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1233892

registered interest
date	14/09/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government at what level they will be represented at the United Nations General Assembly special high-level meeting on 2 October to recognise the significance of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
tabling member printed	Lord Judd
uin	HL8067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government will not attend the United Nations event on 2 October to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which is used by states to promote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The Government has no plans to recognise the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. However, we remain committed to disarmament, and to building the confidence and transparency we believe is vital to deliver our long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons. We believe further progress towards this goal can only be made through gradual multilateral disarmament, using a step-by-step approach under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Government regularly engages in constructive discussions on disarmament. Most recently UK officials attended an event to mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests on 26 August.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 24/09/2020 15:29:38 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	1660 label Biography information for Lord Judd

1233878

registered interest
date	14/09/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Accountancy: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 8 September (HL7080), whether they informed either House that an agreement would be needed with, and there would be an uncapped unspecified fee payable to, a company registered in Delaware for making instruments of UK law available to the public when the European Public Limited-Liability Company (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 were before Parliament; if not, why not; and whether Ministers were aware of this fact; and if so, when they became aware.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted
uin	HL8051
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s proposed agreement with the IFRS Foundation is a minor administrative matter. This is required to enable the UK’s adoption and endorsement of international accounting standards following the end of the Transition Period. All jurisdictions which use international accounting standards, including the EU, require such agreements with the IFRS Foundation.</p><p> </p><p>The proposed fee applicable is in line with HM Treasury guidance.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 24/09/2020 12:10:07 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	4562 label Biography information for Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted

1233554

registered interest
date	10/09/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Refugees: Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children have been transferred since June to the care of councils since arriving in England from crossing the English Channel; to list the countries of origin of such children, including the number of children for each such country;  what their policy is in regard to the long term needs and care of these children; and what plans they have to make the National Transfer Scheme compulsory.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL8010
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to helping and supporting children in need of international protection. Since 2010, the UK has received over 23,700 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).</p><p>The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) supports local authorities to transfer responsibility for these children to another participating local authority and seeks to achieve a fairer allocation of caring responsibilities across the country so that all children get the care and support they need.</p><p>We publish data on the number of transfers completed under the scheme each quarter as part of the Home Office Migration Transparency Data (NTS_01), which is available on GOV.UK. As at June 2020, over 1,050 children had been transferred under the scheme since it began. We do not currently publish a nationality breakdown of those children transferred under the scheme, however these children would be a subset of the UASC data published as part of the ‘asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement’ volume of the quarterly Immigration Statistics (Asy_D01), which is also available on GOV.UK.</p><p>UASC have often suffered deep trauma and they should receive the same level of care and support we would expect for any looked after child. In 2017, we published our Safeguarding Strategy for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children which sets out the Government’s commitments to safeguard and promote their welfare.</p><p>Whilst there are statutory powers to mandate a transfer scheme, our preference is to continue to operate the NTS on a voluntary basis. We recognise a need to achieve a more equitable distribution of UASC and have therefore worked with local government partners to develop proposals to further improve the scheme. On 28 August we launched an informal consultation with local authorities on these proposals. The consultation also seeks views on a potential mandatory approach should participation in the voluntary scheme not achieve a more proportionate distribution of UASC.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/09/2020 16:00:30 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1234926

registered interest
date	16/09/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Africa: Floods
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the statement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance on the flooding that has affected people in West and Central Africa, and (2) the impact of those floods on (a) food security, and (b) the mass displacement of peoples, in the affected regions; and what steps they are taking to address the implications of the floods for each region in which they have existing development programmes.
tabling member printed	Lord Boateng
uin	HL8175
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>We are concerned by the risk posed to populations in West and Central Africa where approximately 760,000 people have been affected by floods in recent weeks across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria. Humanitarian partners are assessing the damage, including number of houses destroyed, people displaced and crops losses.</p><p>The UK is the largest donor to the UN Central Emergency Response which has already begun to mobilise funds in response (including a £5 million allocation in Niger).</p><p>In Niger and the Sahel the UK is working with existing partners to ensure work can continue and integrate flood response into established programmes where possible.</p><p>We are also working to reduce flooding risks through the UK funded Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa programme. This support to the work of meteorological and associated offices in West Africa helps strengthen weather forecasting and early warning, as well as longer term climate forecasts. Access to early warning is one important aspect of building resilience to floods and other climate shocks. The UK has also supported the World Bank's Adaptive Social Protection (ASP) with £50 million over five years (2015-2020) to build the capacity of Sahel countries to develop their own social protection systems to support the poorest during climate related and weather shocks, including floods.</p><p>Flooding can also increase the risk of desert locusts spreading within the area. We are taking steps to mitigate this risk by strengthening surveillance and control in the region through the Food and Agriculture Organization. We are also conscious of alternative drivers such as conflict which has created a food security situation in the Sahel which is of chronic concern.</p><p>We will continue to closely monitor the situation, including through dialogue with OCHA at regional level. Increased flooding in Africa demonstrates the need for action on climate change which HMG is driving forward through COP26 preparations.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 24/09/2020 16:11:51 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	147 label Biography information for Lord Boateng

1233574

registered interest
date	10/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Literacy
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 Education Endowment Foundation’s publication Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1, published on 30 September 2016; and what additional funding they plan to provide to schools to improve literacy, including for (1) the accurate assessment of the capabilities and difficulties children have in literacy, and (2) for one-to-one tutoring for those in greatest need returning to school after the COVID-19 lockdown.
tabling member printed	Baroness Rebuck
uin	HL8030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Education Endowment Foundation’s publication emphasises the importance of systematic phonics approaches in reading and writing activities with pupils in key stage 1. There is sound evidence that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading. The evidence indicates that the teaching of phonics is most effective when combined with a language rich curriculum to develop children’s positive attitudes towards literacy. The National Curriculum for English places a renewed focus on the requirement for pupils to learn to read through systematic phonics, applying phonic knowledge and skills to word reading.</p><p>In 2018 the department launched a £26.3 million English Hubs Programme. The department appointed 34 primary schools across England as English Hubs. The English Hubs Programme is supporting nearly 3,000 schools across England to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development, and reading for pleasure. The English Hubs are focused on improving educational outcomes for the most disadvantaged pupils in reception and year 1. The Education Endowment Foundation’s publication has been used widely across the English Hub community.</p><p>The government has announced a catch up package worth £1 billion, including a ‘Catch up Premium’ worth a total of £650 million to support schools to make up for lost teaching time. Our expectation is that this funding will be spent on the additional activities required to support children and young people to catch up after a period of disruption to their education.</p><p>The package also includes the National Tutoring Programme which provides up to £350 million to support disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. This will increase access to subsidised, high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people, helping to accelerate their academic progress and tackling the attainment gap between them and their peers.</p><p>To support settings to make best use of this funding, the Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide which includes evidence-based approaches to catch up for all students. Details can be found here: <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/national-tutoring-programme/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/" target="_blank">https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/national-tutoring-programme/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 24/09/2020 11:24:47 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4332 label Biography information for Baroness Rebuck

1234707

registered interest
date	15/09/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Nigeria: Terrorism
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 scale of attacks by Islamists on Muslim communities in Nigeria; and what data sources they used to inform any such assessment.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL8117
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government condemns all killings and incidents of violence against innocent Nigerian civilians, including terrorist attacks in North East Nigeria. Terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) have caused immense suffering to both Muslim and Christian communities. These groups seek to undermine the right to freedom of religion or belief by indiscriminately attacking those of all faiths who do not subscribe to their extremist views.</p><p>The UK Government draws on a range of robust data sources to assess the scale of attacks by terrorist groups on communities across Nigeria, including in the North East, where the majority of the population is Muslim. These sources include the Armed Conflict and Location Event Data (ACLED) database and UN reporting. The UK remains committed to supporting Nigeria and its neighbours in the fight against Boko Haram and ISWA.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 24/09/2020 16:24:38 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1234708

registered interest
date	15/09/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Nigeria: Human Rights
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what further representations they have made to the government of Nigeria to encourage (1) the investigation, and (2) the prosecution, of (a) war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity, and (c) other human rights abuses.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL8118
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Nigerian authorities have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute all war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses committed on their territory. We continue to make clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels the importance of protecting civilians including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all. The Minister for Africa discussed the impact of violence in Nigeria with President Buhari's Chief of Staff, on 29 June.</p><p>An International Criminal Court (ICC) preliminary examination into the situation in Nigeria commenced in 2010, and focussed on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including by Boko Haram in the North East. The ICC Prosecutor acknowledged that steps have been taken by the Nigerian authorities to investigate these offences but requested further information and evidence demonstrating that relevant national proceedings are being conducted or are intended to be conducted.</p><p>The Nigerian Human Rights Commission, set up by the Nigerian Federal Government, also serves as an extra-judicial mechanism to safeguard the human rights of Nigerians. The UK Government will continue to push for allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses to be investigated by the Nigerian authorities, and for those responsible to be held to account. Suspects should have access to justice and cases should be carried out in accordance with Nigerian law and international human rights standards.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 24/09/2020 12:55:17 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1233557

registered interest
date	10/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Pesticides
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban the production and export of pesticides and herbicides which are banned for use in the UK, including (1) paraquat, and (2) 1,3-dichloropropene.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL8013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>On the production of pesticides and herbicides, depending on the amounts produced, the manufacture of paraquat and 1,3 dichlorophene are regulated under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH) which implements an EU directive in this area. The COMAH Regulations will continue to apply to Great Britain after the Transition Period.</p><p> </p><p>The export from the UK of paraquat and 1,3-dichloropropene is regulated under Regulation (EU) 649/2012 on the export and import of certain hazardous chemicals, known as the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation. Companies intending to export any of these chemicals from the UK must notify the importing country via the exporter’s Designated National Authority.</p><p> </p><p>For the UK the Designated National Authority is The Health and Safety Executive (HSE). <br></p><p>Paraquat and 1,3-dichloropropene additionally require the explicit consent of the importing country before export can take place. The exchange of information that PIC provides allows the importing countries to make informed decisions on the import of those chemicals and on how to handle and use them safely.</p><p> </p><p>Similar arrangements to PIC will come into force at the end of the Transition Period on 31 December.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 24/09/2020 12:43:33 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1233891

registered interest
date	14/09/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to recognise the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September.
tabling member printed	Lord Judd
uin	HL8066
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government will not attend the United Nations event on 2 October to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which is used by states to promote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The Government has no plans to recognise the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. However, we remain committed to disarmament, and to building the confidence and transparency we believe is vital to deliver our long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons. We believe further progress towards this goal can only be made through gradual multilateral disarmament, using a step-by-step approach under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Government regularly engages in constructive discussions on disarmament. Most recently UK officials attended an event to mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests on 26 August.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 24/09/2020 14:26:36 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	1660 label Biography information for Lord Judd

1235729

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to resume the recruitment to the Armed Forces of personnel born in Commonwealth countries.
tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
uin	HL8254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>Recruitment of Commonwealth citizens has never stopped. Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, both the Army and the Royal Air Force (RAF) had received large numbers of applications from Commonwealth citizens. The Army therefore stopped accepting new applications in September 2019 and the RAF stopped accepting applications from outside the UK in November 2019. The Royal Navy (RN)/Royal Marines (RM) has continued to accept new applications.</p><p>When the COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in March 2020, the RN/RM and RAF continued with the selection and initial training of all applicants who were already in the UK, including those from the Commonwealth. For those applicants based outside the UK, they continued to be proactively managed virtually, but their applications and the recruitment process could not be completed until candidates were once again able to fly to the UK and could meet any COVID-19 restrictions placed on their entry, such as quarantine measures.</p><p>The Army temporarily paused all face-to-face selection until June and all Basic Training until May, but applicants continued to be managed and nurtured. Since selection and training has resumed, the Army has continued to process those applicants already in the UK, and those who had applied prior to September 2019. The Army continues to have enough applications from Commonwealth citizens to meet demand for the current Recruiting Year, and will not therefore be accepting new applications, other than for the Royal Corps of Music.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 24/09/2020 11:26:31 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig