Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to adopting the 'Horses of Hope' pilot scheme in prisons in England and Wales, following its use in other countries including the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
My noble friend is right to point to the importance of schemes like Horses of Hope, which help prison leavers gain skills and find employment on release. We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly and so improving employment outcomes is a key pillar of our plans to cut crime by reducing reoffending.
Similar provision through RMF Group in partnership with Milton Harris Racing is currently running in two prisons in England and Wales with a further prison due to start shortly. The courses delivered are linked to the British Horseracing Association and the Royal Stud, providing level 1 and 2 qualifications, as well as employment and accommodation opportunities on release.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government which pilot schemes they plan to encourage in prisons in order (1) to reduce recidivism, and (2) to increase future employment opportunities for prisoners.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper, we are driving down reoffending through investing in getting offenders into skills training, work and stable accommodation.
We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. Earlier this month we launched the Employability Innovation Fund to enable prison governors to work with more employers and training providers to repurpose workshops, deliver sector specific skills training to meet the changing needs of the economy and smooth the path from prison to employment.
The Future Skills Programme and HMP Academies strands of the Fund will pilot innovative approaches to upskilling prisoners, invite employers into prisons to run training academies and create pathways into employment on release. This will cut crime by reducing reoffending while helping businesses to fill labour shortages and grow.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to provide a supply of (1) military equipment, and (2) other necessary equipment, to Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK and our allies and partners are responding decisively to provide military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
On 16 January 2023 the Secretary of State for Defence announced to Parliament the UK’s most significant package of military support for Ukraine to-date. The UK has led the world with the gifting of modern main battle tanks in addition to heavy artillery, air defence, ammunition, and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine’s defence. This substantial assistance to Ukraine comes from our own national stocks, and resources illustrating the mutual understanding of the severity of the situation and our commitment to urgently increase and accelerate support for Ukraine.
In addition to military equipment we have delivered a range of other assistance to Ukraine, including 25,000 sets of extreme cold winter clothing, 20,000 sleeping bags and 150 insulated tents. We have also provided bilateral assistance direct to the government of Ukraine, including food, medical supplies, 75 ambulances and over 800 generators.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, together with other countries, to arrange a (1) more timely delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, and (2) more focused assessment of changing needs of that country from month to month.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
By bringing together allies and partners, we are ensuring the surge of global military support is as strategic and coordinated as possible.
Most recently, on 19 January 2023, the Defence Secretary co-hosted a meeting of international defence ministers and partners in Estonia, where the UK reaffirmed our latest package of support and joined eight allies and partners committing to deliver to Ukraine an unprecedented set of capabilities including main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defence, ammunition, and infantry fighting vehicles.
We work closely with Ukraine and the International Donation Coordination Centre to ensure the UK's military aid, and that of the wider international community is targeted and coordinated to deliver the capabilities most urgently required by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, taking account of the latest information from the battlefield.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to provide more paramedics to Ukraine, given the current short supply in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK has provided £300,000 to the British NGO UK-Med, who specialise in the provision of medical services and training. As a result of our support, UK-Med has trained a total of 1363 participants (civilian, pre-hospital, clinical and non-clinical staff and surgeons) across Ukraine in advanced trauma and psychological first aid. The UK has also provided 11 million medical items to assist the health services of Ukraine, including wound care packs and medicine for pain management. We coordinate our support in regular dialogue with other countries and the UN.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to increase the amount of armoured ambulances available to Ukraine, given the current danger faced by hospitals in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
In response to the Government of Ukraine's requests for assistance, the UK has provided 96 non-armoured ambulances (20 NHS and 76 new). The ambulances selected are in line with the priorities and specifications set out by Ukraine's Ministry of Health in their dialogue with officials in the FCDO.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to assist Ukrainian (1) civilians, and (2) soldiers, suffering from trauma and stress.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are working with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and our international partners and allies to best understand how we can support Ukraine's needs as part of international efforts. Mental health experts from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) have offered advice and support to Ukrainian colleagues on ways to further develop their mental health services.
To support civilians suffering from trauma and stress, the UK has funded the British NGO UK-Med (£300,000) to train 1363 first responders in advanced trauma and psychological first aid. Our funding to UNICEF (£15 million) is supporting them to provide specialist trauma and gender-based violence services.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) prospects of, and (2) benefits from, the proposed UK–Brazil Expanded Trade Partnership.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The UK is committed to enhancing our bilateral trading partnership with Brazil, an important partner for the UK with whom we traded £6.5bn in the 12 months ending June 2022[1].
For example, the signing of the UK-Brazil Double Taxation Agreement in November 2022 represents a significant step in enhancing our trading relationship across all sectors. When ratified, it will dramatically reduce tax uncertainty in cross-border trade.
We will work with the new administration to agree the best way to progress our relationship, including in areas of shared interest like Digital trade.
[1] GOV.UK. (2022) Trade and Investment Factsheets: Brazil.
Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-and-investment-factsheets-partner-names-beginning-with-a-or-b
(Accessed: 23 December 2022).
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to offer incentives to UK business and industry to pursue new opportunities in the economy of South America, including clean growth and infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
My department is working tirelessly to ensure that the demand for UK expertise in South America’s clean energy transition and infrastructure development is capitalised on.
Recently, the Government supported the development of regulatory frameworks for offshore wind projects in Brazil and Colombia; signed three government-to-government public infrastructure contracts worth £2.5 billion in Peru; and, through UK Export Finance, supported hospital construction and aerospace projects in Brazil and Guyana.
UK businesses working on these projects and more enjoy preferential access under the UK-Andean Countries Free Trade Agreement and UK-Chile Association Agreement, which also benefit those pursuing new opportunities.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposed EU–Mercosur Association Agreement; and what plans they have to apply to join the Agreement.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The UK has no plans to join the EU’s Association Agreement with Mercosur as our approach is to negotiate our own trade agreements using our freedom outside of the EU.
We are monitoring the progress of EU-Mercosur talks. They reached agreement in principle on a deal in 2019 but the agreement is not yet ratified.
The Mercosur countries are important markets for the UK and we are committed to strengthening our trading relationship.
A recent demonstration of that commitment was the signing of a Double Taxation Agreement with Brazil in November. When ratified, the agreement will dramatically reduce tax uncertainty in cross-border trade.