Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support looked after children who are placed out of borough in homes not registered with Ofsted.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Every child and young person should have access to a stable and secure placement in accommodation that can meet their needs and, most importantly, keep them safe. On 5 November 2019, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all local authorities reminding them of their duty to keep children safe, particularly if they are placed away from their area, which requires approval by a Director of Children’s Services.
Reform is needed as a matter of urgency to ensure this provision is being used appropriately and meets the needs of the young people placed there. On 12 February 2020 we announced proposals to drive up the quality of children’s social care. The consultation invites views on a set of new measures to ensure appropriate use of these placements. The proposals include:
The consultation is open for response until 8 April and is available at the following link: https://consult.education.gov.uk/unregulated-provision/unregulated-provision-children-in-care/.
Ofsted has conducted over 150 investigations in the last year into settings suspected to be operating as an unregistered children’s home. They are expediting applications to make sure new homes can be inspected and have implemented a new process for informing local authorities when cease and desist letters are sent to unregistered providers so that they know not to place children with them.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will allocate additional funding for programmes in Pakistan to (a) educate school children from minority backgrounds, (b) institute a scheme of specialist educational scholarships for minority students and (c) provide professional training to adults from religious minority groups.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
UK aid prioritises support for the poorest and most excluded people and communities in Pakistan regardless of race, religion, social background or nationality. DFID Pakistan is currently developing new education programmes and as part of this process we will actively consider what we can do to benefit these groups.
Previous and current DFID programmes in Pakistan have supported senior secondary and higher education scholarships for children from minority groups in Punjab. The Alif Ailaan education campaign had a focus on religious minorities in regions such as Tharpakar, Badin, Multan, and Rahimyar Khan where the local campaigners have advocated for religious minorities and highlighted their issues to authorities at the district and provincial levels.
Nearly 6,000 people from religious minorities have received training through the Punjab Skills Development Fund’s regular skill schemes, and the Fund is launching an exclusive skills scheme for religious minorities from January 2020. Under this scheme, a further 5,000 people from religious minorities (40% women) who are unemployed will be trained in a variety of trades that will lead to work. Lessons from this experience will help the Punjab Skills Development Fund further refine its interventions for minorities.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report of the Pakistani Minorities and Freedom of Religion or Belief All-Party Parliamentary Group entitled, Religious Minorities of Pakistan: Report of a Parliamentary Visit, published on 9 September 2019.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We welcome the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group report which identifies a range of concerns facing religious minorities in Pakistan. These are important issues and the UK is committed to promoting inclusion and tolerance through our development aid in Pakistan.
We regularly review how our assistance benefits poor and marginalised people in Pakistan, including those from religious minorities. Baroness Sugg and Lord Ahmad will be meeting with the Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Pakistani minorities and International Freedom of Religion or Belief to discuss the report’s findings and consider what more can be done in the future.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure that schools in Pakistan supported by his Department do not use textbooks with content that stigmatises religious minorities and (b) encourage provincial governments in Pakistan to work with religious minority groups to remove that content.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Inclusion and respect for minority communities forms an integral part of our provincial and national education programmes in Pakistan. Through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Education Support Programme and the Punjab Education Support Programme II, DFID has also provided technical assistance to provincial governments to revise the school curriculum and remove discriminatory content from textbooks. Other work to promote tolerance and interfaith harmony includes: training nearly 100,000 teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in equity and inclusion; funding the Alif Ailaan education campaign which focusses on religious minorities; and engaging with education civil society organisations to champion issues of inclusion and raise these with government.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if his Department will provide specific training courses for religious minority candidates under the Punjab Skills Development Fund in coordination with the Punjab Government.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Nearly 6,000 people from religious minorities have received training through the Punjab Skills Development Fund’s regular skill schemes. This Fund is launching an exclusive skills scheme for religious minorities from January 2020. Under this scheme, a further 5,000 people from religious minorities (40% women) who are unemployed will be trained in a variety of trades that will lead to work. Lessons from this experience will help the Fund further refine its interventions for minorities.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will include modules on freedom of religion or belief in his Department's capacity building programmes in Pakistan and other countries with reported violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
DFID already includes elements in our capacity building programmes which benefit religious minorities in Pakistan. Our new Aawaz II Accountability, Inclusion and Reducing Modern Slavery Programme builds on the Aawaz Voice and accountability programme. It will continue to work with communities to promote rights of children, women, youth and religious minorities, protect them from exploitation, and prevent discrimination.
Through our Skills Development Programme, we fund the Punjab Skills Development Fund to provide technical and vocational skills training to the poor and vulnerable, including those from minority communities. An exclusive skills scheme has recently been launched by this Fund for religious minorities. Under this scheme, 5,000 people from religious minorities (40% women) who are unemployed will be trained in a variety of trades.
More widely, through UK Aid Connect, DFID is funding a consortium led by the Institute of Development Studies to address challenges in building tolerance and freedom of religion and belief. In November 2018, Lord Ahmad and Lord Bates launched a £12 million UK Aid Connect programme to promote and defend freedom of religion or belief. This will make poverty reduction programmes more inclusive by highlighting and redressing religious inequalities, with a focus on highly volatile contexts.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will include the category of religious minorities to the data that his Department collects on vulnerable populations in Pakistan.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
DFID Pakistan is making efforts to include the category of religious minorities into the data that it collects on vulnerable populations by improving government data collection and protecting the rights of minorities. We currently collect data on minority status when there is a specific need for it, such as for our programmes which specifically aim at helping minority groups. We recently had some success in collecting more and better-quality data on people with disabilities in Pakistan. We learned from that and will build on it to focus our energy on collecting data from other vulnerable and minority groups.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on prison officer pensions of the ability of those officers to continue frontline work beyond the age of 60.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Whilst we highly value our hardworking prison staff, there has been no assessment made of the implications of the pension policy of the ability of those officers to continue frontline work beyond the age of 60.
The Ministry supports all its staff, especially those working in an operational environment, and offers all staff access to medical professionals for physical and mental wellbeing.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of people enrolled on training courses provided by the Punjab skills development fund are (a) from minority communities and (b) on nursing courses.
Answered by Alistair Burt
41,818 trainees are currently enrolled on Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) training courses. The number of trainees who have disclosed their status as non-Muslim is 647 (1.55%). PSDF does not provide nursing courses.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that Uighur Muslims in China have been detained for unwanted blood, tissue and DNA tests.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and reports of the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown, including credible reports of re-education camps and widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. We are aware of media reports that some Uyghurs may have been subject to unwanted DNA tests.
The UK supports the statement of 26 October by the European External Action Service highlighting concerns about Xinjiang.
I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018. The UK raised our concerns about Xinjiang in our Item 4 statement at the September UN Human Rights Council.