Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support LGBTQ+ youth who have been made homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We recognise that LGBTQ+ homelessness is an issue, particularly among young people and that LGBTQ+ people who find themselves homeless may have a different experience of homelessness due to their protected characteristics. My Department has provided funds to both charities and local authorities which will enable to them to support their communities, including LGBTQ+ people, whether they have been homeless, are at risk of homelessness or are rough sleeping.
At the beginning of the pandemic, our priority was to bring vulnerable people inside so they could self-isolate and stop the virus spreading. We backed this with £3.2 million in emergency funding for local authorities to support vulnerable rough sleepers, and a further £3.7 billion to help councils to manage the impacts of COVID-19, including supporting homeless people. This may include people identifying as LGBTQ+.
This has had a huge impact– as nearly 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 emergency. On 24 June we announced that we are providing local authorities with a further £105 million to enable them to best support those placed into emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 14 May my Department also announced £6 million of emergency funding to provide relief for frontline homelessness charitable organisations who are directly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Following a successful bidding process, over 130 charities across England are set to benefit from the £6 million emergency fund. Successful bids included Stonewall Housing which provides housing advice and support for LGBTQ+ people whether they are homeless, at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping.
On 2 May, we announced the Rough Sleeping Taskforce, which has one overriding objective: to ensure that as many people as possible who have been brought in off the streets during this pandemic do not return to the streets. Supporting the taskforce are our Homelessness Advice and Support Team, which includes dedicated?youth?homelessness advisor roles that have a commitment to work with local authorities to proactively promote positive joint working across housing authorities and children’s services, offering training, advice and support to all local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 12 December 2016 (HL Deb, col 1021) that Her Majesty's Government was committed to addressing historical wrongs experienced by homosexual and bisexual men who were convicted of actions that are no longer crimes, what plans they have to use the power contained in section 166 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 to expand the list of now repealed or abolished offences contained in section 92 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 in order that gay people previously cautioned for, or convicted of, offences, such as solicitation, can apply for a disregard and, if successful, obtain a pardon.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is committed to upholding the intent and purpose of the disregard scheme and to working closely with counterparts across government, particularly the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defence, to explore the feasibility of bringing further offences within scope.
Work to identify what further offences might be added under the provisions enabling the Secretary of State to extend, by regulations, the list of offences currently eligible for a disregard under the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 must be completed before any proposed amendments can be brought forward. This work is ongoing and the Government remains fully committed to considering any appropriate proposals, in due course.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they estimate that their proposals to abolish the Immigration Health Surcharge currently paid by care workers and NHS staff will be implemented.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Work by Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office officials is now underway on how to implement the change, and further details will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all schools in England will begin to teach compulsory relationships education or relationships and sex education from September 2020.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We also want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why we are making Relationships Education (RE) compulsory for primary school-age pupils, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for secondary school-age pupils and Health Education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools, from September 2020.
Ofsted’s school inspection handbook sets out that inspectors will consider the provision for RE and RSE and Health Education, as part of a wider judgment of pupils’ personal development.
To support schools in their preparations, the department is investing in a central support package to help all schools to increase the confidence and quality of their teaching practice. This includes developing a new online service featuring innovative training materials, case studies and support to access resources. This will cover all of the teaching and consultation requirements in the statutory guidance and will be available in the summer term, with additional content added in the following months.
The department has been working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on a school’s ability to discharge their duty relating to the implementation of these subjects. The department will provide an update in due course. Schools will be required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for RE (primary) and RSE (secondary), which will inform schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered. The statutory guidance sets out effective practice on parental engagement and we have published further advice for primary schools on engaging parents positively in the development of their RE policy, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engaging-parents-with-relationships-education-policy. In addition we have published leaflets for schools to provide to parents, which summarise the key changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.
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Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action will be taken against schools in England that do not begin to teach compulsory relationships education or relationships and sex education from September 2020.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We also want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why we are making Relationships Education (RE) compulsory for primary school-age pupils, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for secondary school-age pupils and Health Education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools, from September 2020.
Ofsted’s school inspection handbook sets out that inspectors will consider the provision for RE and RSE and Health Education, as part of a wider judgment of pupils’ personal development.
To support schools in their preparations, the department is investing in a central support package to help all schools to increase the confidence and quality of their teaching practice. This includes developing a new online service featuring innovative training materials, case studies and support to access resources. This will cover all of the teaching and consultation requirements in the statutory guidance and will be available in the summer term, with additional content added in the following months.
The department has been working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on a school’s ability to discharge their duty relating to the implementation of these subjects. The department will provide an update in due course. Schools will be required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for RE (primary) and RSE (secondary), which will inform schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered. The statutory guidance sets out effective practice on parental engagement and we have published further advice for primary schools on engaging parents positively in the development of their RE policy, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engaging-parents-with-relationships-education-policy. In addition we have published leaflets for schools to provide to parents, which summarise the key changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.
