Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what stage they have reached in negotiations with (1) the government of Canada, (2) the government of Australia, and (3) the government of New Zealand, on the annual uprating and payment of the UK state pension to beneficiaries resident in those countries.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government does not have a policy to increase the number of countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements on state pensions. The government has no plans to change its social security relationship with these countries on state pensions.
Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests. The department can, however, confirm that a response was provided to the government of Canada in August 2022 on its request to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include state pension uprating, where the department outlined its longstanding position as stated above.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of uprating the UK basic state pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions uprating.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years.
No recent assessment has been made of the annual cost of up-rating the UK basic State Pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions up-rating.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken of the impact of their decision not to uprate the UK state pension upon (1) British citizens resident in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and (2) Commonwealth citizens who have retired to a country in the Caribbean with a UK state pension entitlement.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken such research. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement is based on an individual’s national insurance record. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years. We continue to up-rate UK State Pensions abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. There are no plans to change this policy.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to annually uprate the UK basic state pension to qualifying individuals on the same basis regardless of the state or territory in which they are currently resident; and what reciprocal agreements they have made, if any, with other countries in respect of pension uprating.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for up-rating. The policy on up-rating is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. The Government has no plans to change this policy.
The UK has reciprocal social security agreements, which provide State Pension up-rating, with the following authorities:
The UK also has agreements in place with the European Economic Area and Switzerland which provide for State Pension up-rating.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the statement by Israel's Minister of Finance, Mr Bezalel Smotrich, on 1 March, that the Palestinian village of Hawara "should be wiped out”.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I set out in my tweet on 26 February, the scenes of abhorrent violence in Huwara were shocking. The UK also stresses the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. Rhetoric about "wiping out" places is harmful and irresponsible. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised these comments with the Government of Israel at senior levels. We condemn Finance Minister Smotrich's incitement to violence. Such rhetoric serves no purpose other than to stoke tensions further.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the work of a British Museum team in the discovery of an early Sumerian Palace at Girsu/Tello, funded by the Getty Museum, and (2) making provision of similar funding for the training of Iraqi archaeologists and the conservation of Iraq’s antiquities under the Cultural Heritage Protection Programme.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is proud of the partnership between the British Museum, the Getty Museum and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities. HM Government supports the protection of cultural heritage – particularly in regions at risk from conflict, instability and climate change – through the Cultural Protection Fund, which includes support for training and education.
Since its inception, the Cultural Protection Fund has supported and continues to support a number of projects in both Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. This included the Iraq Scheme which from 2015 to 2021 trained over 50 staff from the State Board of Antiquities. The Girsu Project builds on the legacy of the scheme and we congratulate the British Museum for its part in recent excavations in Tello.
In November 2022, 17 new Cultural Protection Fund projects were awarded funding. Four of these will support the preservation of cultural heritage in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. The projects include archaeological training, safeguarding folk music, and the preservation of maritime craft and life in the wetlands of Southern Iraq.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they will have with the government of Uganda about its decision to close the offices of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in that country in August 2023.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK regrets the decision by the Government of Uganda not to renew the mandate of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) country office in Uganda. Since its establishment in 2006, with an initial mandate focused on the human rights situation in conflict-affected areas of Northern Uganda, OHCHR has made an important contribution towards the promotion and protection of human rights in Uganda. The UK makes regular representations to the Government of Uganda on human rights and will continue to work with all Ugandans to advocate for democratic freedoms and the respect for human rights.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the World Food Programme to cut the daily food ration to Rohingya refugees by 17 per cent; and whether they will contribute to making up the shortfall in funding.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, providing £345 million in vital humanitarian support since 2017. We are monitoring the impact of the food ration cut on the refugees closely. The UK provided £8.8m for food assistance to the Rohingya during 2022 and will continue to provide support during 2023. Global humanitarian funding is under unprecedented strain, and we are concerned that total donor funding for the Rohingya response will not revert back to previous levels. We continue to raise with the Government of Bangladesh and the UN on the importance of improving the Rohingya's self-sufficiency through income generating opportunities to reduce the reliance on humanitarian aid.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will ask the UN Human Rights Council to undertake a fact-finding mission concerning the blast at the Port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
From the outset, the British government called on Lebanon's leaders to urgently and transparently investigate the blast and to hold to account those responsible. We continue to lobby the Lebanese authorities on the importance of a credible and transparent investigation. There must be full accountability and those responsible for any criminal wrongdoing should face justice, and if any multilateral initiatives are brought forward we will engage constructively on them.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the government of Israel to prohibit Palestinians under the age of 22 from entering Israel to participate in organised peace-building activities and the impact that this will have on UK-funded cross-community peace building work in the region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to call upon the Government of Israel to fully respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of Palestinians and civil society organisations and to allow them to freely operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Lord Ahmad, has raised human rights concerns in several recent engagements with the Israeli Ambassador, including a call on 16 February. The UK is committed to making progress towards a negotiated two-state solution. In support of this, we continue to fund peacebuilding projects focused on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The UK remains committed to a two-state solution, as I [Lord Ahmad] made clear in meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki, during my visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 10-13 January.