Information between 17th March 2024 - 6th April 2024
Note: This sample does not contain the most recent 2 weeks of information. Up to date samples can only be viewed by Subscribers.
Click here to view Subscription options.
Calendar |
---|
Thursday 21st March 2024 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative - Life peer) Statement - Main Chamber Subject: The security and human right implications on the imposition of Article 23 in Hong Kong View calendar |
Thursday 21st March 2024 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative - Life peer) Statement - Main Chamber Subject: The situation in Gaza and Israel View calendar |
Division Votes |
---|
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 201 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 249 Noes - 219 |
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 205 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 263 Noes - 233 |
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 203 Conservative No votes vs 1 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 276 Noes - 226 |
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 196 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 248 Noes - 209 |
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 208 Conservative No votes vs 1 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 285 Noes - 230 |
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 203 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 271 Noes - 228 |
20 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House One of 200 Conservative No votes vs 0 Conservative Aye votes Tally: Ayes - 251 Noes - 214 |
Parliamentary Debates |
---|
Israel and Gaza
31 speeches (6,250 words) Tuesday 26th March 2024 - Lords Chamber Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Mentions: 1: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab - Life peer) My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, for repeating today’s Statement. - Link to Speech |
Genocide (Prevention and Response) Bill [HL]
27 speeches (11,628 words) 2nd reading Friday 22nd March 2024 - Lords Chamber Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Mentions: 1: Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD - Life peer) Lords Library briefing for today reminds noble Lords of the words of the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord - Link to Speech |
Ceasefire and the state of Palestine
0 speeches (None words) Wednesday 20th March 2024 - Petitions |
Ceasefire and the State of Palestine
0 speeches (None words) Wednesday 20th March 2024 - Petitions |
Ceasefire in Gaza
0 speeches (None words) Wednesday 20th March 2024 - Petitions |
Ceasefire in Palestine
0 speeches (None words) Wednesday 20th March 2024 - Petitions |
Written Answers |
---|
Minsiters: Pay
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer) Thursday 28th March 2024 Question to the Cabinet Office: To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have asked to forego a ministerial salary, either full or in part; and who were those ministers. Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers. It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time. It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
|
Ministers: Pay
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer) Thursday 28th March 2024 Question to the Cabinet Office: To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have been asked to forego a ministerial salary; and what were the reasons for those requests. Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers. It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time. It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
|
Ministers: Pay
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer) Thursday 28th March 2024 Question to the Cabinet Office: To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 a minister has foregone a ministerial salary at the request of the Cabinet Office. Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers. It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time. It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
|
Ministers: Pay
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer) Thursday 28th March 2024 Question to the Cabinet Office: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a cap on the combined total for ministerial salaries in any financial year. Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers. It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time. It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
|
Pakistan: Ahmadiyya
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer) Thursday 28th March 2024 Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11 March (HL2717), whether they will specifically raise with the government of Pakistan why Ahmadi Muslims were not included on the single electoral list with all other voters in the recent elections in that country. Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) On 22 March I met with Pakistan's newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Ishaq Dar to discuss the inclusivity of the elections and the rights of religious minorities. We will continue to raise human rights issues affecting the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in engagements with the new government and reaffirm the importance of Pakistan respecting the voting rights of all religious communities. |
China: Internment
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer) Monday 25th March 2024 Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL2663), whether they have made any estimate of the number of camps, including the so-called anti-extremism centres and re-education camps, in (1) Tibet and (2) the rest of China. Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) The Government refers to credible external estimates, in particular those from the United Nations, of numbers of individuals in China detained under various circumstances and within certain geographies. For example, the April 2023 UN Special Procedures found "[h]undreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been 'transferred' from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015" noting "the labour transfer programme is facilitated by a network of 'vocational training centres', which focus less on developing professional skills and more on cultural and political indoctrination in a militarised environment." As noted in the Government's response to Written Question HL2663, with regard to the situation in Xinjiang, in 2018 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination estimated "upwards of a million people were being held in so-called counter-extremism centres and another two million had been forced into what the Chinese refer to as 're-education camps' for political and cultural indoctrination." |
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Training
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops) Wednesday 20th March 2024 Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 15 February (HL2046), how many civil servants completed the Religion for International Engagement training module in (1) 2022, and (2) 2023. Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) 222 FCDO officials are recorded as having completed the Religion for International Engagement online training in 2022, and 156 in 2023. The training is also available to other interested civil servants. In addition to this online training module, FoRB is incorporated within FCDO's broader human rights training programme, a 2-3 day course delivered in the UK and overseas. In 2023, with the support of the PM's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, two sessions on FoRB were delivered as part of a human rights seminar series open to all staff. We also provide several additional tools for staff, particularly those based overseas, to support work on FoRB, including a FoRB Toolkit, scale of persecution and framework for FoRB reporting. |
Afghanistan and Iran: Women
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer) Tuesday 19th March 2024 Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: To ask His Majesty's Government how they are highlighting the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran, whether they are engaging with Afghan and Iranian women or organisations supporting them, and what practical steps they are taking in doing so. Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) The UK has repeatedly condemned the oppressive measures faced by women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran, though the situation for women and girls in each country is different. In September, the Foreign Secretary hosted a roundtable with Iranian women's rights defenders, as part of our visible support in their call for change. On 11 March, I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] spoke at an event on Afghanistan as part of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. We will continue to engage with women from both countries. |
Afghanistan: Hazara
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer) Tuesday 19th March 2024 Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, published on 29 February 2024, and his findings of specific targeting of the Hazara community in Afghanistan, including at least seven attacks carried out against Shia Muslims of Hazara ethnicity between September 2023 and January 2024. Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) The Government notes the UN Special Rapporteur's latest report and its recommendations. The Government works closely with the international community, including the G7, G20 and through the UN, to promote and protect the human rights of all Afghans, and to coordinate a consistent international response. In December, I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] raised recent attacks against Hazaras with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. |
North Korea: Weapons
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer) Tuesday 19th March 2024 Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to impose further sanctions on North Korean officials and entities under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020, including those who have been involved in the supply of weapons to Russia. Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) The UK remains concerned by the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] made clear during the House of Lords Debate on 14 December 2023. The Global Human Rights sanctions regime gives the UK a powerful tool that we can use to tackle human rights violations and abuses and underpins the UK's role as a force for good in global affairs, and we continue to keep further listings under review. On 22 February, the UK sanctioned five individuals and entities involved in DPRK-Russia weapons transfers. The DPRK is already subject to a robust sanctions regime and the UK will continue to work with our partners to hold the DPRK to account for supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. |
Parliamentary Research |
---|
Human rights in Sri Lanka - CDP-2024-0066
Mar. 19 2024 Found: Answering member: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The UK, |
Genocide (Prevention and Response) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 13 of 2023–24 - LLN-2024-0015
Mar. 18 2024 Found: earlier debate in the House of Lords on the Ukrainian Holodomor , Minister of State at the FCDO Lord |
Bill Documents |
---|
Mar. 18 2024
Genocide (Prevention and Response) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 13 Genocide (Prevention and Response) Bill [HL] 2023-24 Briefing papers Found: earlier debate in the House of Lords on the Ukrainian Holodomor , Minister of State at the FCDO Lord |
Department Publications - News and Communications |
---|
Tuesday 2nd April 2024
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Source Page: UK backing leading physicist Professor Mark Thomson to lead CERN Document: UK backing leading physicist Professor Mark Thomson to lead CERN (webpage) Found: UK Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, said |
Deposited Papers |
---|
Friday 22nd March 2024
Source Page: Letter dated 20/03/2024 from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to Baroness Falkner regarding UK leadership and Ukraine, as discussed following the Oral Statement on Ukraine. 2p. Document: BaronessFalkner.pdf (PDF) Found: Letter dated 20/03/2024 from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to Baroness Falkner regarding UK leadership and |
Friday 22nd March 2024
Source Page: Letter dated 18/03/2024 from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to Lord Berkeley regarding UK support for transport infrastructure in Ukraine, as discussed during the Oral Statement on Ukraine. 2p. Document: LordBerkeley.pdf (PDF) Found: Letter dated 18/03/2024 from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to Lord Berkeley regarding UK support for transport |