Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
Answered by David Rutley
The FCDO is an accredited 'Disability Confident Leader' under the government's Disability Confident Scheme (https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/) which denotes organisations which have a positive commitment towards disabled people. Since April 2022, FCDO has a designated team which provides Reasonable Adjustments to its disabled UK-based staff in line with the Equality Act 2010. It also provides its disabled staff with a Workplace Adjustment Passport to facilitate the seamless retention of adjustments on a change of line manager, job role or move between business areas. FCDO's Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) provides guidance to hiring managers at each stage of recruitment to ensure applicants with disabilities are not disadvantaged. Candidates who opt in to the Guaranteed Interview Scheme who meet the minimum criteria for the role and who have demonstrated an acceptable mark in their application, will be offered an interview for the role. Any reasonable adjustments required at interview will be considered and implemented. Additional support for hiring managers is available by request. We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people globally through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much has been spent on helping Afghan girls to study maths and science since 2021; and how much money has been allocated for that purpose for the next five years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Providing girls with 12 years of quality and equitable education is a global FCDO priority. FCDO does not disaggregate our education spend by subject. The UK Government strongly condemns the restrictions the Taliban have imposed on Afghan women and girls, and we are working with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their restrictive decisions on girls' education. We continue to support the delivery of education in Afghanistan, including through NGOs, UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Our bilateral support has enabled 125,000 children, of which 83,700 are girls, to access education between September 2022 and June 2023.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Girl's education globally is a priority for the FCDO. The UK has not specifically engaged with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls. Our support focuses on foundational learning, which includes numeracy, literacy and socio-emotional skills. We are working with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their restrictive decisions on girls' education, while we continue to support the delivery of education, including through NGOs, UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Our bilateral support has enabled 125,000 children, of which 83,700 are girls, to access education between September 2022 and June 2023.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with international counterparts on the content of education funded through multilateral organisations; and whether that funding includes provisions for teaching maths and science to girls.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is committed to supporting foundational learning (literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional skills) for all. Foundational learning is critical for achieving higher order skills and effective understanding of STEM subjects from an early age. The UK is a leading donor to the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait and uses its influence on their governing boards to ensure foundational learning and education for marginalised girls are priorities. It is not possible to directly track the use of UK core funding to multilateral organisations, such as UNICEF and the World Bank.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of his Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
Answered by David Rutley
In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office had three policies included in the National Disability Strategy. These included:
We have completed the first and third commitments with the publication of the FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy in February 2022, and the establishment of an External Disability Board. The second commitment is ongoing. As detailed in the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy, the FCDO takes a twin-track approach, with targeted support through disability-specific interventions in key sectors alongside mainstreaming disability inclusion across FCDO's work. We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people globally through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people's lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer. Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.