Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 26 March (HL5769), what assessment they have made of the implications for the reliability of the death statistics of the Gazan Ministry of Health reportedly removing from their March figures 3,400 deaths which it had previously listed in August and October 2024, including 1080 children.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are aware of a correction to the Gaza Ministry of Health's (MoH) data after a number of deaths were incorrectly reported. Producing reliable casualty statistics in contexts of violent conflict is often difficult. For example, prior to October 7th 2023, the MoH collected mortality figures from 8 sentinel hospitals across Gaza. Unfortunately, many of these hospitals were struck in the conflict and the capacity to collect the data was reduced. After consulting experts, we believe the MoH data to be largely accurate. Some experts have reached the view that the MoH may have underestimated the numbers of injured and dead.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 1 April (HL5876), what action they are taking in addition to issuing joint statements to prevent renewed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are concerned at heightened tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea and are engaging both sides at senior levels to encourage channels of communication and dialogue. This includes recent engagements by the Deputy Prime Minister during her recent visit to Ethiopia, and by myself as part of discussions on regional security with Ethiopian Ministers in recent weeks. Additionally, this week the UK's Special Envoy for the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa is visiting Asmara to meet with Eritrean Ministers and reinforce the need for calm and de-escalation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 January (HL3636), what assessment they have made of the progress made to address intercommunal violence following the implementation of the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria programme.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK's strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria programme (SPRiNG) is working to reduce rural violence in northwest and north-central Nigeria, including by supporting collaboration and productive livelihoods for both farmers and pastoralists, and strengthening conflict early warning, management and response. Whilst SPRiNG is still in the early phases of implementation, its partnership with the Institute for Integrated Transitions has achieved encouraging results already. Mediation efforts in Nasawara State have fostered a negotiated agreement between the Bassa and Egbura People, enabling the return and resettlement of 5000 internally displaced persons.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 December 2024 (HL2826), what steps they will take to increase the number of cases related to religion and belief handled by the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The service provides advice in relation to all the protected characteristics covered in the Equality Act 2010. EASS has a dedicated Stakeholder Engagement Manager who undertakes engagement with organisations that represent the interests of those with protected characteristics that have contacted the service and with organisations that wish to establish links with the service in the future.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 6 February (HL4583), what specific measures they are taking to address the root causes of marginalisation of minority faith communities in Nigeria, and what targeted support they are providing to protect individuals' freedom of religion or belief in the light of local blasphemy laws.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK supports programmes working to address the root causes of intercommunal violence in Nigeria through locally led peace-building efforts. Through our Strengthening Peace and Resilience programme ('SPRING') the UK is providing £38 million to reduce rural violence in northwest and north-central Nigeria, including by supporting collaboration and productive livelihoods for both farmers and pastoralists, and strengthening conflict early warning, management and response. The UK Government also funds the provision of legal and judicial expertise to make legislative changes to protect Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), including addressing blasphemy laws. The right of individuals to express their beliefs or non-belief is essential to a free and open society. Our dialogue on human rights, including FoRB, will remain an important part of the UK's partnership with Nigeria.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 December 2024 (HL2825), which organisation was awarded the contract to operate the Equality Advisory and Support Service in the most recent competitive tendering process; how much funding they have allocated to this organisation each year since 2022; and what the timeline is for the review and reopening of the next competitive tendering process.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

G4S was awarded the EASS contract in the last competitive tender process. The spend amount of the contract to date is £1,054,680 excl. VAT in the 2022/23 contract year, £1,104,180 excl. VAT in the 2023/24 contract year and £769,868 excl. VAT in the 2024/25 contract year. The reopening of the competitive tendering process will be ahead of the next contract juncture in June 2026.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 December 2024 (HL2826), whether they collect data on the number of Muslims who contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service; and if not, what plans they have to do so.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The EASS collects statistics on the protected characteristics related to the issue raised with the service, this includes if the issue relates to religion or belief. The statistics for the percentage of the cases related to religion and belief that were received from those who identified as Muslim is not collected. Individual characteristics are recorded if disclosed during the conversation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 26 February (HL5029) on Stonewall funding, what steps they are taking to ensure the efficacy and utility of each project mentioned in respect of value for taxpayer money.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's LGBT+ rights programme aims to transform the lives of millions of LGBT+ people around the world. This is done by tackling systematic violence, persecution, and exclusion by addressing outdated discriminatory laws, promoting protective legislation, empowering civil society organisations, and supporting the most vulnerable LGBT+ people in conflict and crisis. All programme proposals are required to set out how they will deliver and measure value for money. Successful partners are required to submit reports for the rigorous monitoring and evaluation process. These reports include a results framework or log frame to track progress against targets of the project alongside quarterly and annual progress reports, which allow us to look at the effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy, and utility of any work supported. All the information received from the partner and ongoing conversations throughout the years which the project is active allows us to track value for money.

Found: , Minister for Equalities, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Wales Office • Lord Collins of Highbury

Found: , Minister for Equalities, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Wales Office • Lord Collins of Highbury

Found: (FCDO);  Catherine West MP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (FCDO); and  Lord Collins of Highbury