact of the Strategy will be on (1) developing protection mechanisms, respite schemes and rapid response support for human rights defenders, and (2) supporting local networks that emphasise the protection of such defenders.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO acknowledges the commitment made in the International Development White Paper to publish an Open Societies and Human Rights Strategy. The Strategy is in draft, and it will be published in due course. In line with commitments made in the International Development White Paper, the Strategy will signal our intent to provide additional support to human rights defenders. This is in line with the recent announcement that the UK will provide £1 million in funding over the next two years to the Lifeline Embattled Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Assistance Fund to provide much needed support to civic actors facing reprisals for their important work.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the amount of rosewood timber that is exported from West African countries such as Mali, The Gambia and Senegal; what steps they have taken to ban or control within UK markets the sale of products made from West African rosewood; and what steps they have taken to protect endangered wild species, including rosewood in West Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is currently contributing funding towards a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) study on the conservation and trade in rosewood tree species but does yet not have an assessment of rosewood timber exports. We have robust mechanisms in place through the UK Timber Regulations (UKTR), which prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the GB market and require operators - those first placing timber products on the market - to exercise due diligence. Those who trade in timber and timber products after they have been placed on the market are required to keep records of who they buy timber products from and any traders they sell them to. This enables timber and timber products to be traced.
The primary objective of the UKTR is to tackle illegal logging and to create a demand for legally harvested timber. Implementing the Regulations enables the protection of forests around the world, supporting the Government’s ambition to lead the world in environmental protection, end extreme poverty, and be at the forefront of action against global climate change.
The requirement to exercise due diligence under UKTR does not apply where a valid CITES permit accompanies the timber.
Rosewood species (Dalbergia and Guibourtia spp.) are listed on the CITES Appendices and so most rosewood timber imports into the UK will need a valid permit. Permit applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the UK CITES Management Authority, which will only issue permits if it has been possible to determine that the specimens to be imported were legally acquired and sustainably harvested.
The Government provides grants to a wide range of stakeholders to contribute to the protection of endangered wild species, including tackling illegal wildlife trade in West Africa, through the Biodiversity Challenge Funds. While these do not address rosewood in West Africa specifically, this has included empowering communities to protect their forests by the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, and supporting Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to monitor and halt illegal timber trade through DNA barcoding in Gabon and Congo (Brazzaville).
Further information on these examples and other projects supported by the Biodiversity Challenge Funds can be found at the websites of the Darwin Initiative and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Egypt regarding the release of the British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, and whether they have an expectation of the date on which he is likely to be released.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government and have been consistently clear in our calls for his release, while continuing to press the need for urgent consular access. The Foreign Secretary and I raised his case with President Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 21 December 2023. The Prime Minister also recently raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 1 December 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practice of the pension funds of regulators investing in companies for which the regulator has oversight responsibility, for example in the recent case of the Environment Agency’s pension fund investing in companies which produce PFAS.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most regulators participate in the unfunded public service pension schemes, which do not invest monies in order to generate returns. Those that do have funded schemes are subject to DWP occupational pension scheme legislation, with investments separated from the organisation and trustees responsible for scheme investments, or, in the case of the Environment Agency, participate in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Trustees and LGPS administering authorities have specific legal and fiduciary duties.
LGPS administering authorities, including the Environment Agency Pension Fund, are required to act in the interest of the fund and not the employer in setting and implementing their investment strategy. DLUHC guidance sets out that it is good practice for administering authorities to have robust policies to manage any potential conflicts of interest. The EAPF conflicts of interest policy is available online.[1]
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter dated 29 August 2023 from Lord Sharpe of Epsom to the Chair of the Animals in Science Committee, what progress they have made in considering the relocation of the portfolio under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There are no plans to relocate the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 portfolio from the Home Office to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The Home Office is working with DSIT to advance the Government’s ambitions for the life sciences and the protection of animals used in science.