Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Jordanian, (b) Egyptian, (c) Saudia Arabian counterparts and (d) the Palestinian Authority on the removal of reported antisemitic ideology from national curriculums.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government is committed to combatting the rise of anti-Semitism in all its forms and we have a regular, frank and open dialogue with international partners on this issue. The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns about allegations of incitement in Palestinian textbooks in a call to the Palestinian Education Minister just last month, during which they discussed the Palestinian Authority's review of the content of Palestinian textbooks. The Foreign Secretary discussed freedom of religion or belief with the Saudi authorities during his visit to Riyadh on 4 and 5 March. Saudi Arabia has committed to several education reform programmes including the revision of textbooks. Although we do not believe that Jordan's curriculum contains materials which promote hatred in any form, we have a major programme in support of education in Jordan. My predecessor met the Jordanian Minister of Education in January. We have a regular, positive engagement with the Egyptian authorities on freedom of religion or belief. Our Honourary Consul in Alexandria attended a service at the Synagogue of Alexandria in February to mark its reopening after refurbishment.
Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to tackle homelessness among people aged under 25.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This Government is committed to tackling homelessness, especially amongst vulnerable young people.
We have implemented the Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform of homelessness legislation in decades. It has greatly expanded the duties on local housing authorities, meaning many young people, who may not previously have been eligible for support, are now being helped. The new duties should help prevent homelessness before it occurs. The Act also places a duty on public bodies, including Children’s Services, ensuring better partnership working between public bodies and local authorities.
As part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, the government committed £3.2 million per annum to increase the support provided to?care leavers?at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping. The funding has been allocated to the 47 local authorities with the highest number of care leavers with complex needs.
We fund St Basil’s to deliver positive pathway events with local authority housing teams to share best practice on supporting young homeless people and ensure they are putting prevention and early help at the heart of their service.
We have put in place bespoke support for local authorities through our Homelessness Advice and Support Team, which includes dedicated youth homelessness advisers.
Finally, we?have updated?guidance on the ‘Prevention of homelessness and provision of accommodation for 16 and 17-year-old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation’ setting out the respective duties of children’s services and housing services.
Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people under the age of 25 who are (a) homeless and (b) at risk of homelessness in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The table below contains the number of households where the main applicant was under 25 in Gloucestershire during April to June 2019 where the household was assessed as owed a prevention or relief duty, and additionally the number of 18-24 year olds living in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2019 in Gloucestershire. Relief and main duties are owed to those currently homeless. Those at risk of homelessness are those owed a prevention duty.
| Households where the main applicant was under 25 assessed during April to June 2019: | 18-24 year olds living in in Temporary accommodation on 30th June 2019 | ||
| Threatened with homelessness, owed a prevention duty | Homeless, owed a relief duty | Homeless, unintentionally homeless, and in priority need, owed a main duty | |
Gloucestershire | 106 | 125 | 38 | 81 |
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1. Gloucestershire includes the local authority areas of Cheltenham, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Cotswold, South Gloucestershire, Stroud, and Tewkesbury. | ||||
2. Temporary Accommodation data cannot include 1 legacy case recorded in Cheltenham, where the household contained no age information. | ||||
3. Under 25 includes 16 and 17 year olds where they are the main applicant. There were no 16-17 year olds living in temporary accommodation as the oldest household member. | ||||
In December 2019 we announced the allocation of £263 million in funding for 2020/21 to local authorities designed to support them to deliver services to tackle homelessness. The purpose of this funding is to give local authorities more control and flexibility in managing homelessness pressures and supporting those who at risk of homelessness, including providing them with temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help to protect the oceans; what role the Government will have in the forthcoming UN global ocean treaty negotiations; and which (a) Ministers and (b) officials will be involved in those negotiations.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is leading the way on ocean protection. The Blue Belt Programme is on track to protect over 4 million square kilometres of ocean around the Overseas Territories before the end of the year. The Government has committed to extend this programme. We are also working closely with Commonwealth partners through the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme (CMEP) to support sustainable development of their marine economies; and the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance (CCOA) to reduce marine plastic pollution, amongst other initiatives. The Government is committed to further action to protect the ocean including through the £500 million Blue Planet Fund.
My Department and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been closely involved in the negotiation of a new Implementing Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction - the BBNJ Agreement - as an important step forward in addressing the challenges that the ocean faces. The UK is pressing for an ambitious Agreement to be concluded in 2020. It will be a key mechanism in enabling the designation of at least 30 per cent of the global ocean as Marine Protected Areas by 2030. A joint FCO-DEFRA team of officials will represent the UK in these talks based on positions agreed by ministers.