Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2021 to Question 130678 on Import: Ethics, when his Department plans its next review on commercial policy and guidance advocating a systematic approach to identifying and tackling modern slavery and labour abuses in Government supply chains to be (a) undertaken and (b) completed.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Procurement Policy Note 05/19: Tackling Modern Slavery in Government Supply Chains was published in September 2019 and sets out how UK Government departments must take action to ensure modern slavery risks are identified and managed in government supply chains.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to ensure the Government does not procure (a) cotton from Xinjiang and (b) other unethically sourced products.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has taken a leading international role in holding China to account for its entirely unacceptable human rights violations and in Xinjiang in particular, including in respect of credible evidence of forced labour. The UK led the first international joint statements on this issue at the UN Human Rights Council in June.
The Government is committed to working to improve action to tackle modern slavery in supply chains, and has published commercial policy and guidance which advocates a systematic approach to identifying and tackling modern slavery and labour abuses in government supply chains, focussing on areas of the highest risk. We are keeping this matter under close review.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that cross-government strategies to ease covid-19 public health restrictions do not put people living in multi-generational households at an increased risk of infection.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
As set out in Our Plan to Rebuild, the Government is introducing a range of adjustments to social distancing measures, timing these carefully according to both the current transmission rate of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety. The steps for modifying social distancing measures are set out in the plan, with strict conditions to safely move from each step to the next.
The government has committed to keeping social distancing measures under close review. As part of this work, we have been considering the impact of these measures on different groups in society or those from particular backgrounds.
We have published guidance for people with grandparents, parents and children living together which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of whether social distancing measures implemented by the Government in response to covid-19 disproportionately put black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities at an increased risk of contracting covid-19.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We share concerns that COVID-19 may be adversely affecting BAME communities. That is why the Chief Medical Officer has commissioned Public Health England to review the impact on health that COVID-19 has on those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The findings of this review will help to inform what further action we can take to better protect these communities.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that Government strategies to ease social distancing measures take into account the living circumstances of multi-generational households.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The government has committed to keeping social distancing measures under close review. As part of this work, we have been considering the impact of these measures on different groups in society or those from particular backgrounds.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on the assessment of the reasons that EU citizens living in the UK were unable to register and vote in the 2019 European Parliament elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In line with their statutory duty, the Electoral Commission will be publishing a report into the administration of the polls later this year. The Government will consider this in due course.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on EU citizens being unable to vote in the 2019 European Parliament elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Ministers and officials meet frequently with external officials to discuss a wide range of electoral issues.
Details of external meetings by Ministers and Permanent Secretaries are published quarterly and are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the level of voter turnout of EU citizens living in the UK at the 2019 European Parliament elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Data on voting rates per nationality in the 2019 European elections is not collected centrally.
In line with their statutory duty, the Electoral Commission will be publishing a report into the administration of the polls later this year. The Government will consider this in due course.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Justice on the accessibility of legal aid for universal credit claimants.
Answered by David Lidington
No discussions have taken place on the accessibility of legal aid for universal credit claimants. This is not in the remit of the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of electoral registration arrangements for UK nationals abroad in (a) general and (b) Germany in advance of the EU referendum.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Online registration has made the application process for overseas electors easier than ever before. Between the start of the EU referendum campaign on 18 April and the extended registration deadline on 9 June over 151,000 overseas electors submitted an application to register to vote.
The Cabinet Office does not hold data on overseas elector applications by country.