10 0 509589 1 International Development Baroness Berridge Biography information for Baroness Berridge 2014-10-20 2 To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current commitment, bilaterally and multilaterally, to the United Nations Level 3 Emergency Situation in Central African Republic. International Development false Department for International Development 20 House of Lords Central African Republic HL2215 2014-11-03T11:56:42.4166785Z Baroness Northover false 2014-11-03 Biography information for Baroness Northover <p>In December 2013 the UN declared a Level 3 crisis in CAR which is in effect until December 2014. The UK welcomed the UN declaration which more accurately reflected the severity of the situation on the ground and brought much needed attention and resources from across the UN system to respond to the crisis.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK has been closely monitoring the situation and has committed a total of £18 million in humanitarian funding to CAR in 2014 to help hundreds of thousands of people, along with £7 million in Cameroon and Chad to assist CAR refugees. The funds are going towards the protection of civilians, urgent medical assistance, and to food security and livelihoods assistance through UN agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs. In 2014, the UK is the third largest bilateral humanitarian donor to CAR after the USA (£87 million) and the EU (£39 million). The UK’s combined bilateral and multilateral contributions (through the EU and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund) to the CAR crisis total £27 million in 2014.</p><p> </p> Central African Republic 2014-10-20 Department for International Development 20 International Development Baroness Berridge To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will review the level of humanitarian aid given bilaterally to the Central African Republic. 2014-11-03T11:58:34.5403704Z Baroness Northover false 2014-11-03 <p>The UK has been closely monitoring the situation in CAR and has committed a total of £18 million in humanitarian funding to CAR in 2014 to help hundreds of thousands of people, along with £7 million in Cameroon and Chad to assist CAR refugees. In 2014, the UK is the third largest bilateral humanitarian donor to CAR after the USA (£87 million) and the EU (£39 million). DFID officials conduct quarterly visits to CAR in order to meet with partners and review the response.</p><p> </p> 2 International Development HL2216 false To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the assassination of the Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, and in particular, the recent assasination of Latif Aalam Butt. false 2 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Baroness Berridge Foreign and Commonwealth Office 16 Pakistan: Ahmadiyya HL2217 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2014-10-20 2014-10-29T15:37:50.2719664Z Baroness Anelay of St Johns false 2014-10-29 Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns <p>We remain concerned about the violence faced by the Ahmadiyya and other communities in Pakistan and continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to protect and guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office closely monitors the situation in Pakistan as documented in the annual Human Rights report and quarterly updates. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised human rights concerns with Prime Minister Sharif during his visit in May 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p> HL2218 Pakistan International Development false 20 2 2014-10-20 Baroness Berridge International Development To ask Her Majesty’s Government what projects they fund within the educational services in Pakistan that promote religious tolerance. 2014-11-03T11:55:38.2788256Z Baroness Northover false 2014-11-03 <p>DFID’s provincial education programmes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces support the implementation of Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum which includes teaching on religious tolerance and respect for diversity. In 2014 DFID support will benefit some 6.3 million children in school in Pakistan.<br></p><p> </p> Department for International Development 2 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 26 To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent proposal by the Child Poverty and Social Justice Commission that unpaid internships should be illegal. Unpaid Work Business, Innovation and Skills HL2219 2014-10-29T16:15:22.2220144Z Baroness Neville-Rolfe false 2014-10-29 Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe <p>This Government is absolutely clear: exploitation of interns is unacceptable and we don’t hesitate to act where we find that employment law has been broken and someone who is entitled to the minimum wage hasn’t been paid it.</p><p> </p><p>Complaints from interns about non-payment of the minimum wage are prioritised by HMRC for investigation and HMRC will investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Research shows that internships and work experience programmes can be valuable opportunities for young people taking their first steps in the labour market. Our work on interns and the National Minimum Wage aims to achieve the right balance between ensuring that opportunities for young people are not cut off and minimising the risk of exploitation.</p><p> </p><p>Our concern, if we were to prohibit unpaid internships, is that this may lead to employers recruiting interns through informal and privileged networks with adverse effects on social mobility or have adverse consequences on the number of available opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>There is no definition of an internship in minimum wage legislation and interns are considered in the same way as everyone else with regards to whether the minimum wage is due. The key issue is whether or not they are workers as defined by minimum wage legislation. If they are, then they are eligible for the minimum wage unless a specific exemption applies. Volunteers are not workers and are not eligible for the minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> 2014-10-20 Baroness Berridge Business, Innovation and Skills false HL2220 International Development false 2014-10-20 20 2 Department for International Development To ask Her Majesty’s Government what military personnel they are providing to contain the spread of ebola; and how many staffed and equipped field hospitals they have, if any. Ebola Lord Hylton International Development 2014-11-03T11:56:18.1600331Z Baroness Northover false 2014-11-03 <p>In response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the UK has committed £205 million to contain, combat and ultimately defeat the disease in Sierra Leone. UK support will include the construction of six Ebola treatment centres across the country, providing 700 beds to treat 8,800 patients over the next six months.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In support of this effort, the UK has deployed 750 military personnel to Sierra Leone. This will support the deployment of RFA Argus and three Merlin helicopters which will provide crucial transport support to medical teams and aid experts. It also includes military personnel to staff a WHO Ebola Training Facility training healthcare workers, logisticians and hygiene specialists; and support to a UK joint civilian-military command and control hub, which will provide the backbone of infrastructure, commodities, training and management needed to scale up the response in Sierra Leone.</p><p> </p> Biography information for Lord Hylton 2014-10-28T16:57:23.667052Z Baroness Anelay of St Johns false 2014-10-28 <p>The Government has raised the reports of Syrian refugees stranded at their border with the Jordanian authorities. While we respect the rights of the Jordanians to control their border and protect entry against extremists and terrorists, we have stressed the humanitarian imperative that vulnerable people are protected and given refuge.</p> Lord Hylton false Syria Foreign and Commonwealth Office Foreign and Commonwealth Office 16 HL2221 2 To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Syrian refugees are being refused entry to Jordan; whether they have any information about the situation of any such people; and whether they will make the necessary representations to enhance their well-being. 2014-10-20 Foreign and Commonwealth Office HL2222 2 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Egypt false 2014-10-28T16:36:00.7673786Z Baroness Anelay of St Johns false 2014-10-28 <p>The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), asked that the Egyptian government address the large number of people being held in detention during his meeting with President Al-Sisi at the UN General Assembly in New York on 23 September. John Casson, our Ambassador in Cairo, discussed the recent university protests with Ahmed el-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, on 14 October. The UK believes that freedom of expression, including the right to protest peacefully, is important in any democracy.</p> 2014-10-20 To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about recent arrests of students, and the placing of private security companies, on university campuses there. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord Hylton 16 false Asylum: Finance Home Office Lord Roberts of Llandudno 2014-10-27T12:15:07.651748Z Lord Bates false 2014-10-27 Biography information for Lord Bates <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers who require support because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom and can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review and the views of reputable partners such as the Red Cross are carefully considered but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring the individuals are able to meet their essential living needs and not left destitute.</p> To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to review the azure payment card for asylum seekers as a result of the new report by the British Red Cross on the humanitarian cost of the card. HL2223 Home Office Home Office Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno 2014-10-20 2 1 29 HL2224 2 Lord Roberts of Llandudno Work and Pensions Work and Pensions Unemployed People: Travel false 2014-10-20 2014-10-23T15:06:09.3638452Z Lord Freud false 2014-10-23 Biography information for Lord Freud <p /> <p>All Jobcentre Plus District Managers have access to the Flexible Support Fund, that they can use to supplement mainstream services and to tailor support to the needs of individuals and the local area. A proportion of this fund will be spent by their Work Services Teams on discretionary awards to individual claimants, which could include helping with travel costs to attend job interviews.</p> To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial assistance is given to help young people on benefits with the travel costs associated with attending job interviews. Department for Work and Pensions