It is clear that the Wagner Group and other similar organisations do not provide enduring security. Her Majesty's Government (HMG) will continue to attribute and expose where Wagner or other organisations undermine security and commit human rights abuses.<\/p>
In December 2021, the UK issued a statement with 15 international partners to firmly condemn the deployment of the Wagner Group in Mali, which we believe can only further deteriorate the security environment.<\/p>
In 2020, HMG placed an asset freeze and travel ban on an individual closely associated with Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, following his support to the Group's activities in Libya, where they were involved in multiple and repeated breaches of the arms embargo in Libya established in UNSCR 1970.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4306", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Goldie"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Goldie"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-03-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-07T16:20:29.173Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-02-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Wagner Group"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to hamper the global activities of (1) the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, and (2) other similar organisations.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4719", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"} ], "uin" : "HL6477"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436315", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436315/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The report rightly highlights the important role that internal audit can play in helping companies to promote a positive corporate culture. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) strengthened the UK Corporate Governance Code in 2018 to provide for company boards to assess and monitor culture, to ensure a link between culture, purpose, values and strategy, and to report on this annually. The FRC\u2019s latest annual review of corporate governance reporting, published in November 2021, found some progress in how companies report on their culture.<\/p>
<\/p>
Additionally, the Government has set out proposals to give the FRC\u2019s planned successor body \u2013 the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority \u2013 new powers to hold large companies to account for the quality and usefulness of their corporate reporting, including reporting on culture. These proposals were set out in the White Paper on \u2018Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance\u2019 in 2021. The Government will be responding to that consultation in due course.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4336", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Callanan"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Callanan"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-03-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-14T16:07:31.197Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-02-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Audit"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors' report, Cultivating a healthy culture, dated March 2022; and what steps, if any, they plan to take in response to the report and its findings.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4719", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"} ], "uin" : "HL6478"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436316", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436316/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The department has introduced ESG-related legislation, including regulations aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), requiring trustees to consider, assess and report on the financial risks of climate change within their portfolios.<\/p>
<\/p>
These measures go beyond merely reporting a climate policy and how it is implemented. They require trustees to put in place climate-related governance and risk management, to assess the impact of climate change on their investment strategy, to conduct scenario analysis, to set targets.<\/p>
<\/p>
This means that automatic enrolment schemes will be encouraged to consider climate-related risks and opportunities, and this is likely to influence their choice of products in their portfolio. The Government thinks that ESG factors and their impact should be taken into consideration where financially material, but the process of investing in individual products is down to the market and trustees working within their fiduciary duty.<\/p>
<\/p>
I recognise the risk of \u2018greenwashing\u2019, where investors can be misled on the quality of a product described as being an ESG product and this must be tackled. To aid trustees in their decisions, the department participates in an advisory group which supports the Financial Conduct Authority in developing their proposed requirements that certain investment products display a label reflecting their sustainability characteristics.<\/p>
<\/p>
Recent research carried out by Corporate Advisor in their \u2018ESG in DC Pensions\u2019 report found that 19 out of 21 pension providers surveyed deploy ESG tilts or screening overlays on their default funds excluding specific companies or sectors with poor ESG ratings[1]<\/sup><\/sup>. The report found that three years ago, just five master trust defaults took this approach, suggesting that schemes are increasingly turning to ESG-related products. I believe the steps the department has taken to put in place the regulatory framework for consideration of ESG factors will have contributed to the uptake here.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4174", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Stedman-Scott"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-03-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-11T14:38:48.7Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2022-02-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Workplace Pensions"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pension products are available for automatic enrolment pensions; what assessment they have made of the impact of financial services regulations on the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment pensions; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment purposes.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4719", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"}
], "uin" : "HL6479"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436059", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436059/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The information requested is not held centrally.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4909", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Kamall"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Kamall"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-03-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-03T17:31:30.683Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2022-02-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Services"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the number of recipients of social care in England who (1) required, and (2) received, night-time care packages, in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, and (d) 2021.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4719", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"}
], "uin" : "HL6435"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436060", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1436060/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The information requested is in the table below.<\/p>