Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is providing support to governments in North and East Africa to help increase levels of accountability in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK continues to take a leading role in supporting processes for justice and accountability in Sudan, working alongside international partners such as the UN, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union. At the UN General Assembly in September, the UK co-hosted, alongside Troika partners (US, Norway), Canada, The Gambia and The International Criminal Court (ICC) an event on increasing accountability mechanisms in Sudan to continue to shine a spotlight on atrocities being committed by both sides. On 11 October, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' resolution to establish an independent and international Fact-Finding Mission. This will support future accountability efforts in Sudan, including in relation to Darfur.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his policy is on the Esequiba region of Guyana, in the context of Venezuela's referendum in December 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is not a party to proceedings in the International Court of Justice between Venezuela and Guyana over the demarcation of their border. The UK is clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration and we continue to support this decision. We urge the parties to resolve this issue peacefully.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with her international counterparts on mutual recognition of dentistry schemes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To practise in the United Kingdom, dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) are required to hold registration with the General Dental Council (GDC). To be entered into the dentists register, an individual must hold a recognised UK dentistry qualification; an European Economic Area qualification recognised under European Union exit standstill arrangements; hold one of a small number of overseas qualifications awarded before 2001 and recognised under legacy arrangements; or they must sit the Overseas Registration Exam or Licence in Dental Surgery examinations to demonstrate they have suitable skill and experience to practise in the UK. Under legislative changes which came into force in March 2023, the GDC was granted the flexibility to recognise additional overseas qualifications as sufficient to achieve registration to practise in the UK. The Department will continue to discuss whether there are other qualifications or registration routes that could be considered with the GDC and other relevant partners as appropriate.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the General Dental Council on increased investment in the applications process for dentists with overseas qualifications.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department meets regularly with the General Dental Council (GDC) to discuss application and registration processes for dentists with overseas qualifications. The Department welcomes the GDC’s recent announcements that it is increasing the number of places available to sit the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). The GDC has tripled the number of places on sittings of ORE Part 1 for all sittings from August 2023 to the end of 2024. The GDC has also added an additional sitting of ORE Part 2 in 2024, bringing the total number of sittings up to four.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to increase the availability of Religious Education teacher training courses.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Religious education (RE) is an essential part of a school’s curriculum and remains a compulsory subject in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18. RE develops an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour.
The department is offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers starting Initial Teacher Training courses in the 2024/25 academic year. The department has published this information on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website and will be marketing the offer to prospective teachers through other channels.
The mandatory Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) sets out a core minimum entitlement for all trainees of what should be covered during their teacher training. While all ITT courses must encompass the CCF in full, it remains for accredited ITT providers to design their full course curricula in a way that is appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase, and age range that the trainees will be teaching, which for some ITT courses, would include religious education training.
To be awarded Qualified Teacher Status, trainee teachers must demonstrate that they satisfy all of the Teaching Standards at the appropriate level, including Part Two of the standards, which requires all teachers to demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional behaviour.
The department has publicly committed to reviewing the ITT CCF and Early Career Framework (ECF) alongside each other. Building on lessons learned from the first few years of CCF implementation and ECF delivery, the department plans to revise the CCF and ECF into a more closely combined framework, or set of frameworks, which cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career articulating what trainee and new teachers need to know and need to know how to do.
This underpins a joined-up sequence of training and development over at least the first three years of new teachers’ careers to support them at the start of their new career. The department aims to ensure that what new teachers learn across these early years of their career delivers continuous, coherent and complementary learning for all trainees and new teachers, and provides the confidence and skills for a lifelong career in teaching.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's publication entitled 2022 School Workforce Census, published 8 June 2023, whether her Department has had discussions with any of the secondary schools that reported zero hours of religious education in Year 11 in the 2022 census.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The School Workforce Census collects information from a large sample of secondary schools in England for a typical week. This identifies hours taught of a subject, year group taught to, and the teacher. Data provided by schools is captured by their individual electronic timetabling systems. Results are weighted to produce national estimates but are not intended to be used as a means of monitoring compliance with the duty to teach religious education (RE), particularly as there may be other RE teaching time in schools that has not been recorded as schools may have allocated it under other subjects.
Following publication in June this year of 2022 census data, the department has not had discussion with schools that reported zero hours of religious education in Year 11 in the sample period.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to support sustainable investment in Southern Africa; and if she will publish a sustainable investment plan for Southern Africa.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK’s Economic Partnership Agreements with southern African countries and the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme enable trade and promote development. UK Export Finance supports the region with billions of pounds of finance or insurance cover available for projects involving UK suppliers. The Prime Minister has announced that he will host the second UK-African Investment Summit in 2024, which will help UK businesses secure sustainable investment into the region and maintain the UK’s position as the leading investor in Africa.
The Government’s plans for sustainable investment in developing economies is set out in the International Development Strategy.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government has provided to partners in (a) South and (b) Central Asia since Pakistan's decision to repatriate Afghan nationals.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We have committed £16 million since September to the International Organisation for Migration in Afghanistan to support vulnerable undocumented people returning from Pakistan and Iran. Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have not reported any substantial cross-border movement following Pakistan's decision. We continue to monitor the situation for increased movement over the borders with Afghanistan, and for any indication others may also look to repatriate Afghans residing in Central Asia.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Chagossians (a) in the UK and (b) on the islands have been given a role in negotiations with Mauritius over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Negotiations over the British Indian Ocean Territory/ Chagos Archipelago are between the UK and Mauritius. We recognise the future of the islands is an important issue for many Chagossians. UK Government ministers and officials met Chagossian groups representing communities in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles in February, May and October to update on the progress of negotiations, and hear their views.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce tensions on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to supporting efforts to build stability and reduce violence in the Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC). We continue to monitor the concerning situation in the east closely and its grave humanitarian consequences. We regularly raise the conflict with the DRC, Rwanda, and the region, where we urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through the Nairobi and Luanda processes. This includes the cessation of hostilities, respect for sovereignty and agreed withdrawal by armed groups including M23. The UK firmly believes the regional peace processes provide the best means by which to achieve a lasting peace and offer them our full support. The UK is the current chair of the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes where we work with likeminded partners to support progress on the ground, and most recently met, at senior official level, on 8 November. I met with President Kagame and Foreign Minister Biruta during my visit to Rwanda in late August, where I encouraged de-escalation and emphasised the need for a peaceful political solution. I also met with DRC Vice Prime Minister Kamerhe in October where I delivered the same message.