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Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what resources and support they are providing to schools in England to help them (1) consult parents about the provision of, and (2) teach, compulsory relationships education and relationships and sex education.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We also want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why we are making Relationships Education (RE) compulsory for primary school-age pupils, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for secondary school-age pupils and Health Education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools, from September 2020.
Ofsted’s school inspection handbook sets out that inspectors will consider the provision for RE and RSE and Health Education, as part of a wider judgment of pupils’ personal development.
To support schools in their preparations, the department is investing in a central support package to help all schools to increase the confidence and quality of their teaching practice. This includes developing a new online service featuring innovative training materials, case studies and support to access resources. This will cover all of the teaching and consultation requirements in the statutory guidance and will be available in the summer term, with additional content added in the following months.
The department has been working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on a school’s ability to discharge their duty relating to the implementation of these subjects. The department will provide an update in due course. Schools will be required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for RE (primary) and RSE (secondary), which will inform schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered. The statutory guidance sets out effective practice on parental engagement and we have published further advice for primary schools on engaging parents positively in the development of their RE policy, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engaging-parents-with-relationships-education-policy. In addition we have published leaflets for schools to provide to parents, which summarise the key changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.
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Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how far in advance parents of pupils in schools in England must be consulted before the teaching of relationships education or relationships and sex education starts.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We also want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why we are making Relationships Education (RE) compulsory for primary school-age pupils, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for secondary school-age pupils and Health Education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools, from September 2020.
Ofsted’s school inspection handbook sets out that inspectors will consider the provision for RE and RSE and Health Education, as part of a wider judgment of pupils’ personal development.
To support schools in their preparations, the department is investing in a central support package to help all schools to increase the confidence and quality of their teaching practice. This includes developing a new online service featuring innovative training materials, case studies and support to access resources. This will cover all of the teaching and consultation requirements in the statutory guidance and will be available in the summer term, with additional content added in the following months.
The department has been working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on a school’s ability to discharge their duty relating to the implementation of these subjects. The department will provide an update in due course. Schools will be required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for RE (primary) and RSE (secondary), which will inform schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered. The statutory guidance sets out effective practice on parental engagement and we have published further advice for primary schools on engaging parents positively in the development of their RE policy, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engaging-parents-with-relationships-education-policy. In addition we have published leaflets for schools to provide to parents, which summarise the key changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.
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Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the preparedness of schools in England to begin teaching compulsory relationships education or relationships and sex education from September.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We also want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why we are making Relationships Education (RE) compulsory for primary school-age pupils, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory for secondary school-age pupils and Health Education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools, from September 2020.
Ofsted’s school inspection handbook sets out that inspectors will consider the provision for RE and RSE and Health Education, as part of a wider judgment of pupils’ personal development.
To support schools in their preparations, the department is investing in a central support package to help all schools to increase the confidence and quality of their teaching practice. This includes developing a new online service featuring innovative training materials, case studies and support to access resources. This will cover all of the teaching and consultation requirements in the statutory guidance and will be available in the summer term, with additional content added in the following months.
The department has been working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on a school’s ability to discharge their duty relating to the implementation of these subjects. The department will provide an update in due course. Schools will be required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for RE (primary) and RSE (secondary), which will inform schools’ decisions on when and how certain content is covered. The statutory guidance sets out effective practice on parental engagement and we have published further advice for primary schools on engaging parents positively in the development of their RE policy, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engaging-parents-with-relationships-education-policy. In addition we have published leaflets for schools to provide to parents, which summarise the key changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.
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Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pardons have been applied for under the Policing and Crime Act 2017 pardon scheme for gay men; of those, how many have been granted; where applicants have not been pardoned, whether reasons have been given; and if so, what were those reasons.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Pardons under Section 165 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 are granted automatically when an individual applies successfully for a conviction to be disregarded. To date, there have been 174 pardons granted through this route, from 404 applications for convictions to be disregarded.
If a disregard application is unsuccessful, the applicant will receive a letter detailing the reason for rejection. Most applications are unsuccessful as the convictions concerned are for ineligible offences, such as theft. Applications are also rejected if the activity was non-consensual, involved a person under 16, or remains an offence.
Full statistics are regularly published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many responses to their consultation on caste in Great Britain and equality law were accepted after the closing date for submissions; and whether statistics on any responses accepted after the closing date will be declared separately.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Following the closure of the Government’s consultation on ‘Caste in Great Britain and Equality Law’ on 18 September 2017, we received 42 late responses in five separate postal mailings. This constituted 0.26% of the total number of responses received, and included responses from both those in favour of and those opposed to explicit legal protection against caste discrimination being included in the Equality Act 2010. Almost all late responses were campaign responses identical to others which had arrived on time.
Respondents had already had almost six months to reply to the consultation, and late responses were not taken into account in the Government’s analysis of the consultation’s results. The Government will be publishing this analysis and its response to the consultation in due course.