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1124909

registered interest
date	07/05/2019
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	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the communiqué from the government of Mauritius on 30 April that the UK’s actions over the Chagos Archipelago are “in flagrant disregard of the … conclusions of the International Court of Justice”; are “an affront to the rule of law”; and have perpetuated “a historically wrongful act vis-à-vis the forcibly evicted inhabitants of those islands.”
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL15584
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>​I refer to the statement I made on 30 April 2019, <em>Official Report</em>, col HLWS1491. An International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion is advice provided to the United Nations General Assembly at its request; it is not a legally binding judgment. The Government respects the ICJ and has considered the content of the Opinion carefully, however, we do not share the Court's approach. This and former Governments have expressed sincere regret about the manner in which Chagossians were removed from the British Indian Ocean Territory in the late 1960s and early 1970s.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/05/2019 13:51:06 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1124064

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when the legislation implementing civil partnerships for opposite sex couples will come into effect.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL15446
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The Civil Partnerships, Marriage and Deaths (Registration etc.) Act 2019 requires the Government to make regulations that extend eligibility to form a civil partnership to opposite-sex couples by no later than 31<sup> </sup>December 2019. The Government is working hard to ensure regulations are in place as place as soon as possible.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 15/05/2019 16:18:14 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1124065

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children's Rights: Travellers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to address the findings in the Children’s Rights Alliance for England report on the State of Children’s Rights in England in 2018, in particular in respect of the proportion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children deprived in three or more dimensions of deprivation compared to the proportion of all other children.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL15447
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The government welcomes this report and we will continue to work with the Children’s Rights Alliance for England through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Action Group to promote the importance of children’s rights across the government.</p><p>Through the pupil premium, we are addressing low economic circumstances, which affects a high proportion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children. We have provided over £15 billion in pupil premium funding from April 2011 to March 2019 to help schools improve the progress and attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.</p><p>We are also focusing specifically on Gypsy, Roma and Travellers through a number of initiatives, including working with the communities in Opportunity Areas and prioritising Gypsy, Roma and Traveller young people in our £1.7 million investment in careers provision for disadvantaged young people. I am also very grateful to the noble Baroness Whitaker for chairing a new stakeholder group for my department aimed at ensuring that improvements to the whole school system take into account Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupil needs.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 15/05/2019 12:15:20 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1092808

registered interest
date	21/03/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Voluntary Schools
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will be taking to ensure that local authorities adhere to the duty to conduct a comprehensive equality impact assessment when deciding whether or not to approve applications to open new voluntary-aided faith schools which are legally permitted to select all of their pupils on religious grounds.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL14759
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>Alongside the launch of the capital scheme for new voluntary-aided schools, the department published updated statutory guidance for proposers and decision makers on opening and closing maintained schools. This guidance is attached.</p><p>The guidance sets out the requirements for the decision maker to adhere to the Public Sector Equality Duty. They are also required to consider the impact of any proposals on the relevant protected characteristics and any issues that may arise from the proposals.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 01/04/2019 14:48:03 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name Opening_and_Closing_maintained_schools_Guidance.pdf title Opening_and_closing_maintained_schools_guidance
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1092809

registered interest
date	21/03/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Voluntary Schools: Capital Investment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether new religious schools established as a result of their new capital funding scheme and which are legally permitted to select all of their pupils on faith grounds will be encouraged to convert to academy status; and whether there will be a time restriction on when such schools are able to do so.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL14760
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2019 answer text <p>Any voluntary-aided school, including those funded through the recently announced voluntary-aided capital scheme, can apply to convert to academy status in the same way as any other maintained school. Whilst the department does not plan to put specific restrictions in place on academy conversion for this group of schools, they will need to obtain the necessary consents, meet our criteria and undertake a consultation before doing so.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 29/03/2019 13:13:36 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1092810

registered interest
date	21/03/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Voluntary Schools: Teachers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the negative impact new fully religiously selective voluntary-aided schools could have on employment opportunities for teachers without a religious faith.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL14761
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2019 answer text <p>New voluntary-aided (VA) schools will have the same freedoms as existing ones to include religious criteria in their recruitment of teaching staff.</p><p>Schools with a faith designation (this includes VA schools, free schools, and academy converters which were previously VA schools) are able to recruit 100% of their teaching staff on the basis of faith. Voluntary controlled schools can only recruit up to 20% of their teaching staff on the basis of faith.</p><p>The department does not collect data relating to the religious belief of school staff or the extent to which VA schools with a religious character use the freedoms they have to apply religious criteria when recruiting staff.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 02/04/2019 16:04:04 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1092811

registered interest
date	21/03/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	General Practitioners: Travellers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps have been taken to address concerns raised by the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, that Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities are frequently refused registration at GP practices.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL14762
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2019 answer text <p>Registering with and access to primary medical care services is the same for all patients, whether they are gypsies, travellers, homeless or vulnerable migrants. People do not need to provide proof of address to register with a general practice (GP). NHS England is working with a range of community groups to redesign the patient registration leaflet so that people are aware of this when registering. The free NHS 111 service can assist anyone who has faced difficulty finding a GP or accessing other services in their local area.</p><p>NHS England is aware of difficulties some individuals have faced when trying to register with a GP and is taking steps to address shortcomings with individual practices, working in partnership with the voluntary sector.</p><p>The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance is a partnership arrangement with the aim to facilitate integrated working between the voluntary and statutory sectors, to promote equality and reduce health inequalities. It receives £1.2 million for core work from the Department, with each member receiving funding of up to £60,000. Friends, Families and Travellers is a member of the Alliance and has supported the Department on a range of work to date including the Inclusion Health Audit Tool, on maternal health, mental health, end of life care and dementia.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 02/04/2019 13:58:16 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1078304

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Health Services: Travellers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the eight key recommendations they plan to implement from the final report by Leeds GATE, the University of Dundee and the University of York Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller peoples’ trust: using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream service provision, published on 14 September 2018.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL14076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2019 answer text <p>The Department is currently considering the recommendations set out in the report Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller peoples’ trust: using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream service provision to improve uptake of services and reduce inequalities.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 11/03/2019 15:09:45 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1064244

registered interest
date	19/02/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Arts: Curriculum
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that Ofsted's new criteria make their assessment of the role of the creative arts in the curriculum essential to educational establishments receiving a "good" report.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL13890
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2019 answer text <p>Ofsted is currently undertaking a consultation on its proposed new education inspection framework. The consultation runs until 5 April. Under its proposals, inspectors will assess the extent to which schools are providing a broad and balanced curriculum for their pupils. Ofsted has proposed that the benchmark for coverage and content of a school’s curriculum should be the national curriculum, which includes the arts.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 01/03/2019 12:47:03 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1061390

registered interest
date	14/02/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Education: Travellers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 4 February (HLWS1264), what action they will take to improve access for Gypsy, Traveller and  Roma young people to further and higher education.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL13770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2019 answer text <p>Widening access and participation in higher and further education is a priority for this government. Everyone with the capability to succeed should have  the opportunity to benefit from a university education, regardless of their background or where they grew up. On 1 February 2019, we announced measures to tackle ethnic disparities in higher education. The announcement is attached and can also be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universities-must-do-more-to-tackle-ethnic-disparity" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universities-must-do-more-to-tackle-ethnic-disparity</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The new regulator for higher education, the Office for Students (OfS) has a statutory duty in regards to students who share particular characteristics, (protected under the Equality Act 2010), and where there is specific evidence that barriers exist that may prevent equality of opportunity, including those from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.</p><p> </p><p>Through Access and Participation Plans agreed with the OfS, higher education providers are expected to reduce the gaps in access, success and progression for under-represented groups amongst their students.</p><p> </p><p>Eligible 16 to 19 year olds do not pay tuition fees for post-16 further education (e.g. A Levels and approved technical qualifications). This enables young people to meet the requirement of continuing to participate in education or training beyond the age of 16.</p><p> </p><p>Eligibility to receive public funding for further education for adults (those aged 19 and above), is based on age, prior attainment and a learner’s circumstances. Skills provision is prioritised and focussed towards young adults, those with low skills and unemployed people who are actively seeking work.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the government also provides financial support to enable learners to participate in post-16 further education, whatever their financial situation. This includes contributions to costs such as transport, childcare, essential books, equipment and accommodation.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 26/02/2019 12:25:55 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name HL13770__tackling_ethnic_disparity.pdf title HL13770_Tackling_ethnic_disparity
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker