Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to increase diversity and inclusion in the STEM workforce.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Science and Technology Framework sets out our commitment to expanding STEM opportunities to as diverse a range of people as possible.
The Government is inspiring people from all backgrounds through continued funding and support of the CREST Awards, STEM Ambassador programme, and our AI and Data Science Conversion Course and scholarship programme.
The Government has consistently emphasised how essential it is to build mathematical capabilities in the UK, and the Prime Minister announced last year an ambition for all young people to study maths to age 18. We are also committed to supporting the establishment of new Academy focussed on the Mathematical Sciences, helping the sector in a long-term and sustainable way.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the murder of Luis Carlos Pineda in Caquetá on 9 March 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During my visit to Colombia earlier this month, I [Minister Rutley] raised the human rights situation with Vice Foreign Minister Coy. At the UN Security Council on 11 January and during the visit of the UN Security Council in February, we stressed the importance of security guarantees for former combatants and reiterated our commitment to supporting efforts to tackle the root causes of violence in Colombia. We will continue to support the Colombian Government in its commitment to implement the 2016 Peace Agreement and ensure the protection and safety of signatories of the Agreement.