Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to report on their participation in the negotiations on a United Nations binding treaty on business and human rights during the ninth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights and in response produced a National Action Plan. The UK attended the 9th Session of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations, which discussed the merits of introducing a new instrument or framework that could elaborate on business human rights responsibilities. The UK statement, which is available on the Working Group website, outlined suggestions on provisions of the draft instrument text, including the definition of victims. We seek flexibility in the construction of the instrument and in the negotiations process and will continue to engage in future Working Group Sessions.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to close the gender the pay gap, and (2) to end unequal pay for, and discrimination against, women.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
This Government is committed to the empowerment of women in the workplace. Over the last decade our work has seen the gender pay gap fall considerably, with mandatory gender pay gap reporting regulations helping to motivate employers to improve equality in the workplace, and strong growth in the number of women in full-time work.
To drive forward this progress we have recently announced a ground-breaking pay transparency pilot, a new STEM returners programme and a Taskforce on Women-Led High-Growth Enterprises. In combination, this work will ensure that all women are able to reach their full career potential, improving gender equality in the workplace, and helping to further narrow the gender pay gap.
We also remain committed to the Equality Act 2010, which contains strong protections from discrimination on the basis of sex, and reaffirms fundamental equal pay protections.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had at the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative regarding sexual violence in (1) Sudan, and (2) South Sudan.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK Government are working in both Sudan and South Sudan to address Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) International Conference was an important opportunity to raise awareness and work together on these issues. The Government of South Sudan was represented at the conference, endorsed the CRSV Political Declaration and made a national commitment to prevent CRSV in South Sudan. South Sudan's Defence Minister and several civil society actors participated in panels on CRSV prevention, reparations and peacebuilding. The Prime Minister's Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict met the South Sudanese Ministerial delegation to press for urgent action to address CRSV in South Sudan.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle violence against women and girls; and in particular, what steps they are taking in response to the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls campaign.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a government priority. VAWG is an unacceptable, preventable issue which blights the lives of millions.
We have made significant progress since we published the Tackling VAWG Strategy in July 2021 and the complementary Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan in March 2022, including action to tackle the causes of these crimes. We have supported the introduction of a new full-time National Policing Lead for VAWG, DCC Maggie Blyth, to help strengthen the police response as well as ratifying the Istanbul Convention on 21 July 2022, demonstrating to women in the UK and to our partners overseas our commitment to tackling VAWG.
One of the primary goals of The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is to educate people about gender equality and VAWG crimes. We have launched our national communications campaign, ‘Enough’, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society, educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and receive support. Phase two of the campaign started on 25 October. Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is also now a statutory part of the curriculum to educate children about the importance of respectful relationships, as well as issues such as domestic abuse and sexual consent.
The government has announced we will add VAWG to the Strategic Policing Requirement meaning it will be set out as a national threat for forces to respond to alongside other threats such as terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse. We have also allocated £55 million to communities through the Safer Streets Fund and Safety of Women at Night Fund, including for extra CCTV, streetlighting and work to change attitudes and work to preventing VAWG in public spaces at night.
We have committed, by 2025, to have invested £75 million into perpetrator projects, research and interventions. This includes interventions like the Drive Project which targets high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators. It has reduced physical abuse by 82%, and jealous and controlling behaviours by 73%. And, we have doubled our funding for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline and will make it easier for more victims of domestic abuse to come forward by trialling the Ask for ANI codeword scheme in Jobcentre Plus Offices. The scheme currently operates in half of UK pharmacies and since 2021 there have been over 130 cases where pharmacists helped victims access support.
Through these actions we want to reduce the prevalence of VAWG crimes, whilst giving victims and survivors high-quality support to realise better outcomes.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will restore the meal voucher scheme for eligible school children during future school holidays.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will continue to keep eligibility conditions for free school meals (FSM) under review to ensure that FSM are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.
The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of pupils are now provided with FSM.
Over £200 million a year is being invested in the holiday activities and food programme. This programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning through the provision of healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to extend the provision of healthy free school meals to all primary school children.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will continue to keep eligibility conditions for free school meals (FSM) under review to ensure that FSM are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.
The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of pupils are now provided with FSM.
Over £200 million a year is being invested in the holiday activities and food programme. This programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning through the provision of healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what humanitarian support they have provided to combat violence against women and girls in Sudan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to call for sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in Sudan to end. We have raised our concerns at human rights violations in international fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council, and directly with the Sudanese authorities. The UK has also provided significant support to the Sudanese led-movement to end female genital mutilation (FGM). Working with UN partners at the community level in Sudan, the UK has helped to change behaviours towards FGM by facilitating community dialogue, working with religious leaders and providing training for medical professionals.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners regarding the involvement of Eritrean Defence Forces in the renewed conflict in Tigray.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The breakdown of the truce between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian Government and the renewed involvement of Eritrea is catastrophic for Ethiopia. The UK encourages international efforts to de-escalate conflict, stressing the need for a political solution, humanitarian access and accountability.
On 22 September, in a meeting with Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Development raised the impact of renewed conflict on the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia and reiterated calls for a truce, restoration of humanitarian access to Tigray and for Eritrean forces to leave. Following this, the Minister for Africa tweeted about the escalation of fighting and the involvement of Eritrean forces, again calling on them to leave Tigray. Our Embassies in Addis Ababa and Asmara continue to engage with parties to the conflict to deliver these messages.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Tigray, given the renewed fighting in that region.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The breakdown of the truce between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian Government and the renewed involvement of Eritrea is catastrophic for Ethiopia. The UK encourages international efforts to de-escalate conflict, stressing the need for a political solution, humanitarian access and accountability.
On 22 September, in a meeting with Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Development raised the impact of renewed conflict on the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia and reiterated calls for a truce, restoration of humanitarian access to Tigray and for Eritrean forces to leave. Following this, the Minister for Africa tweeted about the escalation of fighting and the involvement of Eritrean forces, again calling on them to leave Tigray. Our Embassies in Addis Ababa and Asmara continue to engage with parties to the conflict to deliver these messages.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Eritrea about the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) organising concerts and festivals in (1) London, and (2) other European capitals; and what assessment, if any, they have made of those events.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are aware of the events organised by the Eritrean Government and ruling party in countries across Europe, including the UK. After one such event organised by the Eritrean Embassy in London in September, clashes between attendees and protestors resulted in several arrests. Following this event, the FCDO has encouraged the Eritrean Embassy to communicate with their dedicated police liaison officer to ensure that any future events pass off peacefully.