Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question
To ask the President of COP26, if he will make it his policy to sign the UN Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action on behalf of the UK.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The UK has long recognised the unequivocal threat that climate change and environmental degradation pose to the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world, including the most marginalised and vulnerable.
The UK has been committed to amplifying the voices of young people from across the world through our COP26 presidency and domestic frameworks.
In the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ 25 Year Environment Plan, the Government sets out a plan for how the natural environment will be protected and enhanced for our, and future, generations. One of the actions it commits to is to help children and young people from all backgrounds engage with nature and improve the environment.
We support many of the principles in the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action and will carefully consider how to engage with it.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the long-term shortage of labour in the food and drink sector.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra is working closely with industry to help our world-leading farmers and food and drink businesses access the labour they need, and to ensure that our sectors are appropriately supported both this year and in the future.
On 22 December 2020, the Government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot into 2021, with up to 30,000 visas available, granted for workers to come to the UK, from EU or non-EU countries, for a period of up to six months to work in the edible horticulture sector.
In December 2020, a Defra-led review into automation in horticulture was also announced alongside the extension of the Seasonal Workers Pilot. The review will report on ways to increase automation in the horticulture sector and meet the Government’s aim of reducing the need for migrant seasonal labour.
There are a number of initiatives across Government to bring these technologies to market as fast as possible, including Transforming Food Production, Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and Farming Investment Fund as well as other public funding initiatives.
The Farming Innovation Programme opened for applications on 20 October 2021 and will support the sector to develop new technologies, systems and processes to deliver enhanced productivity and support wider net zero goals.
On 1 January 2021 the Government introduced the new points-based immigration system, under which EU and non-EU citizens are treated equally. The Skilled Worker route is open to all nationals who wish to come to the UK for the purpose of working in a skilled job they have been offered.
Alongside this, food and drink businesses will also be able to recruit those who come to the UK through our youth mobility schemes, dependents of skilled workers, plus those who arrive through other routes, such as our humanitarian protection ones, who have free access to the UK labour market.
In 2021 and beyond, the food and drink industry continues to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 5.3 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme and EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do seasonal work in the food and drink sector.
Defra is also working closely with the Home Office to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.
For the longer term, the Government is encouraging all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.
To support these efforts, Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and drink sectors among UK workers. All food and drink businesses are encouraged to advertise roles through DWP's Find A Job website, where they can upload and manage their vacancies. DWP does not charge for this service and it is available across the United Kingdom.
Defra welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s work on the Release On Temporary Licence (ROTL) scheme for work across a number of sectors, including the food and drink sector. The scheme aims to help prisoners gain useful skills and work experience as they approach their release.
The Government is continuing to work extensively to understand employers’ needs through regular engagement with industry and encourage them to invest in the best home-grown talent through Government-backed schemes such as apprenticeships and T Levels.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 March 2017 to Question 67423, on Dalal Mughrabi, whether the youth camp named after Dalal Mughrabi was renamed after the Government raised concerns with the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of introducing a visa scheme for food and drink workers to support covid-19 economic recovery.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Home Office Ministers and officials meet with a broad range of stakeholders including various sectors and other Government departments. The Government position remains we will not be introducing a short-term visa route such as the ‘Covid recovery visa’ as has been suggested. Most of the solutions are likely to be driven by industry, with a big push towards improving pay, conditions and diversity needed.
The Points Based System does provide for occupations within the agri-food sector, including butchers, a range of poultry roles, and fishmongers, subject to the requirements of the system – including English language and salary – being met.
Beyond the Points Based System, there is the existing UK labour market, which includes those who come to the UK through our Youth Mobility Schemes (which we are looking to expand), our new British National (Overseas) visa for those from Hong Kong, dependants of those arriving under the expanded skilled worker route, as well as over 6 million applications under the EU Settlement Scheme and those who arrive through family routes, who all have access to the UK labour market.
As a transitional measure, to help farm businesses adjust to changes to the UK labour market, the Seasonal Workers Pilot was extended into this year with 30,000 visas available. Decisions on the future of the pilot will be taken in due course, following evaluation of the scheme.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress the UK has made as President of the G7 to remove barriers to education across the world.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new global targets on girls' education in low-income and lower-middle income countries, which we are calling on the world to help deliver by 2026. Ministers also endorsed a girls' education declaration which specifically states that the G7 will work in collaboration with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups and youth leaders to remove the obstacles to education that stand in the way of girls. This includes addressing the social, environmental and institutional barriers to education such as reducing violence in and out of schools, reducing harmful cultural practices such as child marriage and FGM, and amending restrictive policies or legislation that prevent girls from thriving in school.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to improve the protection of children’s rights in Afghanistan.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK has provided £3.3 billion of aid funding since 2002 which has helped improve the rights of all Afghans, including women, children and minority groups. There are now 8.2 million more children in school than in 2001. Youth literacy rates have increased to 65% in 2018 from 47% in 2011. In 2001, most girls were unable to go to school but there are now 3.6 million girls in school. Over the last year, we have engaged with partners on the development and roll out of the national school safety framework to ensure that children can access a safe learning environment. Over the last eight years, the UK has helped over a quarter of a million girls attend school through the Girls' Education Challenge Fund.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to support girls’ education and gender equality in the global south.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Advancing gender equality and women and girls' rights is a core part of this Government's mission, including 12 years of quality education for girls, empowering women socially, economically and politically and ending violence against women and girls. Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new global targets on girls' education in low-income and lower-middle income countries, which we are calling on the world to help deliver by 2026. Ministers also endorsed a girls' education declaration, which states that the G7 will work in collaboration with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups and youth leaders, to remove the obstacles to education that stand in the way of girls. This includes addressing the social, environmental and institutional barriers to education such as reducing violence, reducing harmful cultural practices like FGM and amending restrictive policies or legislation that prevents girls from thriving in school.
We know women and girls are amongst the hardest hit by the indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why we donated an additional £10 million to the UN Population Fund's COVID-19 response and an additional £1 million to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women for the COVID-19 Crisis Response Window.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to eliminate systemic and gendered barriers that prevent girls from accessing and completing education, globally.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new, global, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 milestone targets on girls' education, which we are calling on the world to help deliver. Ministers also endorsed a girls' education declaration, which specifically states the G7 will work in collaboration with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups, and youth leaders, to remove the obstacles to education that stand in girls' way. This includes addressing the social, environmental, and institutional barriers to education such as reducing violence in and out of schools, reducing harmful cultural practices such as child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and amending restrictive policies or legislation which prevent girls thriving in school.
For example, FCDO's support to international efforts to end child marriage has contributed to a 15% reduction in the global prevalence of child marriage over the last decade, averting 25 million child marriages. The UK is proud to be a global leader in efforts to end violence against women and girls. Through our What Works to Prevent Violence Programme, we pioneered approaches worldwide that have shown reductions in violence of around 50%, proving violence is preventable.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the situation in South East Nigeria in the context of reports by the Igbo Elders Council that over 5,000 Igbo youth have been killed and over 10,000 others are detained arbitrarily in camps and reports from civilians of ongoing mistreatment as a result of an ongoing special security operation in that region.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government condemns all incidents of violence in Nigeria. We are concerned by the increasing levels of violence in the South East. We encourage reconciliation and constructive dialogue between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of Nigeria, and for all to play their part in stopping rising insecurity and violence. We are working in Nigeria to promote intercommunal and interfaith dialogue, and continue to call for solutions that address the underlying causes of violence. During my visit to Nigeria in April, I met the President's Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, and the Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, to discuss insecurity. I raised the importance of protecting all communities across Nigeria.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference Government's commitment to education at the G7 in June 2021, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that its goal of increasing the number of girls who have access to 12 years of education will still be achieved following the reduction in aid spending from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of GNI.
Answered by Wendy Morton
2021 is a year of UK leadership on the world stage, including on girls' education. Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new, global, SDG 4 milestone targets on girls' education on 5 May, which we are calling on the world to help deliver, working in partnership with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups, and youth leaders. At the G7 Summit the Prime Minister announced a UK pledge of £430 million to the Global Partnership for Education, this is our largest ever pledge to GPE and an uplift of 15% from our current position as top bilateral donor. This significant pledge meant we were able to secure commitment from G7 partners of at least $2.7 billion to GPE contributing to GPE's rolling target of $5 billion over the next 5 years.
The FCDO will also spend £400 million of bilateral ODA on girls' education this year. This is separate from our pledge to GPE. This very substantial sustained investment of UK ODA is only one of our tools in achieving our ambitions.