Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to carry out a consultation on the effects of the Party Wall Act 1996.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department has not conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996 and does not intend to consult on its effects.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department has not conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996 and does not intend to consult on its effects.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use the next stages of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway to ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare are applied in all abattoirs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway maps out how farmers and the Government will work together to continually improve the health and welfare of our farmed animals, supported by the best science and evidence. It involves three mutually reinforcing pillars in making this change: financial incentives to help farmers deliver on-farm improvements; stimulating market demand through labelling and mandatory public disclosure to improve the accessibility, availability and affordability of higher welfare products; and, where needed, strengthening regulation to ensure the changes made endure. Following the post-implementation review of our welfare at killing legislation, and as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are looking at a wide range of welfare at slaughter improvements that could be made to strengthen the regulatory baseline in slaughterhouses. Welfare at slaughter is a devolved matter, and the Government remains committed to working closely with the devolved administrations on our shared aims for animal welfare.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce mandatory labelling for (1) domestic, and (2) imported, meat, indicating (a) the method of production, and (b) when stunning of animals has not occurred prior to slaughter.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2021, Defra ran a call for evidence to gather data on the potential impacts of different types of labelling reform for animal welfare, including considerations around imports, production systems and method of slaughter. We received over 1,600 responses and a summary of these responses is available on GOV.UK.
Based on the evidence provided, Defra committed in the Government’s Food Strategy to consult on improving and expanding mandatory animal welfare labelling, covering both domestic and imported products, in 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be nominating a candidate to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the 2024 elections.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the important role played by CEDAW in holding state parties to account in implementing the convention.
As with all UN bodies, the Government considers a range of factors in deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee and will continue to consider future vacancies as they arise.
The UK continues to ensure that we put women at the heart of our domestic and international policies, as shown on International Women’s Day when the government published the UK’s new international women and girls strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure in their meeting of international justice ministers in March that (1) practical, and (2) financial, support is provided to ensure perpetrators of alleged war crimes against women and children in Ukraine are brought to justice.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The UK is committed to pursuing accountability for the atrocities being perpetrated by Russian forces against women and children in Ukraine. The £1 million voluntary contribution that the UK provided to the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year will contribute to enhancing capacity with respect to investigations into crimes of sexual and gender-based violence and crimes against children, led by the Prosecutors’ special adviser on crimes against and affecting children. In Ukraine, we are providing personnel from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts to support capacity building amongst prosecutors and the police as well as support to victims, including women and children.
On 20 March 2023, Justice Ministers from around the world will convene in London. The Justice Ministers Conference is focused on enhancing practical and technical support to the ICC for its investigation into the situation in Ukraine.
One of the thematic sessions of the Conference is focused on supporting victims and witnesses of trauma. The session will explore strengthening support for ICC investigations into sexual and gender-based violence in Ukraine, and sharing best practices to be adopted when interviewing children to avoid re-traumatisation during the evidence gathering process.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of planning permission applications by a third party which (1) interfere with an adjacent neighbouring property, and (2) undermine the foundation of a property not owned by them, without acquiring permission from that property owner.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local planning authorities are required to give notice of a planning application and can serve a notice on any adjoining owner or occupier to which an application relates. Neighbours can make their representations during the 21-day consultation period. The grant of planning permission does not grant the consent of the landowner or remove the need for applicants to also comply with other legal requirements such as building regulations approval and the Party Wall Act.
An enforcement notice can be served by the local planning authority against any breach of planning control.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that survivors of all ages of war crimes in Ukraine, particularly sexual violence, are represented in discussions about the justice process for prosecuting war crimes in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has allocated up to £2.5 million this year to support Ukraine's domestic investigations and prosecution of international crimes, including sexual violence and crimes against children.
We have deployed a member of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative Team of Experts to support the Office of the Prosecutor General, including on conducting inclusive criminal justice processes aligned with international standards, with survivor voices and needs taken into account.
We are also funding UN Women to provide conflict-related sexual violence expertise and mentoring to the Ukrainian authorities, and we are funding local NGOs to help survivors to understand their rights and access justice.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will seek to ensure effective collaboration between the International Criminal Court and all other (1) international, and (2) national, accountability mechanisms when investigating alleged war crimes against women and children in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will provide the necessary assistance to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support its investigations. In addition to the UK's funding support of £10.5 million to the ICC annual budget, in 2022 we made a £1 million contribution, to increase the ICC's collection of evidence capacity and provide enhanced psychosocial support to witnesses and survivors. We are also providing a £2.5 million UK support package to support the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) initiative as a mechanism through which to support Ukraine's domestic investigations and prosecution of core international crimes. We encourage both the ICC and Ukraine's domestic investigation teams to coordinate with one another, and share information and evidence as appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reform the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There are no plans, at present, to undertake a review of the Party Wall Act.