The Government strongly condemns the restrictions the Taliban have imposed on Afghan women and girls. We are working with our mission in Doha and the international community, including through the G7 and UN, to press the Taliban to reverse their harmful policies.<\/p>
Respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls are prerequisites for sustainable economic development in Afghanistan. We continue to support the delivery of education, including Community Based Education through our bilateral and multilateral contributions.<\/p>
On 6 March, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, met UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, and the Director of UN Women, Sima Bahaus, after their visit to Afghanistan to discuss the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4600", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Leo Docherty"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Aldershot"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Leo Docherty"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-06-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-06-20T16:49:39.2Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Afghanistan: Women"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the Taliban regime to enable (a) women and girls to have a full education including university, (b) women to take up employment and (c) women and girls to (i) visit parks and (ii) engage in normal activities outside their homes.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4124", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chi Onwurah"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newcastle upon Tyne Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chi Onwurah"} ], "uin" : "189798"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1645178", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1645178/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Last November the Secretary of State wrote to all providers of social housing, including those in Newcastle, following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. His letter set out his expectation that all landlords treat complaints about damp and mould seriously, act swiftly to rectify them, and be prepared to respond to a request from the Regulator of Social Housing on the extent of damp and mould issues. The Secretary of State also wrote to all local authorities setting out that non-decent homes are completely unacceptable, and that landlords must take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.<\/p>
To ensure that landlords respond quickly when homes are dangerous, the Government has also introduced 'Awaab's Law' as an amendment to the Social Housing Regulation Bill, which will require landlords to fix reported health hazards within specified timeframes.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4737", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dehenna Davison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bishop Auckland"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Dehenna Davison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-06-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-06-20T15:59:39.51Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "211"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Levelling Up, Housing and Communities"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Levelling Up, Housing and Communities"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Rented Housing: Newcastle Upon Tyne"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had discussions with local authorities in Newcastle on delays to repair work on social housing.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4124", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chi Onwurah"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newcastle upon Tyne Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chi Onwurah"} ], "uin" : "189799"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1645179", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1645179/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The department has embarked on an ambitious technical education reform programme. We consulted several times on the reforms to seek the views on our proposed changes. In March 2019, the government launched the first stage consultation to gather views and evidence about the principles that should apply to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England. The results of this consultation are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/928952/Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_and_below_-_First_stage_government_response.pdf<\/a>.<\/p> In July 2021, the department published its response to the second stage consultation of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, which ran between the 23 October 2020 to 31 January 2021.The department made clear its intentions to streamline the qualifications landscape, simplify choices for students, and only fund qualifications that are high quality and lead to good progression outcomes. The response is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-second-stage<\/a>.<\/p> The changes to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below are designed to ensure that our qualifications system provides a ladder of opportunity for young people from all backgrounds. The department wants as many people as possible to undertake world class A levels and T Levels, which evidence shows provide the best foundation from which to progress, either into higher education, or skilled employment.<\/p> Data shows that, in the following year, of the approximately 3,100 16-18 students who completed a level 3 qualification in Travel and Tourism in 2018/19:<\/p> This shows mixed progression outcomes for these qualifications. Specifying that newly developed travel and tourism-related qualifications must be based on employer-designed, approved occupational standards at level 3 will ensure that students gain the knowledge, skills, and behaviours employers in the travel and tourism industries need, leading to better and more consistent progression outcomes for young people.<\/p>