Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which UK and international contributions to UN humanitarian agencies to date are meeting the needs of internally displaced people in Sudan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UN estimates almost 9 million people are currently internally displaced in Sudan. This is now the largest displacement crisis in the world. We are working with regional and international partners to help bring an end to the hostilities, ensure the protection of civilians, and secure safe humanitarian access to and for the most at-need communities. The UK continues to provide assistance to the many people in need in Sudan through our humanitarian aid package of £38 million for 2023-2024. In the next financial year 2024/2025 the UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Sudan will double, to £89 million.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the proposal from the International Agreements Committee, set out in its letter to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, published on 23 March 2023, that the Department for Business and Trade should publish a trade policy framework, setting out strategic policies and objectives for trade negotiations, to facilitate better parliamentary scrutiny of all trade.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government communicates its trade strategy in publicly available documents: the Integrated Review Refresh, speeches and committee appearances, and our Export Strategy. Publishing a framework may risk revealing our positions, undermining our ability to negotiate effectively and therefore place UK businesses in an uncompetitive position.
The Government is committed to providing updates to Parliament, which are also then available to the public. This information includes the Government’s strategic approach to free trade agreements, providing written updates after negotiating rounds, engaging with committees throughout negotiations, and in debates during Bill scrutiny. Ministers also provide information when answering written and oral questions.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what new opportunities they are considering for discussing migration in Europe, in particular (1) through the European Union or its institutions, (2) with European Union members, or (3) the Council of Europe.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to working with international partners on migration. We must intensify efforts to stop migrant smuggling across Europe, over Europe’s external borders, and in source and transit countries. This requires a collective European voice on the global stage, including in multilateral fora.
Migration is a focus of all our bilateral and multilateral engagement with our European partners. The UK is clear that reducing illegal migration requires a coordinated approach across Europe. For example, the Prime Minister and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chaired a small-group meeting on migration and organised immigration crime at the European Political Community Summit in Granada in October 2023, agreeing an eight-point plan to address growing levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe. We will continue to build on this work throughout 2024.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to hold an international conference on migration in Europe as part of their immigration and asylum strategy; and if so, through what means.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to working with international partners on migration. We must intensify efforts to stop migrant smuggling across Europe, over Europe’s external borders, and in source and transit countries. This requires a collective European voice on the global stage, including in multilateral fora.
Migration is a focus of all our bilateral and multilateral engagement with our European partners. The UK is clear that reducing illegal migration requires a coordinated approach across Europe. For example, the Prime Minister and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chaired a small-group meeting on migration and organised immigration crime at the European Political Community Summit in Granada in October 2023, agreeing an eight-point plan to address growing levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe. We will continue to build on this work throughout 2024.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for using the European Political Community as a forum for discussion and action on migration.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to working with international partners on migration. We must intensify efforts to stop migrant smuggling across Europe, over Europe’s external borders, and in source and transit countries. This requires a collective European voice on the global stage, including in multilateral fora.
Migration is a focus of all our bilateral and multilateral engagement with our European partners. The UK is clear that reducing illegal migration requires a coordinated approach across Europe. For example, the Prime Minister and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chaired a small-group meeting on migration and organised immigration crime at the European Political Community Summit in Granada in October 2023, agreeing an eight-point plan to address growing levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe. We will continue to build on this work throughout 2024.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what they have done during 2023 to slow the activities of traffickers in Libya who are exploiting asylum-seekers ultimately bound for the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting the UN-facilitated, Libyan-led and owned political process to secure peace, stability and prosperity in Libya. This offers the surest route to tackling challenges such as human rights violations and illegal migration. HMG has been prioritising efforts in Libya on disrupting the human trafficking business model and pursuing trafficking targets. As a result, we have successfully disrupted several human trafficking operations and arrested smugglers responsible for exploiting irregular migrants and managing broader criminal networks in Libya.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to grant short periods of home leave over Christmas for non-violent prisoners who have demonstrated good conduct during their sentence.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Rules in England and Wales provide that a prisoner may be allowed to leave prison for short periods on temporary licence (ROTL). The main purpose of ROTL is to aid resettlement and suitable, risk assessed prisoners may be allowed out during the day to, for example, work, attend college, attend an interview or maintain/re-establish links with their family. They are also, once at the required stage of their sentence, allowed to apply for temporary release overnight for a maximum of four consecutive nights a month.
The decision to allow temporary release is taken by the prison governor, on behalf of the Secretary of State, who must always balance the needs of the prisoner and the purpose of the ROTL applied for, against the need to maintain public safety and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Each decision is taken on a case by case basis to safeguard the public.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the position of the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states in relation to the recently attempted Sudan peace talks in Djibouti.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports African-led efforts to seek peace and stability within Sudan, including the mediation efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). We welcome the IGAD Summit on 9 December where members called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan. The UK continues to work with Quad countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US, UK), regional partners, IGAD, the African Union and the UN to bring the warring parties together and secure an end to hostilities, unfettered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the role of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development as a broker in the recently attempted Sudan peace talks in Djibouti.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports African-led efforts to seek peace and stability within Sudan, including the mediation efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). We welcome the IGAD Summit on 9 December where members called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan. The UK continues to work with Quad countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US, UK), regional partners, IGAD, the African Union and the UN to bring the warring parties together and secure an end to hostilities, unfettered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the evidence by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on 29 November, why Official Development Assistance will remain at 0.5 per cent of gross national income for five successive years despite previous commitments by Ministers.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to returning to a target of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the government is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling.