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1312480

registered interest
date	27/04/2021
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Afghanistan: Interpreters
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) interpreters, and (2) members of interpreters' families, have been relocated from Afghanistan to the UK under the (a) ex gratia redundancy scheme, and (b) intimidation policy.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL15283
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2021 answer text <p>A total of 448 locally employed staff and 910 family members have been relocated from Afghanistan to the UK, 1,358 in total. Of those, all but six were interpreters. Four were relocated under the Intimidation Policy, one under the new Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy which came into force on 1 April 2021, and the remainder under the Ex-Gratia Scheme.</p><p>The Intimidation Policy closed on 31 March 2021. It was replaced by the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy on 1 April 2021 and one relocation has taken place so far under that scheme.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 28/04/2021 16:55:04 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1312481

registered interest
date	27/04/2021
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Afghanistan: Interpreters
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) interpreters, and (2) members of interpreters' families, have been accepted for relocation but have not yet been relocated under the (a) ex gratia redundancy scheme, and (b) the intimidation policy; and when they expect that they will be relocated.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL15284
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2021 answer text <p>A total of 104 former locally employed staff are eligible for relocation under the Ex-Gratia Scheme and are still in the process of being relocated. All but two are interpreters. We cannot comment with certainty on the number of family members, because some of the eligible applicants are not yet at the stage of the process where this is known.</p><p>The Intimidation Policy closed on 31 March 2021. It was replaced by the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy on 01 April 2021. There are no outstanding relocations under the Intimidation Policy.</p><p>A total of 107 current and former locally employed staff are eligible for relocation under the new Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy and are still in the process of being relocated. Most are interpreters. We cannot comment with certainty on the number of family members, because some of the eligible applicants are not yet at the stage of the process where this is known. I expect that these former and current locally employed staff and their families will be relocated before 11 September 2021.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 28/04/2021 16:46:32 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1312482

registered interest
date	27/04/2021
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Afghanistan: Interpreters
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many locally employed civilian interpreters who (1) have previously worked, or (2) currently work, for the UK Armed Forces (a) remain in Afghanistan, and (b) have fled to a third country.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL15285
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2021 answer text <p>UK Armed Forces do not currently employ any locally employed civilian interpreters in Afghanistan. Of those locally employed civilian interpreters who previously worked for UK Armed Forces, we do not hold any information on how many remain in Afghanistan; it would be impossible to maintain such a record, as it would require regular updates from those who left employment with us between four and 20 years ago. Our locally employed civilian interpreters do not update us as to their whereabouts. Of those locally employed civilian interpreters who previously worked for UK Armed Forces, we are aware of 15 who are currently in a third country. Not all would be eligible for relocation even if they in Afghanistan.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 28/04/2021 16:51:43 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1309902

registered interest
date	16/04/2021
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	Voluntary Service Overseas: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to make a long-term decision on the funding for Voluntary Service Overseas.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL14990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>The Foreign Secretary announced that we would provide funding to <strong>Voluntary Service Overseas</strong> (VSO) this year in his statement on ODA allocations to Parliament on 21 April. We have offered VSO funding for the V4D programme until the end of this financial year 2021/22. Officials have also started discussions with VSO on our future relationship.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 29/04/2021 12:17:42 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1288432

registered interest
date	22/02/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Education
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 effectiveness, and (2) the impact of, Modern Foreign Language Hubs; and if no such assessment has been made, (a) whether they plan to conduct such an assessment, and (b) if so, when.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL13380
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2021 answer text <p>The National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy (NCELP) programme was established with its main aims being to provide support to secondary schools to improve languages teaching at Key Stages 3 and 4, and to align modern foreign language (MFL) teaching with the recommendations of the Teaching Schools Council’s 2016 MFL Pedagogy Review. This was done so that in pilot schools more pupils will take up GCSEs in MFLs, and schools are enabled to achieve sustainable numbers and group sizes. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were agreed between NCELP and the department which link to these objectives.</p><p>As a consequence of school closures over the last year, and NCELP diverting much of its resource to assist the Oak National Academy by developing and recording Key Stage 3 lessons in French, German and Spanish, we have deferred our assessment of performance against KPIs until after December 2021. However, the information gathered to date shows that:</p><ul><li>92.6% of all teachers taking part in the pilot reported in September 2020 that they were confident in delivering the MFL pedagogical approach as described in the 2016 MFL Pedagogy Review produced by the Teaching Schools Council; and</li><li>Uptake of MFL GCSEs in the participating schools has increased by 8.2 percentage points between 2018 and 2020.</li></ul><p>In the meantime, NCELP is on course to have completed work developing online resources for teaching and testing in French, German and Spanish in Key Stage 3 by December 2021, which are available free of charge for all MFL teachers at: <a href="https://resources.ncelp.org" target="_blank">https://resources.ncelp.org</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 09/03/2021 11:27:12 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1283718

registered interest
date	03/02/2021
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	Coronavirus: Public Health
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, since the publication of their report Quarterly Report on progress to address COVID-19 health inequalities on 22 October 2020, what (1) actions have been taken, and (2) progress has been made, in relation to implementing Recommendation 12 of that report, regarding public health advice in languages other than English.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL12936
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government has made significant progress in implementing Recommendation 12 and addressing COVID-19 health inequalities. This includes regularly translating public health communications into other languages and formats, including Easy Read, and working with local authorities to translate assets according to local need. Translated materials are routinely shared in editable formats so they can be useful by as wide an audience as possible.</p><p>The Minister for Equalities will shortly be publishing her second quarterly progress report to the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary, which will include a more detailed update against this and the other recommendations from her report of 22 October.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 22/02/2021 15:53:25 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1277393

registered interest
date	18/01/2021
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Afghanistan: Interpreters
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the International Relations and Defence Committee The UK and Afghanistan, published on 13 January (HL Paper 208), and the recommendation that "all Afghan interpreters who worked for the UK military, including those now resident in third countries, [should be]...able to access the provisions of the ex-gratia scheme", whether they plan to consider applications for relocation to the UK from former interpreters in third countries; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL12200
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2021 answer text <p>The ex-gratia scheme and intimidation policy currently available for Afghan locally engaged staff (LES), along with the Relocations and Assistance Scheme to be introduced later this year, require applicants to be in Afghanistan where they are likely to face the greatest risk. The Government keeps the Immigration Rules under regular review, and officials from the Ministry of Defence continue to work with the Home Office to consider options to support those under threat. We will always consider exceptionally compelling and compassionate circumstances on a case-by-case basis.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 26/01/2021 17:02:14 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1275424

registered interest
date	11/01/2021
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	Slavery
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to ask British embassies to designate an official with special responsibility for modern slavery, focussing on supply chains for exports to the UK and the operations of UK companies overseas.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL11972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>Many British Embassies and High Commissions already have a focus on modern slavery including supply chain aspects where appropriate. This Government is committed to eliminating modern slavery from our communities and the global economy, and in 2019 appointed the UK's first International Modern Slavery and Migration Envoy to help drive forwards our efforts in partnership with other Governments and multilateral organisations. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses to report on how they are tackling modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Section 54 was designed to empower consumers, investors, civil society and others to scrutinise the action that businesses are taking to identify and address modern slavery in their supply chains.</p><p>The Government has committed to strengthening the legislation. Our response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, announced an ambitious package of changes to Section 54, including introducing specific reporting topics and requiring statements to be published by a single reporting deadline on a central Government-run registry, to enable the Government and others to continuously monitor compliance. In addition, the Government announced in the week of 11 January that it will introduce financial penalties for organisations that do not comply with the reporting requirements under the Modern Slavery Act. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 25/01/2021 16:57:55 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1259968

registered interest
date	09/12/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	German Academic Exchange Service
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 support for the teaching and learning of German in British universities of the German Academic Exchange Service programmes for (1) the German lektor scheme and (2) the German Language Assistant scheme.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL11282
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>English universities are independent, autonomous institutions and are therefore free to choose which courses they run. Quality is assessed by the Office for Students, the regulator of higher education providers in England. Whilst the government firmly supports the teaching of German and other modern foreign languages in English universities, the government plays no role in the delivery of these specific schemes.</p><p>In terms of immigration arrangements, the government has been clear that all EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens must be resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 to be eligible for settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme. All EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals arriving in the UK from 1 January 2021 will be required to apply for a visa under the new points-based immigration system. People wanting to come into the UK to work from 1 January 2021 will be awarded points for a job offer at the appropriate skill level if they speak English, and if they meet the appropriate salary threshold.</p><p>The points-based immigration system is a global system which treats EU and non-EU citizens equally, prioritising individuals’ skills and talent over where a person happens to come from. The UK’s Points Based Immigration System has been designed with huge consideration given to businesses and employers, including the UK higher education sector, which has been consulted by the government throughout.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL11283 question first answered 17/12/2020 13:43:18 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1259969

registered interest
date	09/12/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	German Academic Exchange Service
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make an exemption for (1) German lektors and (2) German language assistants participating in the German Academic Exchange Service programmes, from the standard skilled worker visa regulations in respect of the salary threshold.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL11283
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>English universities are independent, autonomous institutions and are therefore free to choose which courses they run. Quality is assessed by the Office for Students, the regulator of higher education providers in England. Whilst the government firmly supports the teaching of German and other modern foreign languages in English universities, the government plays no role in the delivery of these specific schemes.</p><p>In terms of immigration arrangements, the government has been clear that all EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens must be resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 to be eligible for settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme. All EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals arriving in the UK from 1 January 2021 will be required to apply for a visa under the new points-based immigration system. People wanting to come into the UK to work from 1 January 2021 will be awarded points for a job offer at the appropriate skill level if they speak English, and if they meet the appropriate salary threshold.</p><p>The points-based immigration system is a global system which treats EU and non-EU citizens equally, prioritising individuals’ skills and talent over where a person happens to come from. The UK’s Points Based Immigration System has been designed with huge consideration given to businesses and employers, including the UK higher education sector, which has been consulted by the government throughout.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL11282 question first answered 17/12/2020 13:43:18 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins