3264 10 to ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that the new Education Cannot Wait fund will focus on the most marginalised children, including girls and children with disabilities. 2016-05-18 false Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool Development Aid: Education HL76 Department for International Development House of Lords 2 International Development 20 2016-06-02T15:48:27.173Z Baroness Verma false 2016-06-02 Biography information for Baroness Verma <p>The UK has played a leading role in the development of Education Cannot Wait – a fund for education in emergencies. A key focus for Education Cannot Wait will be on ensuring that marginalised children and young people are able to access a quality education. This includes refugees and internally displaced children, as well as children facing barriers to their education because of their gender, disability or other factors.</p><p>This focus is reflected in the Fund’s indicative headline results, which commits to providing “Inclusive education [that] reaches the most marginalised children and young people in crises” with a target of “100% of supported education opportunities demonstrate increase in education for girls, disabled and those in remote locations”.</p><p>The UK will continue to engage closely during Education Cannot Wait’s inception phase, to ensure that this commitment is fully reflected in its final design and results frameworks.</p> Lord Alton of Liverpool International Development Care Homes: Coronavirus Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the number of COVID-19 related deaths in care homes in England and Wales between 10 April and 29 May as documented by the Office of National Statistics; (2) what assessment they have made of the statistics published by the Data Analysis Bureau and Person Centred Software that, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 15 per cent of care home staff have been tested and 62 per cent of care homes have not had any staff receive tests; and (3) what plans they have to review their statement on 15 May that they would ensure the testing of residents and employees at all care homes in England by the beginning of June. 2 2020-07-29T15:25:28.523Z Testing - note for House of Lords.pdf Testing information factsheet Lord Bethell false 2020-07-29 Biography information for Lord Bethell <p>To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet <em>Testing – note for House of Lords</em> which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library</p><p> </p> false Health and Social Care Health and Social Care Department of Health and Social Care 2020-06-02 17 Lord Alton of Liverpool HL4897 Her Majesty's Government (1) what contact they have had with, and (2) what support they intend to provide to, the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee, regarding (a) the rebuilding of 13,000 homes on the Nineveh Plains, and (b) the need to ensure that those Christians internally displaced from the Plains are provided with adequate food supplies. 20 HL856 Department for International Development Lord Alton of Liverpool 2017-07-25T15:00:41.357Z Lord Bates false 2017-07-25 Biography information for Lord Bates <p>The UK Government recognises the specific risks such as abduction and murder faced by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically at the hands of Daesh, and is deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses motivated by religious or ethnic identity.</p><p>All people in need, from any community, irrespective of religious affiliation, are eligible for humanitarian assistance. DFID’s humanitarian implementing partners, including the UN, consider a wide range of issues when assessing an individual’s vulnerability such as the impact of physical or mental disabilities, income, age, missing family members, and whether individuals are already receiving assistance from other sources.</p><p>The organisations through which we channel our support do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. The reason for this is because there is a risk that collecting information about the ethnicity or religion of people receiving aid could be obtained by others, including extremist groups, and used to persecute them.</p><p>We do not therefore hold information on how much UK-funded support is channelled to Yezidis and Christians either inside or outside camps. This year the UK will provide £40 million for urgent humanitarian assistance in Iraq and £4 million for the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS) to help rebuild communities affected by Daesh, including for minority communities in newly liberated areas in Iraq. The UK is also providing £500 million to support people, including refugees and internally displaced Syrians, affected by the Syria crisis in 2017. DFID does not fund the Bishops Emergency Committee.</p><p>The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee comprised of Church representatives has not contacted the UK Government or submitted a proposal for UK support for the construction of homes on the Nineveh Plains.</p><p>The UK is funding the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS), which is supporting 152 projects in mainly Christian communities in the Ninewa Plains and 70 projects in Yezidi communities in Sinjar, Rabia and Sinuni.</p><p>UN agencies are obliged to operate by the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality which aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion; and to also ensure that the specific risks facing minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. DFID considers reports from a wide range of sources, including field visits by UK officials where these are possible, to assess the effectiveness of UN operations and their compliance with humanitarian principles. The UN carries out vital work in both Syria and Iraq, and UN staff frequently risk their lives to deliver assistance to people in need, including to areas where Daesh or the Assad regime seek to prevent aid being delivered.</p> HL852 HL854 HL855 2017-07-17 2 false International Development International Development Lord Alton of Liverpool 2 Justice Prisons: Coronavirus Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 (1) cases, and (2) deaths, there have been in the UK since 23 March; what steps they have taken to prevent transmission of COVID-19 in prisons; what measures are in place to mitigate the risks of suicide, particularly among young offenders; whether those measures include extending the amount of time prisoners may spend out of their cell each day; and how many low risk prisoners have been released early to reduce overcrowding in cells during the COVID-19 pandemic. 54 Justice false 2020-06-30T16:19:25.843Z Lord Keen of Elie false 2020-06-30 Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie <p>The Government acted quickly to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in prisons by implementing restricted regimes to comply with national social distancing guidance and limiting inter-prisons transfers. Prisons are also implementing a ‘compartmentalisation’ strategy to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. Latest public health advice suggests these measures have contained the spread of the virus and minimised the number of deaths.</p><p>As of Friday 12 June, we are aware of 495 prisoner and 963 prison staff COVID-19 cases across England and Wales. These figures reflect the total cumulative number of recorded positive cases – not the number of live cases – of COVID-19, and includes individuals that have since recovered. Figures are subject to revision as more information becomes available.</p><p>As of Friday 12 June, 23 prisoners and 9 members of prison staff have sadly died having tested positive for COVID-19 or having shown symptoms. It is a matter for the coroners to determine cause of death.</p><p>The restricted regimes introduced to protect prisoners and staff from COVID-19 mean that prisoners are spending longer in their cells than normal which raises new and different risks to safety and the mental health of prisoners. The Government takes its responsibilities for these issues very seriously.</p><p>To this end, the Government is supporting prison Governors to devise and implement local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate these safety risks. Prisons across the estate are giving prisoners access to educational and entertainment material intended to support their wellbeing. Prisoners confined to their cells continue to access healthcare and time in the open air, where possible. They also have access to telephones, extra phone credit and, where available, video calls to contact their loved ones. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available, and are working with the Samaritans to ensure that the listener peer support scheme continues to function effectively.</p><p>Within the Youth Custody Service (YCS) there has been a focus on delivering essential activities such as regular phone calls (with young people having been allocated additional free phone credits), access to showers and education materials, and time in the fresh air, as well as activities children can undertake in small groups or in their rooms, including workouts and access to entertainment.</p><p>‘SECURE STAIRS’ -the integrated framework of care jointly led by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the YCS, provides the foundations as to how the YCS works with children - has been adopting an approach that underlines the importance of connectivity, whilst adhering to the guidance on physical distancing.</p><p>The YCS is continuously assessing the situation, and is keen to expand the regime as soon as it is safe and sustainable to do so.</p><p>On 4 April, the Government announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme. This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period. As of Friday 12 June, 113 offenders have been released under this scheme. Our plans for early release form one part of a package of measures to create headroom in the estate to allow us to fully implement compartmentalisation. We are also working to expedite remand cases and temporarily expanding the estate through the installation of single occupancy units.</p> Ministry of Justice HL5740 2020-06-16 2017-06-21 2 HL57 10 Culture, Media and Sport Her Majesty's Government how many UK registered charities have been closed since 2008 following suspicion of funding activities outside their approved charitable purposes; and how many of those were suspected of funding groups linked to terrorism. Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2017-07-05T13:30:00.21Z 20170623 WPQ HoL Lord Alton 57132.pdf Kenneth Dibble to Lord Alton Letter Lord Ashton of Hyde false 2017-07-05 Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde <p>In England and Wales the information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. Charity regulation is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I have asked the Charity Commission to reply. Please see attached letter.</p> Lord Alton of Liverpool false Culture, Media and Sport false Foreign and Commonwealth Office Her Majesty's Government how many military personnel are involved in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA); how many of MINUSMA military personnel are from the UK; where in Mali MINUSMA is deployed; what is the total cost of MINUSMA; and how the effectiveness and success of MINUSMA will be assessed. 2 Foreign and Commonwealth Office HL5446 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 16 Lord Alton of Liverpool 2020-07-06T14:02:10.16Z Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon false 2020-07-06 Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon <p>MINUSMA's mandate in Mali is country-wide. Further information on the forthcoming UK deployment to MINUSMA can be found at GOV.UK/Government/News/uk-to-deploy-250-troops-to-mali-on-peacekeeping-operations and at peacekeeping.un.org.en.mission/minusma.</p> UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali 2020-06-09 Health and Social Care Health and Social Care 17 2020-06-22T10:41:35.823Z Lord Bethell false 2020-06-22 <p>We have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care.</p><p> </p><p>On 15 May we published details of an additional £600 million Infection Control Fund for Adult Social Care. This funding is to support adult social care providers in England reduce the rate of transmission in and between care homes and to support workforce resilience. As part of the grant conditions, local authorities have been asked to report later this month on the measures taken, such as steps taken to isolate residents within care homes and support staff who are self-isolating.</p> 2 2020-06-02 Care Homes: Coronavirus HL4896 Department of Health and Social Care Her Majesty's Government how much in total of the Infection Control Fund has been used by care homes to provide personal protective equipment for staff; what steps have been taken to ensure expeditious testing for care home staff and residents before 6 June; how many such staff and residents are yet to be tested; and why. false Lord Alton of Liverpool Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2 2020-06-18T12:46:22.97Z Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon false 2020-06-18 <p>Media freedom is vital to open societies and journalists must be able to investigate and report without undue interference. We must oppose attempts by any state to restrict press freedom, silence debate, abuse journalists, or spread misinformation. We are monitoring individual cases of concern around the world, and we are working with international partners on how best to support media freedom, including raising our concerns where appropriate.</p><p>The UK has publicly raised the issue of media freedom in China, including priority cases such as the sentencing of citizen journalist and rights activist Huang Qi in 2019. British diplomats have attempted to attend trials of civilian journalists and rights activists in China to show support.</p><p>In Hong Kong, media freedom is guaranteed under the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. In our six-monthly reports to Parliament on Hong Kong, we have regularly highlighted the importance of freedom of the press and set out our views on specific incidents of concern. We did so in the most recent report on 11 June. We will continue to raise the need to uphold Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, as the Foreign Secretary did with State Councillor and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 8 June.</p><p>We have announced our intention to establish a UK autonomous Global Human Rights ('Magnitsky-style') sanctions regime. The regulations will come into force in the coming months. It is not appropriate to confirm who might be designated under the sanctions regime before the designations are in place. To do this could reduce the impact of the designations.</p> Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord Alton of Liverpool HL5342 China and Hong Kong: Press Freedom Foreign and Commonwealth Office false Her Majesty's Government how they are using their Defend Media Freedom campaign to raise and address the curtailing of media freedom and attacks on journalists in China and Hong Kong; and what plans they have to introduce Magnitsky-like sanctions against those responsible for abuse of journalists in China and Hong Kong. 2020-06-08 16 2017-06-26 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2017-07-11T14:26:44.587Z Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon false 2017-07-11 <p>​As my noble friend, the Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, confirmed in her reply to written question HL5120, the British Government is deeply concerned by reports of forced child labour at the Masikryong ski resort. The UK has been clear that forced labour is a form of modern day slavery and must be brought to an end. Any decision on offering to co-host events at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics would be a matter for the government of the Republic of Korea to consider. However, an application to co-host Olympic events with another state would require the approval of the International Olympic Committee.</p> HL160 false Her Majesty's Government how they have responded to proposals that North Korea be invited to co-host skiing events at North Korea’s Masikryong ski resort during next year’s Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea; and what assessment they have made of reports that the ski resort was constructed with, and is serviced by, forced labour. 16 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2 Lord Alton of Liverpool Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2017-07-13 International Development HL828 2 Department for International Development Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure their emergency funding for displaced people from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains reaches displaced minorities such as the Yazidis and Christians; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which their policy of neutrality and impartiality will lead to the inclusion or exclusion of those who have been subject to genocide. International Development 2017-07-20T16:23:20.037Z Lord Bates false 2017-07-20 <ul><li>The UK Government recognises the specific risks faced by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically at the hands of Daesh. We are aware of reports that fear of persecution or discrimination in camps may be deterring some people from using them, and are in close touch with our partners involved in the management of camps and the delivery of services within them, including UN agencies. They have clear guidelines, mechanisms and accountability frameworks in place to prevent discrimination by their own staff or those of their partners. DFID takes any allegations that these are not being applied effectively very seriously, and stands ready to follow up specific allegations with the partners concerned.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The security of the camps and all those living in them is the responsibility of the appropriate civil authorities (e.g. in Iraq, it lies with the Government of Iraq) and is monitored by independent humanitarian actors such as UNHCR. UK officials stand ready to report any specific allegations of persecution or violence against religious minorities within the camps to those authorities. The Government is concerned about Daesh infiltration inside camps. In Iraq the Iraqi authorities carry out screening of those entering camps in order to seek to prevent such infiltration. UN agencies have set up grievance mechanisms that allow any minority member to anonymously report abuse, persecution or discrimination; these can also be used to report on suspected extremist activity.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>DFID’s funding for Iraq is targeted towards those who are most in need including vulnerable people from minority communities such as Yazidis and Christians. It is delivered in line with the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the whole of Iraq, which is based on comprehensive needs assessments carried out by a wide range of partners. The humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion, that the specific risks facing minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. In the difficult environments in Syria and Iraq, where access to vulnerable people is often very challenging especially as some actors such as Daesh and the Assad regime deliberately prevent humanitarian access, DFID regularly challenges our partners to demonstrate that they are doing all they can to meet the needs the most vulnerable people, including those from religious minorities. We welcome information from all sources to help us to hold them to account.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>DFID is not aware of scheduled meetings in 2015 with Christian representatives in Iraq that officials did not attend, but DFID officials regularly meet with representatives of Iraqi Christian and Yezidi communities. DFID Ministers have also met representatives of these communities.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>DFID has received Dr Russell Blacker’s correspondence and has responded suggesting a meeting is organised with Dr Blacker, Lord Bates and Mr Burt to discuss together.</li></ul> HL829 HL830 HL831 Lord Alton of Liverpool 20 false Nuclear Power 1 0