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1645032

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of his Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
	tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
	tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
	uin	189789
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2023 answer text <p>In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) had five commitments included in the National Disability Strategy. These included:</p><p>1. By September 2021, the MOD will publish a plan to bring more disabled people into the civilian workforce to meet its target of 15.3% by 2030</p><p>2. MOD will explore how to increase opportunities for disabled people to serve as part of the Armed Forces reserves by the end of 2023, including:</p><p>- promoting better use of disabled reservists for appropriate roles across the Armed Forces</p><p>- guaranteeing interviews for disabled reservists who meet the minimum requirements when recruiting for those roles</p><p>3. By 2025, MOD will deliver the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme to recruit more diverse military personnel, including disabled people</p><p>4. We will experiment with the recruitment of more diverse military personnel into the new National Cyber Force, using it as a pathfinder for increased inclusivity</p><p>5. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs will share best practice and insight from the veterans’ adaptive sport community with disability organisations and providers of sport and activity by March 2022</p><p>Commitment 1, to publish a plan to bring more disabled people into the civilian workforce has been partly implemented. A plan is in development and a number of relevant activities have so far been identified and are progressing. We continue to monitor the effects of the actions, which will make Defence a more attractive, diverse and inclusive employer.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 2, to explore how to increase opportunities for disabled people to join Defence, has not been implemented. Defence wishes to minimise the risk of acting inconsistently with the Court’s declaration, without compromising on the ambitious agenda we are delivering for disabled people. As such, we are disappointed to have had to pause the work on guaranteed interviews for disabled reservists. However, this does not prevent disabled people who meet the minimum requirements from applying to be a reservist. Our intent remains to contribute to the wider commitment of creating more opportunities for disabled people to participate and thrive across the whole Force, not just as reservists; to protect and promote the rights of disabled people; and to tackle the barriers that prevent disabled people from fully benefiting from, and contributing fully to, every aspect of our society.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 3, to deliver the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme (AFRP) to recruit more diverse military personnel, is in the process of being implemented. The AFRP is responsible for the delivery of a new single, tri-Service, Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS). A key requirement of the future solution is placing candidates at the heart of the Armed Forces recruiting experience, keeping them inspired and motivated whilst recruiting from the broadest spectrum of society to improve diversity and representation. A key tenet of the Programme is to establish an agile and flexible approach to meet the demand of the Armed Forces across roles and people requirements. The Armed Forces demand requirement is updated annually and will be delivered through the supplier and the AFRS working collaboratively. It will be fully implemented in 2027.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 4, to use the National Cyber Force as a pathfinder for inclusivity, has been fully implemented. In 2021, the MOD announced a Cyber Pathfinder Scheme to increase inclusion in Defence. This is now open and trains and assesses military personnel joining the National Cyber Force.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 5, to share best practice and insight from the veterans’ adaptive sport community with disability organisations and providers of sport and activity, was fully implemented <ins class="ministerial">in March 2022.</ins> <del class="ministerial">before the High Court's judgement on the NDS was delivered.</del></p><p>We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights, and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the MOD will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer.</p><p> </p><p>Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 22/06/2023 13:36:48 question first ministerially corrected 06/09/2023 15:46:16 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 83167 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1656392

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Weddings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Ministry of Defence: Weddings, on what date did a civil (a) marriage and (b) partnership last take place on the Defence Estate in (a) England and (b) Cyprus.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	195687
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>Civil marriages and partnerships occur on Defence estates outside the UK and will comply with host countries’ laws or the Sovereign Base Regulations. <ins class="ministerial">The last civil marriage that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 11 March 2023 and the last civil partnership that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 27 June 2022.</ins><del class="ministerial">The last time such a ceremony took place in Cyprus was 4 September 2021.</del></p><p> </p><p>Civil marriages or partnerships cannot take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales due to The Marriages and Civil Partnership (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005, which requires Approved Premises to be regularly available to the public. That is not tenable in respect of the defence estate because of security concerns.</p><p> </p><p>On 24 July 2023, in my capacity as Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, I wrote to the Ministry of Justice to enquire about amending the legislation to remove the requirement for unrestricted public access. Such an amendment would ensure that the Defence community could enter into civil marriages and partnerships in locations that have particular significance to them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 11/09/2023 15:02:56 question first ministerially corrected 18/10/2023 12:36:10 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 93179 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1656393

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Weddings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191222 on on Ministry of Defence: Weddings, what security considerations his Department has identified for not permitting civil marriages or civil partnerships to take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	195688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>Civil marriages and partnerships occur on Defence estates outside the UK and will comply with host countries’ laws or the Sovereign Base Regulations. <ins class="ministerial">The last civil marriage that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 11 March 2023 and the last civil partnership that took place on Defence estates in Cyprus was 27 June 2022.</ins> <del class="ministerial">The last time such a ceremony took place in Cyprus was 4 September 2021.</del></p><p> </p><p>Civil marriages or partnerships cannot take place on the Defence Estate in England and Wales due to The Marriages and Civil Partnership (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005, which requires Approved Premises to be regularly available to the public. That is not tenable in respect of the defence estate because of security concerns.</p><p> </p><p>On 24 July 2023, in my capacity as Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, I wrote to the Ministry of Justice to enquire about amending the legislation to remove the requirement for unrestricted public access. Such an amendment would ensure that the Defence community could enter into civil marriages and partnerships in locations that have particular significance to them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 11/09/2023 15:02:56 question first ministerially corrected 18/10/2023 15:32:16 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 93187 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1659063

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Compensation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 122 of his Department’s annual report and accounts for 2022-23, how many of the special payments reported for financial year 2022-23 were made to (a) service personnel and (b) other individuals affected by defence activities.
	tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
	tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
	uin	198317
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The majority of the 4,609 special payments disclosed relate to common law compensation claims (3,865). An analysis of this data is provided below;</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">· 2,307 payments to Service personnel</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">· 1,558 payments to Others</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">It should be noted that this analysis reflects the volume of payments made and that individuals may receive more than one compensation payment depending on the settlement reached.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The remaining volume will include payments made in settlement of contractual disputes where it has been judged that this represents the best value for money course of action for the Department. Two of these payments are separately disclosed in the ARAc table as they exceed the &gt;£300,000 threshold for more detailed reporting (specifically MSI Instruments (£959,000) and Land Remediation Payment (£321,000)).</del><ins class="ministerial">The majority of the 4,609 special payments totalling £114.53 million disclosed relate to common law compensation claims (£111.20 million). An analysis of this data is provided below;</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">· 2,307 payments equating to £78 million to service personnel</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">· 1,558 payments equating to £33 million to others</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">It should be noted that this analysis reflects the volume of payments made and that individuals may receive more than one compensation payment depending on the settlement reached.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The remaining value will include payments made in settlement of contractual disputes where it has been judged that this represents the best value for money course of action for the Department. Two of these payments are separately disclosed in the table as they exceed the &gt;£300,000 threshold for more detailed reporting (specifically MSI Instruments (£959,000) and Land Remediation Payment (£321,000).</ins></p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 15/09/2023 10:42:02 question first ministerially corrected 15/09/2023 13:45:07 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison previous answer version 94749 answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1132294

	registered interest
	date	14/06/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Libya: Undocumented Migrants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the conflict, stability and security fund has provided to tackle irregular migration through Libya.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
	tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
	uin	264715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>The British Government has supported a range of activities designed to tackle irregular migration in Libya through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Currently the CSSF supports the National Crime Agency-led Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce which, in the last 12 months, has supported the development of a Libyan-owned serious organised crime strategy, sharing best practice with the Libya Attorney-General's Office, and building niche law enforcement capabilities with trusted Libyan partners to tackle modern slavery and organised immigration crime threats. In addition, the CSSF is supporting the deployment of staff to the Operational Headquarters of EUNAVFOR Med Operation SOPHIA, the EU mission disrupting migrant smuggling and trafficking in the Mediterranean.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 19/06/2019 14:44:43 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1132296

	registered interest
	date	14/06/2019
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Libya: Undocumented Migrants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether an Overseas Security and Justice Assessment has been undertaken for any of his Department's activity that supports the Libyan Coastguard or any other Libyan actors engaging in countering irregular migration.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
	tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
	uin	264717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>​All required Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) processes have been completed. An OSJA was undertaken in 2016-2017 for historic Conflict, Stability and Security Fund support to an Assisted Voluntary Returns project and, in April 2017, to cover the UK funding contribution for EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia Libyan Coastguard and Navy training task.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 19/06/2019 14:48:39 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1132462

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Palestinian Authority: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019 to Question 261075, whether the wages of any UK-funded Palestinian Authority public servants have been reduced as a result of Palestinian Authority spending cuts.
	tabling member constituency	Enfield North
	tabling member printed	Joan Ryan
	uin	265408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>DFID officials are aware that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has begun to make partial salary payments to public sector officials earning 2,000 NIS (£425) or above a month and can confirm that this includes health and education sector public servants whose salaries are funded through UK aid. The UK continues to support a stable PA which can act as an effective partner for peace with Israel. UK aid to the PA’s health and education sectors is used exclusively to pay the salaries of vetted health and education public servants, including teachers, doctors and nurses, in the West Bank. The EU vets the list of PA health and education sector employees before every disbursement of financial aid to ensure only eligible beneficiaries receive UK aid, at a range of grades based on the PA payroll system. These payments are then independently audited. The PA’s decision to make partial salary payments to public sector officials does not affect the robust financial safeguards that ensure UK financial aid reaches its intended beneficiaries.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 20/06/2019 16:14:07 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	166 label Biography information for Joan Ryan

1132541

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Emergencies: Crimes of Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of his Department’s spending is currently allocated to gender-based violence services in emergencies.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
	tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
	uin	265409
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The UK is a world leader in championing prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls through research, programmes and partnerships. Our £25million What Works to Prevent Violence programme is the largest global investment in research into prevention of violence against women and girls and I am committed to maintaining the UK’s global leadership in this area.</p><p> </p><p>At the Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Humanitarian Crises Conference the UK committed £7 million of support to tackle SGBV in Syria through our partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and reaffirmed our commitments made under the Call to Action on Protection from Gender Based Violence in Emergencies.</p><p> </p><p>Work to prevent and respond to GBV in emergencies in DFID consists of standalone programmes and GBV prevention and response integrated into broader conflict prevention, humanitarian and sector wide interventions in education, women’s economic empowerment and social protection. This complexity means that we do not specifically track all this spend as gender-based violence programming.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 20/06/2019 16:23:02 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1132543

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Emergencies: Crimes of Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to close the funding gap, estimated by the International Rescue Committee at US $ 104.2 million, for gender-based violence services in emergencies.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
	tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
	uin	265410
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Far more needs to be done to combat the appalling levels of violence that women and girls experience every day around the world. During humanitarian emergencies, violence against women and girls can increase in both frequency and severity. DFID funded ‘What Works to Prevent Violence’ research in South Sudan revealed that over 73% of girls and women experienced intimate partner violence.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is an active member of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies, which brings together governments, UN agencies, international NGOs and civil society organisations to share best practice and report on progress against shared commitments on preventing and responding to GBV. The UK co-chairs the States and Donors Working Group.</p><p> </p><p>DFID’s ground-breaking research into violence against women and girls has demonstrated that violence is preventable, and we are committed to using this evidence to scale up our work to prevent violence and to influence our international partners to do the same.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 20/06/2019 16:23:46 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1132545

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Emergencies: Crimes of Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the recent Ending Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Humanitarian Crises Conference.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
	tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
	uin	265411
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Participants at the Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Humanitarian Crises Conference agreed that strengthening SGBV prevention and response must be a humanitarian priority. Baroness Sugg represented the UK at the conference and reiterated the UK’s strong leadership on ending all forms of SGBV, announcing UK political commitments which included ensuring access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in humanitarian crises and £7 million of support to tackle SGBV in Syria through our partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).</p><p> </p><p>The UK reaffirmed our commitments made under the Call to Action on Protection from Gender Based Violence in Emergencies. These commitments are in line with DFID policy.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 20/06/2019 16:21:43 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
	tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg